14mm vs 16mm

What the number actually measures

A pickleball paddle is a sandwich. Two thin faces, usually carbon fibre or fiberglass, are bonded to a honeycomb core made of polypropylene. The millimetre figure is the depth of that honeycomb, not the thickness of the whole paddle and not the face.

When the ball hits, the honeycomb cells deform. A deeper core has more material to deform, so more of the ball's energy is spent squashing the core and turned into heat instead of being returned to the ball. A shallower core deforms less and springs back faster, so more energy goes back into the ball.

That is the entire mechanism. Every practical difference between 14mm and 16mm is a consequence of it.

• Thicker core: less energy returned, softer feel, ball stays on the face marginally longer.
• Thinner core: more energy returned, firmer feel, ball leaves faster.
• The face material, not the core, is what determines spin.

The same paddle in both thicknesses

Most comparisons fail because they pit a 14mm paddle from one brand against a 16mm paddle from another, which changes the shape, the face, the handle and the weight all at once. A few brands now sell one model in two thicknesses, which removes that problem entirely.

The Six Zero Double Black Diamond Control is one of the cleanest examples in our database. Both versions are hybrid shaped, both weigh 8.1 oz, both measure 16.3 by 7.6 inches, both use the same T700 raw carbon face, both have a 5.5 inch handle, and both list at the same price. The only published differences are the core depth and a single point of swingweight.

That last detail is worth pausing on, because it is counterintuitive. The thicker 16mm version lists a swingweight of 114 and the thinner 14mm version lists 113. Adding core depth barely moved how heavy the paddle feels through the swing. So when people describe a 16mm paddle as feeling 'heavier', they are usually describing the dampened impact, not the mass. Those are different things, and conflating them leads people to buy the wrong paddle.

The Franklin Signature Series is sold at 13mm and 16mm too, though it is a less controlled comparison: Franklin lists the thinner version as lighter, so weight changes along with thickness.

Choose by the points you are losing

Thickness is not a skill ladder. It is a trade, and the right side of the trade depends on which shots are currently costing you games. The useful question is not which is better but which of these two descriptions sounds like your last few matches.

Pick 16mm if you pop resets up above the net, if your third shot drops sail long, if hard drives handcuff you at the kitchen, or if off-centre contact keeps sending balls somewhere you did not intend. The thicker core buys you margin on every soft shot and forgiveness on every mishit.

Pick 14mm if your drives get blocked back without trouble, if you lose hands battles at the net, if you feel like you have to swing hard to generate anything, or if you want a counter to come off the face quickly. The thinner core gives you free pace, and the cost is margin.

If neither description fits, buy 16mm. It is the default for a reason, and it is the thickness most players settle on after trying both.

• Losing points on resets, drops and mishits: go 16mm.
• Losing points in speed-ups and hands battles: go 14mm.
• Genuinely unsure: go 16mm.

Why 16mm became the default

Paddles were thinner across the board a few years ago, and the sport's style of play is why that changed. As the third shot drop and the extended dink rally became standard at every level above beginner, the shots that decide points moved from the baseline to the kitchen. Soft shots reward a core that absorbs, so the market followed.

84 of the 160 paddles in our database are 16mm, more than any other thickness. That is not a claim that 16mm plays better. It is a description of what manufacturers are building because of how the sport is now played.

Above 16mm and below 14mm

The range does not stop at the two popular numbers. Our database runs from 12mm to 19mm, and the ends behave the way the mechanism predicts, only more so.

At 17mm and above, paddles get very dampened. The HEAD Gravity Tour at 17mm and the Diadem Warrior V2 at 19mm are built for players who want a reset to die on the face and who are willing to give up pop to get it. These reward a developed soft game and frustrate players who still need help generating pace.

Below 14mm, paddles get lively and unforgiving in equal measure. The ONIX Z5 Graphite at 12mm and the Paddletek Bantam TS-5 at 12.7mm are pre-dating the thick-core era, and they suit players who want the ball off the face immediately. They are also less comfortable on the arm, which matters if you play often.

What thickness will not fix

Core thickness is one of four specs that determine how a paddle plays, and it is not the most important. Face material has a larger effect on spin than thickness has on anything. Shape determines where the sweet spot sits. Handle length determines whether a two-handed backhand is comfortable.

It is also worth being honest about the limits of choosing from a spec sheet, ours included. Our ratings are derived from published specifications using a formula you can read, and a formula cannot tell you how a paddle feels. Two paddles with identical cores can play differently depending on how the core is bonded to the face and how the edge is constructed. Use thickness to cut a list of thirty down to a list of three, then demo if you have the chance.

If you like your current paddle and only want a little more stability, lead tape at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions is cheaper than a new paddle and it is reversible. That is a better first experiment than changing thickness.