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Last Updated: May 2026

Selkirk LUXX Control Air InfiniGrit Epic Review 2026: The Honest Take After 30+ Hours of Play

Quick Verdict

Who it's for: 3.5–4.5 players who win points from the kitchen, not from hammering drives. Doubles specialists. Dink-heavy game styles. Players with arm or elbow sensitivity.

Who should skip it: Power players who need pop on resets and drives. Bangers. Anyone who already has a 14mm paddle and loved it — this 19mm core plays noticeably softer.

→ Check price on Pickleball Central ($199.99)

Why Trust This Review

FORWRD designs pickleball bags — not paddles — which means we have zero financial incentive to push one paddle brand over another. Our testing protocol: 30+ hours across indoor wood courts (YMCA doubles) and outdoor hard courts, tested against four other paddles in the same $150–$280 price range. We measured dink consistency, spin RPM with a radar gun, and how the grip felt after repeated kitchen exchanges. We also broke down swingweight data from Selkirk's own spec sheets to give you numbers, not just vibes.

"Most players upgrading their paddle are chasing spin. What they actually need is dwell time — that brief moment the ball stays on the face before release. A 19mm core gives you that. InfiniGrit adds spin without taking away feel. At $199, this is the most complete control paddle Selkirk has made."

— Topher Lake, FORWRD Co-founder

What InfiniGrit Actually Means On Court

Every paddle company markets their surface texture. Most of it is noise. InfiniGrit is different in one specific way: longevity.

Standard raw carbon paddles — the type everyone used in 2023–2024 — use an embossed epoxy peel-ply texture. The grit is in the surface treatment, and it wears down. Fast. Players who log 10+ hours per week often notice their raw carbon paddle feeling slicker after 6–8 weeks. Spin drops. Shots stop biting.

InfiniGrit's texture is embedded differently — Selkirk says it triples the spin durability of that traditional embossed approach. In practical terms: your 2,000 RPM backhand slice should still be generating close to 2,000 RPMs after 40 hours, not 1,400. We didn't have a paddle for the full 40-hour test, but the InfiniGrit surface on our Epic test paddle showed zero visible wear after 30+ hours on abrasive outdoor courts. That's a real difference.

Here's the trade-off nobody mentions: raw carbon's grit deteriorates, but in its fresh state, it can bite harder than InfiniGrit. If you're testing paddles fresh out of the box, raw carbon might feel spinnier. Give both paddles 20 hours of play and InfiniGrit wins clearly.

Core and Construction: What the 19mm Buys You

The X7 Thickset Honeycomb core runs 19mm — that's thick. For reference, most aggressive paddles run 13–14mm. Most control paddles sit at 16mm. Selkirk's 19mm is an outlier, and you feel it immediately.

Thick cores do three things: they soften the feel, expand the sweet spot, and reduce pop. The LUXX Control Air leans hard into all three. On dinks, it's exceptional — the ball doesn't jump off the face. Your reset shots land where you aim them. Your thirds have enough control to angle cross-court without guessing.

The EVA foam in the throat and handle adds another layer of vibration damping. Players with tennis elbow or general arm fatigue will appreciate this. It's not a gimmick — thick core + EVA foam is a real recipe for arm-friendly play. If you've been grinding through joint pain on a stiffer 13mm paddle, this is worth testing seriously.

The Florek Carbon Fiber face is Selkirk's proprietary carbon material — a bit softer feel than T700 raw carbon. Combined with the 19mm core, you get a paddle that leans control over power across every situation.

Epic vs. Invikta: Which Shape Is Right for You?

This is the question the brand page doesn't answer well, so here it is straight.

Epic (widebody): 15.85" x 7.85", swingweight 109, twistweight 6.6. Lower swingweight means faster arm speed. Higher twistweight means off-center hits stay truer. Epic is the safer, more forgiving choice. If you're a 3.5 player or someone playing recreational doubles 3x per week, start here.

Invikta (elongated): 16.4" x 7.5", swingweight 113, twistweight 6.0. Longer reach for overhead coverage and serve. More whip on drives (though still not a power paddle). Lower twistweight means off-center hits twist more — the Invikta punishes mistiming. Handle runs to 5.35" instead of 5.25" — almost imperceptible, but two-handed backhand players prefer it.

Both shapes are available at the same $199.99 price. The Epic is the better choice for 90% of recreational players. The Invikta belongs in the hands of 4.0+ singles-capable players who understand where their sweet spot is and rarely miss it.

→ Get the Invikta on Pickleball Central ($199.99)

Performance Breakdown

Kitchen Play and Dinks

This is where the LUXX earns every dollar of its $199.99. The soft 19mm core makes the kitchen feel almost unfair — resets and dinks carry no surprise. Drop shots land dead. Your "just enough" touch shots consistently clear the net by 2–3 inches, not 8 inches. The pocket on impact is deep and predictable.

We ran 40 straight dink exchanges on indoor wood, then the same on outdoor concrete. Performance stayed consistent across surfaces, which isn't always true of softer-core paddles. The EVA foam in the throat absorbs the extra vibration from concrete without deadening the feel.

Spin

The InfiniGrit surface generates real spin — not marketing spin. Backhand drives with intentional topspin were consistently clocking 1,800–2,000 RPMs in our testing. Slice serves kicked reliably. Third-shot drops with sidespin held shape through the no-volley zone.

The caveat: spin generation requires technique. A player who doesn't brush through the ball won't get 2,000 RPMs regardless of the paddle. If your groundstrokes are flat, you'll notice the InfiniGrit less. If you play with deliberate spin mechanics, it's a clear upgrade over the standard Florek carbon surface.

Power and Drives

Honest answer: this paddle doesn't have much pop. It's not designed to. The 19mm core absorbs energy. You can drive the ball hard, but the LUXX isn't going to add anything to your shot — you supply the power, the paddle stays neutral. Compare to a 13mm carbon paddle where the face bounces back with extra spring: those paddles feel snappier on drives. The LUXX does not.

If you're a 4.5+ player who needs both pop on drives and precision in the kitchen, you'll eventually want a 16mm hybrid. The LUXX is a choice, not a compromise — but know what you're trading.

Durability

The edgeless design (Aero-DuraEdge) is worth a note. No bumper guard means no weight added at the perimeter, but it also means no protection when you catch a hard surface. If you drag your paddle on the court during scramble plays, buy edge tape. It's $10 and saves a $199.99 paddle.

Otherwise, the InfiniGrit surface held up exceptionally over 30+ hours. No visible dulling, no soft spots developing. This is a paddle built to last a full season without degrading on you.

How It Compares

LUXX Control Air InfiniGrit vs. Selkirk VANGUARD Pro ($119.99)

If you're trying to decide between these two, the core question is: how serious are you about the kitchen game?

The VANGUARD Pro is a legitimately good paddle at $119.99. It's crisper, has more pop, and gives better feedback on miscues — some players prefer that. The LUXX InfiniGrit is worth the extra $80 if you play 5+ hours per week and your game is kitchen-centric. If you're a 3.0 player playing once a week for fun, save the $80.

→ Check VANGUARD Pro on PBC ($119.99)

LUXX Control Air InfiniGrit vs. CRBN 1 TruFoam Genesis ($279.99)

The CRBN 1 TruFoam Genesis is the premium alternative — $80 more, completely different core technology (100% thermoformed foam vs. honeycomb), 14mm thickness vs. 19mm.

The CRBN plays like a different category of paddle. Thinner core means more snap, more pop on drives — it's not a pure control paddle the way the LUXX is. The TruFoam Genesis also uses T700 raw carbon fiber, which has more raw bite on spin out of the box (though it may fade faster than InfiniGrit). Elongated shape only — no widebody option.

If you're a 4.0+ player who wants to play a control-power hybrid and the $80 premium doesn't hurt: the CRBN is worth testing. If you're a kitchen specialist who'd rather pay $199.99 for an excellent dedicated-control paddle: stick with the LUXX.

→ Check CRBN 1 TruFoam Genesis on PBC ($279.99)

Pricing and Availability

Both shapes — Epic and Invikta — are $199.99 at Pickleball Central. They ship free on orders over $49. PBC also has a price-match guarantee, so if you see it lower elsewhere, they'll match it.

→ Buy Selkirk LUXX Control Air InfiniGrit Epic on Pickleball Central

FAQ

Final Verdict

The Selkirk LUXX Control Air InfiniGrit Epic is a genuinely excellent control paddle. It's not going to make you a power player. It's not going to replace your 13mm carbon if you live for big drives. But if your game is built around the kitchen — and at the 3.5–4.5 level, it should be — this paddle gives you every advantage you need at $199.99.

InfiniGrit's durability advantage is real and makes this the better long-term buy vs. raw carbon paddles that fade after a season. The 19mm core is among the softest-feeling in this price range. The Epic shape's forgiveness makes it a reliable everyday driver.

The people who'll regret this purchase: bangers, 4.5+ power players, and anyone who needs the extra $80 more than the InfiniGrit upgrade. For everyone else — strong buy.

→ Buy Selkirk LUXX Control Air InfiniGrit Epic — $199.99 at Pickleball Central