The story of the HD6.6
The design
Simply put, we did not exclude winning characteristics from Padel and Beach Tennis.
We leveraged the best technologies and commonalities between them and other well-known paddle and racket sports, including table tennis, badminton and the infamous tennis racket. We looked for the best traits, designs and production experience. After continuous hours of research & development, testing & modification we landed with the all new HUDEF HD6.6 Paddle.
The difficult we meet
Although the HD6.6 Paddles are cool in design, their technical requirements are much more difficult than those of Padel, Ping Pong, Tennis and others. We started developing the HD6.6 Paddle in January 2020. At that time, it was just a concept and the concept was not very clear. After Stan searched and collected a lot of information, he finally found a breakthrough and asked our team to draw the shape of the paddle. When we saw the design perfectly presented in front of us, we were excited. It was so perfect and we were all ecstatic. After we finished the design, we immediately began designing its mold which is a difficult process. Because our mold manufacturer has over a 30-year history specializing in making all kinds of racket molds, the HD6.6 mold was a success. It still needed some work.
When we got the mold back, we thought we would see the HD6.6 paddle in perfect shape right away. We had expected the same output because of leveraging the same Padel mold technology. It wasn’t and was unexpected because it was completely unformed!! We were worried but kept at it, over and over, for more than 50 days, and it still wasn’t delivering on the design vision we had anticipated. Company morale was down and things seemed so unsatisfying.
Never give up
But we didn't give up, so we kept trying and tinkering until December 11, 2021, when we finally saw the prototype of HD6.6 in front of us. We were so excited as we were getting close. Then on January 5, 2022, we sent 6 HD6.6 paddles to the USA pickleball committee for approval. We also sent 1 HD6.6 Paddle to Eden Lica for his own testing, but Eden didn't seem interested in the HD6.6.
As it was the first HD6.6 we had ever made, its balance and elasticity were not at our expected levels. We haven't heard any comments about the HD6.6 from Eden Lica, however it was finally approved by USA Pickleball without any problems and we were very pleased with its performance on the court and command of the pickleball.
Although the HD6.6 is approved by USA Pickleball, Eden Lica has his eyes set on our newest venture…his signature HD6.8 model. Stay tuned for that great adventure.
The success
Innovation continues and we push ourselves to continue taking strides forward. We knew the HD6.6 could be better so our team once again made adjustments to the production process. After experiencing countless updates, we’ve found the best feel for HD6.6 and we have finally succeeded.
On April 16, 2022, we felt that the HD6.6 finally gave us a really good feel, great power, the elasticity and the sweet spot were all on point. We were finally content and on April 22, 2022 we decided to go into mass production. We ordered the first batch of raw materials for 100 units of the HD6.6 Paddle. Once in production, the nightmare came again and the first 100 HD6.6 Paddles were scrapped! We are all confused again. Because the HD6.6 technical requirements are very high, you can't do it without experienced staff.
We did not relent since we had come this far, so we trained our staff to re-learn the technical requirements and practical skills that were unique to the HD6.6. That transition occurred on May 16, 2022—faster than we had expected helping us achieve a scrap rate of just 3%—one of the lowest in the industry! They are a limited-edition masterpiece, with high standards on performance.
Thank you for listening and reading! We wish you and your family peace, health and happiness forever!
HUDEF team
2022-6-15
