The Selkirk Invikta Vanguard Power Air is the wildest paddle that I’ve ever owned. It’s a paddle which is entirely focused on power power and more power. This paddle is marmite for a lot of people with some pro’s playing with it, but a lot of people complaining it is particularly stiff. However, despite moving on from it, it holds a place in my heart as one of the most entertaining paddles I’ve played with!
Here are the basic statistics:
| Length | 41.91 cm |
| Weight | 7.7-8.1oz |
| Width | 7.375in |
| Handle Length | 5.25in |
| Thickness | 13mm |
| Face | Hybrid Fiberglass and Carbon Fibre |
When did I get the Selkirk Invikta Vanguard Power Air?
I tested this paddle one session at the old club I used to play at, CAP in canterbury. Pickleball Complete had just brought some in to demo as they were starting to sell them and I tested them out for a session. Immediately, I was entertained by the paddle. Never before had I played with such a lively and vicious paddle.
The following week, I bought one, and chose the incredible vibrant pink colour. I stuck with the paddle for ages after that, at least a year and a half and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it until the Nationals in 2024 where I made the switch back to the Oneshot which I’ll discuss why I did it soon.
Grip and paddle design?
The Selkirk Invikta Vanguard Power Air has an elongated rectangular face, and feels very thin when you play it. With it being long, it offers great reach and is great for singles as well as doubles when you’re reaching into the kitchen. In terms of the grip, its designed for only one hand. You will really struggle to get two hands on it unless your hands are tiny. However, there are versions which offer bigger handles so if you’re looking for that try the Epic I believe.
At the bottom of the face near the handle is a little V section that is cut out. This is there, it is argued, to reduce drag and improve aerodynamics. When you play with it you can definitely feel a marginal difference against a traditional paddle.
In terms of looks, you have a wide variety of options from a white and black style paddle, to the navy blue and pink one, to a white and red one, to a more subdued grey and black paddle. I believe there’s also a signature light blue version as well? You will certainly find a paddle colour you love in this range of paddles, and I liked mine so much I bought a bag of the same colour.
Power levels in the paddle?
So, in my opinion this is the selling point of the paddle. The power is unreal! You can crack balls left right and centre when you smash with this paddle. Your flicks come off with speed and when you’re on the attack, your opponents know about it. Speedups don’t require much swing at all which can make them incredibly deceptive. So in terms of power, you’re in for a treat with this paddle!
Does the Selkirk Vanguard Invikta Power Air have spin?
So this is one of the areas where in my opinion this paddle is let down massively and I believe Selkirk kind of need to sort out on these premium paddles. In the Canterbury club, the Power Air never really kicked off but what did become a craze was the Luxx (another Selkirk Paddle). Early this year and late last year EVERYBODY had this paddle. Now? Barely anybody does anymore. From talking to others, they mention the same problem as me. The spray on grit.
The surface of the Power Air, like the Luxx and others, does not have any consistent grit to the paddle. The Oneshot does for example, no matter how much I use it, there’ll still be some grit to the surface. I lost the grit in the sweet spot, and therefore the spin on the Vanguard Invikta Power Air in say 6 weeks? For what is a £200+ paddle, that’s poor in my opinion. The paddle should be some form of pure carbon fibre or raw carbon or something. So this paddle has brilliant spin, with the pop as well (but only for 6 weeks) as it slowly starts to fade away.
Accuracy in the Selkirk Vanguard Invikta Power Air?
This paddle isn’t known for its control and accuracy, but it is controllable. I’ve happily dinked, 3rd shot dropped and drived with accuracy with this paddle for years. So why is it only 3 stars? In my opinion, the accuracy of this paddle is at it’s best when there’s grit on the paddle. Once that rubs off, because the paddle is so thin and stiff, the ball doesn’t sit on the paddle face for long at all meaning getting time to spin or angle the ball into where you want it to go gets tougher.
In the nationals, I noticed that from the back, I could barely roll in a half pace drive to dip over the net because the ball popped off the paddle too quickly. You can absolutely body bag a person from the back, no question, but if they’re fast they’ll dodge it. It left me only with the long dink from the back on almost all shots.
In order to defend, you barely swing with the paddle. My swing was almost like a twitch from the shoulder for most of the defence from this shot, especially when it’s smashed at you. So if you even remotely like to swing the paddle when you’re defending, this isn’t the paddle for you.
In conclusion…
This review may be quite harsh to a paddle I’ve played with the most in my pickleball life. I’m a man that’s moved on from it and perhaps looks back at it with distain incorrectly. In reality, this paddle has been the paddle I’ve hit almost all of my best shots with, it’s taken a lot of scrapes and dinks and kept going strong (except the one time it broke). Most of all, this paddle is FUN!!! Oh my god is it fun. To see the fear in your opponents eyes before you smash it badminton style because they know this ball will shoot like a laser is a sight that never gets old. It’s just a shame the surface of the paddle is so lacklustre because if it kept its grit, I’d still be playing with it to this day.
Do you want this paddle?
You can now get new versions of this paddle from me! I am able to offer advice on what paddle is ideal for you from a wide catalogue of paddles that I can gather. I can fit it around your aims or price point, whatever suits you. Not only that, I can offer it for the same price as other online websites or cheaper and without shipping, you will also be supporting me which I’d greatly appreciate!
If you’d like this paddle or want to discuss getting a new paddle, simply talk to me at any session, drop me a text or send me a message here:
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