Having mentioned them once before at the Open, I teased you all with the convert paddles when they first arrived…
Then we tested them out at the festival and for a little while after as well. Having reviewed a few paddles now, these paddles are the first set of paddles that I’m reviewing as an available demo set that people can try out at the sessions. I’ve had them for about a month now, ever since the festival and played with them in varying amounts for a while. Already, some of these paddles are getting a lot of love at the sessions! Let’s find out more about the Convert Paddle range. For the record also, I have not been paid to do this review, nor been asked to do it. I thought I’d do it to showcase the paddles that have been floating around our sessions for a while. With it being a review of 3 paddles at once, I’ll cut out as much of the fluff as I normally put in for each one. Let’s find out more!
Convert Provecta 14mm paddle
So with a bit of light googling, I found out what Provecta means. It’s Latin for ‘advanced’, or ‘extended’ (it also means elderly but I can’t imagine that’s the intended meaning). This paddle is the first I picked up when the box arrived for a whole variety of reasons. First it’s £80 price tag, second it’s carbon fibre face. I don’t know of any other paddles on the market that is £80 that has a raw carbon fibre face! The sacrifice of it though, is it is not USAPA approved. This means you won’t be able to use it in sanctioned tournaments.
Dimensions
| Length | 418mm |
| Weight | 230g |
| Width | 188mm |
| Handle Length | 140mm |
| Thickness | 14mm |
| Face | Raw Carbon Fibre |
Grip and Paddle Design
When I first picked up the paddle, I immediately felt a difference in the handle to my previous paddle. For me, the handle felt perfectly octagonal. All the sides of the handle felt the same. This sounds like a weird thing to start talking about, but the handle felt like it allowed me to turn my grip more easily to a closed grip so I could get a lot more comfortable top spin on! If you’re a tennis player, or have big hands, this paddle offers a long enough grip for you to be able to do 2 handed shots if needed.
The paddle comes in a flamboyant pink colour which I’m always a fan of in a paddle. I think it is the best looking paddle of the range in my opinion. In terms of build, it’s a thermoformed paddle which often gives a lot more pop to a paddle and consistency, its a common thing amongst a lot of paddles now, but rarely an £80 one.
How much power in the paddle?
With it being an £80 paddle, I think this is the area where this paddle doesn’t quite hit the same levels as other paddles in the Convert Range. Power is not this paddles selling point. Don’t get me wrong, you can club the ball nicely when you need to and whip in a decent drive. You’re not going to knock anyone off their feet with the power. In my eyes though, this is more of a control paddle despite it being 14mm. Again though, compare it against other paddles in the £80 price range and I don’t think you’ll get anything close.
How much spin in the paddle?
I was chuckling like a maniac when I first got this paddle rolling. The amount of spin I could get out of this was hilarious. With the ability to go full tennis on the grip if I wanted and flick the wrist over the ball, I don’t think I’ve ever got so much spin from a paddle before. In some ways, the lack of pop on the paddle helps with this as well! Comparing it to other paddles within the price range, I don’t think you’ll get this level of spin from anything else under £100 or infact, from quite a lot of paddles over £100 either!
How accurate is the paddle?
One person who has bought the paddle for themselves now told me they noticed an immediate difference when testing the paddle. Shots that came off funny on a fibreglass face, sailed in consistently with this paddle because of the way this paddle has been built. I personally used this paddle for a doubles league match, and found I was very comfortable popping the ball in to where I wanted it to go with the Lacerta 14mm. Again, would you get the same accuracy from anything else under £100? No I seriously doubt it.
Convert Provecta 16mm
If I’m being honest, this is the paddle I’ve tested the least. Why is that? I have a chronic aversion to 16mm paddles. An allergic reaction to them. Don’t take it personally Convert, it’s a thing across all paddle brands. I was playing a singles game once, actually playing with the Lacerta at the time, winning comfortably, got given a 16mm Diadem to try… Lost the next 6 points. Ignoring my hatred of 16mm paddles, if you’re a 16mm paddle person, this could be the one for you in the range, especially if you’re looking for a control paddle for a reasonable price at £110. This one is also USAPA approved!
Dimensions
| Length | 418mm |
| Weight | 230g |
| Width | 188mm |
| Handle Length | 140mm |
| Thickness | 16mm |
| Face | Raw Carbon Fibre |
Grip and paddle design
Similar to the 14mm, the 16mm also has an extended handle making it easy for 2 handed shots if that is how you like to play. It sports the similar comfortable black grip as the 14mm as well. Now I compared the grip with the 14mm paddle. I feel a difference in it, but it’s not visibly obvious. To me it feels wider in width across the paddle face. I could be going mad here. What it did offer though was the consistent classic feeling handle that everyone is used to which you can’t go wrong with. I knew the positioning of the paddle at all times with this grip.
In terms of paddle design, it’s once again a thermoformed paddle like the 14mm. It sports the curved top of the paddle which is meant to improve aerodynamics, and is reminiscent of the Gen 1 Joola Ben Johns paddle. A fun vibrant blue runs around the outside of the paddle which is bright without being neon.
How much power in the 16mm?
This paddle is marketed as a control paddle with it being 16mm. Yes, 16mm often has more control, however I’m going to contradict convention here. Saying it is 16mm gives the impression this paddle doesn’t have pop to it. I felt this paddle was the second most powerful paddle by far. When you smashed or drove with this, you could feel it fire off like a cannon. It trampolined the ball off the face. So while it is a 16mm, I still think it’s a bit of a weapon in terms of power. So much so, that one person who plays with the Gen 1 Joola mentioned before, similar design, struggled with the amount of pop that it offered in comparison to the Gen 1 Joola.
How much spin the 16mm?
With the same carbon fibre paddle face as the 14mm, this paddle can in theory create the same amount of spin. However, I didn’t have the same giddy excitement with the spin on this one, mostly because I think the pop it offered meant I couldn’t put as much face across the ball as the 14mm. That being said, in your day to day play, you’ll be able to get bountiful spin out of this paddle when you need it with it being the same carbon fibre face.
How accurate is the Convert Provecta 16mm?
With this paddle having the pop of a 14mm or less, I was surprised to find that when it came to accuracy it wasn’t the slow accuracy of a normal 16mm paddle. I felt incredibly relaxed at the kitchen knowing I’d be able to dink it precisely where I wanted every time. Also knowing though that I could put a bit of something extra onto it when I needed to. It’s a fantastically accurate paddle for £110.
Convert Lacerta 14mm
With a bit of googling again, Lacerta means either ‘lizard’ or refers to a constellation in the sky, I imagine it was picked to be a cool name which it definitely is. I ended up settling on this paddle, the first Kevlar paddle that I’d tried. Frankly, that alone was a selling point for wanting to try it out! In some ways, this paddle reminded me what I enjoyed about the Selkirk Invikta Power Air before I fell out of love with it. At £140, it’s the most expensive in the range but it is still not fighting for the super pricey part of the paddle range! It’s trying to fight the mid range paddles like the Oneshot Katanashot XL for example.
Dimensions
| Length | 414mm |
| Weight | 220g |
| Width | 187mm |
| Handle Length | 140mm |
| Thickness | 14mm |
| Face | Blue Kevlar |
Grip and Paddle Design
In terms of grip, we’ve returned back to my beloved even octagonal grip. The same length of handle allows two handed swings just as before. In terms of shape, it’s got a flat top just like the 14mm Provecta and is built in almost exactly the same way. Instead of pink though, it’s got a nice crisp white finish with a different more bold monochrome design on the paddle face itself. I think as a paddle that could appeal to anyone, this would probably be the one that would achieve it in the range.
Power in the Convert Lacerta?
When I told Convert that the Lacerta was my preferred one of the range, it was met with a comment that the Lacerta is the power model. You can tell that when you play with it. I got in a hilarious habit of doing my best to fire every drive at full speed with it just to see how fast it could go… to varying success. Frankly, you didn’t need to swing much to feel the pop out of it. There’s that same venom that I had in the 11mm Selkirk but with all the added benefits of a 14mm like better control! I’ve definitely broken a few balls smashing with this paddle.
Spin in the Lacerta?
I wouldn’t say spin is the selling point for this paddle in the same way as it is for me and the Provecta 14mm. However, that does not mean it lacks spin. Tweaking my technique a little so I was playing like I used to with the Selkirk, brushing past the ball quickly, you can get some very nice spin out of your shots indeed! I made a little game out of it with myself to be honest. The positive also is, unlike the Selkirk, with the grit being better inbuilt into this paddle means you get more spin for longer!
Accuracy in the Lacerta?
The Convert Lacerta offers very nice accuracy with drives. I used it for singles a lot and really noticed my drives were going in nicely and with accuracy which I loved, and frankly hadn’t experienced much in other paddles before. This paddle is one of the first I think that is well suited to both singles and doubles game play.
In terms of doubles, dinking with this paddle might take some getting used to when you start with it due to the pop that it offers, but just adapting your swing a little, I settled into dinking with this within a game or so. Dinks and attacks felt aggressive and purposeful, I could really roll shots over if I wanted to and felt like I could pounce on a shot and hit it hard without it flying out uncontrollably.
TL:DR, which paddle is for who?
The 14mm Provecta is your gateway into carbon fibre and higher quality paddles. At only £80 it’s a steal for what it offers with the barrier being it is not USAPA approved. The 16mm Provecta is your classic control paddle with a nice amount of pop still for a paddle that brags control. All at an impressive price of £110. The 14mm Lacerta is your wild child of the pack. It gives a little taster of the fun of the 11mm Selkirk while actually being a continually reliable paddle that is fantastic for both singles and doubles at a mid level budget of £140.
Where can I try and get this paddle?
These paddles are still available for demo every session so feel free to come and ask and I can let you try them out. You can also order them through me and I can get them sent straight from Convert themselves to your house!
A big thanks to Convert for sending the paddles for us to try out, I think they’re becoming a bit of a secret hit over here already!
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