Thrive Azul Paddle Review: ✅ all the boxes!
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- Опубликовано: 3 июл 2024
- The Azul from Thrive has quickly become a favorite paddle of mine. It does strikes the right balance of speed, forgiveness, and touch when it comes to a power paddle. I think everyone can find something to like about the Azul and the sleek blue colorway gives it some subtle flare.
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Here’s a little more thought on this baby after 10 hours and playing with Ruby v Azul. First is both are great and sexy looking paddles. Both are solid. I’d be shocked if anyone ever had a construction problem as these feel like tanks and I’ve had my Ruby since Day 1 of their launch. It’s my only paddle now until I got the Azul to dabble with.
Ok so here’s the analogy. Ruby is a steady girlfriend that your momma loves. She’s supportive and does all the right things and is supportive of u and all your faults. The Azul- man she’s the hot dangerous and popular girl with a little drama and a strong personality. It’s about her not you so you have to adapt if you’re gonna stay together.
The Ruby just makes things easy. Cross court topspin forehand 3rds happen with eyes closed. The paddles soft feel just helps you make it happen. Nice juice - but restrained from baseline. Mines 116-118 with no weight added. But while the spin does leave elite to adequate quickly- this paddle is a forgiving, supportive all courter that does have a sweet spot that makes you better in that if your a little off center it’s still gonna go the right place plus because of the softness it’s NOT very poppy. It does have power on the drives if you have a drive. It will go.
The Azul on the other hand does what it wants to do and exaggerates it which can make your life easier, more exciting or just plain infuriating. That being said the Azul is an attack natured paddle that’s hard to put down. My 115 is lightning at the NVZ. The speed off the face on rolls, blocks and speed up feels twice as fast as the Ruby. Now it can fly sometimes and leaves you scratching head what did I do wrong? The forehand booms off the face and after 10 hrs I do think it’s not just the sound-it is faster than the Ruby by a little bit and it’s faster off the face so the opponent has less reaction time. It’s addicting that way. That’s the good. The bad is it’s gonna take more than 3 days dialing in trusting the stroke to get the 3rd right. It’s not a feel shot like with Ruby it’s much more trust the technique as for me it’s harder to feel it bc the lack of dwell time. The dinks can be poppy but easier than I thought given the action off the paddle just gotta be shorter on my stroke-compact. Hands have to be a little softer which I’m solving by a hexacore grip and an overgrip or two! Bigger grip softer hands. Resets are easier than expected but not as easy as Ruby but easy to get mostly right so the difference in the two isn’t too extreme . Blocks from baseline defending a slam will rocket back without doing much. Just get paddle on ball. Again with everything keep it simple and compact.
So where does this leave the comparison-these paddles compliment each other depending on how you feel that you’re playing. I’ll probably keep Azul as main paddle for next month as I’m 56 and playing against lots of 4.0-5.0 guys that are 20-30 years younger and the speed in my hand and the speed off the face narrows the gap between us. Hope that helps. I’d recommend if you’re attack minded. The joke today was if the ball bounces the other team gets the point- so if you like to attack, play fast and seek the first ball to get on the offensive- then you’ll love this weapon. If you’re the dink master, reset soft gamer to set up your partner and you’ve settled into that role then the Ruby makes more sense.
Lol. You have too much time on your hands. I play 5.0 Pro 50 + and can feel if I like a paddle within 10 minutes.
So can I. Good for you. Clap. Clap. Thanks for your resume no one cares. What’s your point?
A nice paddle! Thank you for your hard work.
Great job Will!
Nice! Been waiting for this review! Thanks, Will!
🙏 enjoy!
Given the face material I expected the Azul to feel more similar to the Ruby but the feedback honestly felt most like the Black Diamond. The Fuego and Azul I played with felt like they had a playing surface more stiff than a DBD but not as stiff as a BD. There was still a noticeable amount of pop and power even when the feedback from the paddle would lead you to believe otherwise. I think the Azul takes advantage of the Kevlar by dampening hard shots while still being plenty rigid to justify it as a power paddle. I think a lot of people will like it if they give it a chance.
Good stuff, Will!
Your 6.0 collaboration paddle is all I care about
Keeping that egregious foot fault poach in the video has to be engagement bait...and it worked! Thanks for another great video!
Good way to differentiate yourself from the pack is by inviting four of the biggest paddle reviewers to a weekend retreat…
Yea they should all do that more often 😏
Good information. Thank you. I play with two 5.2s using this paddle, and they both hammer the ball.
Do they make a 14mm?
Kevlar I wouldn’t say is a gimmick I’d say it’s a niche like gen3. Ruby def has some real juice like low string tension in tennis. Flex booms the drives. Then it’s soft in kitchen and resets so benefits bangers and tennis players I think. Where 💯 fails or let’s say doesn’t perform as well is pop off the face on volleys/speed ups at NVZ. What u gain in one area u lose in another. Thrive Azul seems to want to split difference of kev and carbon. Can’t wait to get mine today as post office failed to deliver yesterday and then it’s my Ruby v Azul red white and blue play test.
Great content as always and can we please get a Black ADV bag with volt or lava instead of grey. Take my money please and get your boy to make a color option on the sweet black bag! Style matters as you of all people know! ❤
Any updates on the azul?
Really enjoying the kevlar paddles. Been playing with the J2K Pro since it released and absolutely love it. Need to show Honolulu some love. Spartus Apollo looks legit as well.
Yea they gonna get some soon
@@PickleballWill Music to my ears.
Very intriguing, is there a new CRBN paddle coming soon? Y/N
Hey Will, you said this is the first blue Kevlar you’ve seen 🎉but you commented on the Hudef Pro Gen3 in your podcast with Chris. The Pro Gen3 also has the blue Kevlar/cf weave and similar look to the Azul. And costs $30 less.
You had a good partner in your video Will. B&B has a titanium weave in their new Shogun paddle and another popular brand has 3 layers with fiberglass on the bottom followed by 1300 carbon fiber and on top a T700 carbon fiber. Pretty soon we will need protective gear to prevent injury during body bagging! Lol
Prolite already did titanium way back when and it does nothing lol but that other paddle you're talking about sounds like a problem
Nice review, I hope your left eye recovers!
Great review as always Will!! Does this compare to the huarache X control +? Mine will show up any day now…
Hey Will, Hudef’s Viva Pro Gen3 also has a blue Kevlar and carbon fiber surface. More importantly it plays great. I hope you will review it.
With the Gearbox and Joola Gen 3s out, I feel like this could be an all-court paddle, even though it would have been a power paddle 6 months ago.
lol “ dare I say, sophisticated?”
Hi, Will
So in your opinion it plays like the Black Diamond Power?! That's fantastic, I love the Black Diamond.
Good Info! What was your twist weight after adding tape?
Can u use a carbon eraser on this paddle? Or should you not use it for any kevlar paddles
Does it play like the Hurache X Control +? Because both are hybrid shapes paddles but they have more power and pop than DBD.
Do you prefer the azul or joola magnus or Perseus?
Thinking about a Ruby switch now that there are several now Kevlar paddles on the market. This one definitely caught my eye, since I tend to play more aggressive on drives and at the kitchen line. Would you recommend the Azul as a replacement over other options like the J2K? Maybe a Kevlar comparison video might be something that would gauge a ton of interest!
Yea I’m working on that video but the Azul would be a good upgrade if you are looking for power
Will, my primary paddles are VM2F16 & VP Flash 14 weighted up(sw 111-114/guesstimate), I find the Ruby's feel, spin, pop and power all to be great. My only and biggest complaint is its heavy for my style of fast hands. The HuracheX felt lighter with much less power and spin then the M2F for its supposed 118sw, Mark Kinetic, more power and pop but not a super good feel or spin and a touch heavy. I see the Azul light is 115, think its worth a try? Looking for a Ruby with a lower SW basically. Thanks!
Worth a try for sure. Check out John Kews review as he makes some comparisons to the ruby and the Ruby is his main paddle of choice, his thoughts might better answer your questions. I do think the Azul is a faster feeling paddle though
@@PickleballWill Lol, just finished his review as you responded. Thanks!
Feels nothing like the ruby after 3 hours just getting mine. Does play closer to DBD in crisp feel. Not that lovely soft Ruby unique feel. Mixed on whether I’d switch to it full time over the Ruby as too early to tell. It’s spinny but not noticeably different from Ruby at first blush. Power from baseline my friends said wasn’t noticeably faster. It sounds like it’s faster bc of the boom off it compared to muted Ruby and it rockets off face with less dwell time but that doesn’t mean speed of ball is faster. Maybe a little better control slightly bc less flex with 50/50 construction. Where it excels over Ruby noticeably is speed in hands and speed or pop off the face. I body bagged a dude I never body bag 4 times tonight on backhand rolls and flicks and I didn’t think I was doing much but I guess I was hitting heart of sweet spot bc we were all laughing that I kept nailing him. Pay back for him getting me so many times. Dinks are crisp but didn’t find it poppy at all so maybe the kev help that and maybe the carbon also cut any rebound effect of 100 kev. I would say if you’ve never played with ruby and want an all arounder this is def a paddle to take a look at. You’ll adjust to it in a game or too after you’ve tried to have fun and hit it as hard as u can but once settle down to just playing it’s a solid feeling paddle even at 115 swingweight that I bought. If have a ruby as your main paddle and you love that soft feel that I love about the ruby then you’re gonna be conflicted. It’s like cheating on your girlfriend- you like it but you’re loyal to that soft feel of the ruby. They do things well and different but both seem great after one time playing with thrive. So I’ll play with it for 10-15 hours and maybe alternate games with Ruby to see and define difference better - but after one session didn’t make my friends go wow except net. But we aren’t talking gearbox level but def an upgrade there. Hope that helps anyone that’s looking at it.
How do you compare this paddle to the Honolulu J2K?
How does the Azul compare to the 11six24 Hurache-X Control? Azul is more expensive but the performance descriptions (based on the RUclips reviews) seem fairly similar in terms of both being poppier than the DbD and similar thermos yet, maintaining touch/ control.
Imho the Azul is better than the Hurache-X in almost all categories except for price. Both are probably similar levels of power from the baseline but the Azul has more pop with shorter strokes and punch volleys and I think the Azul has better spin potential
Have you tried the Mark One? I hear it’s decently similar to this but for cheaper
Do you know when the blackout & surge gonna come out?
Prob not til this summer
If you order higher swing weight do they add lead or find one that was manufactured at a higher weight?
They find one that comes in that weight from the manufacturer
Killing me Will! Why is choosing a paddle gotta be so hard this year?
Because marketing. 😂
Because marketing…and because of us reviewers 🤣 sometimes I don’t know if we make things easier
@@PickleballWill you on to somethin cause I’m strugglin mad…drool mode activated left and right!
@@PickleballWill Definitely creates fomo. Or "oh that'll up my game" Haha
Would you go with this over the Honolulu J2K? I have one on preorder but really debating
My J2k just came in the mail so I couldn’t tell ya since I haven’t put any time into that one yet
This or the Gen 3 review you just did for the Joola Gen 3 replacement?
I like drives, drops, and hand battles. 😅
This one since it’s still on the approved list 😅
@@PickleballWill sorry i meant the hudef gen 3 kevlar :/ myb
@@Sleepless222 kinda depends on your style but if you like a softer feel then go with Hudef but if you want more pop and hand speed go with Azul
Im a Ruby guy who really wants more pop, and less swing wt. Azul or the soon to release 14mm Ruby? Will which one?
Depends on how much pop you want? Ruby 14 still needs some weight on it imho
Do you , John, Braden , Chris have some initial Ruby14 reviews slated for the 25th release date?
@86309 Chris definitely has something
Random but where that hat from
North Face 🙌
Too bad the spin is below 2k, seems like folks are targeting paddles with 2200+ RPM
If you already above 1900 that 200 difference is almost negligible in my opinion. That rpm number is really just to give you an idea of spin potential
@@PickleballWill that extra 200 is huge and noticeable. Negligible to you, extra performance for me.
@@rdelnaja2558 i mean John Kew got it in the 2100 if those 200 extra rpm will make the difference for ya
Question is the loss of spin. Where does it sit after a couple months? If paddles lose similar amounts of spin then that is one reason to go for something higher in the first place.
@@PickleballWill well it's certainly better.
Lost me at $200.