JamesDiadem recently launched the Icon Infinity Pro Gen 3 and I received one pre-launch to review. As with all my reviews, my Icon Infinity Pro review is going to be brutally honest at the risk of being blackballed by paddle manufacturers. If you want a fluff piece full of marketing lingo copy-and-pasted from the Diadem website, then stop reading now.
Keep This in Mind about Paddle Companies
As mentioned in previous reviews, power paddles put the average rec player in a challenging situation, since most 3.5-4.0 players lack the skill to control the ball when faced with extreme pace from their competitors. Most players simply purchase whatever paddle the internet tells them to buy, and they have no idea what fits their playing style. Instead of using a Gen 3 power paddle like the pros on TV, most would likely benefit from a slightly thicker core with more forgiveness and control.
Ultimately, marketing works, and Diadem and other well-known companies will always pitch their paddles in the best light even at the expense of brutal honesty. There will never be an extreme power paddle with excellent touch and control. There will also never be a control paddle with high ball velocity. That’s an undisputable fact. But it doesn’t stop marketing teams from claiming every model of paddle has the most power and control EVER MADE.
Hilariously, most paddle companies have 10+ models at various price ranges, each blessed with extreme touch, control, power and speed. If they truly created a paddle with those specifications, why do they have so many models?
The truth is that most of those models are similar with very small changes in paddle shape, core thickness and face composite. For instance, you could make a 13mm core with a single T700 carbon face, a 16mm core with carbon face and a 19mm core with carbon face. Then you could also have the same core thickness with a double-carbon face. See what they did there? Now create different paddle lengths and charge various prices for each and you now have a “product line” with more than 20 different models. But anyone who reviews paddles knows the difference is marginal.
“But,” you might say, “my old paddle feels sooo much different than my new paddle.” That’s most likely attributed to two reasons:
- Your old paddle’s face and core are worn out from extended use
- Your new paddle has a thicker or thinner core and a slightly different face or shape
Paddle technology is improving year to year but not month to month. Gen 2 paddles from 2022 and Gen 3 paddles from 2024 are quite different, but Gen 3 from July are not much different than Gen 3 in December.
Size and Thickness
Diadem’s Icon Infinity Pro paddle has a long, but skinny handle. This is industry standard since manufacturers are trending toward longer handles for the two-handed backhand and skinny to accommodate women with smaller hands. If you want a thicker shaft, add overwrap for a few dollars.
With Gen 3 paddles emphasizing power over control, manufacturers are creating thinner paddle cores in the range of 10-13mm, which equates to harder hits using less effort. The Icon Infinity is 13.7mm thick according to Diadem (which includes the face layer), so on par with other Gen 3 paddles in a similar price range. Now, that’s not to say there aren’t any new control paddles in the 14-16mm range or even soft paddles in the 16-19mm range, but overall, you are seeing tournament players use thinner paddles and firmer cores to get better ball velocity.
Diadem’s Icon Infinity Pro in Action
In order to test the Icon Infinity, I played 20+ games over several days against various skill levels, including players much better than myself.
The paddle performed EXACTLY how I expected it to perform given the specs. A 13mm paddle is aggressive and it took some practice since I tend toward 16mm paddles. After a half dozen games, I was able to control the ball accurately, similar to my old 16mm. This is the Icon’s greatest strength, a power paddle with the ability to control the ball.
The face texture is gritty but after 20+ games over several days, the grit diminished significantly, which is to be expected. The sweet spot is about a 4-inch diameter and any shots hitting the top or sides of the paddle face have zero power. ZERO. You can tell this by bouncing a ball on the paddle in various places and notice the ball bounces nice and high in the middle, but toward the edges simply dies.
The reality is that the Icon Infinity Pro at 13mm lacks stability on the edges even though Diadem added “Dual EVA Foam” for enhanced stability to the Icon, which I assume means foam around the edge and injected foam into the honeycomb core.
The small sweet spot is NOT a criticism of the paddle, because over the last couple weeks I discovered that I hit the edges often. After 20+ games, I learned to hit the center sweet spot and therefore have become a better player overall. Now, you might not WANT a paddle with a limited sweet spot, but it also may be the best thing to increase your skill.
Notably, the Icon has no trampoline effect, which means that there doesn’t appear to be any absorption and enhancement of ball velocity like some banned Gen 3 paddles (and other paddles I’ve reviewed). I played with a friend’s discontinued Joola and it was like shooting a ball out of a gun. The Icon plays like a well-crafted 13mm power paddle, not some technological Frankenstein that clearly attempts to break the rules set by US Pickleball.
Value vs. Price
Lastly, let’s talk price and value. The Icon Infinity retails for $219, which puts it in the upper echelon of Gen 3 performance paddles. Humans tend to equate high-prices with performance, but in the world of pickleball paddles, this simply isn’t the case. Spending a car payment on a paddle won’t increase your game nearly as much as playing with better people. But some gearheads are dead-set on buying up the newest tech and for them, I’m all for it.
Here’s the big question:
Who should use Diadem’s Icon Infinity Pro paddle?
I would argue the Icon is for the intermediate/advanced player like myself who must start hitting faster shots in order to compete with higher-level tournament players. Simply placing the ball doesn’t cut it against ultra-athletic players who can return your shots with twice the velocity. Every shot must be made with a tremendous amount of pace because power makes even the best players blunder. Players at the 5.0 level or above can typically use any paddle they want and still dominate, so I wouldn’t argue the Icon would benefit the pros as much.
What paddle will I use going forward?
I will continue using Diadem’s Icon Infinity Pro Gen 3 because it has forced me to hit the center of the paddle (therefore making my eye-hand coordination much better) and because I want to use a more powerful paddle to compete against increasingly fast players.
Are there better paddles in this price range? Perhaps. However, Diadem created a solid Gen 3 power paddle for any player wanting to step up from a 16mm core to something with more punch without sacrificing control. I think the next iteration should emphasize enlarging the sweet spot even at the expense of power, but maybe Diadem’s target market is players who already hit the center of the paddle and therefore do not need this feature. Heck, maybe in a few months I won’t need a larger sweet spot either!
Icon Infinity Pro Honest Rating from 1 to 10
Power: 8/10
Control: 6/10
Spin: 8/10
Sweet Spot: 4/10
Weight: 8/10 (over 8 ounces)
Handle Length: 10/10
Shape: 9/10 (Elongated)
Price/Value: 5/10