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Selkirk
The Selkirk Luxx Control Air is a 20 mm hybrid pickleball paddle weighing 8.4 oz, with a Florek carbon face, listed around $250.
The plushest paddle in the test. A 20 mm core swallows pace on resets, and the twist weight keeps the face square when the ball finds the edge.
From Selkirk
Selkirk’s bestselling pickleball paddle just got better. Tested in the lab, InfiniGrit® is now making its Selkirk mainline debut. Introducing the new and improved LUXX Control Air, now with InfiniGrit® Surface Technology for 3x longer-lasting spin than raw carbon paddles. It’s the same ultimate control players know and love from the LUXX paddle, but with more spin, more power (without sacrificing control), and updated aerodynamic performance.
Official Selkirk product page →Cross-shopping? Most buyers weigh the Luxx Control Air against the Engage Pursuit MX 6.0 — see them side by side, or browse every Selkirk paddle.
Paddle DNA Verdict
Last updated: August 2026
Derived from our published scoring model and sourced paddle specifications.
The Selkirk Luxx Control Air scores 85.1/100 on our IQ index, built from all 15 Paddle DNA traits. Its signature is touch (95/100, 100th percentile of the database — elite — top-tier), backed by control at 94 and stability at 89. The 20 mm X5 polypropylene core and Florek carbon face at 8.4 oz make it a placement-first paddle: you win points by out-positioning people.
Where it gives ground is pop (66) and power (71). With a 119 kg·cm² swing weight and a 5.25 in handle it suits intermediate/advanced/pro players, one-handed backhands, baseline drives and counterpunching. Skip it if your weakest phase is speed-ups at the net; this is your first paddle and you have not settled on a shape; you rely on raw put-away pace.
Closest paddles by DNA: Engage Pursuit MX 6.0 ($220), Selkirk Vanguard Control Air Invikta ($200), ProKennex Black Ace LG ($200). If budget matters, the Six Zero Quartz Control lands within 3 IQ points for $60 less. Overall: a mid-pack pick overall — buy it for the specific trait it wins on, not as a category leader.
In depth
The Luxx Control Air is the plushest paddle in the database. Control 94, touch 95 and softness 93 are all top-of-table figures, produced by a 20 mm core that most brands no longer build.
The sections below are analysis of published specifications and Paddle DNA™ values, not a play-test write-up. Where we have hit with a paddle, those notes appear separately and are attributed.
A 20 mm core has more material to absorb incoming pace, which is the mechanism behind touch 95. On a reset, less energy returns to the ball, so the shot dies shorter with less deliberate deceleration from you. That is the single biggest reason soft-game specialists still buy this paddle in a market that has largely moved to 14 and 16 mm.
6.6 kg·cm² twist weight and 119 swing weight give stability 89 and twist weight 88 — the face stays square when the ball finds the edge. The same numbers give maneuverability 68 and pop 66, the lowest pairing among premium paddles here. You are trading counter speed for the ability to absorb pace.
Power 71 with launch angle 48 means the ball leaves low and slow. On put-aways at the kitchen line you have to generate everything yourself. Players who rely on the paddle for a bit of free pace consistently find this one frustrating, regardless of how good the touch numbers are.
Community consensus
Verbatim excerpts from public discussion and independent reviews, plus the themes they add up to. These are other people's opinions, not ours, and every quote links back to where it was written.
“Selkirk's new LUXX Control Air InfiniGrit series is the second generation of their best-selling LUXX paddles. It still falls in the control category but brings a modern edge—adding extra pop and better spin compared to the original.”
“Delivers spin performance that matches and possibly exceeds raw carbon fiber, but certainly more spin and better grit durability than the original LUXX.”
“The paddle has a denser, more plush response on contact—an upgrade from the original LUXX's more hollow, softer feel.”
“The LUXX Control Air Invikta offers a unique plush, yet crisp feel that makes you feel more connected with the ball and enhances control without feeling too soft.”
“The paddle is a true control paddle which means the ball doesn't come off the face quickly and absorbs pace off the ball well and does much of the work for you to keep the ball down and under control.”
“On the offensive side it offers a good spin rating which helps you find angles and enables you to be aggressive.”
“As far as paddle feel, the Project 007 doesn't have much of that plank-wood feel that the Power Air does.”
“I'd describe the feeling as very bouncy off the face when hitting it dead center.”
“When I first started hitting the Control Air I immediately noticed how much more solid it felt than the 003.”
“I felt like a reset machine on the court and doing a drop from the kitchen while my opponents were at the baseline were considerably easier compared to most paddles that I play with.”
“At the net, the difference is night and day. The 14mm's combination of stats makes it feel slow (like most elongated shapes), whereas the 10mm is extremely fast.”
“The more frustrating area for me was counters at the kitchen line. Since it doesn't have a ton of pop, I just felt like my opponent would consistently get the better of me in hand battles.”
Built from the retailer offers we track for this paddle. In stock at all 2 tracked retailers. Prices last checked Jul 30, 2026.
Tracked price range
$250 – $260
$10 spread between retailers
Typical price
$255
Median of tracked offers
MSRP
$269
Best tracked offer is 7% under list
Recorded low / high
$250 / $260
2 price points since Jul 30, 2026
Cheapest tracked offer sits $5 below the typical price.
AI paddle match
Each pick is the database's best answer to one specific question, ranked by how far it moves the needle versus the Luxx Control Air.
The matchups people actually cross-shop, each with a full 15-trait breakdown.
Other head-to-heads shoppers read alongside the Luxx Control Air.
Every trait normalised 0-100 against the full database, so these numbers mean the same thing on any paddle page. How we score →
Key attributes
Our similarity engine ranks the whole database by average DNA deviation. Tighten or widen the band to see how far you have to travel to save money or gain a trait.
Paddle DNA™ match
Selkirk Luxx Control Air
IQ 85.1 · $250
Ranked by DNA deviation
Saves $30 versus the Luxx Control Air · +7 power · -5 touch · Higher IQ score (85.2 vs 85.1)
Saves $50 versus the Luxx Control Air · +6 plow through · -10 twist weight
Saves $50 versus the Luxx Control Air · +10 maneuverability · -10 twist weight
Saves $70 versus the Luxx Control Air · +11 power · -9 softness
Saves $60 versus the Luxx Control Air · +12 maneuverability · -10 swing weight
Saves $80 versus the Luxx Control Air · +8 power · -9 softness · Higher IQ score (87.7 vs 85.1)
Saves $30 versus the Luxx Control Air · +11 power · -7 softness · Higher IQ score (85.9 vs 85.1)
Saves $60 versus the Luxx Control Air · +14 maneuverability · -10 swing weight · Higher IQ score (88 vs 85.1)
Each pick beats the Luxx Control Air on one specific thing — price, power, control or forgiveness.
Closest matches by player level, hand weight and price — the paddles most players cross-shop against the Selkirk Luxx Control Air.
Engage Pursuit MX 6.016 mm · elongated · 8.3 oz · SW 118$22085
Selkirk Vanguard Control Air Invikta19.05 mm · elongated · 8 oz · SW 116$20084
ProKennex Black Ace LG16 mm · elongated · 8 oz · SW 109$20083Selkirk Vanguard 2.0 Invikta19.8 mm · elongated · 8.4 oz · SW 120$18085Weighing the brands against each other? Compare Selkirk vs Six Zero paddles.
Want a different matchup? Compare any two paddles or browse the full paddle database.
Idaho-built, lifetime-warranty manufacturer known for the Vanguard, Luxx and Halo families and unusually consistent quality control.
Every significant number on this page carries a source and a date. Where a figure comes from the manufacturer rather than our own measurement, we say so.
$250
Amazon listing — checked July 30, 2026
8.4 oz
Manufacturer specification — recorded August 10, 2026
20 mm
Manufacturer specification — recorded August 10, 2026
119 kg·cm²
Independent measurement data, normalized to our scale
6.6 kg·cm²
Independent measurement data, normalized to our scale
IQ 85.1/100
Computed from the specs above by our published scoring model
Listed by the manufacturer as USA Pickleball approved
USA Pickleball equipment database — checked August 10, 2026
Not personally tested
Analysis on this page is spec-derived, not play-tested
Spot an error? Send a correction — every fix is logged publicly. Full protocol on our methodology page.
We separate firsthand testing from research-based analysis. Specifications are sourced and dated, corrections are logged publicly, and affiliate relationships never affect Paddle IQ scores.
Reviewed by Alex Zubarev →Our methodology →Editorial policy →
Spec-derived analysis plus cited owner and player reports from public sources. Community opinion is attributed, never restated as our own finding. Editorial policy · Affiliate disclosure
Reviewed by
Alex built the Paddle DNA™ database behind PickleballLookup — 15 normalized traits scored for every paddle in the catalog. Every page on this site is generated from that data and editorially reviewed before publication.
Last updated August 2026 · How we score paddles