Friday Pickleball has quietly become one of the most talked-about paddle brands in the game, and the two that matter most have just landed at Pickld: the Friday Aura and the Friday Aura Pro. Both are Gen 4, 16mm full-foam paddles built on the same patent-pending ElasTECH platform — but they're tuned for two very different players. The Aura is the soft, forgiving control paddle. The Pro is the stiff, raw-carbon power version. Here's how each one plays, who it's for, and which Friday belongs in your bag.
Short on time? The Friday Aura (A$215) is the pick if you want soft hands, easy resets and a wide, forgiving sweet spot to grow into. The Aura Pro (A$275) is for the player who already drives hard and wants more pop and bite off a stiffer face. Both are in stock now at Pickld with free Australian delivery over $150 — no waiting weeks on a US import.
Friday Aura: soft hands, faster improvement
The standard Aura is the paddle Friday built to make improving players better, faster — and it shows in how it plays. The EPP full-foam core gives a plush, muted feel that makes resets and dinks at the kitchen line genuinely easy. Where a stiff thermoformed paddle punishes a slightly late hand, the Aura absorbs and settles the ball. It's the kind of feel that grows confidence in the soft game.
That softness doesn't come at the cost of spin. The carbon-and-fibreglass hybrid face still bites the ball for reliable topspin on rolls and third-shot drives. And Friday's ElasTECH perimeter weighting — a rubber system around the edge — widens the sweet spot and steadies off-centre hits, so mishits don't fly on you. In an elongated shape, you get a touch more reach and leverage without the twitchiness of a head-heavy power paddle.
Who it's for: improving 3.0–4.0 players, control-first styles, and anyone stepping up from a cheap starter paddle who wants tournament-legal gear that forgives. Skip it if you're a hard-swinging banger chasing maximum put-away power — you'll be happier on the Pro.
| Spec | Friday Aura |
|---|---|
| Generation | Gen 4 |
| Core | EPP full-foam |
| Face | Carbon fibre / fibreglass hybrid |
| Shape | Elongated |
| Thickness | 16mm |
| Length × width | 41.9 × 19.1 cm (16.5 × 7.5 in) |
| Weight | 230 g (8.1 oz) |
| Handle length | 5.5 in |
| Perimeter system | ElasTECH perimeter weighting (patent-pending) |
| Certification | USAP certified · PBCoR .43 |
| Price at Pickld | A$215 · Black, Purple, Orange |
Friday Aura Pro: stiffer, faster, more bite
Where the Aura plays plush, the Aura Pro plays fast and direct. This is Friday's more aggressive take on the same Gen 4 foam idea, and the differences are real. A T700 raw carbon face brings high surface roughness — that means serious ball bite for spin, and a crisper, more connected pop on drives and counters. It's a face built to reward players who generate their own pace.
Under the hood, the Pro runs a dual-foam core with a firmer throat insert, so the response stays direct rather than going dead the way some soft foam paddles do. The numbers tell the story: a swing weight of 116 helps you drive deep from the baseline and put balls away out of the air, while a twist weight of 6.15 and the ElasTECH rubber perimeter keep the head stable when you catch one off-centre. It's stable without feeling sluggish.
Who it's for: intermediate-to-advanced players, baseline drivers, and aggressive net players who want foam-core feel with a genuine power bias. Skip it if you're still building a reliable soft game or you simply want the most forgiving paddle on the wall — the standard Aura is the friendlier tool.
| Spec | Friday Aura Pro |
|---|---|
| Generation | Gen 4 |
| Core | Dual foam (EPP + ElasTECH throat insert) |
| Face | T700 raw carbon fibre |
| Shape | Elongated |
| Thickness | 16mm |
| Length × width | 41.9 × 19.1 cm (16.5 × 7.5 in) |
| Weight | 230 g (8.1 oz) |
| Swing weight | 116 |
| Twist weight | 6.15 |
| Grip | 5.5 in length · 4.25 in circumference |
| Certification | USAP certified |
| Price at Pickld | A$275 · Black, Purple, Green |
Aura vs Aura Pro: which one should you buy?
Same chassis, different tuning. Both paddles are 16mm, elongated, 230 g and built on the ElasTECH platform — so this isn't really a better-or-worse decision, it's a style decision.
If you mostly play the soft game — reset under pressure, dink patiently, work the kitchen line — and you want a paddle that forgives a less-than-perfect contact, take the Aura. If you already swing fast, attack the line and want more spin and pop from a stiffer, raw-carbon face, the Aura Pro is A$60 well spent. Grips are the same 4.25 in across both, so the only thing that changes is how the paddle responds when you hit it.
How they stack up against the field
Foam-core Gen 4 is the hottest category in pickleball right now, and the Friday paddles land right in the thick of it. If you're cross-shopping other foam cores, our RPM Q2 vs Selkirk Boomstik comparison breaks down two of the biggest names in the same breath. And if you're newer to the game and not sure an elongated shape is right for you yet, start with our paddle guide for new players before you commit.
The verdict
Both Friday paddles are the real deal — they're not a budget brand riding the foam-core wave, they're one of the brands setting the pace. The Aura is the best-value control paddle for improving players we've put on the wall this year. The Aura Pro is the one to grab if you play with intent and want power and spin without losing all the touch. Either way you're getting a tournament-legal Gen 4 paddle that's in stock right now at Pickld, dispatched locally with free shipping over $150 — and if anything ever isn't right, we handle Friday's manufacturer warranty for you. No guessing, no import wait.
Shop the range
- Shop the Friday Aura (Elongated 16mm) — A$215
- Shop the Friday Aura Pro (Elongated 16mm) — A$275
- Browse the full Friday Pickleball range
- Compare foam cores: RPM Q2 vs Selkirk Boomstik
- New to paddles? Read our paddle guide for new players
