Reviews of the Gamma Jester Paddle by Pickleball Central Staff:
The Jester Paddle is no Joke. I know that’s a bad pun, but I couldn’t resist after playing with this paddle. This paddle was designed for people looking for a lighter, super high-performance graphite paddle. Because this paddle is slightly smaller than other graphite faced Gamma models (15.625" long by 7.5" wide = 23.125",a bit under the maximum 24” combined length+width allowed), I expected it to play like an intermediate level paddle. Boy was I wrong. The play reminds me of the exceptionally well regarded Gamma Shard, another top quality thick core, graphite faced paddle. I had great control on both short and long shots and there was no problem getting balls deep (even playing into the wind). That makes the Jester perfect for anyone looking for a lighter performance paddle. The average weight for the Jester is 7.5 oz. (A Shard averages 8.3 oz.) To get the advantages of the Gamma performance core, a graphite face and a light weight makes this a very intriguing paddle!
John, Sales - 4.0 Player
I totally agree with John. It plays very much like other thick core, graphite faced paddles; soft, supple, controllable but with predictable power when needed. I look at the reduced surface area of the smaller face as forcing a player to focus, but it pays off as being solid but light. But even when you mis-hit, the responsiveness is even nearly all the way across the face left-to-right, but loses some pop (like most traditionally shaped paddles) once you get much below the vertical midpoint. It’s a heck of a value, and plays very much like paddles which retail for a LOT more.
Traver, Operations - 3.5 Player