Champion Sports APEX100 Rhino Pickleball Apex Paddle, Price/Each

Nice paddle, grip is very comfortable and stays in place in your hand. Does well on the court. Thought it was a bit overpriced. Overall, really liked this pickelball paddle. Would buy it again.

I belong to a pickleball league. I probably have 10 paddles, of differing construction and value. There's nothing to complain about with this Champion Sports Rhino paddle, the Rhino Fuse 100 (Graphite). There are lower cost models, and I doubt that a beginner will really be affected by the composition of the paddle. Quickness, reaction time, and accuracy are key. Use the paddle that works for you.

I'm just a beginner playing pickleball as we only recently got some courts near us. I'm addicted now. I started with a basic beginner set that came with balls and a wooden paddle, and I thought it would be kind of like a ping pong paddle. It was bigger and heavier, a lot heavier to me than I thought it should be. A friend convinced me to try a lightweight graphite or fiberglass paddle. Hers was fiberglass, but it still seemed heavy to me. My son got a graphite paddle for Christmas and so I tried his also. That felt so much better. Started looking around and there sure are a lot to pick from! By pure luck I chose this one because of the advertised weight of only 7.6 ounces, and I liked the blue/black color combination. It seemed in the mid-price range. I've been playing with it just about 3 weeks, and so far so good. I'm improving and can already play longer. The handle doesn't get gummy from sweat, at least it hasn't in the cooler temps of spring. I'm really glad this was the one I got. If it doesn't hold up well, I will update the review.

The Champion Fuse is a very nice lightweight paddle. I have been playing pickleball for years and have suffered pickleball elbow from overplaying with a heavier paddle. This paddle is about 7.0 ounces. The handle has a very nice grip. This paddle compares well with the GAMMA RZR paddle I was previously using.

Since various paddles are listed all in one place, I wanted to mention that I'm reviewing the Rhino Edge set, the seven-ply wood pickleball paddles with two pickleballs.I'm a pickleball newbie, so I'm not sure what aficionados will think of the balls, reusable bag, and paddles, but I like them all. The paddles are pretty heavy, though! Both of mine are heavier than stated (even before the customization mentioned in a bit). One is close to the max of 11.2 ounces mentioned, at 11.3 ounces, which is probably within the error a scale could make. But the other (though it looks identical) is a whole ounce heavier, at 12.3 ounces. I start to feel strain in my wrists pretty quickly with the paddles. The star being docked is specifically due to them being heavier than stated.But I do think the set is relatively quality-made. I wanted to take the heavier paddle down to the wood and customize it a lot (I know that's a big no-no with pickleball paddles, but I was wanting to do this just with one). Anyway, in trying to remove the edge guard with pliers, I found that it wouldn't budge! I quickly switched to doing a couple easier and more acceptable electrical tape modifications. Hopefully that's a good sign that the edge guards will hold up over time and protect the paddles.

Since various paddles are listed all in one place, I wanted to mention that I'm reviewing the Rhino Edge set, the seven-ply wood pickleball paddles with two pickleballs.I'm a pickleball newbie, so I'm not sure what aficionados will think of the balls, reusable bag, and paddles, but I like them all. The paddles are pretty heavy, though! Both of mine are heavier than stated (even before the customization mentioned in a bit). One is close to the max of 11.2 ounces mentioned, at 11.3 ounces, which is probably within the error a scale could make. But the other (though it looks identical) is a whole ounce heavier, at 12.3 ounces. I start to feel strain in my wrists pretty quickly with the paddles. The star being docked is specifically due to them being heavier than stated.But I do think the set is relatively quality-made. I wanted to take the heavier paddle down to the wood and customize it a lot (I know that's a big no-no with pickleball paddles, but I was wanting to do this just with one). Anyway, in trying to remove the edge guard with pliers, I found that it wouldn't budge! I quickly switched to doing a couple easier and more acceptable electrical tape modifications. Hopefully that's a good sign that the edge guards will hold up over time and protect the paddles.