Selkirk's $1 Million High-Tech Testing Lab Is Putting the Industry on Notice
The Barnes brothers talked to Inc. about Selkirk's 1,900 percent revenue surge over five years, and why advanced technology and rapid prototyping is the key to their continued success.
The brothers behind Selkirk Sport, Mike, Rob, and Tom Barnes, are investing heavily in the future of pickleball.
“Pickleball is not going to be on a hockey stick growth curve forever, but we think we’ll be able to adapt and be able to focus on the industry for the long term,” Mike, Selkirk's co-founder and co-CEO, told Inc. “And we have no plans of getting into other sports.”
Pickleball has been good to the Barnes brothers–Selkirk's revenue has grown 1,900 percent since 2019. Many of their paddle models, like the LUXX, Amped Power Air, and Halo, are ubiquitous in the amateur and pro ranks.
With a high-tech new lab at their headquarters in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, the brand that helped put pickleball on the map is poised to take it into entirely new territory.
The lab of the future
Tom Barnes, who oversees research and development, told Inc. that the brand has invested “over a million dollars" in its state-of-the-art paddle testing lab.
Hear more and it's easy to understand why. There are high-tech machines with robotic arms, a bank of 3-D printers used for rapid prototyping, a CT scanner to look at how a paddle's core changes over time, and a ball-cannon used to mimic intensive game-play in a controlled environment.
“We can do thousands of shots on the paddle to see what happens with it. One way is, we shoot it with a really fast ball to see if we can physically break the paddle in half,” Tom said. “We want to make sure that it’s not going to fail because you tripped on the court and you used the paddle to catch yourself.”
This lab can dramatically shrink the time it takes to build, test, and iterate on a paddle prototype–turning products around from manufacturers overseas can take as long as nine months; in the lab, that same process can be achieved in as little as a week.
The lab sets Selkirk apart in terms of product development and quality control. The ability to test its new paddles to specific requirements established by USA Pickleball (the governing body for amateur play) and the United Pickleball Association of America (the governing body for pro play) saves the company time and money, vertically integrating its core processes all under one roof.
A collection of the top paddle reviewers recently took a trip to the brand's headquarters, including a behind-the-scenes tour of the testing lab.
They all came back with a similar impression: Selkirk is taking paddle technology and performance testing very seriously. And soon, they could be setting the new industry standard.
What's next for Selkirk
Tom is adamant that Selkirk's lab and testing capabilities are "the most advanced in pickleball."
And it feeds directly into its existing Selkirk Labs program, where customers get early access to small-batch paddle releases in exchange for registering and reviewing a past purchase. It's a controlled, in-house focus group comprised of hardcore paddle nerds and pickleball newbies alike.
It's a constant feedback engine, said Rob. That user data combined with Selkirk's gleaming new testing facility means they're poised to set new standards in paddle design and technology.
Selkirk has had some big drops so far this year:
- Selkirk Labs has launched one of the industry's first 100% foam-core paddles, a line that debuted in early 2025 and, just recently, revealed its third shape, a widebody called the Maxima.
- On the other side of a spectrum, a paddle under it budget-friendly line, the SLK Era Power, has appeared in the hands of multiple pros playing on the PPA and MLP Tours, including Rachel Rohrabacher, Jack Sock, Cartherine Parenteau, and James Ignatowich.
- The brand's best-selling paddle, the LUXX, has been upgraded with a new 19mm honeycomb core, EVA foam handle and throat, and an InfiniGrit surface they says lasts 3x longer than raw carbon.
Big things are happening for Selkirk, and by all accounts it's just the beginning of a new era in paddles purpose-built for peak performance, quality, and durability.
“This is the opportunity of a lifetime, and we’re very invested in sticking to it," adds Mike.
