After playing with the Selkirk SLK Halo Max Carbon Fiber 16mm pickleball paddle, I have to report that I came away underwhelmed. The SLK Halo Max is a great looking paddle with a very clean design. The handle is comfortable, it weighs about 8 ounces overall, and boats a T700 Raw Carbon Fiber face (which I am a fan of). It is also priced very well – in the “great value” category.
As a 3.5 to 4.0 player, I put the paddle to the test. Here are my thoughts:
Spin
This is the best feature of the paddle. I had no problems generating spin thanks to the aforementioned T700 raw carbon fiber face, however due to the swing weight of the paddle (on the light side), I would classify it as average spin on my drives from the baseline.
Dinking
No surprises here. I had good control on crosscourt and down the line dinks. The ball did not get away from me. Half volleys that I hit that missed the sweet spot could have been better. The ball died a bit when hitting the edges of the paddle.
Net Play
The paddle is on the light side and therefore easy to maneuver around the net. I didn’t have any problems volleying back hard drives. The paddle absorbed the impacts well.
Power
Here’s the underwhelming part – I could not generate my usual power on drives baseline and slams on overheads that I could with paddles in the same category. It was a bit vexing, but was likely due to the swingweight of the paddle. If this was my everyday gamer, I would probably need to start experimenting with applying lead tape to the perimeter of the paddle face. It could have also done a better job with off center hits or half volleys where I didn’t catch the sweet spot as well – but this is to be expected as the Halo Max does not have foam injected edges.
Final Word
The Selkirk SLK Halo Max is a decent all around paddle. My inability to generate power with this paddle is a deal-breaker for me. If you are considering the Halo Max, I would also recommend taking a look at my review of the Versix 6C+ (which is priced lower) or the Vatic Pro (which has foam injected edges) which is priced similarly to the Halo Max.