THE PADDLE REGISTER · 2024 · CURRENT
Proton Series One (Type A)
Proton arrived in 2024 with a $280 paddle whose NanoTac surface Pickleheads rated among the best for spin and durability, docking half a star for high swingweight. It is on this list less for sales than for what came next: the same brand's Project Flamingo became one of 2025's most talked-about paddles. Launch date is not pinned.
- List price
- $280
- Launched
- Q2 · exact date unverified, 2024date known to the quarter
- Build
- Not stated
- Thickness
- 11 / 15mm
- Shapes
- Elongated · Square (widebody)
Status checked Sep 21, 2026. Lists change; confirm on the USAP and UPA-A lists before a tournament.
TIMELINE
- May 2024 LAUNCH Launch: Q2 · exact date unverified. pickleheads.com ↗
HOW IT IS BUILT
Aerospace-grade carbon fiber face with Proton's 'NanoTac' surface over a polypropylene honeycomb core, offered in 11mm and 15mm thicknesses.
- 1polypropylene honeycomb core (11 or 15mm)
- 2aerospace-grade carbon fiber face with NanoTac surface
- Face
- Aerospace-grade carbon fiber, NanoTac
Construction per pickleheads.com ↗
Pickleheads review dated Jul 28 2024; The Kitchen says Proton 'burst onto the scene in 2024'. Whether the core carries edge foam is not stated.
VARIANTS · PUBLISHED AND MEASURED NUMBERS
| Variant | Shape | Length × width | Handle | Core | Weight | Swingweight | Twistweight | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series One elongated 15mm | elongated | 16.75 × 7.25 in | 5.25 in | 15 mm | 8.5 oz oz | — | — | pickleheads.com ↗ |
| Series One elongated 11mm | elongated | 16.75 × 7.25 in | 5.25 in | 11 mm | 8.2 oz oz | — | — | pickleheads.com ↗ |
| Series One square 15mm | widebody | 15.75 × 8.25 in | 5.25 in | 15 mm | 8.5 oz oz | — | — | pickleheads.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.
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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…SOURCES · LOW CONFIDENCE
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NEARBY IN THE REGISTER
the whole register · everything from Proton · the 2026 calendar · CC0
