THE PADDLE REGISTER · 2026 · CURRENT
Friday Aura and Aura Pro
The paddle that moved Friday from budget two-packs to a real performance brand. Pickleheads scores the Pro 9+ across the board.
- List price
- $129 · $169
- Launched
- Mar 6, 2026date known to the day
- Build
- Full foam (Gen 4)
- Shapes
- Elongated · Hybrid · Widebody
- Pro
- Rachel Rohrabacher · Kyle Koszuta (brand signings)
- Made in
- China
- Warranty
- 6-month manufacturer warranty plus 99-day returns
photos and colorways at fridaypickle.com ↗ its row on the 2026 calendar
Certification note. USAP approval is confirmed for the Aura Pro; the base Aura's is not stated anywhere we checked.
Status checked Sep 21, 2026. Lists change; confirm on the USAP and UPA-A lists before a tournament.
TIMELINE
- Mar 6, 2026 LAUNCH Friday launched the Aura (three shapes, $129) and Aura Pro Elongated ($169) at noon Eastern. mattspickleball.substack.com ↗
- Apr 2026 NEW VARIANT Aura Pro Hybrid and Widebody followed in April 2026. thekitchenpickle.com ↗
- Sep 21, 2026 PRICE Friday's site shows the Aura at $99 (summer sale, from $129) and select Aura Pro colorways at $149; metallic Aura Pro kits $189 final sale (observed on this date). fridaypickle.com ↗
HOW IT IS BUILT
Aura: full foam with rubber inserts and cartilage-style foam in the throat. Aura Pro: double-thermoformed floating EPP core, EVA surround, ElasTECH perimeter weighting ring.
- 1Aura: quad-foam Gen 4 core with 'artificial cartilage foam' at the throat
- 2Aura Pro: floating EPP foam core ('dual-foam')
- 3ElasTECH rubber layer between core and perimeter foam (patent-pending internal perimeter weighting)
- 4EVA perimeter foam
- Face
- T700 raw carbon fiber (Aura: T700 raw carbon CFC layup)
- Edge
- edge guard over thermoformed frame (Aura Pro frame is blow-molded carbon)
- Colorways
- Lunar · Terra · Eclipse · Solaris (Aura) · Metallic Orange Creamsicle Kit · Metallic Cobalt TPS Kit · Metallic Lunar Kit · Metallic Vice Kit · Metallic Terra Kit · Metallic Eclipse Kit · Pink Blackout P4P Kit
Construction per fridaypickle.com ↗
USAP approval (PBCoR .43) was confirmed for the Aura Pro; the base Aura's certification was not stated in the sources checked. John Kew measured the Aura Pro Elongated at SW 115.1 / TW 6.1, 2,275 RPM, KewCOR 0.419. The Kitchen measured the base Aura Elongated at SW 118 / TW 5.7.
VARIANTS · PUBLISHED AND MEASURED NUMBERS
| Variant | Shape | Length × width | Handle | Core | Weight | Swingweight | Twistweight | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aura Elongated 16mm | elongated | 16.5 × 7.5 in | 5.5 in | 16 mm | 8.1 avg (+/-0.18) oz | 116 | 6.05 | fridaypickle.com ↗ |
| Aura Pro Elongated 16mm | elongated | 16.5 × 7.5 in | 5.5 in | 16 mm | 8.0 avg (+/-0.18) oz | 116 | 6.15 | fridaypickle.com ↗ |
| Aura Pro Hybrid 16mm | hybrid | — | 5.5 in | 16 mm | 8.0 measured oz | 116 | 6.43 | pickleballeffect.com ↗ |
| Aura Pro Widebody 16mm | widebody | — | 5.5 in | 16 mm | 7.85 measured oz | 108 | 6.86 | 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…CHANGES TO THIS RECORD
- Sep 21, 2026PRICEBase Aura now $99, down from $129 at launch. fridaypickle.com ↗
Every change to the register, with an RSS feed.
NEARBY IN THE REGISTER
the whole register · everything from Friday · the 2026 calendar · CC0
