Let’s start with the TLDR:
The Vatic Pro Alchemy is the most unique paddle available. It has a satisfying spongey feel right in the sweet spot not seen amongst any thermoform paddle, and has a great balance of control and power. That spongey feel is what makes it unique and incredibly fun to use.
I want to preface this review with my main negative. The hole is an oddly large shape. If the arms of the “V” hole were maybe half the length, it’d be perfect. Or maybe consider using the moon shape for the hole to go with the alchemy theme. It’s supposed to be a “V” for Vatic, I guess, and it ships with a rubber guard in the hole. That rubber guard is thick, and I noticed it led to a few mishits at the net when trying to catch a dink out of the air. I’m not a 5.0 player, so yeah, I’ll have a mishit or two at the net. But, once I took the guard out, which is easily removable, the mishits went away. I think the Vatic Pro Alchemy looks sleeker without the guard too. You’ll notice it’s a tad ugly under the guard. A simple sanding down with a fine grit of sandpaper will even out the jagged plastic bits.
The positives of the Vatic Pro Alchemy outshines the tiny negative about the hole. At stock, it’s a lightweight paddle offering a good amount of weight customization. You could easily add weight at the throat and top corners to add more power and lessen the twisting from hard drives at the net. This paddle, specifically the 13.5mm, served as my main paddle because of it’s unique feel and ability to perform exactly how I intended. Its feedback with that spongey feel is a perfect implication that you just hit a perfect shot and need to prepare for the next part of the point.
The Vatic Pro Alchemy is a great all-around paddle. The hybrid shape and elongated handle makes it a perfect option for both doubles and singles players. With two options available, I’d recommend the 13.5mm only because at 16mm I felt that the spongey feel plus the extra core thickness caused a trampoline effect when taking a ball out of the air. This would result in more popups, which is something you do not want. With time and adjustment, that would resolve itself. However, the 13.5mm feels more natural and I didn’t suffer from those unintended popups.