Six Zero Double Black Diamond - pickleball paddle review

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Six Zero Double Black Diamond - pickleball paddle review

Six Zero is a new pickleball paddle company that has a loyal following in Australia where they’re based.

They began shipping paddles to the US/overseas in late 2022 and have blown up onto the scene in 2023 with their thermoformed paddle line. They sold out their first run of paddles in 48 hours, and their second and third runs before they shipped.

Six Zero’s paddles are not clones or copycats of previous technology. Their paddles are part of a new “Gen. 2” paddle movement which utilizes sturdy unibody thermoforming tech combined with edge foam and high-quality Toray T700 carbon fiber.

This new thermoforming tech is set up to sweep the pickleball world in 2023. The more I play with these types of paddles, the more I like them. And the Double Black Diamond is one of my favorites.

Six Zero’s paddles are likely going to continue flying off the shelves in the USA as word of their innovative paddles sold at reasonable prices gets out.

Note that this review is only for the 16mm Double Black Diamond. 

Double Black Diamond 16mm Technical Specifications

· Price: $180 

· Type: Control/All-court

· Shape: Hybrid

· Core thickness: 16mm

· Face: Toray 700 Raw carbon fiber

· Average weight: 8.1 oz

· Grip length: 5.5”

· Swing Weight: 114

· Grip size: 4.25”

· Core: 8mm Honeycomb polymer

· Total length: 16.3”

· Width: 7.5” to 7.7″

· Warranty: 6 months for defects

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Double Black Diamond 16mm Quick Summary

The Double Black Diamond paddle is one of the most solid and crisp feeling paddles. It has top-tier power, spin, and control (for a thermoform).

It might cost less than $200, but don’t let that fool you, this is an elite paddle that rivals any of the $250+ paddles on the market.

Yes, top-tier power in a control paddle! It can be an absolute weapon that gets better the more you play with it.

Pros

· All-around performance. Excellent spin with a great balance of power and control. You can shape shots with spin and deliver powerful drives and put ways with ease.

· Feel. Great feel, handle length/circumference, paddle shape/sweet spot, and weight

· Sweet spot. Generous sweet spot provided by the unibody thermoforming and sealed edge foam. More shots go where you want them to

· Control. More controllable than other unibody thermoformed paddles

· Shape. Its hybrid-elongated shape plays with the forgiveness of a standard-shaped paddle but has that added extra reach of an elongated paddle.

· Durability. Great durability with the robust thermoformed design. No exposed foam/polymer. Highly resilient paddle face surface with proprietary composite Toray T700 face materials.

Cons

· Lacks the plush control of Gen 1 raw carbon fiber paddles. While softer than other unibody thermoformed paddles, it’s still stiffer and not as plush as a typical raw carbon fiber paddle. I’d personally categorize the Double Black Diamond as an all-court paddle.

· Requires a bit of a learning curve. It takes time to get used to hitting this (and any unibody thermoformed) paddle. Expect some pop-ups and out-of-bounds shots as you adjust to the pop and power. The hybrid shape paddle shape also takes some getting used to.

· Handle length. While the 5.3″ length is the same as the Vatic Pro and Legacy Pro, I found that the DBD’s handle felt shorter than advertised due to how the handle ends abruptly at the neck taper.

· Balance. While mostly balanced, it’s a tiny bit head-heavy, although not as much as the Hyperion CFS. You can easily remedy this by adding weighted tape lower on the paddle.

Power

It’s marketed as a control paddle, but I’ve never had an issue generating a lot of power with the DBD. The focus may be on control, but this is a unibody thermoformed paddle, which means it’s no slouch in the power department.

You’ll notice this pretty quickly when your drives, overheads, and put ways catch opponents off guard. Power is not a problem when needed. You can put a lot of pace on speedups. Little flicks and hard, snappy shots fly off the paddle with relative ease.

As far as I know, no other control paddle provides as much power as the Double Black Diamond. It hits harder than paddles like the CRBN 1, Pursuit EX 6.0, Joola Hyperion, Volair Mach 1, and GBX.

It’s not as powerful as the new, Black Diamond or CRBN1X of course. But those are thermoformed power paddles that are focused more on power. I don’t know of any other thermoformed control paddles, much less one that brings as much power to the table as the Double Black Diamond.

Since the paddle typically comes in relatively lightweight at 8.0 or so oz, you can afford to add weighted tape to the paddle to give it even more power if you’d like.

Pop/Deflection

The Double Black Diamond doesn’t have as much pop as its fiberglass-faced Black Diamond Sibling, but the Double Black Diamond still has much more pop than non-unibody, edge-foamed raw carbon fiber paddles.

The pop from the DBD is truly great and makes your opponents have a much harder time dealing with speed-ups, drives, and dinking due to having less time to react.

To me, it’s the perfect amount for a paddle. You get enough pop to play fast at the net and win hands battles, but not too much that it becomes exceedingly hard to tame.

Most users will be surprised and pleased with the amount of pop. But some will struggle to adjust. In my opinion, it’s well worth it to adjust to the pop of these thermoformed paddles. And the Double Black Diamond is one of the easiest of the bunch to adjust to.

Control

The large, sweet spot really helps with control. The Double Black Diamond’s sweet spot is comparable to the Hyperion CFS, which is a standout paddle for its sweet spot. You don’t have to add a bunch of lead tape to make the paddle stable or improve the sweet spot.

You really have to hit the edge guard itself to experience a full mishit. The throat of the paddle is much more responsive than non-thermoformed paddles, not that you want to hit there, but it is more responsive if you do.

The paddle snags and grips the ball surprisingly well, making it feel like you can re-angle a ball without issue. The directional control really stands out.

Control at the net is good with this paddle once you get used to the pop. Your hands feel fast with the paddle being snappy, crisp, and responsive. It also has a low swing weight at 114, adding to the feel of quick hands. Add to this the great sweet spot, and this paddle can make your confidence at the Net skyrocket.

Drops take time to adjust to. It’s not a spongy or particularly plush paddle, so hits from the center of the sweet spot can really fly far and fast. It takes practice not popping it up or sending it out of bounds. It’s not a bad feeling by any means, just different, and will take some practice getting accustomed to.

Once you get familiar with it, drops, resets, and blocks become easeful as you don’t have to put a ton of energy into them. You learn to let the paddle do a lot of the work for you.

The extra power and spin also really add to the control you can have with the paddle. You can place shots where you want and use spin to keep balls in.

Spin

You can set your expectations for spin very high with the DBD. The spin here is excellent, and you should not be disappointed with the output. It’s among the best spinning paddles.

The surface material is very tight and dense, comparable to the Legacy Pro. Both paddles create a ton of spin. You get a result that’s comparable to the Power Air, also one of the top spinning paddles available.

Slices and deep top spin drives are a blast with this paddle. Shaping the ball from all areas of the court feels effortless. It really feels like you can put it where you want it. I’ve had the spin from this paddle save a number of questionable shots from going out.

If you already have good spin form in your game, expect to see you're a mixture of surprise and disgust on your opponent’s once you switch over. This paddle will turn your spin shots into a serious weapon.

Durability

Once you get one in your hand, you’ll quickly recognize that this paddle is not cheap, and is made with solid, meaningful materials and construction.

The Double Black Diamond has one of the more durable paddle bodies on the market. Six Zero’s use of the unibody thermoforming and carbon-forged handle ensures that the paddle will stay together quite well.

Value

You get a lot of bang for your buck with a paddle like this at its price point. As I mentioned earlier, this is truly an elite paddle at a reasonable price.

It’s heartening to see companies like Six Zero storm the scene and challenge the idea of what a performance paddle should cost. I don’t see a reason to pay $250 or more when a paddle this good can be bought for so much less.