I have had the opportunity to preview the Zen over the past week and can say enthusiastically it is my favorite Gen 4 paddle by far. I am a 4.0 and partner in a club, and have played with virtually every recognizable paddle out there from Boomstick to 11Six24 Power series, but always gone back to my RPM V2 Friction Pro. But the Zen has replaced it as my main. It feels fabulous, unlike any other Gen 4. Plush with lots of dwell. Plenty of power and pop on demand, but not springy like many of the current crop of "power paddles." I'd liken it to a Coral Pro on steroids. The twistweight is suprisingly high, swing and static weight low. I was able to add 3g at 6 and 9 and it still plays fast. I love the 5.75" handle length. It plays almost like an elongated with a huge sweet spot. And it looks cool. Great job Ivan and team.

Zen Paddle review:

First, I’ve been playing at Crush Yards Advanced (4.0+) session for over 18 months and this evening was only the second time since they opened that I went undefeated on the challenge court (the other time I was partnered with one of our best players, tonight I had a partner probably a bit lower than my level).

Second, I’m telling you it’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced before and there are a lot of players this evening that witnessed how well I was playing with it. I had multiple people come over who were watching me play that commented how great a player I was and how much fun it was to watch me play. It’s just simply unreal how well I competed with it.

Power was off the charts, control was as good as I’ve ever experienced with any paddle, not just Apes. I was involved in many, many dink battles and won every single one with the exception of just one time. Resets from the transition zone were effortless and I can’t recall missing more than one or maybe two. My third shot drops were consistently landing at my opponents feet and the expressions on their faces were just priceless when they couldn’t figure out how to deal with my consistency. My serves were simply explosive, in one game I had two consecutive aces followed by three outright winners when our opponents barely got their paddles to touch the balls (that’s never happened for me in the past, although I have to admit I have a darn good screwball serve, but tonight the ball was just…