11SIX24 Ultré Jelly Bean 2 Review: Soft Control, Heavy Swing

Going into my Jelly Bean 2 testing, I thought I already knew which shape was going to be my favorite.

Ultré.

That was not a random guess. The Ultré Power 2 was my favorite shape in the Power 2 family. I already liked what the flatter, longer hybrid geometry did for my game, so when 11SIX24 put the softer Jelly Bean 2 core inside that same general footprint, I expected the result to be easy.

I expected Ultré to win again.

It did not.

What surprised me is that I do not think the Ultré Jelly Bean 2 failed at all. In several areas, it is excellent. The spin is outstanding. The paddle gives me a lot of dwell. Drops and resets are easy to control. The substantial swing gives the paddle a planted feel, and when I have time to complete my stroke, there is plenty of mass moving through the ball.

But testing all four JB2 shapes taught me something I did not fully appreciate before I started:

Loving a paddle shape does not mean I will love every construction built around that shape.

The Ultré geometry worked beautifully for me with Power 2 because the shape and the more reactive core reinforced each other. Jelly Bean 2 changes that relationship. I get more softness, dwell and control, but I am moving a substantial paddle through the swing while the core asks me to create more of the pace myself.

That combination never felt bad to me.

It simply did not feel as complete as I expected it to.

That is a personal result, not a declaration that everybody should choose Hurache-X over Ultré. The full four-shape buying decision belongs in my Jelly Bean 2 comparison.

What I really wanted to know was what happened when a shape I already loved met a completely different core.

Ultré is the most substantial-swinging Jelly Bean 2

The Ultré is the flatter, longer hybrid in the four-shape Jelly Bean 2 family. 11SIX24 describes it as a hybrid with a “new-school feel,” but the defining characteristic in my compiled measurements is simpler: this is the most substantial-swinging JB2 shape.

11SIX24’s published product information and my compiled measurements are intentionally treated separately. Static weight, dimensions, swing weight and twist weight can vary from paddle to paddle. The 8.20 oz, 121.08 swing weight, 6.78 twist weight and 24.40 cm balance point shown above are blended averages from the measurement data I compiled for my Jelly Bean 2 family guide; they are not a promise that every retail Ultré will measure exactly the same.

That distinction is especially important with Ultré because individual units have shown meaningful weight variation. The broader pre-launch evidence included production-style paddles from the high-7-ounce range into the low-8-ounce range, so I would not assume every Ultré will swing exactly like the blended number.

Still, the pattern is clear enough for me to take seriously.

Ultré carries a lot of paddle through the stroke.

The Ultré JB2 feels planted because there is real mass moving through the ball. The question is whether you want to move that much paddle when the core itself is intentionally restrained.

Why wasn’t Ultré my favorite Jelly Bean 2?

The answer is not that it lacked control.

It has plenty.

It is not that it lacked spin. Spin is one of the best things about it.

It is not that I suddenly stopped liking the Ultré shape, either.

The issue is the relationship between effort and reward.

Ultré JB2 gives me the highest blended swing weight in this four-paddle family. That means I am moving plenty of rotational mass through the stroke.

With Ultré Power 2, that substantial contact is paired with a more immediate, reactive core. I swing, the paddle helps, and I get a lot of offensive payoff.

With Ultré JB2, the softer core absorbs more of that interaction. I get dwell, placement and margin—but when I want speed, I still have to provide much of it myself.

That feels backwards at first.

I am moving more paddle than I do with some of the other JB2 shapes, yet the face is still asking me to generate the offense.

The Ultré JB2 gives me plenty of mass, but not always the amount of free speed I expect that mass to produce.

That is the main reason the Hurache-X ultimately felt more complete to me in this platform. I got enough leverage and offensive help from the elongated geometry without feeling like I was moving quite as much paddle through every exchange.

Again, that belongs to my experience—not a universal ranking. But it explains why my favorite Power 2 shape did not automatically become my favorite Jelly Bean 2 shape.

How the Ultré Jelly Bean 2 feels at impact

At impact, Ultré still feels unmistakably like Jelly Bean 2.

The response is soft, dense and relatively muted. I feel more contact time than I do with Ultré Power 2, and the ball seems to settle into the face before leaving rather than immediately rebounding away.

The Ultré shape adds something different to that basic JB2 feel.

Because there is more mass moving through the stroke, contact feels very solid when I am balanced and on time. I do not get a flimsy or disconnected sensation.

That makes the paddle particularly good when I have time to use a complete stroke.

The tradeoff shows up when I do not.

Is the Ultré Jelly Bean 2 underpowered?

The broader early-player feedback was more divided on Ultré power than almost anything else in this family.

Some players described enough pace or even “sneaky power.” Others came away feeling that the paddle did not give them enough output, especially compared with Power 2.

I understand both reactions.

If I take a full swing and accelerate through the ball, I can create speed. The mass behind the stroke helps, and the spin gives me enough shape to swing aggressively.

But I do not get the same kind of immediate response from abbreviated swings.

Ultré JB2 can hit a heavy ball when I provide a heavy swing. It is much less interested in turning a small swing into a big ball for me.

Full drives are better than short-stroke offense

When I have time to set my feet and drive through the ball, the Ultré makes sense.

The mass creates good plow-through, the face lets me stay on the ball, and HexGrit gives me enough topspin to swing hard without flattening every drive toward the baseline.

On a full drive, that swing weight finally works in my favor.

I do not need to add a lot of weight to make the paddle feel solid through contact. It already does.

The problem is that pickleball does not always give me time for that complete stroke.

When the ball gets on me quickly, the same mass that feels great on a drive becomes harder to reposition, and the softer core does not bail me out with a huge amount of reactive pop.

The Ultré JB2 rewards complete swings more than emergency swings.

Serves reward a full swing

Serves are one of the better places to use what Ultré gives me.

I have time to prepare, the higher swing mass is not fighting a rushed exchange, and I can accelerate through the ball.

That produces useful depth and a lot of topspin.

The serve does not explode off the face like it does with Ultré Power 2, but the combination of mass and spin still lets me hit an aggressive ball.

Drops are one of the reasons Ultré still makes a strong case

If the power discussion sounds negative, drops are where the other side of the tradeoff becomes obvious.

The Ultré JB2 gives me plenty of dwell and a very predictable response on third-shot drops.

I can swing through the ball instead of decelerating and trying to manufacture softness with my hand.

The paddle absorbs enough energy that I have room to be aggressive with the stroke, and the HexGrit surface gives me enough spin to pull the ball down.

Topspin drops are particularly comfortable because the face gives me time to shape the ball.

Ultré JB2 makes me less afraid of swinging through a soft shot.

Resets may be the best argument for this version of Ultré

The Ultré JB2 is very good when I am absorbing somebody else’s pace.

That makes sense mechanically. I have enough mass behind the face to keep contact from feeling flimsy, but the softer core does not immediately throw all of the incoming energy back at my opponent.

In transition, that gives me a useful combination:

• a stable-feeling paddle behind the ball,
• low enough rebound to kill pace,
• good dwell for controlling launch,
• and enough surface bite to add shape when I need it.

This is also one of the areas where the broader player feedback was much less controversial. Ultré consistently drew praise for dwell, placement and controlled defensive shots even when players disagreed about its power.

The Ultré JB2 is much easier for me to understand when I am taking pace away than when I am asking the paddle to create pace for me.

The soft core makes the kitchen easy to trust

The kitchen is another area where the softer construction makes sense.

I can dink with a normal stroke and trust the paddle not to unexpectedly add too much pace.

That gives me confidence moving the ball around, using angles and changing height without treating the face like something I need to constantly manage.

The Ultré shape also gives me a substantial, connected feeling at contact. I like that on crosscourt dinks because the face does not feel flighty or unstable when I change direction.

If your game is built around patience, placement and waiting for the right ball, Ultré JB2 gives you a lot to work with.

Roll volleys lean on HexGrit more than pop

When I want to create offense from a lower kitchen ball, spin matters more than raw pop with this paddle.

Roll volleys are strong because I can accelerate up the back of the ball and trust HexGrit to create dip.

I am not relying on trampoline speed.

I am using paddle speed that I generate, plus enough surface friction to turn that speed into shape.

Ultré JB2 is at its best when I can turn my own swing into spin, placement and controlled weight—not when I ask the face to manufacture instant offense.

Hands and counters expose the biggest difference from Ultré Power 2

My Power 2 history matters most in hands battles.

I really liked the Ultré Power 2 in fast exchanges.

The shape gave me confidence at higher contact points, and the more reactive core rewarded short, compact counters.

Ultré Jelly Bean 2 changes both sides of that equation.

My compiled JB2 swing-weight average is 121.08, while one independent Ultré Power 2 measurement was around 114.8.

So I am moving more rotational mass with JB2.

At the same time, I am getting less reactive speed from the core.

That combination matters in a hands battle.

I can block extremely well because the paddle absorbs pace. But when I want to turn a compact block into an offensive counter, I need more intent than I do with Power 2.

Blocks are easier than punch counters

If my goal is simply to survive pace, I like Ultré JB2.

The substantial face stays connected behind the ball, and the softer response gives me margin.

If my goal is to redirect that same pace aggressively with a very short punch, Power 2 does more of the work.

Hand speed is a real consideration

I would not ignore the swing-weight number.

Ultré does not feel impossible to move, but this is not the JB2 I would describe as effortlessly quick.

The 121.08 blended swing weight and 24.40 cm balance point already tell me what I need to know: this is a substantial paddle to reposition when an exchange speeds up.

That does not make the paddle unusable at the kitchen. It simply means the player should understand what they are buying.

Ultré prioritizes planted mass over minimal rotational effort.

Overheads finally let the swing mass cash the check

Overheads are one place where I appreciate the extra mass without worrying much about hand speed.

I normally have enough time for a full motion, and the Ultré moves through the ball with authority.

The core still does not provide Power 2-level rebound, but I do not have trouble finishing ordinary overhead opportunities when I make clean contact and accelerate.

Ultré JB2 is not incapable of power. It is selective about when that power is easiest to access.

Spin is the easy part with Ultré JB2

There is much less debate about spin.

My practical experience is simpler: the paddle gives me all the spin I need.

Topspin serves dip. Drives shape. Drops can be accelerated with more confidence. Roll volleys become a real offensive option.

What matters more to me than a lab number is what the spin does to the ball. The softer response gives me time to shape the shot, and HexGrit gives me enough bite to make that shape useful.

I track HexGrit wear separately in my pickleball grit durability analysis. For this review, I am keeping the claim narrower: the surface has given me plenty of bite during my current testing, but long-term real-world wear still needs time.

Right now, spin performance is not one of my concerns with the Ultré JB2.

Stability is not my concern with Ultré

The Ultré’s blended 6.78 twist weight is much less controversial than its 121.08 swing weight.

That number suggests reasonable resistance to twisting, and that generally matches the planted feel I get on court.

I do not think the Ultré needs perimeter weight simply to feel stable.

The face feels connected through normal contact, and the mass already provides plenty of substance.

That is why I would be cautious about treating Ultré like a paddle that automatically needs customization.

I would play the Ultré JB2 stock before adding weight

This is probably the JB2 shape where I have the least desire to start adding perimeter weight immediately.

At a blended 121.08 swing weight, I already have plenty of rotational mass.

Could additional weight change stability or plow-through? Of course.

But every gram also asks me to move more paddle during counters and hands battles, which is already one of the areas I would watch most carefully with Ultré.

With Ultré JB2, customization should solve a specific problem—not become the default starting point.

There was no original Ultré Jelly Bean

This is one place where Ultré is fundamentally different from Pegasus, Vapor and Hurache-X.

There was no original budget Ultré Jelly Bean.

The Ultré shape entered 11SIX24’s lineup at the Power 2 level, so Jelly Bean 2 is not a second-generation version of an older Ultré control paddle.

It is the first time this shape has been offered as a softer, lower-output alternative to the flagship Power 2 construction.

Ultré Jelly Bean 2 vs Ultré Power 2

For me, Ultré JB2 makes the most sense when I put it beside Ultré Power 2.

Ultré Power 2 was my favorite Power 2 shape.

That experience is exactly why I expected Ultré JB2 to be my favorite Jelly Bean 2.

Instead, playing the two constructions taught me that some of what I loved about Ultré Power 2 was not merely the geometry.

It was the way that geometry interacted with the Power 2 core.

The swing-weight relationship supports what I feel on court.

My compiled Ultré JB2 average is 121.08, while one measured Ultré Power 2 example was around 114.8. Those numbers can vary from paddle to paddle, but the comparison helps explain why JB2 feels more substantial to me through the swing.

The key point is that more swing mass does not automatically mean more free pace.

I am moving more paddle and getting less automatic rebound.

For the right player, that can be a feature. More mass plus less pop can create a very planted, controlled experience.

For me, however, Power 2 makes better use of what I naturally like about the Ultré shape.

The buying decision: I still prefer Ultré Power 2 because the more reactive core better complements what I like about the Ultré shape. Jelly Bean 2 is the better version for the player who wants to keep the shape but deliberately remove some of that rebound.

Where Ultré fits in the Jelly Bean 2 family

Within the Jelly Bean 2 family, Ultré has a clear identity: it is the most substantial, planted-feeling option for the player who wants the flatter hybrid shape, excellent spin and a softer response. The cost is maneuverability, and unlike Power 2, that extra mass does not automatically turn into free offense.

Ultré is the JB2 shape where the difference between “mass behind the ball” and “power off the face” matters most to me.

Who should buy the Ultré Jelly Bean 2?

Who should skip the Ultré JB2?

Ultré Jelly Bean 2 FAQ

My verdict on the Ultré Jelly Bean 2