THE PADDLE REGISTER · 2025 · CURRENT

Honolulu Sword & Shield J2NF family (J2NF · LH · J2NFK · J2NFT · J2FC+)

Reviewers agreed on a large sweet spot at a low swing weight: Pickleball Studio rated it 8/10 and kept it ahead of the Gearbox GX2 Power for his own game; Pickleball Effect flagged that the peel-ply grit wears faster than rivals. Speak Pickleball named it 2025 Paddle of the Year.

List price
$195
Launched
June · first reviews Jun 13-28; later batches Aug 21-Sep 12, 2025date known to the month
Build
Full foam (Gen 4)
Thickness
16mm
Shapes
Hybrid
Warranty
1 year
1216.2 in7.8 in5.3 in16 mm
Drawn to scale from the published dimensions. Left: the face. Right: cut away to the core. An original drawing, not a product photo.
USA PICKLEBALLApproved Sanctioned amateur play.
UPA-ANot on the list PPA Tour and MLP.
QUIET CATEGORYNot listed USAP's under-80 dB list for noise-restricted courts.
PATENTSNo patent action known Brand-level status, from the ITC case file and settlements.

Certification note. USAP approved. Pickleball Studio noted on Jul 23 2025 that the line was not UPA-A certified.

Status checked Sep 21, 2026. Lists change; confirm on the USAP and UPA-A lists before a tournament.

TIMELINE

  1. Jun 2025 LAUNCH Launch: June · first reviews Jun 13-28; later batches Aug 21-Sep 12. pickleballeffect.com ↗

HOW IT IS BUILT

Full EPP foam center with lighter foam notched into the perimeter like interlocking puzzle pieces, under a carbon / fiberglass / carbon face with a raw peel-ply texture. The J2FC+ keeps a Gen 3-style foam ring with a triple carbon face.

  1. 1EPP foam center
  2. 2lighter foam notched into the perimeter
Face
carbon / fiberglass / carbon, raw peel-ply texture

Construction per pickleballeffect.com ↗

1216.25 in nominal7.7 in6 in16 mm
J2NF LH

VARIANTS · PUBLISHED AND MEASURED NUMBERS

VariantShapeLength × widthHandleCoreWeightSwingweightTwistweightFrom
J2NF hybrid 16.2 × 7.8 in 5.3 in 16 mm 8.08 oz 111 6.68 pickleballstudio.com ↗
J2NF LH hybrid 6 in 16 mm 8.05 oz 113 6.73 pickleballstudio.com ↗
J2NFK hybrid 5.3 in 16 mm 8.14 oz 112 6.84 pickleballstudio.com ↗
J2NFT hybrid 5.3 in 16 mm 8.21 oz 113 6.78 pickleballstudio.com ↗
J2FC+ LH hybrid 6 in 16 mm 7.99 oz 112 6.76 pickleballstudio.com ↗

Swingweight and twistweight are each lab's own measurement of its own sample. Unit-to-unit variance is normal.

MEASURED BY THE LABS

The register does not re-measure paddles or copy a lab's numbers wholesale. Power, pop and spin belong to the people with the radar guns; go read them.

FIELD REPORTS · AFTER YOU BUY IT

Reviewers measure a paddle new. Nobody measures it at hour sixty.

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Keep a bag on Rally: log the hours you put on this paddle, when the grit fades, and when it goes dead. It stays on your device until you press "send a wear report", and the report carries no name.

Open the bag on Rally ↗ Compare with…

SOURCES · HIGH CONFIDENCE

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NEARBY IN THE REGISTER

the whole register · everything from Honolulu · the 2026 calendar · CC0