Gamma Needle Elongated Pickleball Paddle

GAMMA NEEDLE ELONGATED PICKLEBALL PADDLE — INTRO

Welcome to our review of the Gamma Needle Elongated Pickleball Paddle, our #1 pick from the 5 Best Elongated Pickleball Paddles of 2020! In that review, we went over why a player would use an elongated paddle, as well as the 5 very best paddles in that category. This time, we’ll go in depth with our top pick!

The Gamma Needle Elongated Pickleball Paddle is a high-quality, high-performing paddle, and we’ll go into all the details below. If you’d rather learn more about pickleball in general, we’ve written just the perfect guide — the Pickleball Paddle Ultimate Guide — which goes over the characteristics of different paddles, techniques, rules, and common questions about pickleball.

But if you’re ready to learn more about this #1 paddle, let’s get right into it!

Gamma Needle Elongated Pickleball Paddle — Overview

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Here at Pickleball Post, we’re no stranger to paddles by Gamma. They’re known for being very well made as well as aesthetically pleasing!

It’s no different with the Gamma Needle Elongated Pickleball Paddle. It has a special graphite face meant to maximize the player’s touch and control. Graphite faces are best at power shots — and on an elongated paddle that power is enhanced — but the graphite face on this Gamma paddle is also meant to have good spin capability. So this elongated paddle — or blade — gives you the best of both strength and control.

In this review, we’ll discuss more about the graphite face, but also the paddle’s core, grip, surface area, and weight. We’ll explain how all these factors contribute to its performance as a top elongated paddle. Finally, we’ll summarize with some pros and cons to help you distill the most important characteristics in a few simple points.

Ready to find out if the Gamma Needle Elongated Pickleball Paddle is right for you? Let’s get started!

Gamma Needle Elongated Pickleball Paddle — The Basics

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The Face

Graphite paddles — as opposed to fiberglass or carbon fiber paddles — are best at being powerful.

The elongated face packs more weight, so you can use that as additional leverage in your hits, amplifying the powerful graphite face.

The extra length and power become super important in advanced or expert-level games, where every additional bit of court coverage can make the difference between winning and losing.

The Surface Area

Lengthwise, this paddle comes in at 17 inches (including the 4 ¼-inch handle) and widthwise it’s 7 inches.

That leaves almost 13 inches by 7 inches of surface area for hitting, plenty of space for any player.

That said, the width is considered narrower than that of typical wide paddles, which usually have a width of 8 inches. What this means practically is a proportionately narrower sweet spot.

So despite the greater ease it takes to reach the ball, depending on your ability to adjust to these dimensions, it could take some time to be able to hit from the sweet spot with every swing.

The Weight

Elongated paddles have a different balance than wide paddles, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they have to be heavier.

The Gamma Needle Elongated Pickleball Paddle is 7.6 ounces, a medium weight paddle on the lighter end of that weight category.

Blades sacrifice a bit of handle length for the sake of a longer face, so more of the paddle’s weight will be concentrated there. If you’re more used to wide paddles, it may take a moment to adapt to the unique weight distribution of this elongated paddle.

But once you do, your opponents will be hard-pressed to keep up with you!

The Grip Size and Feel

We mentioned the shorter grip — 4 ¼ inches compared to the customary 5 — but the circumference is around the standard for grip circumferences, at 4 ⅛ inches.

That’s only ⅛ of an inch thinner than the standard of 4 ¼ inches.

Players with smaller hands will like the smaller grip. But players with bigger hands can still wield this paddle comfortably with the help of overgrips, which thicken any grip by 1/16th-inch increments.

If you don’t need the aid of overgrips, then you can fully appreciate the neat textured honeycomb pattern that helps the player find and hold onto a comfortable position on the handle (this will help you avoid calluses and blisters)!

The Core

“Sensa Poly Core” is the honeycombed polymer core that Gamma has designed for this and many of their paddles.

It is designed to optimize the paddle’s sweet spot.

Not only that, but polymer core paddles are also the quietest paddles on the market, thanks to the large cell honeycomb pattern that absorbs sound and shock better than any other pattern or material on the market.

Pros

• elongated graphite face is powerful
• polymer honeycomb core absorbs vibration and noise
• comfortable grip
• generous surface area and sweet spot

Cons

• a bit expensive compared to other elongated paddles
• not typically for beginners

Not sure if this particular paddle is the right one for you? Take a look at the Gamma Compass NeuCore Elongated Pickleball Paddle or the HEAD Radical XL Pickleball Paddle!

The Rally PXL Graphite Pickleball Paddle and the HUDEF HB2.0 Graphite Elongated Pickleball Paddle are also GREAT options in this category!

Conclusion

You’ve made it to the end of our review of the Gamma Needle Elongated Pickleball Paddle! We hope you’ve learned all there is to know about this wonderful elongated paddle. Hopefully you’ll consider it the next time you’re thinking of adding to your paddle collection.

To sum up, we talked about how the face, surface area, grip, weight, and core all contribute certain idiosyncrasies to the paddle’s overall performance. Then we gave a list of pros and cons designed to help you decide if this is the right paddle for you. We sure hope it is!

Comments

Have you ever tried this paddle? How does it compare to other elongated paddles, or any other type of paddle you may have tried? Or do you have any questions or comments about anything we mentioned in this review?

We would love to hear from you! Everyone in the pickleball community has something valuable to offer, no matter where you are skill-wise. Leave a reply below and we’ll do our best to get back to you as soon as possible!