Franklin joined the carbon fiber party with their latest Carbon STK signature paddle. They also signed top male pro, JW Johnson, and the whole Johnson family to promote this new line of paddles. There has been a lot of hype generated in anticipation of them. I was all about the hype and was very excited to get my hands on one to play and review.
Franklin is using the same T700 carbon fiber that most big and little names are using in their paddles. However, when I first picked up the paddle I noticed that the surface didn’t look the same as other carbon fiber paddles. It feels heavily textured to the touch, but it was different. I even took a closer look at it under a microscope and the surface appears a lot different (more on this below). Naturally, I was really curious to see how that would play.
Franklin offers their Carbon STK Signature paddle in 17 mm and a 14.5 mm versions. For this review, I played with the 14.5 mm version. After playing with this paddle for three weeks, here are my thoughts on its performance.
Table of Contents
Performance Summary
Price: $149.99
Here’s my list of what I believe to be the general pros and cons.
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Performance Details
The first thing that stuck out to me about the STK is that the paddle feels really light and well balanced when you hold it. My paddle came in at 7.8 oz and it feels good when you swing it. My first few times playing with it was a struggle for me, though. The paddle has a good feel as long as you hit the sweet spot which is not very large. I certainly got much better with the paddle over time, but I wasn’t getting the same consistency as I get from other higher tier paddles that I expect and need. Even towards the end of my three week playtest I continued to have several mishits a game due to the smaller sweet spot. It was frustrating.
I would categorize this paddle as a control paddle, despite its thinner core. Thinner cores usually give you more pop but this was giving me the power of a 16mm paddle. The paddle has a semi soft feel to it that I liked and could control well as long as I hit the sweet spot. It took me a few games to adjust to its feel, like it does with every new paddle I play, but it took me a little longer than normal to connect with it for some reason. My drops and dinks success percentage was lower overall, not because the paddle didn’t have a good feel but because I missed the smaller sweet spot more than I’d like and the shot would fall short.
I was excited to see how the spin felt with the STK being advertised as a raw carbon fiber face, but it was rather disappointing. It does not have the same high spin rating I’ve come to expect from paddles with the specs that it has. I wouldn’t say it was without spin, but would chalk it up as average.
I could generate enough power on my own, but this paddle doesn’t give you any extra pop for a 14.5 mm paddle. If I hit my drives and overheads in the sweet spot I could usually hit them hard enough to be effective, but if you don’t hit it just right, it was really ugly. What was really strange was that it sometimes makes a really horrible loud noise when you hit it near the edge when you are trying to slam the ball. I’ve never experienced anything like it with another paddle.
The paddle does absorb the ball really well, plus it felt stable which really came in handy in defending drives and speed ups. I feel like I could slow the game down when my opponents were being really aggressive. Its combination of good control and a thinner core for increased maneuverability was the highlight of the paddle for me.
The longer 5.6 inch handle felt fine to me, I didn’t think it was too long or anything. I don’t play any two handed shots but it would be comfortable if I did. The handle itself is bulkier and you can feel the honeycomb core on the side of it which I didn’t like. There are much nicer handles out there.
The bottom line: I was disappointed with the STK. It doesn’t give you the extra pop to justify its smaller sweet spot. I can think of a few other paddles in the $100-$150 range that I’d rather play than the STK.
Paddle Design and Technology
The two things that stand out with these specs are the Intro Infused Carbon Fiber Surface and the 17 mm thickness option. 17 mm is an uncommon thickness. You typically see thicker paddles at 16 mm. I didn’t get to play with it for this review so I can’t speak to it unfortunately.
The other feature, Nitro Infused Carbon Fiber Surface, is different than anything else out there. Franklin advertises this face as a raw carbon face like a lot of other paddles but it doesn’t look or feel like all other raw carbon paddles to the touch. Here’s a close of the face material under a microscope comparing the Nitro Infused Carbon to a regular raw carbon face from CRBN.
It’s obvious that they are very different. The Nitro Infused Carbon looks smoother under the microscope in comparison. I like that Franklin tried to do something different and innovative, but it didn’t work out for them this time and its lower spin rating is a drawback.
Comparing the STK to Other Top Tier Carbon Fiber Paddles
The Carbon STK did not stack up very well against their competition. You can get better forgiveness, control, and spin with other carbon fiber paddles on the market. I don’t think I’d put this one above any other raw carbon paddles I’ve played. A big draw to Franklin paddles is their cheaper price points, but that doesn’t even stay true with this paddle. Selkirk recently released their SLK Halo series which is $10 cheaper than the STK and performs better. For some reason this paddle was very hyped up in my mind and I was excited to play with it, but unfortunately, Franklin missed this one.
We weren’t fans of the Carbon STK so we won’t be carrying this one in our store. This is why we like to review paddles before we decide to carry them in our store.
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GET FITTEDRiley competes at the 4.5 level and plays in 2-3 tournaments a year. He plays/drills 1 to 3 times a week and would play more if time allowed it.
