Franklin Pickleball Ben Johns Paddle

I'm rather new to pickleball and I've been playing for a few months now. My first paddle from a cheap kit set broke the second time I played so I researched for an evening and decided on this one. For not doing a ton of research I feel like I lucked out. I love this paddle. I have a friend that did weeks of research on 4 different $100 price point paddles he ended up buying for himself and his family. He prefers my Ben Johns 16mm model over all of the ones he did his research on. What turned him off from getting the Ben Johns for his four initial purchases, he says, was because of the surface wearing out over time being reported, but I feel like that can happen to a lot of paddles and will happen so gradually it's not a big deal. I haven't experienced any degradation from use of the Franklin Ben Johns yet and I play around three times a week. I feel like this is truly a pro level paddle at a great price point. The spin I can get and the control I have dinking is great. I'll be heartbroken when it wears to a point I can't use it or breaks in some way, but I feel like that will be a long time off still. I hope Franklin continues building this model even if it is not called the Ben Johns at some point because I will buy it again.

I got it on sale, which made the price much more palatable. It's definitely an improvement on my previous paddle (which is good because even on sale it was more than double the price). There's a very noticeable sweet spot in the center of the paddle, which really plays well. But if you're an inch or two outside of it, there's a decent chance you're gonna short it. While this is frustrating at times, it has helped train me to be more precise with my strikes, so I guess that is a silver lining. Overall, much better control and precision for net play than the entry level paddles. Can't tell what impact the thicker paddle has on the game but I like the feel and weight distribution as well. Hard to say how the rough face impacts the spin but it seems to have an effect for sure

This paddle has a great feel out of the package and I like a lot about it. It took me a little while to get used to the slightly smaller paddle face compared to my previous paddle, but that was to be expected - It felt more powerful, solid, and consistent, which was the upgrade I was hoping for at first. The first month I played with it, the grit helped generate awesome spin, but that’s slowly worn off, and now the Max grit is almost a non-factor. That’s disappointing, but I’m not willing to buy a new paddle every 2 months. I’m currently playing 4.0-4.5 Men’s singles and doubles.

Been using for about 4 months and love it. Added some lead tape to the throat and top and able to get a lot power and top spin, even with the coating mostly worn off. It's the perfect paddle if you are a tennis player looking to try the game out but doesn't want to shell out the big money quite yet but wants to use something that is significantly better than the typical starter paddles.

Good paddle I've bought 3

I’m about a high 3 to 4.0 player and have played with a number of high priced paddles. After 5 outings with this one and it is my favorite. I didn’t have high expectations given the price, but I was blown away with the feel, weight, balance and control. I’d highly recommend this for a solid, all around paddle!

Love my paddle. It grips the ball so much better than my other paddles. It gives a solid hit and gives me confidence to make shots when the ball hits the edges of the paddle. It has stepped up my game. Thank you for the product.

In recent months, this paddle has exploded in popularity due to Ben Johns’ complete dominance in the sport. The thought process is that if the greatest pickleball player uses this paddle, it must be good! That’s not how things work in the real world, but the marketing team over at Franklin is giddy with excitement that you think its paddle will help you play like Ben Johns. At 16mm, this paddle is thick. Franklin states the extra thickness creates softness and helps the ball stay on the paddle longer, therefore creating better touch and more forgiveness. At 16mm, this paddle should have a large “sweet spot” and Biblical forgiveness. Since Ben Johns uses a soft paddle, he compensates by generating more power. At least that’s the theory. Upon first arrival, I noticed the paddle seemed thick, but unusually light and flimsy. To be honest, my first impression was that Mr. Johns’ paddle was cheap. Warming up with the Franklin paddle, I thought I had traded my manly, muscular arm for a wet noodle. On the first pop-up from my opponent, I smashed the ball with the strength of a 9 year old piano-playing child. If memory serves correctly, my elderly opponents returned that smash without blinking. One player in the room yelled out, “I think we found your new paddle!” So far, I was less impressed with the performance of Benny’s paddle than my rivals. As I shamefully walked over to my bag to hide the Franklin paddle forevermore from my sight, the room exploded in protest. Several gentlemen begged me to use it longer under the guise that I didn’t give it a fair shot and needed at least a week of testing to know its true abilities. Have you seen the video of Ben Johns playing pickleball with a slipper? I realized he’d been winning with a slipper for most of his career.

Good paddle so far

I played with the 13mm BJ Franklin paddle since I started playing PB over a year ago. As all newbies to the game of PB, the tendency is to bang the ball with very little drop game. Decided to try the 16mm Franklin to help improve my soft/drop game. Best move I made. I have better control and am able to reset much easier. Stayed with the Franklin paddle cause the price is right as compared to other high end, more expensive paddles. Good job Franklin!

Great paddle while still developing your game. A good all round paddle with enough power, touch and surface texture without being overly dominant in any one area.

Muy buena para iniciar en el pickeball

Muy decepcionado porque se me rompio el mango de la raqueta mientras jugaba, uso la raqueta desde el 21 mayo 2022, y el 1 de julio se me rompio , no se por que , si es un defecto de fabricacion , no se si hay garantia y si es posible contactar el vendedor ?