Introducing The Aurora

This is the first of our R&D newsletters that we will be sending out to keep everyone updated on new and exciting things we are working on, including our next project, the Aurora, which is the world's first 100% fully-foam paddle that is made in the USA with enhanced long-lasting grit.

Let’s dive in -

PROJECT AURORA

Our goal for the Aurora is to make a true power paddle with amazing feedback, and durability that pickleball has not seen yet. With a unique blend of multiple types of foam, we are closing in on that perfect balance between a paddle that sits just under the power limit and one that excels in control and touch. A lot of what you hear from other paddle manufacturers is a bunch of marketing hype but honestly our goals remain steady in creating something completely new that outperforms every other paddle.

MADE IN THE USA

Last year, our team put our heads together to figure out what the future of Spartus will look like. One of the main pain points of running a pickleball business is that the quality control in overseas manufacturing is a challenge, especially with methods like thermoforming. On top of that, introducing new tech to overseas factory partners introduces many other drawbacks. This led us to the decision to produce the Aurora right here in America to accomplish two things:

1. Control the quality of materials being delivered to our customers and not have to worry about minor issues that arise from overseas production.

2. Support US families and US businesses that supply our materials. 

Going about finding the resources for fully Made in USA paddles wasn’t easy, but we are fortunate to have found some amazing partners here in the US that we are confident will deliver the highest quality there is.

UNIQUE INNOVATIONS

A big part of developing a new paddle are the innovations around the features of the paddle. Here are some of the highlights so far:

First-of-its-kind Full Foam Core - The Aurora's core is 100% full foam with absolutely no polypropylene honeycomb present. We've tested over 10 different types and densities of foam so far. This week, we feel like we’ve nailed the formula on exactly how much of each foam we think we need to keep the structure we want. This core lets the Aurora rip power while having much better feedback than polypropylene honeycomb cores. An additional benefit is that the Aurora is not thermoformed so there is no risk of core-crushing.

Innovative Long-Lasting Grit - This is another exciting part of the Aurora: Grit that seems to never wear down. The Aurora will be made with a grit process that sits at the legal limit of spin, but doesn't lose it's spin over time. Specific information on this manufacturing process will be kept a secret until we’re ready to disclose with the rest of our patents, but all the testing data we have from this is extremely promising and we'll post videos and photos over the next several months. For now, unlike paddles made of peel ply and resin, ours do not leave ball marks and objective numerical measurements of Rt/Rz after months of use are virtually the same as before.

World's First Compression Molded Carbon Fiber Handles - The handle is the only part of the paddle that you really touch, so we wanted to get the handles to a new, elevated design that just feels really good. In most current paddles, the very bottom of the paddle has a “tailpiece” of sorts and then you just glue on two “inserts” that look like trapezoids to either side. Here is a quick photo of what the inserts look like: 

We've developed new handles for the Aurora that are built with a compression mold that fully wraps carbon fiber around the structure of the handle and seals it all together. This creates an incredibly strong handle with extremely crisp bevels. Additionally, the handle and buttcap are one-piece. Because the buttcap is no longer a separate piece held on by staples, the Aurora has an added benefit of less vibrations from moving parts. This build is far superior to the traditional “inserts” style construction and will set the standard for all handles in pickleball in the future. 

PROTOTYPES

When we first started this process, we thought it would take at least six months to figure out a good combination of materials that make a paddle play really well. I’m happy to say that it took less than half that amount of time. The first prototype we are really happy with can be seen here: 

 Keep in mind, this is just an early prototype but we believe we are about 80% there to the final form. This iteration is 14mm thick and plays very lively and hits hard with a pleasant touch to it. Play testers have been massively enjoying playing it so far. Our next iterations will incorporate additional special designs in the core that are meant to maintain its top end power while making soft shots actually feel soft and responsive.

Once all the features are tested and locked in, we will move onto durability testing and adding standard and hybrid shapes. The release plan is to have three shapes available at launch: elongated, hybrid, and standard.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This was a lot more writing than I was planning on doing but we’re just so excited about this project and hope you are as well. This paddle will be the first of it’s kind and we believe it will pave the way for the future of pickleball paddles. 

We will do another write up in the coming weeks and would love to do some kind of Q&A. Here is a google forms link for people to submit their questions. I can’t promise I will answer every single one but will do my best. 

https://forms.gle/riyvbogPeDG17W4M7

We'll also be posting photo and video updates on our Instagram account so make sure to follow us @gospartus to stay updated!

See you all soon,

Josh

Spartus Owner