The 6 Stages of Being a Gearhead

I never thought I'd be a gearhead. I used to look at novice bikers buying $2000 road bikes and scoff that they would rather pay $1000 to reduce 3 pounds to burn less calories per mile. I used to thank them for contributing quality goods to Facebook Marketplace. And then I found pickleball.

Unlike my other hobbies like video games and board games, I didn't feel guilty at all for playing pickleball since it counted towards my fitness and health goals. I also started playing at an age when I had gotten comfortable with spending money on myself.

In the past two years of playing pickleball, I've accumulated several hundred dollars worth of paddles. Over this time, I've changed how I view pickleball paddles from tools to collectors' items. A gearhead is someone who is addicted to gear related to a hobby and is constantly trying to get more. Originally it referred to car enthusiasts who worked on their vehicles, but for me it applies to pickleball paddles, grips, weights, shoes, and balls.

More recently I've gotten into art and have started to branch out to try new mediums. I'm still at an entry level, but in my YouTube art tutorials I see professional artists who have entire drawers full of pastels and papers – and I understand their journey completely.

The Gearhead Progression

Level 1: Entry Level

When I first got into pickleball, I just wanted any paddle. I needed a basic tool to let me play the game and had no frame of reference for what was possible. For me, this was a wooden paddle I borrowed from my roommate, worth about $20.

Level 2: Value

After I realized how much I liked pickleball, I wanted a paddle that wouldn't hold me back. I didn't really know what my playstyle was, so I spent $90 on the Vatic Pro Prism V7. I just listened to a couple of reviews and got the equivalent of the Wirecutter Value Recommendation.

Level 3: Playstyle

Once I learned more about pickleball, I realized I wanted a paddle that was a little bit lighter. This is the point where I began to really discern how the gear affects me. It's foolish to blame your gear when you make a mistake, but once you've reduced those mistakes, it's possible to experiment with gear to produce real improvements in your ability.

Level 4: Learning the Numbers

When I got to this stage is when I realized I'd gone too far: I was a gearhead now. Pickleball paddles have a bunch of different measurements that can affect play characteristics. For example, swing weight measures the weight distribution of the paddle if you try to swing it forward, by measuring inertia. Once you get to this point, you start viewing gear based on heuristics created by comparison to other tools.

This can actually be distracting, because these manufactured rules might preclude judgment that isn't supported by the actual effect. Recently in pickleball, the adoption of popular metrics "swing weight" and "twist weight" led to a change in the preferred shape of the paddle. Instead of a more aerodynamic shape that had a more balanced sweetspot and feel, many paddle reviewers flocked to the Honolulu J2k, a paddle with a shape that produced better numbers but not necessarily a better feeling.

Level 5: Brands and History

After you've seen enough paddles and enough innovations that aren't really that innovative, it's possible to find joy through history. This is where the hobby turns into collection, and understanding the value proposition of a piece of gear requires esoteric knowledge. This kind of makes sense for something like a piece of clothing, but it's possible to feel that connection even with paddles, brushes, guitar pedals, or any hobby equipment.

Level 6: MYOG - Make Your Own Gear

This could be the final form of a fashion influencer, when they create their own brand to sell. Or a more classical way of being an artist. Many painters relish in creating and preparing their canvasses and pigments. I don't think I'll ever start a pickleball brand, but I can appreciate the attention to detail that goes into creating a great paddle. The journey from consumer to creator completes the cycle, taking all the accumulated knowledge and transforming it into something new.

At some point, I had to admit I liked the feeling of buying new paddles and trying them out for its own sake. Some hobbies, like expensive watches, knives, or flashlights, begin with practical purposes but evolve into appreciation for craftsmanship and design that far exceeds functional requirements. Perhaps the true joy of isn't in having the perfect gear, but in the endless pursuit of it: learning, comparing, anticipating what might come next.