Bread & Butter The Loco Hybrid 16mm vs Selkirk LABS Project Boomstik 16mm

Both paddles drop the traditional polypropylene honeycomb for a foam core, so this is a foam-vs-foam matchup between two of the more expensive builds in the catalog. The Loco Hybrid runs a full foam core of EPP surrounded by an EVA ring under a CFC face layered carbon, fiberglass, carbon, in a hybrid shape measuring 16.2 inches long by 7.6 inches wide with a 5.3-inch handle, weighing 7.9 to 8.1 ounces at $199. The Boomstik is Selkirk's LABS-line power flagship: a 16mm BoomCore of PureFoam wrapped in an EVA Power Ring, an InfiniGrit textured carbon face, an elongated head, a longer 5.8-inch handle, and a heavier 8.0-to-8.4-ounce build at $333. Both are 16mm and both are USAP approved, so the meaningful differences are shape, tunability, and price, not core thickness.

On the court the two feel different in ways the spec table cannot show, and helpfully the same Pickleball Studio reviewer tested both. They describe the Loco as firm, solid, and connected, with a confident thuddy contact that feels less hollow than most foam paddles, strong mid-tier power, and slow enough rebound to make placement reliable. That reviewer scored the Loco 9 out of 10 but noted the hybrid felt a little unstable until they added roughly three grams of lead tape per side. The Boomstik reads as the bigger hammer: reviewers at WearTesters and JustPaddles report booming exit speed, a notably large and forgiving sweet spot, high spin off the InfiniGrit face, and surprising controllability for a power paddle, though WearTesters flagged a somewhat hollow feel that some players will not love. In the same Loco review, the reviewer placed the Loco's power just below the Boomstik and its sweet spot just below as well, which frames the trade cleanly.

The decision comes down to versatility and price against raw power and refinement, not power against control, because both are capable foam power paddles. If you want an all-court paddle that plays elite out of the box, blends reach with quick hands through its hybrid shape, and costs $134 less, the Loco is a 2025 standout and hard to argue with at $199. If you want the most power, the largest sweet spot, a longer handle for a two-handed backhand, and a factory MOI weight system so you skip the lead-tape tinkering, the Boomstik earns its premium, and WearTesters judged the extra cost justified by its durability and Selkirk's lifetime warranty. Neither is a mistake; they are tuned for different buyers who happened to search for the same thing.