Recently, more customers have become interested in customizing their hot-pressed all-in-one paddles. During these conversations, we noticed that many people are confused between the concepts of T700 and 3K!

So, what does the K value of pickleball paddle carbon fiber material mean?

K represents the unit of carbon fiber tow in carbon fiber cloth. It indicates the number of carbon fiber monofilaments in a bundle. Specifically, 1K means one bundle of carbon fiber cloth contains 1000 filaments. Similarly, 3K means one bundle contains 3000 carbon fiber filaments. These are also known as small tows or “aerospace grade” carbon fibers. The quality of carbon fiber is related to the linear density. The smaller the K value, the finer and more textured the appearance of the carbon fiber woven cloth, and the higher the production cost.

However, the carbon content of 3K and 12K carbon dimensional materials is about 35%-45%, so the difference between the two isn’t very significant. The difference is mainly in the internal carbon fiber tows, which is relatively high. Additionally, the texture of 3K carbon fiber is finer, while the texture of 12 carbon fiber is wider, and overall aesthetics is better than 3K.

What about the T number of a pickleball paddle?

The T number refers to the strength level of carbon fiber and is an important indicator of its quality. Generally, the higher the T number, the higher the strength of the carbon fiber. Common carbon fiber T numbers include 24T, 30T, 40T, 50T, 60T, and so on. For example, 24T means that one square meter of carbon cloth contains 2,400 carbon fiber filaments. Meanwhile, 36T means one square meter of carbon cloth contains 3,600 carbon fiber filaments; 40T means one square meter of carbon cloth contains 4,000 carbon fiber filaments, and 46T means one square meter of carbon cloth contains 4,600 carbon fiber filaments.

In general, 24T carbon fiber has lower strength and is suitable for fields that do not require high strength, such as sports equipment. On the other hand, 60T carbon fiber has the highest strength and is suitable for fields that require extremely high strength, such as aerospace. Since T300 and T700 are high-performance carbon fibers and 24T has finer carbon fiber filaments, T300 and T700 have higher hardness and bending resistance than 24T.

In summary, the K value mainly affects the texture of the paddle’s appearance, while the T number mainly affects the performance of the paddle.