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Franklin Aurelius 12.7mm First Impressions | It's LIGHT
Chris OlsonQuick Summary
The Franklin Aurelius 12.7mm is a very niche paddle for players who demand a very low swing weight paddle (easy to swing) with a thin grip, and short handle length. There aren't many paddles that fit this category. I wouldn't recommend it to the masses, but the people who want a light weight paddle, this can be great if you're willing to add some weight.
Pros
- Extremely light out of the box for people who need a fast paddle
- Small grip size for small hands
- Very customizable for people who like to setup their paddles
Cons
- Being very light comes with drawbacks of a small sweet spot and the ball pushing the paddle around without weight
- Not a paddle that would be recommended for the masses
- The gen 3 design means that the core will most likely core crush at some point
The Franklin Aurelius is a very niche paddle, but the niche that it fills, is a very underserved group of people in Pickleball. If you want a very light paddle, this one is for you. This was designed as Anna Leigh Waters signature paddle, however she has been recently using the original C45 Hybrid as well as the Dynasty.
Franklin Aurelius specs
In this first impression, we will be talking about the 12.7mm variant, as that is the one that I think is the most unique compared to other Franklin paddles.
As you can see from the specs, all variants of the Aurelius are REALLY light. Swing weights below 100 are what I consider to be in the "ultra-light" category. These are paddles that any age or gender should be able to swing very easily. There are very few paddles that are made this light, because they typically have drawbacks of smaller sweet spots and the ball pushes them around because they are so light.
How does the Franklin Aurelius play without weight?
I'm not going to sugarcoat this. It doesn't play well without weight. So, if you like the idea of the Aurelius because it's really light, just know that if you want full performance out of this paddle, you are going to have to add weight. That doesn't mean you need to make it really heavy to play well, but it suffers in two key areas.
The first area is sweet spot. As you would expect from a 12.7mm light weight paddle, the sweet spot is not great. Off center shots feel very unforgiving, and there isn't a lot of energy put back into the ball. So, if you aren't a clean ball striker, you will feel it.
The second area is plow through. Because the paddle is so light, heavy incoming shots like drives push the paddle around very easily, and this can make the paddle feel unstable or hard to generate power. Out of the box, I found that serves, drives, and overheads didn't come off nearly as fast as I would have expected for a gen 3 12.7mm paddle.
So, out of the box with no weight, the sweet spot feels unforgiving, and it doesn't feel particularly powerful. I would place it in the all-court category stock.
What happens when you weight the Franklin Aurelius 12.7mm?
Now with all of that being said, if you're willing to weight this paddle, I think you can unlock some great performance benefits that clean up almost all of the issues I just described.
Adding 36 grams of weight
I tried two different weight setups. The first one was 36 grams of weight which wrapped nearly the entire head of the paddle. This took the swing weight from 92 to 118.
Which, if you don't know what that means, it basically took a light weight paddle and made it pretty heavy. So, this defeats the purpose of having such a light weight paddle. However, it did solve all of my complaints about power, sweet spot, and plow through. I was able to hit very heavy drives to score points quickly with this weight setup. However, I really wouldn't consider this to be a very practical setup for most people, since if you're reading this, you probably want the paddle to remain maneuverable.
Adding 24 grams of weight
So, that's where this second weight setup comes in. By removing the 12 grams of weight from the head of the paddle, it becomes much more manueverable again. The swing weight from 118 all the way down to 104. 104 is still what I would consider in the "ultra-light" category. So, even with a significant amount of weight added, the paddle is still light, and you are getting the performance benefits of added weight.
This acted very similar to 36 grams, but drives and serves weren't quite as heavy as they were before. This makes sense, since removing weight from the head takes away a lot of plow through from the paddle. I found this to be the best balance between keeping it light, and enhancing the overall playability of the paddle. Sweet spot was still much improved even without the weight on the head. I think if I were to use this paddle regularly, I would probably place 3 more grams at the head for my own personal preference. The 24 gram weight setup firmly places this paddle in the power category, but it isn't going to reach the power of paddles like the Selkirk Boomstik, Gearbox GX2 Power, Six Zero Black Opal, or Luzz Inferno. After weight, it's around the mid-tier power category.
So, if you do decide to purchase one of these, don't be afraid to add a good amount of weight at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions. I wouldn't recommend that most people play a paddle at a stock swing weight of 92. There's too many drawbacks, and I think the paddle is still plenty light even with added weight.
Low launch angle
Launch angle isn't something I talk about often, but I did feel that it was something I was picking up on with the Aurelius 12.7mm. I consistently found my drives, and resets coming off the paddle face a lot lower than I was expecting. The first handful of games I was missing just below the tape more often than I would expect. I found myself having to make a noticeable effort to aim higher than I usually would to get the ball to go where I expected. I'm not sure exactly what to attribute this to, but it was something I noticed, and you may as well.
Final thoughts on the Aurelius
To wrap this up, the Aurelius can be a very fun paddle if you're willing to add weight, but for most players who don't need an ultra-light paddle, there are much better options on the market with better overall playability.
But, if you are someone who wants a short handle, thin grip, low swing weight gen 3 paddle, the Aurelius is as good as it gets. The only other paddle I would suggest you consider is the Pickle Poppers Pop N Pink. It's a full foam paddle that is also ultra-light with a thin grip and short handle length. So, if you aren't married to the idea of a gen 3 paddle, the Pon N Pink is another great option to consider.
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Chris Olson is an independent pickleball equipment reviewer with a 4.70 DUPR rating, he has tested over 400 paddles since 2021, each with a minimum 10 hours of on-court play time. Companies are never able to pay for or influence a review. Follow his reviews on YouTube and the Pickleball Studio Podcast.
