JOOLA Ben Johns Hyperion CFS 16 Pickleball Paddle Review

Power - Score: 78 / Control - Score: 79

After testing many 16-mm paddles, our playtesters were surprised with the power potential in the JOOLA Ben Johns Hyperion CFS 16. Typically, thicker paddles provide a more muted feel and less power, but this paddle stands out from the rest in a good way.

Kristen prefers thinner paddles for the response and power, but she found the Ben Johns CFS 16 to have a familiar feel that suited her game. She said, "I've never been one to gravitate to a 16-mm paddle. Thicker profile paddles tend to feel a bit too soft and sometimes muted for my tastes, whereas thinner profile paddles give me the feel and power I need for tapping into my aggressive game. However, those previous notions went out the door with this Ben Johns CFS 16. While I wasn't getting the free power or same launch as my current paddle of choice, the access to power was definitely there. The best part about the power was that it was easily controllable. With its 8.5-ounce average weight and a slightly head heavy nature, finding that sweetspot on big swings gave me all the power I needed to be aggressive and put away balls when given the chance. I could tap into power but also be super confident that those shots would stay within the lines and stay on target. Up at net, blocks were effortless. They Hyperfoam Edge Wall technology truly gave me a consistent, reliable response across the paddle face. I really felt like I had good control of whatever was thrown at me and could get more balls back into play effectively."

Utilizing the power and spin potential, Andrew found the Ben Johns CFS 16 to excel in his singles matches. He noted, "This is definitely one of the more powerful paddles I've hit recently. With the 8.5 weight and even balance, I was able to utilize heavy power and spin to keep my opponents on the defensive, especially in singles. The power was most notable on serves and deep shots from the backcourt. I also found a good amount of spin with the paddle, and when paired with the power, this paddle excelled for me in singles; even so much that I have made the switch to this paddle for singles play. While the paddle has a lot of power, control is still there when needed. For singles, I found this to be most notable when I would hit my angles at about 75 percent power to get my opponent off court. There were times when I struggled and would overhit when I first picked up the paddle, but after making some adjustments, I have found the control to be suitable for my game. For doubles, my dinks were simple when the ball was low and slow, but when I tried to drop hard shots hit at me, the ball would lift and not be quite as short as I prefer with less-powerful paddles."

Like Andrew, Howard found great playability when needing to ramp up power and drives. He stated, "Power is the name of the game with this paddle. I was able to generate a lot of power on serves, drives and overheads. I was able to move my opponents around in singles play due to the power level this paddle provided. I felt in control enough to move the ball around and felt confident when I wanted to pull the trigger on a specific location on the court. Up on the kitchen line I felt confident in the control aspect; I was able to place the ball where I wanted and be able to transition with a cross dink with ease."

Spin - Score: 82

The Carbon Friction Surface on the Ben Johns Hyperion CFS 16 made hitting with spin easy, according to our team. Howard noted the spin from several areas of the court, saying, "I loved how easy it was to generate spin with this paddle. I was able to get my shots to kick up a bit on my forehand and serve. Slice with this paddle was great as well. I was able to knife down on the ball and have the ball skid low to the ground."

Kristen agreed, adding, "The Carbon Friction Surface allowed for easy access to spin, so I found I was able to get my groundstrokes and serves dipping in at the back of the court."

Likewise, Andrew could load the ball with spin but noted technique might be required to optimize the paddle's potential. He explained, "The Carbon Friction Surface had plenty of grit to get the ball spinning, which I really noticed on serves. I also was able to get topspin at the net when players hit the ball a little too high, which enabled me to end points quickly. Also, the CFS handled undercut serves and slices very well in regards to spin. While the surface is textured and the paddle generates spin well, slower swinging players may have their spin bottlenecked by the overall mass and swingweight."

Touch/Feel - Score: 87

Without a doubt, the CX forged handle and Hyperfoam Edge Wall make the JOOLA Ben Johns Hyperion CFS 16 a very tough paddle to outperform in terms of touch and feel. Andrew stated, "The feel is outstanding. This is an area where I feel the Ben Johns CFS 16 does best, and I believe the Hyperfoam Edge wall technology is the reason. The added foam around the paddle edge gave it an amazing, consistent sweetspot that was second to none. Paddle feedback was sufficient to provide response where I made contact but not too much to where it was uncomfortable. In terms of arm friendliness, I would give this one a seal of approval."

Kristen and Howard appreciated how the paddle offered great touch and feel that benefits actual performance. Howard said, "I liked the overall touch of this paddle. I was able to pinpoint the location of where my paddle and the ball made impact on the surface. This paddle had a solid overall feel, and I did not notice any excessive vibration coming from the paddle."

Kristen added, "As expected with its 16-mm profile, the Ben Johns CFS 16 offered great touch around the net. Dinks felt effortless, easy to keep low and easy to get some nice spin and mix up placement."

Speed - Score: 65 / Stability - Score: 90

Depending on the player and play style, the speed performance of the JOOLA Ben Johns Hyperion CFS 16 had mixed feedback, but it was agreed the paddle was plenty stable. Howard hits with power often, and he found the paddle to be speedy for its weight. He said, "Due to the weight of the paddle, I felt that initially it was hard to generate a good paddle head speed. Once I was able to get the paddle moving, it cut through the air with ease. This allowed me to whip it through the air and be able to generate additional spin. The stability of this paddle was great. I was able to deflect back powerful shots at the kitchen line with no issues."

Kristen found similar results to Howard and stated, "For its average weight of 8.5 ounces, this paddle felt plenty maneuverable in hand. I had the reaction time needed at net and found it easy to whip through the ball on drives and serves for upping the pace."

On the contrary, Andrew found the paddle to be a bit slower in terms of speed. He noted, "Initially, I felt this paddle was one of the slower swinging paddles out there, and after our lab testing, discovered the CFS has one of the heavier swingweights on the market, meaning slower speed but insane stability. This is not a bad thing, and I actually prefer paddles with less speed since I have a tennis background and am used to extra weight. The slower speed enables a more powerful and stable experience when hitting hard, so to me, the trade-off is worth it. When I hit with paddles that are fast and light, I tend to find them to have an unstable feel and not enough power."

Overall - Score: 84