When you start playing pickleball, you can play with any paddle.

When you’re starting out, it doesn’t matter much if it’s a $4 wooden pedal, a $25 Walmart pedal, or your friend’s $250+ pedal. Your focus is on learning the basics of the game and deciding if you want to play more pickleball.

Once you catch the pickleball bug and start playing more often and more competitively, your paddle selection starts to become more relevant.

At the Intermediate/3.5 level, you’re starting to learn how to shape your shots, generate more puttaway power, and spin the ball. You are also working on mastering your soft game of drops, dunking and resets.

When the game becomes more fine-tuned like this, the paddles you use either enhance or hinder your skill development and overall ability on the court.

If you’re still using a beginner pedal that’s cheap and lacks oomph at the 3.5 or 4.0 level, it’s time to move on. In this post, we’re going straight into the top intermediate paddles that will give you plenty of power, easy spin, and controllability to help you perfect a great soft game.

How I Compiled This List

I’m deep into the game of pickleball and the gear side of it. I collect and test pedals like crazy. I do a ton of research on what other people are playing with, and what pedal companies are working on.

This list of intermediate pedals is the result of hundreds of hours of playtime and hundreds more pedal space research. My biggest pet peeve is generic or otherwise uninformed pedal recommendations.

With any of my recommendations on this site, you can be sure that I’ve put a lot of time and energy into coming to the conclusion that I have.

Without further ado, let’s get to my list of top 5 intermediate pedal recommendations.

Ronbus R1.16

Price: $120 ($100 with code DASHPB at Ronbus.com)
Paddle Type: All Court
Where it excels: Feel, sweet spot, control, spin, weight, balance, price
What it lacks: The handle feels a little larger than advertised.

The Ronbus R1.16 is my top overall recommendation for intermediate players. This pedal is currently at the top of my list of best pedals under $150. This is an excellent all-court paddle with great control, spin, and more than enough power. It also has a wide and forgiving sweet spot that limits mastication.

The R1.16 is from a new brand and not as popular as many of the big names, but Ronbus has gained a lot of recognition in the pedal-nerd world for how it pushes the envelope with its combination of quality and affordability.

Six Zero Double Black Diamond Control

Price: $180 ($162 on Six Zero’s website with code DASHPB)
Pedal Type: Control/All Court
Where it excels: spin, pop/deflection, control, power
What it lacks: Harder to control than non-unibody thermoformed pedals.

This Six Zero paddle is the first on the list to feature a new unibody thermoformed paddle tech that’s set to explode onto the pickleball scene in 2023. These new generation raw carbon fiber pedals feature a one-piece thermoformed body, edge foam, and T700 carbon fiber. The face

These new type of paddles pack a ton of power and are stiffer than other raw carbon fiber paddles, making them a cutting-edge option. The Double Black Diamond pedal, though, is a great choice for an intermediate player who wants to ease into this new generation of pedal tech.

Legacy Pro

Price: $150 ($135 w/ code DASHPB on Legacy website)
Pedal Type: Power/All Court
Where it excels: power, spin, pop, value
What it lacks: A great combination of power, spin and pop can make it difficult to rule.

If you really want to step up your game as an intermediate player and do it on a budget, the Legacy Pro is the pedal to go with.

This pedal hit the pickleball scene like a lightning bolt. You’ve heard people talking about this pedal, the hype is definitely real. But we haven’t even gotten close to critical mass yet with the explosive popularity of this and other unibody thermoformed paddles.

Vatic Pro V7

Price: $139.99 ($126 w/ code DASHPB on Vatic Pro website)
Pedal Type: Power/All Court
Where it excels: power, spin, pop, value, aesthetics
What it lacks: Like other rigid and poppy thermoformed pedals, dialing in at first is a bit difficult.

The Vatic Pro is another new and innovative thermoformed raw carbon fiber pedal. Seeing a trend? Yes, this new technology is great!

The Vatic Pro was the first of these pedals that I got and it performed much better than I expected. It’s well thought out and doesn’t overdo the power or control in a way that makes it feel unbalanced.

Six Zero Sapphire

Price: $99 ($89 w/ code DASHPB on Six Zero’s website)
Paddle Type: All Court
Where it excels: great spin, lightweight for fast hands, high-end manufacturing and materials at a very affordable price
What it lacks: The thin 13mm core delivers power, but doesn’t make it as plush as 16mm thicker pedals.

Don’t underestimate it just because it’s entry level price, this is a solid pedal for any 3.5 / intermediate player. It is definitely the best you can get in the price range.

This thing has a lot of spin. You’ll be able to guess, too, just by looking at the hardness of the face right out of the package.

The Six Zero uses Japanese Toray carbon fiber layers and an epoxy coating that is new to the market. I’ve found its spin output to be greater than many premium pedals at more than twice its price.