Joola Hyperion CFS 16 Swift Review
The Ben Johns Joola Hyperion CFS 16 Swift is one of the most popular pickleball paddles on the market, and for good reason. The elongated handle makes for easy use of a two handed backhand and a comfortable tennis like feel on the forehand side. The Carbon friction surface allows for heavy topspin on both sides and seems durable. It has plenty of pop on the serve when compared to Joola Vision models and the additional weight is in all the right areas. In this review we’ll go over the specs of the paddle, how it feels during game play, and who we’d recommend this paddle to.
Joola Hyperion CFS 16 Swift Pros and Cons
PROS
- Great all around paddle
- Good for advanced players and even beginners
- Spin friendly and great touch
- Not overly powerful but plenty of pop when needed
CONS
- More power than a typical control paddle (personal preference)
- Expensive paddle for a beginner
- Elongated grip could be slightly longer
- Carbon Friction Surface can wear depending upon usage
Specs
| Description | Specification |
|---|---|
| WEIGHT | 7.9 oz |
| CORE THICKNESS | 16 mm |
| CORE MATERIAL | Reactive Honeycomb Polymer |
| SURFACE | Carbon Friction |
| PADDLE LEGNTH | 16.5 in |
| PADDLE WIDTH | 7.5 in |
| GRIP LEGNTH | 5.5 in |
Features
Aero-Curve Design
The Aero-Curve design allows for less drag and increased swing speed during game play.
Swift Technology
The Swift version of this model is 5 oz lighter on average than the non swift version, thanks to upgraded materials.
Hyper-Foam Edge Wall
A special foam is injected around the edge of the paddle to provide additional stability without sacrificing too much additional weight. The Hyper-Foam Edge Wall allows for a larger sweet spot and consistent feel.
Carbon Friction Surface
The Carbon Friction Surface is an upgrade from the Carbon Grip Surface of previous models. The CFS is more durable and features a Carbon-Flex5 texture for max spin.
Sure-Grip Elongated Handle
Hanlde legnth measures in at 5.5 inches, making it very comfortable for two-handed backhands and hitting a heavy topspin forehand.
Reactive Honeycomb Polymer Core
The Reactive Honeycomb Polymer Core provides dependable consistency and feel for every shot on the court.
Dinks and Volleys
As mentioned above the carbon friction surface and feel of the paddle allowed for easy shots into the kitchen at a moments notice. We had no problem hitting dinks on the forehand or backhand side from up at the net or even when resetting the point into the kitchen.
The vision series from Joola may have been slightly better from a dinking standpoint, but that was mainly due to the fact that those paddles had less pop than the Hyperion. Dinks with The Vision paddle seemed to just perfectly float over the net whereas the Hyperion needed more touch and spin to get the same result. This wasn’t a deal breaker at all and just requires more practice to get right amount of touch and spin.
Volleys felt very strong and consistent as did the overhead. The sweet spot made it easy to connect with the ball at the net for hard shots or sharp angles.
If you lack touch for drinks at the net, consider renting the Vision to see how it compares.
Groundstrokes and Drives
This paddle felt most similar to a tennis racquet due to the elongated handle and shape of the paddle. You can extend your index finger on the forehand side just like you would with a tennis racquet without it touching the face of the paddle or feeling uncomfortable. This allows us to take big swings on the forehand side to bang ground strokes with heavy topspin as well as have great feel and pop on the serve.
The two handed backhand felt right at home thanks to that elongated handle that allowed for the top hand to come through the ball and generate great topspin when you need it. Hitting big groundstrokes on the backhand side felt extremely easy as the paddle had great, controllable power. Hitting 3rd shot drops was also easy to do as there was enough feel to push it over the net and give it good topspin with a flick of the wrist.
Slice shots also came naturally thanks to the carbon grip surface and core. The sweet spot felt large and allowed you to chip the ball wherever you wanted to put it. The control of the Hyperion also made it easy to hit slice shots into the kitchen whenever you needed to reset the point.
Serve and Return
Serving with the Hyperion was a lot of fun. It generates plenty of spin to keep aggressive serves from sailing long and the large sweet spot made it easy to aim. The Hyperion has less power and spin than the Solaire which took some speed off of the serve when comparing the two. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing but was surprising after reviewing the Solaire.
Returns felt controllable and comfortable thanks to the Reactive Honeycomb core. Powerful slice returns were easy to hit deep with plenty of spin. The additional power when comparied to the Vision series was appreciated for the returns.
Conclusion
The Hyperion is one of our favorite paddles we’ve tested and we highly recommend it to anyone who also plays tennis. The main reason we recommend it tennis players (and anyone else, for that matter) is because of the elongated handle, the ability to produce effortless spin, and the perfect balance of power and touch.