Edge Guards - love 'em or hate 'em? Three reasons I love 'em

Many customers and several other people here at PickleballCentral.com,  don't like the edge guards and claim the edge guards messes up their shots.   Manufactures have heard the complaints and are hard at work creating a truly breakthrough edge-less paddle.  There are a few good edgeless pickleball paddles on the market now such as Wilson's BLX and  Wilson's Champ but I still prefer a paddle with an edge guard for three reasons:

#1. Protects the Core. There are at least three layers to every composite paddle - a top face, a core and a bottom face. The edge guard seals these three layers and protects them from de-laminating.  De-lamination is when the paddle face detaches from the core. De-laminated paddles are 'dead'.  Sometimes small pieces of the core  break off and rattle around inside the paddle.

#2 . Play with Reckless Abandon.  The edge guard protects the paddle like the bumper on a car.  You don't need to be precious with paddle. You can dive for those shots and not be too concerned about denting or scratching your paddle's edge guard.

#3 Pop.  Maybe it's just me but I think an edge guard gives the paddle more pop.  I like pop.

What about you? What is your position on edge guards?

- Anna