While the game has trended toward power in recent years, we still think there’s room for the grinders out there – the players who love a long dinking rally and prioritize shot placement to keep their opponents off balance.

If that describes your game, we think you’ll love one of these control-oriented paddles.

A quick note: We think there’s a misconception in the industry that “control” is basically considered “not powerful.” You’ll notice that some paddles on this list do offer high-ish power, but that’s also paired with high dwell time and good overall feel, which makes it easy to control the direction, pace and shape of shots. All of the paddles on our list also perform well on resets in the transition zone, which is one of the most important shots in terms of playing a controlled style. To us, control is simple: “Does the ball go where I want it to go?”

In most cases, using code “KITCHEN” at checkout will get you the best discount - using our code also helps us continue to produce this type of content.

This might be a bit of a controversial pick because all of the RPM paddles test quite high in terms of power and pop, but arguably the biggest attribute of this paddle is its consistency in the transition zone — especially the 16mm widebody version. Resets feel effortless and it’s also easy to control spin and pace on dinks at the kitchen line.

Find our review of the RPM Friction Pro here.

This is a great paddle for players who prefer to play a patient style and rely on resets and moving dinks around to win points. We felt like we would rarely miss a third-shot drop or reset in the transition zone with this paddle, but it still provided good pop in hands battles and enough putaway power to end a point when there was a good opportunity.

You can find our complete breakdown of the different C45 shapes here.

The Aura is probably the softest feeling foam paddle we have played with to this point, which fills a need in a market dominated by stiff and overly powerful foam paddles. It was a refreshing change of pace — it’s easy to move through the ball confidently without fear of popping it up too high and we had total control over where we were placing the ball.

Check out our full review of the Aura and Aura Pro here.

The JOOLA Pro V Series was designed for ultimate control in terms of the pace of your shots. If you want to hit a soft dink or reset, you can do that easily and it delivers a great feel for the ball. And if you want to ramp up the power, you can do that, too. That’s true control.

Find our in-depth review of the Kosmos here.

Learn more about the development of the JOOLA Pro V series here.

This paddle is designed for the control-first players and is a great option for those who are starting to move up in level and take the game more seriously. The Vapor shape combines a great sweet spot with good reach and maneuverability.

🔗 Check out our full list of the best control paddles