Using Industrial CT to Engineer High-Performance Pickleball Paddles
In the rapidly maturing pickleball market, the gap between good and great has narrowed to just a few percentage points. For elite paddles, performance differences between top brands can be as small as five percent—nearly indistinguishable without precise measurement. At this level of refinement, incremental improvements are no longer enough. Selkirk Sport, the leading manufacturer in the category, is focused on engineering products that are demonstrably better, not just marginally different.
To do that, Selkirk turned to an unlikely tool for sporting goods innovation: industrial computed tomography (CT).
The Challenge of Differentiation at the Margins
As paddle designs evolved, traditional approaches to performance gains – face materials, surface textures, and overall shape – began to plateau. Selkirk saw its next opportunity in material science: foam formulations, bonding interfaces, and internal geometries hidden between the paddle faces.
The challenge was visibility. Understanding how these internal structures behaved during forming, bonding, and use required precise, repeatable data. Traditional methods, such as cutting paddles apart and visually inspecting the core, were slow, destructive, and poorly suited to tracking subtle changes over time.
“We were literally taking paddles and cutting them in slices with a band saw or jigsaw,” recalls Tom Barnes, Selkirk co-owner and director of R&D. “That’s not ideal when you’re trying to plot things on a curve and understand how they change over time.”
Selkirk needed a way to see inside the paddle – without destroying it.
A Culture of Engineering-Driven Innovation
Founded by the Barnes brothers when pickleball was still a fringe sport, Selkirk built its reputation on tight process control and an uncompromising focus on quality. Early paddles made from wood and Nomex gave way to increasingly sophisticated designs as the company grew alongside the sport itself.
That engineering-first mindset is formalized through Selkirk LABS, the company’s public-facing R&D program. LABS serves a dual purpose: giving players early access to experimental paddles while allowing Selkirk engineers to collect rapid, real-world feedback. Internally, it functions as a flexible prototyping pipeline, where new materials and structures can be tested without waiting for full production approval.
Only concepts proven through data and performance make the transition from LABS to production.
Discovering Industrial CT at the Right Scale
As Selkirk began experimenting with advanced core designs, the limitations of destructive testing became a bottleneck. Barnes began searching for CT systems capable of delivering high-resolution insights at a cost and speed that made sense for a growing manufacturing company.
“At the time, I was looking at these big CT machines, $800,000, $1.2 million, and thinking, that’s not realistic for a company our size,” he says. “Then I found Lumafield.”
Selkirk adopted Lumafield’s Neptune industrial CT scanner paired with Voyager analysis software. The combination provided non-destructive, high-resolution scans of entire paddles, enabling engineers to analyze internal features and compare builds with unprecedented clarity.
Equally important was accessibility. Voyager’s browser-based interface allowed scan results to be shared across engineering, manufacturing, and even marketing teams simply by sending a link – removing the silos often associated with advanced inspection data.
Closing the Development Loop
CT scanning is now embedded throughout Selkirk’s product development cycle. Engineers inspect raw foam cores, formed subassemblies, and finished paddles to validate material behavior and manufacturing consistency.
One early focus was a problem Selkirk refers to as ‘core crush’. Ideally, foam cores should exhibit uniform, hexagonal cell structures. CT scans revealed subtle but critical deviations.
“What we should see are nice, uniform hexagonal straws,” Barnes explains. “But instead we’d see deflection in the cell walls – sometimes major deformation.”
Using Voyager’s scan comparison tools, Selkirk engineers can track changes in crush patterns, cell wall deflection, and bonding layer adhesion across iterations – without sacrificing a single prototype. This data-driven insight allows precise tuning of forming conditions and material interfaces, accelerating development while reducing waste.
CT as a Storytelling Tool
Rather than keeping CT data confined to engineering, Selkirk has turned inspection into part of its brand narrative. On Selkirk LABS product pages, Voyager visualizations are embedded directly, allowing players to explore paddle internals for themselves.
The approach demystifies performance claims and reinforces Selkirk’s engineering credibility. Customers don’t have to rely on marketing language alone – they can see the structure with their own eyes.
New Foam, New Performance
CT scanning played a central role in the development of Project 008, Selkirk’s first paddle featuring its proprietary PureFoam core. Unlike traditional materials, PureFoam resists long-term deformation, maintains performance over time, and delivers a more consistent feel with an expanded sweet spot.
Offered in three thicknesses, Control, Hybrid, and Power. the 008 series allows players to match paddle performance to their playing style. Each configuration was validated internally using CT data to ensure structural integrity and consistency.
What’s Next
Building on the lessons learned from Project 008, Selkirk’s newest release, Project Boomstik, introduces refined internal geometries and enhanced bonding strategies. Voyager data was instrumental in validating these improvements before the paddle ever reached players’ hands.
With multiple material innovations now in development, Selkirk is positioning itself to break free from the industry’s narrow performance margins. By integrating industrial CT into both engineering and communication, the company is not just improving products – it is redefining how performance is proven.
“I think we’re on the cusp of five or six real innovations around material science. That’s going to separate good products from great ones” states Barnes.
In a market where five percent can separate good from great, seeing inside the product has become the ultimate competitive advantage.
For more information: www.lumafield.com
