Franklin Carbon STK Review
After a long wait, the Franklin Carbon STK is finally here. All summer, we've been seeing this paddle teased by pro player JW Johnson, and there's been a lot of buzz around this paddle, wondering if it would start to take down the endless stream of raw carbon fiber paddles.
There are two different models of the Franklin Carbon STK, but the only difference between them is the core thickness.
Specs:
• Price: $149.99
• Thickness: 14.5mm or 17mm
• Weight range:
14.5mm: 7.6-7.9oz
17mm: 7.9-8.2oz
• Shape: Elongated
• Handle length: 5.6"
• Grip circumference:
14.5mm: 4.25"
17mm: 4.5"
• Face: t700 Carbon Fiber (kind of...)
• Core: Polymer
• Swing weight:
14.5mm: 113
17mm: 120
Franklin opted to keep the exposed polymer in the handles on both of these paddles.
Franklin Carbon STK 17mm
I'm fed up with these cheap garbage-feeling handles. I shouldn't be surprised that Franklin didn't fix this, but I hoped they would put more effort into making their paddles not feel so cheap. It's very noticeable on the 17mm model, which has a very thick handle. Speaking of that, the 17mm at a 4.5" grip circumference is very thick and will not be preferred by many people.
Spin:
Okay, so one of my biggest gripes about this paddle is the grit. For the longest time, players were begging Franklin to make a raw carbon fiber paddle but cheaper than everyone else.
The market is now flooded with them, and Franklin opted to release a paddle with something that does not resemble raw carbon fiber in the slightest. Instead, they call it carbon STK and claim it has more traction on the ball than other carbon fiber.
After spin testing, the Franklin 14.5 was 1393 RPM, and the 17mm was 1316 RPM. So clearly, it does not compete with the high-tier t700 paddles. (For reference, high tier spin paddles are usually 1500+ RPM)
When you put this under a microscope and look at the lines on the paddle, it appears like a liquid that hardened on the face. The center appears almost smooth. The area you hit the ball most doesn't have the same texture as the outer layers, which doesn't make sense to me.
Regular t700 carbon fiber from an Electrum paddle
The design lines of the Franklin Carbon STK under a microscope
Franklin Carbon STK center of paddle face
Clearly, Franklin was trying to be different by making these paddles 17 and 14.5mm and trying a new surface, but I have to wonder, how were these being tested, and why is this what they landed on? As semi-annoying as it is to see a market full of copycat raw carbon paddles, it has been proven to be a great surface when it comes to spin. The vibe I've gotten from Franklin is that they aren't trying to keep up with the rest of the market and don't release paddles regularly. If that's the case, why not go with something that you already know works great and then make it cheaper than your competition?
Another pet peeve is that this paddle is marketed as having a t700 face. Even if this is t700 with a different coating on it, surely Franklin knows that everyone in Pickleball has learned t700 usually means the raw carbon fiber that we are used to from CRBN, Electrum, Joola, and so on. So to me, they chose to use that word to convince people it is on par with those paddles when it just isn't.
Anyways, rant aside, while the numbers aren't great, in doubles, it wasn't a giant deal breaker. I could tell there were certain shots I couldn't do as easily anymore, like rolls at the net, thirds weren't as aggressive, and drives were much flatter. But outside of those, it didn't make a huge impact. It was very evident how much top spin I was missing for singles. Jumping back to a raw carbon fiber paddle was a substantial difference in my shots.
Control:
Where both of these paddles exceeded was control. The 17mm truly is an awesome defense paddle. I would put it up there in my top 5 softest paddles I have used to date. Resets mid-court, dinks, or blocks all felt very easy. Even on the 14.5, I felt similarly. While it has more hitting power, it didn't feel much more aggressive, especially if you compare to any other 13mm paddle on the market.
So, as you might expect, power is lacking with these. Hands battles felt very hard to get an edge in because there was not enough pace behind the ball. Even though the 003 is a very soft paddle, the pop feels more firm and crisp off the face, while this feels like it squishes and doesn't pop off very quickly. It's hard to describe without you hitting them side by side, but the pop you get from the Franklins feels dull.
So, I'd mark both of these as control paddles, with the 17mm being exceptionally soft and awesome for defense, but as soon as I wanted to speed the ball up, hit a put away, or start a hands battle, I was anticipating that I would lose the fight. Both of these are softer than the original 16mm Franklin Signature paddle, which has noticeably more pop/power to it with the fiberglass face. These are just a tad more forgiving because of the carbon fiber.
Sweet spot:
I don't have much to note about the sweet spots. They felt about average. Nothing good or bad to say.
Durability:
Usually, I don't have much to say about durability, but I either got a defect, or the durability of the new Franklin's is very poor. For example, I noticed after two singles play sessions with the 14.5 that any time you hit it near the edge guard, it would make a horrible cracking noise similar to how it sounds when you have a loose edge guard and you hit the edge. But I kept checking all the edges and nothing was loose.
A viewer messaged me and said he had an identical issue as well, with no loose edge guard.
By the time I got to my second doubles session, I had noticed that the edge guard was starting to come loose ever so slightly, and then at the end of it, the edge guard was loose around almost the entire paddle. At this point, the paddle had hardly been used and mostly sat in my office waiting to be used. So, with very few play sessions, the edge guard was already having issues. I'm willing to admit that it could be a defect, but Franklin has never been known for exceptional build quality, and I'm afraid that may not have changed with this paddle.
My 17mm did not have any of these issues. So, my 14.5 could have been defective, or the build quality isn't great. Hard to say.
Loose edge guard Franklin 14.5mm
Closing thoughts:
After using these paddles, I have to wonder what the testing process looked like for them. I can't imagine any professional player hitting this and telling Franklin that it should be sold. The spin is mid-tier at best, the paddles are soft, and durability seems low.
I wonder why they took so long to release this. They could have taken the shape they had, given it a raw carbon fiber face, and added more glue for the edge guard and a reinforced handle. It would have been a straightforward recommendation if they did all of that and sold it for $130 or $150.
Instead, we got a subpar surface material and a similar build quality as the previous generation.
Zane Navratil opted not to renew his contract with Franklin, and neither did Lea Jansen. Was this paddle part of the reason that they didn't do renew? All the Franklin players have been stuck with the same fiberglass surface, while the competition has been advancing significantly over the last few years. It is a very well-known fact about the Franklin players that were using the fiberglass model: they would bring up to 6 or more to a tournament and switch to a new one every day because the grit wore out so fast.
I'm purely speculating on this, but If I was a pro player, I could not imagine trying to play with this at an elite level with all of the other options on the market that play way better. I'd be disappointed if this is what I waited several years for Franklin to create. Even watching JW, I feel like he hates it. Watch these clips of him playing his most recent tournament.
In half of those clips, you can tell he wants to snap or throw it. I've never seen JW want to break a paddle before, but he seems much more frustrated ever since he started using this thing. And I can imagine why after playing with it myself.
I don't think the paddle is the worst thing ever, it's playable, and there are probably worse paddles for $150, but I would never pick this over other options in the market. It feels like one of the most mediocre mid-tier paddles you can buy. Not terrible, but just not impressive in any regard.
In the same price range or cheaper, you have the Head Radical Tour Co, SLK Halo, SLK Omega Max (that paddle needs lead tape, though), Diadem Icon, Gearbox GX5 or 6, Selkirk Amped, Vulcan v560, and GRUVN, which is technically $10 more. Still, it would be worth the slight price increase to gain the extra performance.
Of the options I just mentioned, the Head Radical Tour Co, SLK Halo, and GRUVN both blow the Franklin out of the water in almost every regard.
There will be people who buy this and find it perfectly acceptable to play with, but I won't recommend this to anyone when there are far superior options in the same price range. Unfortunately, I was hoping Franklin would turn things around with this paddle, but I think it is a flop.