Expert review: 11six24 Vapor Power 2 introduces compelling grit technology
Last Edited
Feb 13 2026
Category
Gear
11six24 has been a brand on the rise for more than a year, and on Friday the company released its latest paddle -- the Vapor Power 2 -- which has been getting a lot of buzz from reviewers and players who have tried it.
One of those players is Dekel Bar, who became the company's first sponsored PPA Tour pro recently and has been using the Vapor Power 2 since early January. Fellow pro player Will MacKinnon has also been using the Vapor Power 2, although he hasn't officially signed a sponsorship deal with 11six24. It's always a good sign when pro players are using the paddle without being paid to do so.
For now the paddle only comes in 11six24's hybrid (Vapor) shape and it's currently only UPA-A approved. It's unclear when different shapes will be released and whether the Vapor or any other models will get USA Pickleball approval.
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The biggest talking point around the Vapor Power 2 is the new grit technology it uses, which 11six24 is calling "HexGrit." The paddle face is very gritty to the touch, and the brand claims the HexGrit is more durable than raw carbon fiber and other grit technologies on the market.
It remains to be seen whether that will hold true in the long run, but I've used the paddle in several drilling/play sessions and haven't seen a noticeable decrease in grit, so early results look promising.
One important thing to note with the grit: There are two main factors that contribute to how much spin a paddle generates -- face texture and dwell time (or how well the paddle "pockets" the ball). Because the UPA-A is now using a spin-output test, companies can get creative with how their paddles generate spin. But a paddle cannot have both a very gritty surface and a ton of dwell time, otherwise it will likely fail the spin test.
Here's a couple examples:
- The JOOLA Pro IV often gets criticized for not having much grit, but it still generates a lot of spin because it has good dwell time. If it had more grit, it probably wouldn't pass the UPA-A's spin test.
- The Facolos Elite X (the paddle being used by Gabe Tardio) has a very gritty hitting surface, but it's also pretty stiff with lower dwell time than the JOOLA. If it had more dwell time, it probably wouldn't pass the UPA-A's spin test.
The 11six24 is similar to the Facolos in that regard: High grit, low dwell (or at least lower than many other paddles on the UPA-A approved list).
For players it will come down to personal preference -- do you swing more through the ball, thus taking advantage of dwell time to generate spin, or do you "brush" the ball and use the grit to generate spin? Tardio is a good example of a player who brushes the ball more than most.
11six24 has not disclosed what the core is made of, but its overall feel and X-Rays indicate that it has a similar construction to many other full-foam paddles that have been released in the last 6-8 months, such as the Bread & Butter Loco and more. Shout out to Braydon Unsicker at Pickleball Effect (and others) for publishing X-Rays for all to see.
I'll dive into my thoughts on how the paddle plays below, but first, here's a look at the specs:
How it plays -- 11six24 Vapor Power 2
When I'm testing a paddle, I work with other high-level players in my area to simulate a wide variety of shots. This testing involves several hours of drills and 5.0+ games in an effort to determine how the paddle impacts performance in real-world scenarios compared to other top-tier paddles on the market.
Drives/serves (8/10) -- My focus for this category is whether these shots are putting pressure on my opponent in terms of power and spin. With the Vapor Power 2 my drives were definitely dipping and consistently landing in, which meant that I could give myself a comfortable margin over the net and swing confidently, but my opponent wasn't very bothered by the power. If you're somebody who cares more about spin on aggressive shots from the baseline than raw power, this paddle is a good option.
Dinks/drops (7/10) -- This is an area where I still much prefer the feel of Gen 3 paddles compared to (most) full-foam Gen 4 paddles. The Vapor Power 2 certainly wasn't bad on these shots, but there are a lot of other paddles I would pick before this one if I was only focused on excelling on the soft stuff.
Resets (8/10) -- The paddle felt very stable and consistent across the face, which is what you want when you're the one being attacked. But again, full foam just doesn't do it for me (in most cases) in terms of being able to absorb pace and feel super comfortable on shots that require a lot of touch.
Pop (8/10) -- The Vapor Power 2 lives in a good spot for me in terms of pop in hands battles. I could be aggressive with my punch volleys without worrying about spraying the ball long, and the hybrid shape + low swingweight meant that it was very maneuverable in fast exchanges.
Flicks/speedups (9/10) -- This is where the grit really comes into play. On flicks out of the air, I could add a lot of spin with a short swing. The same was true on speedups off the bounce -- they had plenty of shape to get up over the net and down in time to land in.
Aggressive attacks/overheads (8/10) -- If you're somebody who can generate a lot of power on your own (like Dekel Bar, for example), putting the ball away is no problem with the Vapor Power 2. But if you're somebody who needs the paddle to do more of the work in order to end points, there are more powerful options out there.
Summary
The paddle market is getting very crowded with full-foam options that are built similarly and have the same overall feel. To its credit, 11six24 stands out from the pack because of the HexGrit on the Vapor Power 2. So if you're a player who likes the stiffer/poppy feel of most full-foam paddles and want something with longer lasting grit (why wouldn't you want that?), then this is a great option.
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