Equipment

Invest in a paddle and balls in order to start playing. That's it!

Paddle Brands

A beginner player should get a decent paddle but you won't need the latest greatest technology that the paddle companies try to push. Some of the best respected brands are Selkirk, Gearbox, Joola, CRBN, Paddletek, and Engage. If you invest in one of those, it should serve you well for at least a year.

Amazin' Aces offers decent low-cost "honeycomb" paddles. But if you decide to stick with pickleball, you'll want to upgrade after a few months.

Paddle construction

Some paddles are plain wood. Inexpensive but you'll want a better paddle quickly.
Paddles that use a "honeycomb core" are lightweight; but they might not hold up well if used in very cold weather.
Consider a solid core carbon fiber paddle for year-round outdoor play in Wisconsin.

Besides cost, consider size, weight, shape and materials of a paddle and length and diameter of the grip. You can always add an overgrip, if needed.

Ball Brands

In this area, outdoor yellow Franklin X-40 balls are the most common for nice weather outdoor (and indoor sport court) play. Other good balls are made by Dura, Core and Onix.

The X-40 balls tend to crack in cold weather so we switch to outdoor Onix Fuse G2 balls during winter. These are made from a softer plastic that plays a bit slower but holds up better in cold temperatures.

For indoor wooden gym floors, flourescent pink indoor balls (any brand) may be best, depending on background colors in the gym.

Be aware that there are indoor and outdoor balls. Indoor balls have fewer, larger holes than outdoor balls and they are lighter, softer and less bouncy than outdoor balls.

Outdoor balls will crack or distend after some play, especially with hard hitters. Accept this gracefully and don't blame anyone; simply offer to pull out a new ball and play on! As a new player, a ball may easily last 20 games or more; so a 3-pack might last quite a while. More experienced players may grab a new ball after just a few hours (or less).

Indoor balls tend to develop soft spots after a long time so it's less obvious that they're broken; but they stop bouncing properly and should be discarded.

Currently, balls are not recyclable.

Hint: Players sometimes coordinate bulk ball purchases because pickleballs are cheaper in quantity. The price also fluctuates quite a bit over time so bulk purchasers keep an eye on the ball market in order to time their purchases. Ask around!