Juciao 18K – Pickleball Paddle Review

Written by: Konstantinos Kalfountzos | January 13, 2025
Juciao 18K

Read on for our test and review of the Juciao 18K pickleball paddle. Important notice: This paddle is currently not approved by the USPA, so it can only be used for recreational / non-tournament purposes.

Grip shape

Typical square-ish 4.25 circumference and with an added overgrip the grip size feels slim enough to allow for fast wrist action and grip changes, especially when making the transition towards the Kitchen (resets and drops).

Grip length

The grip length is in line with all the typical standard-length paddles (5.3 inch length). So, for the two handed backhand, I had to put your index finger on the back surface of the paddle.

The looks

The 18K looks pretty close to a few other 18K paddles like the Diadem 18K and the Chorus Shapeshifter and it has what is called a “standard shape”, where the top part of the paddle is completely flat. The light shifting upon the 45-angle-degree cubes that are printed on the surface gives a distinctive look from afar. In comparison to total-black T700 carbon faced paddles, blemishes and scratches from the court’s dirt and ball striking are less noticeable after the same hours of hitting.

Baseline feedback

Playing the Juciao 18K side-by-side with other paddles, the dwell-time was quite shorter and the ball would shoot out with plenty of pace. Not being as soft as other paddles I’m using, plus the short dwell-time, the spin assistance is less because the 18K surface doesn’t “sink and grab” the ball as much. But, still talking about baseline groundstrokes, medium-to-fast swings that are not hit dead-flat, would result in much “heavier” ball and “kick” off the ground than what soft paddles give from that distance. It certainly suits best an attacking player with an one-two-punch mindset (serve and volley), looking to drive the ball most of the time, rather than slowing the pace down and sticking at the Kitchen for very long.

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Mid-court feedback

Coming from the much softer Spin 1.0, I got plenty of “pop-ups” during the first games. Same forgiving sensation on slight mishits, but much more “pop” (in Pickleball terms, “pop” stands for the pace the ball deflects from the paddleface on shots fired from short distance).

Kitchen feedback

Personally, I needed to make some adjustments to my dinking game which is currently weak on the forehand side. My backhand side dinking is much more solid, as I’m more accustomed to slicing coming from tennis. So, I got plenty of pop-ups during the first competitive games and didn’t attack as much as I should with my forehand on my opponent’s pop-ups. Still, flicking the wrist and finishing with smashes didn’t leave my opponent with plenty of chances of returning.

Stiffness and Comfort

The Juciao 18K paddle was on the stiffer side of the spectrum, for sure. As such, it suits best an attacking-minded style of play, driving as many balls as possible and finishing strong at the kitchen. Dinking shots were executed in a safer manner with softer paddles like the USPA-approved Juciao Spin 1.0.

Summary

The 18K offers a forgiving sensation on slight misshits, but not in the same way softer paddles do. It felt very solid, a bit heavier and thus pushes the ball with more pace, not allowing the ball to “die” outside the sweetspot. This can be an issue at the Kitchen that can lead to some pop-ups. It looks great under the sunlight and if you’re coming from tennis to pickleball, you should pick the 18K over the Spin 1.0 as it suits better the tennistic mindset (baseline grinder) that is becoming the dominant “norm” for Singles Pickleball where more and more players seem to prefer driving their 3rd shots rather than trying to drop them on their opponents Kitchen, so that they make the one-step (3rd shot drop) or two-step (3rd shot drop followed by a 5th shot drop) transition to the Kitchen. 

In my experience, it could get a bit uncomfortable for beginners, especially during the very first sessions were prolonged dinking is taking place, the joints are more squeezed because of inexperience and this could potentially result in some wrist and elbow soreness. So, I would highly recommend softer paddles for total beginners and their strokes become faster and the wish to drive the ball more and more, then try a stiffer paddle like the 18K.

* The Juciao 18K will be restocked at the end of January 2025

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Konstantinos Kalfountzos