Despite the fact that padel is really just starting to take off here in the U.S., everyone from CNN to Men’s Health to The Chicago Tribune is now suddenly offering padel gear reviews. But who can you really trust?
It’s a question I get almost daily from readers, friends, and fellow padel addicts. And while I’d love to have the bandwidth (and necessary level of expertise) to do our own reviews someday soon, for now there’s only one place I send people looking for padel gear reviews in the U.S.: Padel Smash Academy.
“We Are All Things Padel”
That’s the tagline for Padel Smash Academy, which is basically just the incredibly affable, knowledgeable, and optimistic padel-obsessed duo of Cesar “Cesc” Caceres and Julian Wortelboer (who also serves as the Chief Padel Officer of Ultra Padel Club in Miami, which is among the largest padel facilities in the entire world).
In addition to padel gear reviews, Cesc and Julian offer everything from padel coaching videos to interviews with top padel personalities and even padel consulting services via their Padel Smash Academy homepage.
But more often than not, the reason I am sending people their way is for their in-depth video reviews on everything from rackets to balls to equipment and accessories you quite possibly didn’t even know existed.
While the duo review a wide-range of gear from diverse padel brands including Adidas, Babolat, Bullpadel, Head, Nox, Osaka, Slazenger, Siux, and many others, they also have reviews focused on specific categories like:
- Best padel rackets for beginners
- Best padel rackets for women
- Best padel rackets under $200
- Most underrated padel rackets, and even…
- The “Aston Martin of padel rackets”
They’ve even put together an in-depth, 21-minute “Padel Ball Showdown” where they cover which padel balls are best suited for which climates, playing styles, and seasons. (If you’re someone who has only ever played with one or two different brands of balls, this eye-opening video is something you’ll definitely want to check out before your next match.)
What’s more, as part of a recent relaunch of Padel Smash Academy, they now even have their own e-commerce store, making it incredibly quick and easy to buy the rackets and other padel gear you see recommended in a video.
So, if you ever find yourself in need of a trustworthy review on a new padel racket or other piece of equipment you’re considering buying, be sure to drop by and see what Cesc and Julian have to say first.
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