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

Update 10/15/21: The grit wears out pretty quickly. I play about 3 times per week, about 2 hrs per session. I use a lot of top spin on my serve and pretty consistent on accuracy. I recently noticed I was serving more and more into the net. I thought it was me, but then I closely inspected the paddle; by feel and magnifying glass. I could feel the smoothness of the paddles surface inthe sweet-spot, where the grit used to be. Grit is still present around the paddle edges. So, it appears my service motion is still the same, but I'm not getting the same "grab" on the ball that the grit provided. Hence the serve has flattened out instead of the higher trajectory that I was formerly getting. The problem is not as noticeable on regular ground strokes because the red & black lines are slightly raised. Since paddle position is more horizontal on forehand/backhand drives, the red/black lines provide a little ball grab. It's still a great paddle and with the knowledge I now have, I can adapt my serve to compensate for the lack of grit in the sweet spot. Everything else I previously said about the paddle still holds true.This paddle is light, has a big sweet spot, lengthy handle for big hands, and provides great ball control. But the feature I like most is the max grit. It has the most allowed in accordance with USAPA rules. Admittedly, I am a spin junkie and put some sort of spin on most every shot I take (side, slice, or top spin). The only exception would be dink shots. This paddle has good power, but not great. So if your style is that of a "banger", you may want to consider something else.

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.

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!

My first upgrade after going the beginner starter pickleball paddle. Major difference in size of sweet spot and power. Slightly heavier but not too heavy, which powers through the ball with less effort. Slightly better sound. This could be all I need for years. My previous paddle was the SLK neo