Series Four Project Roadrunner

Coming from a 16mm Six Zero Ruby, a new Proton Series 4 owner found it fast in the hands with more power and great spin, but a smaller sweet spot that took a few games to adjust resets to.

“Initial play- it's fast in the hands and has more power than the ruby. Spin overall is great and much better than my 6 month old Ruby.”

A 4.0+ player who upgraded from the Ruby to the Roadrunner at release felt a big jump in pop, power and spin at first, but months later the grit wore down and they needed lead tape up to 9 oz to stay competitive.

“At the time it felt like a 20% upgrade in pop, power, and spin. Several months in, the grit has worn down and there is not much going for the paddle anymore.”

A player who demoed both prefers the Proton Flamingo, finding the edgeless Roadrunner less stable with a noticeably smaller sweet spot.

“Also felt like the Flamingo's sweet spot was a lot larger than the Roadrunner.”

After five months with the Roadrunner, a player loved its light weight, fast hands and stiff Kevlar feel, found dinking a bit hard, and then the paddle delaminated and went in for warranty.

“I played with my roadrunner for 5 months. I really loved its light weight, so faster hands and stiff feel of Kevlar. Power was fine for me.”

A player who hit with both Proton paddles describes the Roadrunner as balanced and plush, an all-court control paddle that is not too poppy, so you must provide your own power.

“The roadrunner’s weight is balanced and hits plush. Feels a lot longer in your hand. All court / control paddle. Not too poppy. You have to provide your own power.”

An owner who has played extensively with the Roadrunner found it underpowered at first but with nice touch, quick hands and good balance; adding tungsten and a Slyce cap improved power.

“Initially the roadrunner felt really underpowered but the touch was nice, quick in my hands and well balanced.”

After about 20 hours on a demo Roadrunner, a former Joola Mod player says it felt right immediately, with controlled resets, good drives and plenty of topspin from the grit, though it has little pop and a muted feel.

“The first day I played with the roadrunner it just felt right, resets were very controlled, I could still drive the ball quite well”