When people ask us “how does the Erne Original compare to pro paddles?” we tell them, “it’s just as good as any of them.”

Then they ask, “So how is it $85?”

The truth is, almost all pickleball paddles—even the nicest ones—are made overseas. 

The pickleball paddle manufacturing world in Asia is, in all honesty, quite small: paddles are made in the same factories, by the same suppliers, using mostly the same materials. Including ours. We know where most every paddle is made. And we know, because of this, that high-performance pickleball paddles are way overpriced.

There are only about 20 pickleball brands manufacturing high-performance paddles, and in this pickleball oligopoly, these top businesses have decided to price high-performance paddles between $150 and $250, even though it costs significantly less than that to produce them. Some of them try to conceal that their paddles are made in China. Multiple top-10 brands even brag that their paddles are “designed” in America. We know exactly which Chinese factory these paddles are made in, and when they say “design,” they refer only to the paddle face’s artwork. (We’ll let you decide whether or not this kind of language is dishonest.) The only brand that deserves some slack is Selkirk, whose paddles are “assembled in the US” (which is, honestly, only slightly better).

These high-performance paddles are still top-tier, high-quality paddles. But, being a team of two brothers with low operating costs, we’re able to sell the same paddles for much cheaper. $85 is a price that our customers feel pumped about, with enough left over for us to pay our rent and keep the business going. Erne is about ripping the tear-away pants off, letting out a bellowing “C’MONN,” and jumping into the crowd. We don’t need to charge exorbitant prices to do that.

And if you really need us to prove that the paddle is just as good as any other paddle, click here to see how it compares to the paddles used by pickleball’s Top 10-rated professional players, as of December 2022.