Update: 04/25/2024
Throughout my 7 years of playing pickleball, I’ve seen a vast array of different products and pickleballs are definitely included in this category. I’ve seen it all, but what I have below are my absolute top picks for pickleballs.
The difference between outdoor and indoor pickleballs
You can conveniently play pickleball indoor or outdoor. However, It’s a bit more complicated than this. What ball you choose isn’t about whether it’s strictly indoor or outdoor. Rather, you pick a ball based on whether you’re playing on pickleball hard court surfacing, or gymnasium surfacing. This is a big area of confusion for beginners.
This is the updated way to think about pickleballs:
- If you’re going to be playing pickleball on any properly constructed hard court, acrylic surface (like the ones you see on TV), use an outdoor pickleball regardless of whether you’re physically inside or outside.
- If you’re playing on any other surface indoors such as gymnasium, vinyl, or concrete flooring, use an indoor pickleball.
- Do not use indoor pickleballs outside.
- Do not use outdoor pickleballs on gymnasium flooring. The ball will skid and will hamper your experience.
For the color, I recommend buying pickleballs in yellow or neon green for outdoor play. For indoor, I recommend green or orange.
Best outdoor pickleballs
Important note: I will be talking about the durability of pickleballs. Keep in mind that even though some balls are much tougher than others, there is no such thing as an indestructible ball. You will always be replacing pickleballs.
Barrett’s #1 pick for outdoor pickleballs
Selkirk Pro S1 (Check prices)
The Selkirk Pro S1 ball is the current undisputed king of outdoor (hard surface) pickleballs. These pickleballs are utterly amazing and cannot be beat. As stated above, the main problem with outdoor pickleballs is that they crack easily. This has been a huge pain point for a very long time. Although not indestructible, the S1 is a very tough outdoor ball, which easily makes it my favorite pickleball of all time.
The ball plays beautifully and is very resistant to egging. My only complaint is that it can sometimes lose it’s color over time, but this will not affect the performance of the ball.
These balls are great everyone, but especially if you’re an advanced player.
These balls come in neon green only.
Best budget outdoor pickleball
Franklin X-40 (Check prices)
The Franklin X outdoor ball became very popular a few years ago as players began searching for a more durable ball for outdoor play. This ball is still used to this day for one reason: extreme durability. It’s almost hilarious how long these pickleballs last for.
But that also brings up the one major issue with this ball, the softness. The Franklin X-40 pickleball is just like any other pickleball at first, but the more you use it, the more soft and “squishy” it becomes. Other outdoor pickleballs will just crack when they reach the end.
When the ball goes soft like this, you’ll notice a significant difference in performance especially with hard shots. So if your group doesn’t hit the ball very hard, this is a great choice. But, even if your group does have hard hitters, this ball is still fine, but it’s best performance is during the winter time as the cold weather helps to keep the ball from going too soft. Playing with this ball in hot and humid weather can be frustrating for more advanced or hard-hitting players. The ball is extraordinarily soft and squishy in these conditions.
I highly recommend getting these in yellow only.
A classic pickleball choice
Onix Dura Fast 40 (Check prices)
The Dura Fast 40 is a legendary pickleball. The performance of this ball is undeniable and has been a staple in the pickleball world since before I started playing which was in early 2017. The ball bounces true, it plays true, and most people love a fresh Dura Fast 40.
But the key word there is “fresh”. The big problem with these balls is that they are very hard, and thus, crack very easily. You will go through these balls like nothing else. This makes the Dura Fast 40 a great summer ball, but a terrible winter ball. It’s pretty much the exact opposite of the Franklin X-40.
I recommend buying these balls in neon green or yellow.
Best indoor pickleballs
Playing on gymnasium flooring and other surfaces like it is becoming less common these days as outdoor and indoor pickleball facilities open up all over the country, and the world at large. These courts will have hard court surface which, regardless of being physically indoors, will incentivize you to use an “outdoor” pickleball as explained at the beginning of this article.
For those who will be playing on gymnasium, vinyl, or concrete flooring though, you’ll want to use an indoor pickleball.
Barrett’s #1 pick for indoor pickleballs
Franklin X-26 (Check prices)
There’s only one indoor pickleball that I can recommend and that would be the Franklin X-26. This is a great ball that’s not only durable, but plays true as well. There isn’t much else to say about this ball besides the color choice.
Franklin offers a wide range of color choices for their pickleballs.
