Gamma Oab16 Shockbuster Beschwerter Schockbuster, Schwarz

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Of course you need to get the Gamma Airbender pickleball paddle to use these. The paddle comes with one “shock absorber” and the paddle works just fine with the standard shock absorber.This set comes with a nice carrying case and contains three different weights. It includes a 3,6 and 9 gram weight you can swap into the paddle. The 3 gram doesn’t feel like it makes a big difference while the 9 gram weight makes a very noticeable difference in the way the paddle feels when you swing it.I prefer to use the weight the paddle comes with or the 3 or 6 gram weights. I haven’t locked in on the best one yet but the 9g weight is too heavy for my liking.It is super easy to remove and swap in the weights. They hold up well and don’t become deformed at all after repeated use. You can also swap end cap weights on the paddle and while I haven’t tried those just yet, I’m not sure there is a need to use both but that’s yet to be determined.The Airbender itself is a very nice paddle. I’ve been playing with it regularly for more than a week. It seems like the carbon face in it may not be as gritty as some other paddles but it does seem to create enough friction between the paddle and the ball to generate a pretty good spin. The addition of the shock absorber does seem to reduce the amount of vibration felt when striking the ball.If you have the chance, definitely try out the Airbender paddle. You may find it plays just fine without using these weights but for another $25 it’s nice to be able to make a noticeable difference in the way the paddle feels by swapping in one of these weights.

This customization kit is for only the Gamma Airbender paddle. (In my opinion, the kit should be included with the paddle. Instead, you have to purchase it separately.)The idea is that the weighted silicone dampener is inserted into the hole in the paddle frame near the throat. A stock, non-weighted dampener comes with the paddle and does a great job reducing vibrations. These weighted dampeners have the added benefit (at least in theory) of changing the swing weight by adding weight, and you still get vibration-absorbing.After trying all three weighted "Shockbusters," I came to the following conclusions.First, all of them work equally well in terms of reducing vibrations. Playing without a dampener (either weighted or non-weighted) feels dramatically different to me. Note that the stock, non-weighted dampener that comes with the Airbender does just as good a job absorbing vibrations as these weighted ones. So if you're buying this kit primarily to reduce vibrations, you already have a non-weighted dampener that does that well.Second, there are very subtle differences going from one dampener to the next up. For instance, going from non-weighted to the 3 gram, from the 3 gram to the 6 gram, and from the 6 gram to the 9 gram. The most dramatic change is going from the non-weighted dampener to the 9 gram one. The changes are so subtle you might not notice at first.In this regard, Gamma has done a nice job providing a good range of weights that make a subtle but noticeable difference in the way the paddle plays.Third, adding weight definitely changes the swing weight, for better or worse. I say this because, as the saying goes, "there's no free lunch." Adding weight does give you more power and pop, but at the expense of feel and control. Using the highest weighted absorber gives you the most additional power, but it also makes the paddle feel like a board and dramatically decreases overall control.Of the three weights, I liked the 3 gram absorber the best because it provides a slight power boost without taking away too much control. It's a VERY slight improvement over the non-weighted absorber, so I need to do another comparison to see if the 3 gram absorber really makes that much of a difference. In my opinion, the 9 gram absorber is unusable due to the way it changes the paddle feel and takes away control. The 6 gram absorber provides less power but also noticeably affects control to the extent that I'd never use it. The tradeoff in power vs. control just isn't worth it to me: The slight power you gain isn't worth giving up the control you lose.I wish the Shockbusters were available individually (or, as I said, included with the Airbender paddle at no additional cost) because if you buy this kit you're most likely going to be stuck with 2 Shockbusters you'll never use. On the other hand, I could see a situation where a player might use one Shockbuster for singles and a different one for doubles.Bottom line? I'll never use the 6 gram or 9 gram Shockbuster. And although I do think the 3 gram Shockbuster provides a slight power boost with an acceptable loss of control, the benefit isn't significant. In my opinion, it probably isn't worth buying this kit for one usable Shockbuster unless you're able to demo the Shockbuster kit first and find a weight you really like.

I gave two stars to these, not because these particular ones have anything wrong with them yet, but the original one that comes with the Airbender fell out in the middle of a tournament. I think it looked to our competitors like we had something illegal on the paddle. Right in the middle of play, it split in half and flew out of the paddle. We love the paddle, and I do not want to give the paddle itself a bad review, but it was very disappointing to have that happen in the middle of a tournament. So far, these particular ones have not had that exact problem, but we are noticing even these are starting to loosen up, and I have a feeling the same thing is eventually going to happen.