Sword & Shield J6 FC+ and NF Overview & Comparison: Is this the best Honolulu Pickleball Paddle?

Honolulu Pickleball's New J6 Elongated: Is It the Best Shape in Their Lineup?

Hey guys, the Honolulu Pickleball Company just announced their new J6 elongated shape into their already vast lineup. So today we're going to talk about this shape and answer some questions you guys have been asking me about their paddles. How does the FC+ compare to the NF series? And is the new J6 now the best shape in their lineup? Let's find out.

The J6 Shape Breakdown

All right, starting off, let's look at the new elongated Sword and Shield J6 shape. For dimensions, it's 16.5x 7.5 with a 5.75 in handle and a core thickness of 16 mm. What makes it different from other elongated paddles is its flatter design. If you look at the corners of the paddle, you'll notice it's not as rounded as other shapes and more flatted with no taper. This actually helps in giving both J6 models some very solid numbers. For both the FC+ and NF, I got a swing weight of 117 and a twist weight of 6.60.

Swing weight is in an average range for an elongated paddle. But the twist weight is well above average, giving this paddle very solid stability considering that the J6 has an above average handle length. Typically, elongated paddles that have longer handles usually suffer a bit in their stability because there is less paddle surface area, but Honolulu manages to solve this issue with its new shape by flattening out the corners, which helps bump up the twist weight numbers, giving you the best metrics on an elongated, long-handled paddle.

A Word of Caution About the Sweet Spot

Now, that said, the numbers aren't everything. And there is one thing I do want to bring up here. Although the twist weight is higher compared to most elongated paddles on the market, for those of you coming from a typical elongated paddle, you may not like the J6 shape out of the box. While the J6 does provide more stability, it does so at the cost of lowering the sweet spot compared to a traditional elongated paddle like a Loco, Perseus, or CRBN 1. So, for me, going from a Loco to a J6, I did feel that the sweet spot at the top of the paddle wasn't as nice as other aforementioned paddles. I couldn't be as aggressive at the kitchen line on flicks or my two-handed backhand top spin dink because shots felt worse at contact on that top area of the paddle and the ball would die off.

That said, the swing weight wasn't heavy on this. So, I added three grams of Pickleball Effects’ 1 gram per inch tuning tape at the 10 and two positions to raise this balance point a bit higher for my liking, giving me a final swing weight of 122 and a twist weight of 7.45, which ultimately worked out better for me.

I didn't find the paddle to be too heavy, and I was able to increase the balance as well as give the paddle a bit more plow through. Now, this is just more of a personal preference. And the reason I bring this up is because I do want to warn people that if you do tend to hit near the top of the paddle and are used to the traditional elongated shade paddles, you may not like the location of the hitting area on the J6 out of the box. But I do think it can simply be adjusted with perimeter weighting. For me, 122 swing weight is fine, but you can also go with less weight if that's too heavy for you.

My Take on the J6

Overall, I think the J6 is a fantastic elongated shape from Honolulu. It gives you both good stability and the option for an above average handle length as well as coming in at an average weight that can still be customized. I do think that for the average player, they will really enjoy the high stability that the shape has to offer. For people who don't often use elongated shapes, they'll find the J6 a better transition than say a Perseus because of that increased forgiveness at the bottom areas of the paddle.

J6 vs J7 vs J2

Now, how does this compare to Honolulu's other shapes, specifically the J2 and the J7? Well, compared to the J7, the J6 is shorter by .1 inches and also has a flatter design, giving it more overall stability and actually more paddle surface area. The J7 is a bit longer, giving you a tiny bit more reach, but out of the box, the stability isn't as great in comparison.

For the majority of people, the J6 is going to be the better elongated option, giving you something that works well out of the box and that's more forgiving. The J7 is one that does need more weight to open up its potential, but I think it's better when you really want to prioritize reach. So, that's the one I would go for if I were to play singles. But overall, I would pick the J6 for every other situation. I think the J7 is more of a niche paddle and I'm glad Honolulu is pushing more for the J6 as their flagship elongated paddle instead.

As for the J2, this is their hybrid shape option. So basically, compared to the J6, it's shorter in length and a little wider. It's more maneuverable and stable due to its lower swing weight and higher twist weight. But this comes at the cost of having less overall power and aggressiveness due to its shorter reach. And honestly, that's basically the difference between the J6 and the J2. The overall feel is going to be the same between the series, but the main difference is that the J2 is going to be easier for most players to use. The short handle version is the more stable one, and that's the more beginner friendly one because of the high stability it offers. Though, this does come at the cost of a shorter handle and a lower balance. The longer handle variant, on the other hand, gives you more handle room, obviously, but it comes in at a lighter weight and offers more flexibility and customization.

The J6, I think, is the natural step up compared to the J2 shapes when you want to look for more aggression and power. It lets you have a longer handle, and you don't lose out too much on stability compared to the majority of other elongated paddles. So, it's still forgiving overall.

Quick Shape Overview

So, for a quick overview of the shapes, the J7 I think is a very niche one that I would only really consider for singles, and even then it really needs perimeter waiting to open up. The J2s are more beginner friendly and better options for people that want more maneuverability and stability, while the J6 is going to be the one you want when you want that elongated shape. Personally, I think the J6 is the best out of the bunch, but the J2 long handle, I would say, is the best overall for the majority of players.

NF vs FC+

Now, lastly, let's talk about the NF versus the FC+. The NF uses a notched foam core, while the FC+ uses a floating EP Pcore. The former uses fiberglass sandwiched between carbon fiber and a CFC layup, while the FC Plus only uses carbon fiber in the surface. In terms of how they play, the NF has a more responsive feel to it, so it's got more pop off the face and less dwell time. The FC+ is more muted where you get more of that ball pocketing feel and less pop. For overall firepower, I would give this to the NF. The FC+s does have a slight edge when it comes to power on full drives and shots, but for the majority of shots you'll hit in game, the extra pop from the NF gives more power, which is why it comes out on top for overall firepower.

As for firepower, compared to other paddles on the market, I would place both the NF and FC+ at the bottom of the power category. They're not at the level of the Boomsticks Pro 4s, or even the 11624 Power series. They're a more beginner-friendly power paddle to get into, especially the FC+, but I wouldn't recommend this line if you're looking for higher firepower.

But anyways, between the NF and FC+, which one do I pick? Personally, I do like the responsive feel better, and I'm going to go with the NF here. But the FC Plus is a more beginner friendly option since it absorbs impact better, and it's also the better option for people who enjoy more of of the muted feel and paddles.

My Final Recommendations

So, with all this info, what do I think is the best paddle out of the Honolulu Gen 4 lineup series? No surprise here, but I'm going to go with the J6 NF. With the 10 and two weight setup, I do think this is a great paddle option for me to use when I want a more controllable power paddle to bring out. Now, for the more beginner friendly paddle in this lineup, this is going to the short-handled J2 FC+. The combination of high stability with a more muted feedback makes this a fantastic option for people looking for a controllable hybrid power pedal. And finally, for what I think is the best overall option that will appeal to the most people in this lineup, I'm going to give that to the J2 NF with a long handle for the flexibility it offers.

All right, I hope you guys enjoyed this video and let me know what you think in the comments down below. Right now, the new J6 shapes are now available for pre-order.