I’ve always thought of Franklin as a mass market brand, not a brand of high level equipment. I think we took them more seriously in pickleball because they had Ben signed for so long. Good review, it’s obvious they built a paddle that “looks” high quality for Dick’s, Walmart, Costco, etc. But, they cut corners to maintain high margins at a low(ish) price point.
Excellent review, as always, Chris! What in the world are they doing with the texture? Adding grit paint over the top of carbon fiber weave? Whatever they've done has seriously reduced the texture, as your microscope shows clearly.
Hayden Patriquin used it in the latest takeya ppa actually. I have liked the 14.5 so far, good spin and feel, decent pop and I like the grip, but I do have bigger hands.
The edge guard on my new Franklin stk was also beginning to shake loose and the paddle also sounded horrible when hit off center. Thankfully I was able to sell the paddle after our session.
Chris, Thank you for taking the time to put together this in-depth review, I have the 17mm STK. I was really confused when I took off the replacement grip to see the handle was still exposed polymer!? The marketing said that it was a one-piece construction to improve stability (usually when I hear one-piece I assume like gearbox or selkirk where it goes straight from paddle face to the handle) making it much more stable. This almost seemed like false advertising for me? I wouldn't go as far to say that it's horrible or trying to compete with others (MX 6.0, Model E, Selkirks), but that should be expected at the price point. I do have a lot of respect for Franklin for being top tier when it comes to replacing paddles (I had three Ben John's replaced). I have a bigger issue with Joola's hyperfoam snapping in the paddle face with a few times of playing at the $219 price point. I think the lead placement of Johns and Johnson are indicative of the weaknesses of their paddle manufacturers. Lastly, I think the hype came more from JW using the paddle than the actual playing characteristics of the paddle itself.
Was excited to play with my new 14.5mm STK. Felt okay around the net, and fair but not great power. Unfortunately the edge guard rattled like a snare drum after just two hours of play. I could have glued it, but shouldn’t need to do that with a brand new paddle!
My review. I got the 17 mm from Sierra Trading at a crazy price. My prior was a diff brand 16.5. I just enjoy the thicker. Biggest challenge is returning serves or slam shots from advanced level players. I am super happy w the racket. I am 6.2 with lager hands. I added an extra layer of handle rap. Plus a BIG difference is to play with grip gloves. Finally I took black electric wire tape and put it at the handle top to secure the structure and grip tape. All good. I find when I need fierce power I just swing harder. My control is great. I play around 6 hours a week. On a flip note, I surveyed other paddle owners w 250 plus rackets. They also had some edge issues. Could be the overall manufacturers. (Speculating). Thx
Looks like 2 of you took advantage of the same holiday sale I did to get the Head Revolt Pro 4.0 for $75 🙂. Oh, and thanks for saving us from even bother looking at the Franklin Carbon STK. XSPAK did exactly what you are talking about; "raw" T700, 16mm, elongated shape for under $100. It was actually $55 the day they released it on AMZ. It has climbed to $90 but it is still the best deal on any paddle out there.
Could still be T700 with a coating on it. We have a premium entry level paddle (Sapphire) with Toray T700 carbon and with grit paint. Seeing a lot of off the shelf companies claiming Toray carbon - I have my doubts. I would guess some companies are jumping on the wagon and saying their generic raw carbon is Toray.
fun fact. one of the main reasons for foam injection was not for performance enhancement but to provide a surface for the edgeguard to be adhered to....
This is your best review yet. I demoed it at nationals and wasn’t impressed at all. The grip on one of them felt terrible too, like its an oval/rectangle. Love those JW clips too, I hope this crap paddle doesn’t hurt his results.
Had to come back to this video after watching JW switch to the fiberglass franklin signature and showing similar frustration. Franklin PLEASE get the Johnsons, Gabe, Big H, and all other Franklin people new paddles.
So, apart from that, it's an excellent paddle, right? LMAO! Awesome review as usual. You just say it like it is, and that what everyone loves about you.
Great review. I loved by Signature Paddle (for like 2 weeks). Now the “Max Grit” has worn off and Franklin customer service says it’s normal. I won’t be buying another Franklin paddle. So I’m not surprised at your impressions of the new carbon paddle.
Hey Chris, I tried the ProDrive paddle today and thought it was amazing… but before committing to it I said “I’m gonna check the Pickleball Studio for a review “ Found none! 🙁 Lol Wonder if you’re thinking about reviewing it. Would love to see the specs on spin and swing weight!
Those JW clips are a huge tell. (Off topic question, have you tried out the new ProKennex yet? Using a gearbox atm, thinking about trying the new one from them but 250 is steep)
@@PickleballStudio OK, Now I gotta know. Do you have the new ProKennex in the queue, or do you have a new undisclosed Gearbox :) Just got a CX14H for my wife, and I have been thinking of getting one for myself, but I may just have to hold off if they have something new to consider :) Time to retire my Wave Pro.
Was about to pull the trigger on a 14mm Hyperion Based on your videos but my local store directed me to a new ProDrive Drive paddle. It 19mm!!! and is Kevlar and some people seem to love it. Would love you to review it.
Have you done any reviews of the FRanklin Tour Pros? I notice a lot of the young top players at our area use those a lot. They are all super spinny and banger guys so who knows why they all gravitate towards these Franklins
Great review. I feel Franklin has always made mediocre sporting goods. Their volleyball/badminton sets are the lowest of the low, as are their hockey sticks and equipment. Even their wiffle ball sets were disappointing and cheap. They can't even seem to make the X40 pickleballs correctly! One out of every 3 seems to wobble. Again, great review, guys!!! Love your content.
Good thorough review. Was pretty excited about this when it debuted & was USAPA approved back in June. Took so long for them to get it out on the market & all for it to be a bust. Thanks Chris.
Chris, hope you'll do a review of the new Vulcan V900 series paddles. Curious if they're worth the $230...they're advertising a "quadro-carbon fiber" face, whatever that means.
Tried this paddle (14.5) because it was much anticipated on what Franklin would do but gotta say I was extremely disappointed, played nothing like my other carbon face paddles. I used it for 1 game and it was making that loud noise also when I hit it high on the face, c'mon Franklin what are you doing.
This is incredibly disappointing. I swear the prototype version of this paddle with the blue franklin logo had the same t700 face as crbn/electrum/joola. It’s a shame, the idea of a 17mm crbn1 really appealed to me but it’s clear this paddle isn’t it. I feel like the Johnsons got screwed for wanting to sign as a family. Franklin is clearly taking advantage of their names and it seems the Johnsons really don’t have a lot of say in the paddle design as advertised on their website.
Hi. What are the other advantages of carbon over fiberglass besides the extra spin? Have tried to switch to carbon paddles from CRBN/joola/engage/Selkirk/,etc, but always come back to ampd S2 (for double) that I feel works better for dink, block, and fast hand exchanges. Am I alone or there are actually other players prefer fiberglass too?
The problem is that Franklin is a giant machine that has their hands in everything sports related… the decisions aren’t necessarily made by the engineers but the accountants… I’m sure they could come in swinging with another raw carbon paddle, but they want that proprietary stuff that they can put a fence around… too bad that’s a crap product… they don’t realize that some people will pay $150+ for a decent paddle now…
Hey Chris! Do you recommend the 14mm or 16mm Hyperion? i know the swift didn’t do well, my 16mm hyperion lacks too much power so it seems that the 14 so long as the quality is still there might be a better choice
@@Gnathan96 I actually am planning to review it, just not sure when yet. The most notable things are: - Swing weight is lower so it is much easier to swing than the 16mm - More power/pop - Not as good for resets, but still pretty solid. - Not as solid of a sweet spot as the 16mm (but I think that's the tradeoff of less weight)
Is there anything you’d recommend in the 100-150 range for someone who prefers an elongated face? My sister went from an elongated $50-ish gamma to a head extreme elite and then just went back to using the gamma because she relies on that reach. Her birthday’s coming up and I’ve been thinking of buying her a paddle but I’ve been having a hard time trying to pick one out
Recommendations would be: XSPAK on Amazon for $90 (it's just a CRBN1, but way cheaper. It's very good) SLK Halo XL GRUVN 16H ($10 more than what you asked for) I'd probably push you more towards the XSPAK since it is considerably cheaper and very good.
I think franklin just does not care to much about pickleball atm, they are such a big company and they will really hop in when they think they will be missing out.
You are giving companies too much of a pass regarding the handle. Just placing plastic strips to cover the exposed core is really not any better than just leaving it exposed. I say this because the exposed core isn't something you actually feel/notice in use; only when you specifically feel for it. It's also something you can easily fix yourself if desired. The reality is that once paddles started costing over $100 they should have been using vacuum molded handles in multiple sizes similar to tennis rackets.
JW's singles results have dropped off a lot recently. He's losing to players he used to beat easily and I know in a few app gold medal matches he's got there from the backdraw
He had 3 match points against Ben Johns at the US Open with the CRBN, almost beat Johns 2 games to 0. Really wish he had signed on with them, but I'm guessing Franklin has way more money.
I owned the 17mm version.Terrible paddle. Build quality is 🗑 and started making glass shattering like noises on the 3rd day playing with this paddle. Really bad paddle. Not worth it.
Get him a snickers. This man is hangry. 😂
LOOOOOL. Best comment.0
“Even JW hates it” 😂😂😂
17mm version is a top 5 defense paddle so that's cool, thx for the review.
I’ve always thought of Franklin as a mass market brand, not a brand of high level equipment. I think we took them more seriously in pickleball because they had Ben signed for so long. Good review, it’s obvious they built a paddle that “looks” high quality for Dick’s, Walmart, Costco, etc. But, they cut corners to maintain high margins at a low(ish) price point.
Excellent review, as always, Chris! What in the world are they doing with the texture? Adding grit paint over the top of carbon fiber weave? Whatever they've done has seriously reduced the texture, as your microscope shows clearly.
Yeah...no idea, but it clearly didn't work well. Paddle marketing and designs are such a mess.
This dude chris man!
Most influential guy in pickleball. Guy knows paddles, I tell you that!
Thank you for being honest with your paddle reviews. 😁
Hayden Patriquin used it in the latest takeya ppa actually. I have liked the 14.5 so far, good spin and feel, decent pop and I like the grip, but I do have bigger hands.
Ah good to know! Must have missed that. Only seen him use the Signature
the JW montage was gold
Damn. Was hoping to upgrade from the fiberglass version. Not buying the paddle now. Thank you for the review!
your highlight reel of JW pissed off is hilarious.
The edge guard on my new Franklin stk was also beginning to shake loose and the paddle also sounded horrible when hit off center. Thankfully I was able to sell the paddle after our session.
Chris,
Thank you for taking the time to put together this in-depth review, I have the 17mm STK. I was really confused when I took off the replacement grip to see the handle was still exposed polymer!? The marketing said that it was a one-piece construction to improve stability (usually when I hear one-piece I assume like gearbox or selkirk where it goes straight from paddle face to the handle) making it much more stable. This almost seemed like false advertising for me? I wouldn't go as far to say that it's horrible or trying to compete with others (MX 6.0, Model E, Selkirks), but that should be expected at the price point. I do have a lot of respect for Franklin for being top tier when it comes to replacing paddles (I had three Ben John's replaced). I have a bigger issue with Joola's hyperfoam snapping in the paddle face with a few times of playing at the $219 price point. I think the lead placement of Johns and Johnson are indicative of the weaknesses of their paddle manufacturers. Lastly, I think the hype came more from JW using the paddle than the actual playing characteristics of the paddle itself.
Was excited to play with my new 14.5mm STK. Felt okay around the net, and fair but not great power. Unfortunately the edge guard rattled like a snare drum after just two hours of play. I could have glued it, but shouldn’t need to do that with a brand new paddle!
My review. I got the 17 mm from Sierra Trading at a crazy price. My prior was a diff brand 16.5. I just enjoy the thicker. Biggest challenge is returning serves or slam shots from advanced level players. I am super happy w the racket. I am 6.2 with lager hands. I added an extra layer of handle rap. Plus a BIG difference is to play with grip gloves. Finally I took black electric wire tape and put it at the handle top to secure the structure and grip tape. All good.
I find when I need fierce power I just swing harder. My control is great.
I play around 6 hours a week.
On a flip note, I surveyed other paddle owners w 250 plus rackets. They also had some edge issues. Could be the overall manufacturers. (Speculating). Thx
Will you be reviewing the four new Vulcan V900 paddles? Would love to hear your thoughts since there’s four paddles for people to decide from.
Looks like 2 of you took advantage of the same holiday sale I did to get the Head Revolt Pro 4.0 for $75 🙂. Oh, and thanks for saving us from even bother looking at the Franklin Carbon STK. XSPAK did exactly what you are talking about; "raw" T700, 16mm, elongated shape for under $100. It was actually $55 the day they released it on AMZ. It has climbed to $90 but it is still the best deal on any paddle out there.
Could still be T700 with a coating on it. We have a premium entry level paddle (Sapphire) with Toray T700 carbon and with grit paint. Seeing a lot of off the shelf companies claiming Toray carbon - I have my doubts. I would guess some companies are jumping on the wagon and saying their generic raw carbon is Toray.
fun fact. one of the main reasons for foam injection was not for performance enhancement but to provide a surface for the edgeguard to be adhered to....
🔥 Feel the burn. 🔥 That’s right. No more free passes! No more mamby-pamby reviews! Chris isn’t doing milquetoast.
THanks for the review.
A little late but would this be not a bad option at the $50 price range?
This is your best review yet. I demoed it at nationals and wasn’t impressed at all. The grip on one of them felt terrible too, like its an oval/rectangle. Love those JW clips too, I hope this crap paddle doesn’t hurt his results.
Would love to hear your thoughts on the Joola Vision 16 mm and how it compares to the other carbon fibers on the market 👀
Had to come back to this video after watching JW switch to the fiberglass franklin signature and showing similar frustration. Franklin PLEASE get the Johnsons, Gabe, Big H, and all other Franklin people new paddles.
Wow, that’s the most expressions I’ve ever seen JW display ever. Usually he looks like every game’s just a walk in the park.
So, apart from that, it's an excellent paddle, right? LMAO! Awesome review as usual. You just say it like it is, and that what everyone loves about you.
Great review. I loved by Signature Paddle (for like 2 weeks). Now the “Max Grit” has worn off and Franklin customer service says it’s normal. I won’t be buying another Franklin paddle. So I’m not surprised at your impressions of the new carbon paddle.
Hey Chris, I tried the ProDrive paddle today and thought it was amazing… but before committing to it I said “I’m gonna check the Pickleball Studio for a review “
Found none! 🙁
Lol
Wonder if you’re thinking about reviewing it. Would love to see the specs on spin and swing weight!
Those JW clips are a huge tell. (Off topic question, have you tried out the new ProKennex yet? Using a gearbox atm, thinking about trying the new one from them but 250 is steep)
I just got it today! Next up in the review queue
@The Pickleball Studio heck yeah brother, thank you for all the reviews ❤️
@@PickleballStudio OK, Now I gotta know. Do you have the new ProKennex in the queue, or do you have a new undisclosed Gearbox :) Just got a CX14H for my wife, and I have been thinking of getting one for myself, but I may just have to hold off if they have something new to consider :) Time to retire my Wave Pro.
@@jasonmidgley2771 Pro Kennex is next up! Unfortunately no news to me about any Gearboxes. I bet it'll be something exciting though.
The Black Ace has POP! Control not so much. Dinks are ok but resets from midcourt and drops are not the easiest. Also, loudest paddle I’ve ever seen.
Was about to pull the trigger on a 14mm Hyperion Based on your videos but my local store directed me to a new ProDrive Drive paddle. It 19mm!!! and is Kevlar and some people seem to love it. Would love you to review it.
Have you done any reviews of the FRanklin Tour Pros? I notice a lot of the young top players at our area use those a lot. They are all super spinny and banger guys so who knows why they all gravitate towards these Franklins
Great review. I feel Franklin has always made mediocre sporting goods. Their volleyball/badminton sets are the lowest of the low, as are their hockey sticks and equipment. Even their wiffle ball sets were disappointing and cheap. They can't even seem to make the X40 pickleballs correctly! One out of every 3 seems to wobble. Again, great review, guys!!! Love your content.
And he is already one of the top 5 in the PPA. Imagine how much better he would be if you gave him a DBD.
Good thorough review. Was pretty excited about this when it debuted & was USAPA approved back in June. Took so long for them to get it out on the market & all for it to be a bust. Thanks Chris.
bringing some heat! like it. As consumers, we need honest opinions not endless hype
Thanks as always to the unbiased opinions and information.
Solid work as alway Will... I mean Chris! 🤣😜
Dannnnng the roast begins?!!
Chris, hope you'll do a review of the new Vulcan V900 series paddles. Curious if they're worth the $230...they're advertising a "quadro-carbon fiber" face, whatever that means.
What about Nitro infusion?
glad I waited...was looking for a thin paddle but I guess I will be waiting longer.....the Diadem Icon looks like my gamer for now
Try the Electrum pro. 11MM thick
Tried this paddle (14.5) because it was much anticipated on what Franklin would do but gotta say I was extremely disappointed, played nothing like my other carbon face paddles. I used it for 1 game and it was making that loud noise also when I hit it high on the face, c'mon Franklin what are you doing.
🔥🔥🔥🔥 review
Perfect review...Thank you!!
I like it but I’m new to the game
This is incredibly disappointing. I swear the prototype version of this paddle with the blue franklin logo had the same t700 face as crbn/electrum/joola. It’s a shame, the idea of a 17mm crbn1 really appealed to me but it’s clear this paddle isn’t it. I feel like the Johnsons got screwed for wanting to sign as a family. Franklin is clearly taking advantage of their names and it seems the Johnsons really don’t have a lot of say in the paddle design as advertised on their website.
Hi. What are the other advantages of carbon over fiberglass besides the extra spin? Have tried to switch to carbon paddles from CRBN/joola/engage/Selkirk/,etc, but always come back to ampd S2 (for double) that I feel works better for dink, block, and fast hand exchanges. Am I alone or there are actually other players prefer fiberglass too?
The primary advantage is more power (usually) but they are also less forgiving.
The problem is that Franklin is a giant machine that has their hands in everything sports related… the decisions aren’t necessarily made by the engineers but the accountants… I’m sure they could come in swinging with another raw carbon paddle, but they want that proprietary stuff that they can put a fence around… too bad that’s a crap product… they don’t realize that some people will pay $150+ for a decent paddle now…
Has Zane signed with anyone yet? Didn’t know he chose not to resign with Franklin
No, he hasn’t, but he did leave Franklin
Just got 14.5 at Marshals for $40.
3:30 2 lobs in 1 rally is absurd, that guy would be annoying AF to play with
Hey Chris! Do you recommend the 14mm or 16mm Hyperion? i know the swift didn’t do well, my 16mm hyperion lacks too much power so it seems that the 14 so long as the quality is still there might be a better choice
14 has been awesome in my testing so far! I like it a lot.
@@PickleballStudio sweet! I’m assuming not enough difference to do a full review? If so, what would it be if you had to pick between 16 or 14?
@@Gnathan96 I actually am planning to review it, just not sure when yet. The most notable things are:
- Swing weight is lower so it is much easier to swing than the 16mm
- More power/pop
- Not as good for resets, but still pretty solid.
- Not as solid of a sweet spot as the 16mm (but I think that's the tradeoff of less weight)
@@PickleballStudio oh cool thanks for the insight!
How did that paddle make it thru that match?! Hahaha 🤣 great vid
Is it basically the Centre paddle in the signature shape?
No. Centre is much lighter and is more of that awful spray-on grit.
Is there anything you’d recommend in the 100-150 range for someone who prefers an elongated face? My sister went from an elongated $50-ish gamma to a head extreme elite and then just went back to using the gamma because she relies on that reach. Her birthday’s coming up and I’ve been thinking of buying her a paddle but I’ve been having a hard time trying to pick one out
Recommendations would be:
XSPAK on Amazon for $90 (it's just a CRBN1, but way cheaper. It's very good)
SLK Halo XL
GRUVN 16H ($10 more than what you asked for)
I'd probably push you more towards the XSPAK since it is considerably cheaper and very good.
What’s the swing weight for the original signature paddle?
I’ll try and check this evening.
Think the halo 13mm is better than this?
I’d much rather play with the 13mm Halo. Spin is comparable between the two, but the Halo actually has some power haha
Franklin is on the way out. I hope JW is out of that contract soon, hate to see a top tier player have to use a garbage paddle.
He's only been with them for 4 months. :( I'm guessing it will be at least another 8 months, if not longer.
I think franklin just does not care to much about pickleball atm, they are such a big company and they will really hop in when they think they will be missing out.
Chris you always seen to get "defects" lol.
Hahaha companies gotta start checking the glue on paddles they send me.
You are giving companies too much of a pass regarding the handle. Just placing plastic strips to cover the exposed core is really not any better than just leaving it exposed. I say this because the exposed core isn't something you actually feel/notice in use; only when you specifically feel for it. It's also something you can easily fix yourself if desired. The reality is that once paddles started costing over $100 they should have been using vacuum molded handles in multiple sizes similar to tennis rackets.
Franklin developers just threw up in their mouths after this review
I don’t think that department exists. It’s the same person that makes their badminton equipment. 😂😂
JW played better with a joola paddle. Look at his performance from the first half to the second half of the year when he got sponsored by Franklin
Pls review Players Pickleball Rogue and Cheetah Pickleball paddles pls. Hybrid and E16 Raw Carbon respectively.
Hi!
After all this wait- this paddle is a big L.
JW's singles results have dropped off a lot recently. He's losing to players he used to beat easily and I know in a few app gold medal matches he's got there from the backdraw
He had 3 match points against Ben Johns at the US Open with the CRBN, almost beat Johns 2 games to 0. Really wish he had signed on with them, but I'm guessing Franklin has way more money.
I owned the 17mm version.Terrible paddle. Build quality is 🗑 and started making glass shattering like noises on the 3rd day playing with this paddle. Really bad paddle. Not worth it.
Chunky
not surprised, sucks for jw
JW deserves better than this.
The crbn handle is the same thing. Makes it feel like a cheap piece of crap. Franklins are over priced crap
Lmao jw...
Franklin is trash. Wasn't a fan of the Ben Johns paddle but this one is even worse. Don't buy these. Absolutely no power and very little spin.
Franklin making junk again