Six Zero Double Black Diamond 16mm Review | Next Level Performance

this is the 6-0 double black diamond and it is one of the four companies currently offering thermoforming and it has had people asking many questions about how it compares to the others so today we'll take a look and see what makes it great before we dive in I won't be talking about delamination in this video because I've covered it in several other videos already if you're interested in watching those they will be linked down in the description the 6-0 Double Black Diamond sells for 180 and with discount code PB Studio you can save 10 percent lowering it to 162 in this review I have the 16 millimeter version but soon they will also be releasing the 14 millimeter as well it uses a Torre t700 carbon fiber face polymer core hybrid shape of 16.3 inches in length 4.25 inch grip circumference 5.3 inch octagon handle average weight of 8.1 ounces and an RPM of 2018. additional features include thermoforming and Edge foam in the walls of the paddle it also features the same small grip pattern that the Legacy Pro uses while at this time it's not entirely conclusive that this pattern is better for spin it has shown that it gets amazing spin regardless of how smooth it feels to the touch so don't let that deceive you into thinking this isn't a high tier spin paddle if you rub your hand across it a lot of times that's an okay test for telling if a paddle will get great spin but these days that's becoming less and less true it will also be interesting to see how many more companies adopt this hybrid shape one of the only other companies that I have seen create this hybrid shape is pick ninja with their Revenant paddle and vatic pro but most paddles are either 16 inches or 16.5 inches however vatic Pro pick ninja and 6-0 have opted to go for something closer to 16.3 inches in length I'm sure there are a few other paddles out there that also have a hybrid shape but it's more Uncommon than it is common as someone who prefers 16.5 inches over 16 I don't have too much of an issue with the reach going down a quarter inch there was a small struggle on the first day but after that I didn't notice any more issues one other thing I do want to note about the handle of the Double Black Diamond is it seems that the handle piece that shapes the handle does not go very high up the throat and the way that they wrap the handle stock you can kind of feel where that drop off is and it can feel a little bit weird in your hand I do think they said they might be updating this for future paddles so that may not be a worry down the road but right now it can feel a little weird when you choke up on the handle it doesn't personally bother me but I know it might bother some people out there if you followed thermoforming paddles for the last two months you know that these paddles hit really hard the Double Black Diamond is no exception while technically listed as the control model on their website it does not offer the same level of control that people are used to with the original raw carbon fiber paddles like the carbon one electron Model E yolavision and SLK Halo however compared to their raw fiberglass Black Diamond paddle the Double Black Diamond certainly has much more control which is why it has control in the name because they're comparing it to their black diamond if you are coming from one of the original raw carbon fiber paddles you will absolutely have an adjustment period when it comes to controlling the paddle one of our local 4.5s in the area bought one and was hitting absolute Rockets with it but he found he had a harder time dinking I've also played with every thermal formed paddle on the market extensively and I think at this point I have adjusted to the power of these paddles so I haven't had any issues with drops resets dinks or blocks however all of those shots are considerably easier to pull off with the original raw carbon fiber paddles one of my favorite shots with the Double Black Diamond is actually my third shot drop it has great spin to make the ball Arc how I want and the amount of pop off the face feels just right to me I have to be more mindful during dinking not to pop up the ball but nothing that I find too difficult it's just that against a paddle like the zero zero three you can practically turn your brain off while dinking because the paddle does so much work for you I really enjoyed the carbon 1X 16 millimeter as well but the feel is much more muted and might offer just a touch less power overall when compared to the Double Black Diamond out of the box you get more feedback from the paddle on the 6-0 and I find that satisfying that's also coming from someone who usually prefers very muted paddles while the control of the carbon 1X 16 millimeter is probably a little bit better I like the blend that the Double Black Diamond strikes between the 1X 14 millimeter and 1X 16 millimeter to be honest it's probably not a huge difference but after an extensive period of testing with both that is probably how I would describe it to someone we'll touch more on this later but with the thermal forming paddles their sweet spots seem to have improved quite a bit and has helped a lot with mid-court resets I find that I can hit off-center by a good bit and the paddle still has quite a bit of energy transferring into the ball resulting in an okay shot whereas some paddles on the market the ball would immediately die to wrap up the control I would say if you're coming from a softer paddle expect there to be an adjustment period where your soft game is going to be worse but if you stick with it I think you can make the adjustment just fine assuming you aren't someone who just prefers control paddles overall if you're a power player you'll love this paddle you have access to plenty of power whenever you want it I've used this paddle extensively for singles and it's one of my favorites so far you can rip drives with tons of topspin which makes passing shots feel great since receiving my Double Black Diamond with updated glue I did notice that comparing it directly to my used Double Black Diamond the new one had less power if I recall correctly my original one felt this way too and after about 10 or so hours the paddle loosened up and I don't believe it's delamination because I have checked mine over and over every single time I go and play and I don't hear any cracking or the paddle making a different sound than when I got it regarding doubles you have great attacks in hand speed and overheads are easier to put away I love speeding up with it as well everything related to attacking feels like a giant upgrade coming from the original raw carbon fiber paddles I was playing with the zero zero three and now my counter attacks and speed ups are much more aggressive and easier to finish than they were with the zero zero three one of the reasons I I have loved thermoformed paddles so much is that power was severely lacking in my game people in my area mock me for being so bad at putting a ball away with paddles like the 1X 14 millimeter 1X 16 millimeter and 6-0 Double Black Diamond I feel that has improved drastically of course I had to adjust but now that I'm used to it I have access to more tools than before without sacrificing the soft side of my game too much overall I would call The Double Black Diamond a power paddle while it may not be the hardest hitting power paddle on the market like the Legacy Pro or maybe even the pro kenix black Ace it's definitely up there with the power paddles on the market one of the reasons I came to love the Double Black Diamond was the increase in my hand speed the swing weight being 114 means it's still quick in the hand but has heft to help resist the paddle twisting on off-center shots one thing I noticed when reviewing the gearbox cx11 a few months ago is that the Q model the one with the short handle was really enjoyable for hands battles and dinking something about the shorter handle made the paddle feel like an extension of my arm and helped me be less risky on dinks and other shots where you don't need to use a lot of your wrist I found the same thing to be true of the Double Black Diamond coming from a carbon 1X 16 millimeter my hands felt faster with the shorter handle and for dinks I felt more connected to the paddle which helped me control it better it's a subtle thing that I picked up recently but when I go back to longer handle paddles it is something that I notice I have heard a few comments saying that the Double Black Diamond feels head heavy in the hand and it might feel that way but I think it just depends on what you're coming from if you want to get a ballpark of how the Double Black Diamond might feel come from your paddle you can check out my paddlestad spreadsheet which lists the swing weight of many paddles go to the tab named swing weight and you can see all the results for the paddles that I have in the spreadsheet the main thing you need to keep in mind is that usually a lower number equals faster hands while a higher number is going to equal slower hands in many cases a higher number also translates to feeling more head heavy in my experience so far thermal formed paddles have all had exceptional sweet spots and the Double Black Diamond is no exception it feels very Lively around most of the paddle face the most surprising thing has been how much energy is still pushed into the ball even in areas that are very dead on other paddles of course those areas feel noticeably different when hit but even if you miss off center the shot is still decent I've been very impressed with the sweet spot of this and other thermoformed paddles on the market I never enjoyed 14 millimeter or thinner paddles but with thermal forming they have made such a leap in stability and sweet spot performance that it's much easier and more pleasant to use than the non-thermo-formed 14 millimeter paddles the 6-0 Double Black Diamond is undoubtedly one of the best paddles on the market both in price and in performance in fact it has been my go-to paddle for the last month I still enjoy the carbon 1X series quite a bit but I think the Double Black Diamond suits my game just a little bit better I like the feel off the face a bit more I have just enough space to do a two-handed backhand and because of the slightly shorter handle my hand speed and control over the paddle feel improved when I compare it to the carbon 1X none of this is to say that the 1X is bad or inferior I could go to a tournament tomorrow and use it without any issue I just think that the 6-0 improves aspects of my game that are important to me honestly you can't go wrong with any of them they're all great but the bright side is that the Double Black Diamond is 162 dollars after discount code versus roughly 205 or so for the carbon X series after a discount code as well I think one of the primary reasons to consider the carbon would be if you prefer a more muted feeling paddle and if if you need that longer 5.5 inch handle for your two-handed backhand personally I haven't had any issues on the 5.3 inch handle because the neck tapers nicely for two hands but I also have average sized hands and if you have large hands it may be more difficult now I don't think thermoforming is for everyone as excited as many others and I have been about it I recognize that the extra power may not be desired for all but if you love raw carbon fiber paddles but wish they had more power the 6-0 Double Black Diamond is a very easy recommendation but if you struggle with resets and the soft portion of your game you may want to steer clear of the thermoformed paddles for now I'm having a hard time thinking of anything that the paddle could do better for my play style if I had to get nitpicky initially it threw me off slightly not having the full 16.5 inch length for my reach but if it were 16.5 inches instead of 16.3 you'd probably compromise hand speed slightly because that puts it more in line with the 1X shape at the end of the day you can't have everything in one paddle but this gets close to checking all the boxes for me and I think a lot of people are going to love this paddle thanks for watching my review if you enjoyed it make sure to click like And subscribe and I'll catch you in the next video

Channel: Pickleball Studio

Views: 107,993

Keywords: Pickleball, The Pickleball Studio, Pickleball tips, Six Zero, Double Black Diamond, Black Diamond, Vatic Pro, Legacy, CRBN, high tier spin, paddle review, power paddle, thermoformed, thermoforming

Id: PxQmrLKbuF0

Length: 11min 5sec (665 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 05 2023