CRBN 2 Paddle Review | 16 mm & 13 mm | Pickleball Effect (2024)

It’s rare to see a new brand gain so much popularity so quickly. But that’s exactly what CRBN did. And they did it organically. That alone says volumes about these paddles. They speak for themselves.

CRBN offers two shapes and two thickness. Their elongated shape is called the CRBN 1 and their classic or standard shape is called the CRBN 2. For this review, I played with the 16 mm and 13 mm CRBN 2 models.

After drilling and playing with the paddles for over two weeks, here’s my review of their performance.

Performance Summary

The gossip of CRBN paddles’ high spin potential is true. They play with more spin than any other paddle I’ve played. You notice it most with serves and drives when you can see the ball dip more than you’re used to with the extra top spin. I actually had to aim higher on my drives or it would dive into the net. The ball jumped differently on my serves with the extra spin too. It threw off the teams I was playing enough to win an extra point or two off my serve that I otherwise wouldn’t have gotten. Plus, the grit didn’t wear down after two weeks of lots of pickleball. Not too many paddles can say that.

Outside of the extra spin, they had a very familiar and classic feel to them. The 16mm had a soft, light feel at impact that was easy to control. The 13mm had a denser, heavier feel at impact that produced more power but had a smaller sweet spot compared to the 16 mm. More detail in the sections below. I’m categorizing the 16 mm as a control paddle and the 13 mm as an all-court paddle.

You could describe them as an upgraded Paddletek paddle. They have that performance paddle feel that Paddletek originally found, but it has a superior facing material that gives you the added spin to improve accuracy and increase your options when attacking.

The bottom line:If spin is a big part of your game and you prefer a forgiving 16” x 8” standard shape then you should consider these paddles.

Both of the CRBN 2 models share the same shape, which is that standard/classic shape that’s roughly 16” x 8”. This shape is known for being player-friendly and forgiving. Which is the case for both of these models.

The difference in thickness (16 mm vs 13 mm) made a big difference in how the paddles played. The 16 mm was softer, easier to control and stable. The 13 mm was more powerful, had a harder feeling and was less stable.

The paddles have a raw T700 carbon fiber facing material that is very gritty and produces a lot of spin. Many brands have tried to copy CRBN because they saw how much spin they were generating.

They both weigh about 8 oz but the 13 mm felt heavier because it was more head heavy compared to the 16 mm. The 16 mm actually felt very light and moved around pretty easy, I wonder if it is maybe a little head light.

The stat sheet on CRBN’s website says these paddles have a 5.25” handle but they didn’t feel that long and when you put a measuring tape to it, it came in at a little under 5”. So be aware of that.

Last thing I should mention is the difference in grip size. The 16 mm has a much larger grip size at 4.5” and the 13 mm has a standard size of 4.25”.

16 mm model

The 16 mm seemed like it could generate a bit more spin than the 13 mm but it was pretty close. The extra spin on the CRBNs is noticeable. Your serves and drives will have more dip. You could get a little more spin at the net too with roll volley attacks. But I didn’t notice much difference with the spin when dinking.

The 16 mm felt lighter than the 13 mm and was quicker in your hands as a result. This helped with fast volley exchanges and made it easier to catch the ball in front of you.

The paddle came out of the box with some jump but calmed down after you broke it in. It had a medium to lower power rating. But the extra spin you could generate helped make up for the lower power with precision. The only time I wish I had more power was when I was countering a speed up or if I was playing in the middle of a really hot day when the ball was softer.

13 mm model

The 13 mm model has a denser feeling to it and generates more power. The ball pops off the face quicker which made it easy to add power with short and big swings. It can generate some power for you, which is always nice. It was better for countering speed ups and beating people at the backcourt. It also had a high spin rating, though I thought the 16mm gave me more.

It’s more head heavy compared to the 16mm too. This slowed the paddle down some, but nothing significant. I prefer paddles that have more weight in the head, so I didn’t mind.

Other than that, they performed very similarly when attacking.

16mm model

When it comes to the soft game, the 16 mm performs at a high level. It has a light, familiar and classic touch to it that quickly felt comfortable. Absorbing pace off the ball came naturally and was a highlight of the paddle for me. Although I liked the feel of it overall, it was a little too soft for me. I never felt 100% in tune with it. I think adding some lead tape to the sides or top of the paddle might help that but I didn’t mess with it.

The extra spin played a role with the soft game too. It made those topspin drops more effective, especially when you hit one just right. The paddle felt great when dinking, plus it was very forgiving so I rarely made unforced errors there.

It was stable as well, especially compared to the 13 mm. So blocking or countering drives was easier, which is always a bonus.

13 mm model

The 13 mm has more power, but it has a harder feel to it that didn’t translate as well to the soft game as the plush feel of the 16 mm did so it has a lower control rating. The 13 mm also had noticeably smaller sweet spot and isn’t as stable as the 16 mm so this also lowered its control rating. However, it has a consistent bounce across the face so it was predictable which made it controllable as long as you hit the sweet spot.

That being said, I still think this paddle is more forgiving than other elongated paddles with similar power. So if you want something with a little more juice but is more player friendly, then this is a good option.

Reviewer Profile
Braydon competes at the 4.5 level and plays in 5-10 tournaments a year. He plays/drills 3 to 4 times a week and would play more if time allowed it.