THE PADDLE REGISTER · 2026 · CURRENT
Pickleball Apes Zen S+
Pickleball Effect: a genuinely unique power profile. Big on full swings, low pop otherwise.
- List price
- $199.99
- Launched
- August · sold in preorder batches, 2026date known to the month
- Build
- Full foam (Gen 4)
- Thickness
- 16mm
- Shapes
- Hybrid · 5.75 in handle
- Warranty
- 1 year
photos and colorways at pickleballapes.com ↗ its row on the 2026 calendar
Certification note. USAP approved Jun 9.
Status checked Sep 21, 2026. Lists change; confirm on the USAP and UPA-A lists before a tournament.
TIMELINE
- Jun 9, 2026 APPROVAL USA Pickleball lists Pickleball Apes 'Zen S+'. equipment.usapickleball.org ↗
- Jul 28, 2026 PREORDER 'Zen Pre-Order Batch 4' listing published on pickleballapes.com (Shopify published_at). pickleballapes.com ↗
- Aug 18, 2026 NEW VARIANT Pickleball Effect publishes its in-depth Zen S+ review ($199.99; release dated August 2026). pickleballeffect.com ↗
HOW IT IS BUILT
Diced MPP floating foam core inside three progressively denser foam rings. SilverBack grit under a protective film.
- 116mm MPP floating foam core
- 2three progressively denser foam rings around the core
- 3horizontal incisions cut into each side
- Face
- SilverBack durable grit texture
Construction per pickleballeffect.com ↗
Hybrid-only so far and sold in pre-order batches (Batch 4 at $188.88 vs $199.99 list as of 2026-09-21). Handle is listed at 5.75 in but Pickleball Effect says it plays like 5.5 in; grip 4.25 in.
VARIANTS · PUBLISHED AND MEASURED NUMBERS
| Variant | Shape | Length × width | Handle | Core | Weight | Swingweight | Twistweight | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zen S+ (Hybrid Wide) 16mm | hybrid | 16.2 × 7.8 in | 5.75 in | 16 mm | 7.76 oz | 107 | 7 | pickleballeffect.com ↗ |
Swingweight and twistweight are each lab's own measurement of its own sample. Unit-to-unit variance is normal.
MEASURED BY THE LABS
The register does not re-measure paddles or copy a lab's numbers wholesale. Power, pop and spin belong to the people with the radar guns; go read them.
FIELD REPORTS · AFTER YOU BUY IT
Reviewers measure a paddle new. Nobody measures it at hour sixty.
Loading field reports…
Keep a bag on Rally: log the hours you put on this paddle, when the grit fades, and when it goes dead. It stays on your device until you press "send a wear report", and the report carries no name.
Open the bag on Rally ↗ Compare with…NEARBY IN THE REGISTER
the whole register · everything from Pickleball Apes · the 2026 calendar · CC0
