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Franklin
The Franklin Signature Carbon STR is a 16 mm standard pickleball paddle weighing 8 oz, with a Raw carbon face, listed around $110.
Franklin's most credible performance paddle to date. It will not win a spin shootout, but the balance and build quality are honest for the money.
From Franklin
Franklin’s Carbon STK™ Tech series is where raw carbon meets state-of-the-art technology to create an unforgettable Pickleball experience. Don’t just step onto the court, own it.
Official Franklin product page →Cross-shopping? Most buyers weigh the Signature Carbon STR against the Selkirk SLK Evo Hybrid 2.0 — see them side by side, or browse every Franklin paddle.
Paddle DNA Verdict
Last updated: August 2026
Derived from our published scoring model and sourced paddle specifications.
The Franklin Signature Carbon STR scores 79.8/100 on our IQ index, built from all 15 Paddle DNA traits. Its signature is maneuverability (82/100, 71st percentile of the database — above the database average), backed by forgiveness at 85 and sweet spot at 86. The 16 mm Polymer honeycomb core and Raw carbon face at 8 oz make it a placement-first paddle: you win points by out-positioning people.
Where it gives ground is plow through (64) and spin (80). With a 110 kg·cm² swing weight and a 5 in handle it suits beginner/intermediate players, one-handed backhands, hands battles at the kitchen. Skip it if you rely on raw put-away pace.
Closest paddles by DNA: Selkirk SLK Evo Hybrid 2.0 ($80), Vatic Pro Prism Flash ($74), JOOLA Essentials 16 ($89). If budget matters, the Vatic Pro Prism Flash lands within 0 IQ points for $36 less. Overall: a below-average overall score in the database — only worth it if its one standout trait is exactly what you need.
In depth
The Signature Carbon STR is Franklin's most credible performance paddle. A raw carbon face at $110 with a balanced profile and no trait below 76.
The sections below are analysis of published specifications and Paddle DNA™ values, not a play-test write-up. Where we have hit with a paddle, those notes appear separately and are attributed.
16.0 x 7.9 in standard shape at 110 swing weight gives sweet spot 86, forgiveness 85 and maneuverability 82 at the same time. That is the classic club-paddle combination: a wide face you can move quickly. Power 76 and control 83 sit either side of the middle, so the paddle does not push your game anywhere.
Spin 80 is above the fiberglass group but behind the raw T700 paddles measuring 84-92. The face is raw carbon, but the combination of face texture and a 110 swing weight limits how much racquet-head speed you can put through the ball. It is honest mid-tier spin, not a headline figure.
Twist weight 6.0 and stability 78 are a clear step behind the $180+ group — hard drives at the edge of the face will twist it. The offset is build quality and availability: this is stocked nearly everywhere, which matters when you need a replacement mid-season.
Community consensus
Verbatim excerpts from public discussion and independent reviews, plus the themes they add up to. These are other people's opinions, not ours, and every quote links back to where it was written.
“Where both of these paddles exceeded was control. The 17mm truly is an awesome defense paddle. I would put it up there in my top 5 softest paddles I have used to date.”
“like today i was looking at the Franklin Signature and it had amazing grit! but it has an edge just like the halo.”
“The thinner of this family of affordable-yet-feature-packed paddles boasts a 13mm core that gives it that crisp, responsive pop that players crave for fast hands and quick exchanges at the kitchen.”
“Franklin's MaxGrit fiberglass surface then adds bite and touch, grabbing the ball for controlled spin on dinks and resets while reducing vibration on contact.”
“It's lightweight enough for quick reactions, yet strong enough to put away drives with authority.”
“The paddle has a good feel as long as you hit the sweet spot which is not very large.”
“Spin was average, I was getting 1250-1300 RPMs with it compared to 1500+ RPMs with other raw carbon paddles”
“Power was lacking, especially for a 14.5 mm paddle”
“After spin testing, the Franklin 14.5 was 1393 RPM, and the 17mm was 1316 RPM. So clearly, it does not compete with the high-tier t700 paddles.”
“So, as you might expect, power is lacking with these. Hands battles felt very hard to get an edge in because there was not enough pace behind the ball.”
“The Franklin is softer than even the Vatic, which people say has no power at all, but I find that I can get better pace with it over time as my skill gets better.”
“At the time it was considered a decent paddle in terms of performance, but everyone agreed that the grit wore out on it extremely fast.”
Built from the retailer offers we track for this paddle. In stock at all 2 tracked retailers. Prices last checked Jul 30, 2026.
Tracked price range
$110 – $114
$4 spread between retailers
Typical price
$112
Median of tracked offers
MSRP
$129
Best tracked offer is 15% under list
Recorded low / high
$110 / $114
2 price points since Jul 30, 2026
Cheapest tracked offer sits $2 below the typical price.
AI paddle match
Each pick is the database's best answer to one specific question, ranked by how far it moves the needle versus the Signature Carbon STR.
The matchups people actually cross-shop, each with a full 15-trait breakdown.
Other head-to-heads shoppers read alongside the Signature Carbon STR.
Every trait normalised 0-100 against the full database, so these numbers mean the same thing on any paddle page. How we score →
Key attributes
Our similarity engine ranks the whole database by average DNA deviation. Tighten or widen the band to see how far you have to travel to save money or gain a trait.
Paddle DNA™ match
Franklin Signature Carbon STR
IQ 79.8 · $110
Ranked by DNA deviation
Saves $30 versus the Signature Carbon STR · -6 spin
Saves $36 versus the Signature Carbon STR · +4 spin · -6 swing weight
Saves $21 versus the Signature Carbon STR · +6 control · -8 swing weight · Higher IQ score (82.2 vs 79.8)
+12 swing weight · -15 launch angle
+11 touch · -4 power · Higher IQ score (83.5 vs 79.8)
+12 touch · -8 pop · Higher IQ score (82.9 vs 79.8)
+8 swing weight · -17 launch angle · Higher IQ score (80.3 vs 79.8)
+16 swing weight · -11 launch angle · Higher IQ score (80.2 vs 79.8)
Each pick beats the Signature Carbon STR on one specific thing — price, power, control or forgiveness.
Closest matches by player level, hand weight and price — the paddles most players cross-shop against the Franklin Signature Carbon STR.
Selkirk SLK Evo Hybrid 2.016 mm · hybrid · 7.8 oz · SW 106$8078
Vatic Pro Prism Flash16 mm · elongated · 8 oz · SW 109$7480
JOOLA Essentials 1616 mm · standard · 7.9 oz · SW 108$8982
HEAD Radical Tour Ultra 1616 mm · standard · 7.8 oz · SW 105$16080Want a different matchup? Compare any two paddles or browse the full paddle database. Buying your first paddle? Read the beginner paddle guide.
Official ball supplier to the USA Pickleball National Championships, with an entry-level paddle range built for volume.
Every significant number on this page carries a source and a date. Where a figure comes from the manufacturer rather than our own measurement, we say so.
$110
Amazon listing — checked July 30, 2026
8 oz
Manufacturer specification — recorded August 10, 2026
16 mm
Manufacturer specification — recorded August 10, 2026
110 kg·cm²
Independent measurement data, normalized to our scale
6 kg·cm²
Independent measurement data, normalized to our scale
IQ 79.8/100
Computed from the specs above by our published scoring model
Listed by the manufacturer as USA Pickleball approved
USA Pickleball equipment database — checked August 10, 2026
Not personally tested
Analysis on this page is spec-derived, not play-tested
Spot an error? Send a correction — every fix is logged publicly. Full protocol on our methodology page.
We separate firsthand testing from research-based analysis. Specifications are sourced and dated, corrections are logged publicly, and affiliate relationships never affect Paddle IQ scores.
Reviewed by Alex Zubarev →Our methodology →Editorial policy →
Spec-derived analysis plus cited owner and player reports from public sources. Community opinion is attributed, never restated as our own finding. Editorial policy · Affiliate disclosure
Reviewed by
Alex built the Paddle DNA™ database behind PickleballLookup — 15 normalized traits scored for every paddle in the catalog. Every page on this site is generated from that data and editorially reviewed before publication.
Last updated August 2026 · How we score paddles