Mark 2 R3, Speedup Tide L, Flik F3, Friday Fever 102, and GRUVN LAZR 16-X

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdIUT6Hl8PI

Let's start with the Flik F3 and the GRUVN LAZR-16X. The F3 actually has a pretty unique core design compared to the others. From what I understand it's a high density epp foam core covered by a medium density eva ring and that one is covered by a lighter density eva foam ring. Meanwhile the GRUVN LAZR-16X has the common floating epp core construction but the surface is a blend of carbon fiber and kevlar. For the numbers we got 118 and 6.15 for the F3 and 117 and 6.31 for the GRUVN. All right let's show some gameplay and then do a brief recap.

So like I mentioned in the video, the F3 I found to be the softer feeling one of the two. It had a denser and controllable feel where I would classify this more in the all court category. I would compare the F3 more to the Six Zero Coral in terms of their play profiles. Both very solid foam all court options but for the differences, I would say the F3 is a bit denser than the Coral and also has a very slight edge in firepower. The F3 comes in at a similar price point to the Coral and also has the 3 shapes as well so I see this as a strong competitor to the Coral in the All Court foam space.

As for the GRUVN LAZR-16X, this hits harder than the F3 and I would compare it to the Sword & Shield J6 FC+. It's not a full power paddle like many floating epp foam options but instead it's lower tier in that power category. The Kevlar does give the GRUVN a softer feel on impact compared to the FC+ and overall it's in a similar firepower range to it. One last thing about the GRUVN is how it has a bit of an interesting shape with the rounded corners. Balance wise it's not as head heavy as some of the other elongated options but I did feel the forgiveness near the edges a bit lacking. It's something I would enjoy more with some weight added but still it's a solid performance paddle from GRUVN. They also have another foam hybrid paddle with a slightly different construction that I’ll take a look at in a future video.

All right moving on, let's take a look at the Speedup Tide 14 L, the Friday Fever 102, and the Mark 2 R3. I actually don't know the full details of the Tide but from what I've heard, it's a 14mm MPP foam core while the Fever 102 is basically just the elongated version of their previous 102 so a gen 3 floating core paddle that has some of the rubber weighting in the perimeter. Finally for the Mark 2, this is the only paddle we have hit several times before so this will be the final one before we give our updated thoughts.

Let's recap and talk a bit on the paddles. For the Speedup Tide this was the hardest hitting paddle of the session. For overall firepower I would place this near the top and in a similar realm as a Selkirk Boomstik. As you could see in the gameplay segment, the paddle was loud on contact and the power was surprising the intern team. The shape is a bit interesting since it’s like an elongated version of the Vapor from 11Six24. It did feel like a head heavy paddle with the tapered head and I could feel this especially with the plow through I got on drives and putaways. This reflected in the metrics as well since we saw a higher swingweight of 122 and a twistweight of 6.70 which is surprising because this is a 14mm paddle. I will say though that this didn’t really feel like a 14mm or an MPP foam paddle. It didn’t have the same hollow feedback of other MPP foam cores like the Inferno or Cyclone and it wasn’t as stiff and light feeling as typical 14mms. Overall a very interesting paddle that we had some fun with. It’s more of an advanced paddle because it is harder to control the high power it has but in the right hands this paddle can be deadly.

As for the Fever 102, this is basically what I expected from it. It’s the same paddle we saw in the widebody but now in the elongated shape. For its $100 price point, it’s still a very solid purchase in 2026 for people wanting a gen 3 polypropylene core instead of foam. I do think the 102s are an improvement over the original Fevers because in stock form they come better to use out of the box. The original Friday Fevers were very light and needed added weight to bring out their performance while the 102 I got came with a swingweight of 118 and a twistweight of 6.40 so it’s usable in stock form but also leaves some room for customization.

Like the widebody variant, it’s poppier and denser feeling than Friday’s previous paddles but for overall firepower in today’s market, I would classify these in the high all court category so a bit closer to the Flik F3 for power but it has that stiffer and lighter feel Gen 3s have. It’s the paddle I would recommend if you wanted a $100 Gen 3 but with more control than say a Luzz Cannon.

All right now let’s talk about the Mark 2 R3 which is actually my favorite one of the paddles hit in this video. I’ll throw an image up on the screen but this is going to be a floating EPP core paddle with hexagonal cutouts surrounded by an EVA foam layer. For the surface it uses a blend of Kevlar and Carbon Fiber like it’s done before in some of their previous paddle lines. Finally for the metrics we got 117 for swingweight and 6.25 for twistweight which is pretty standard for an elongated paddle.

The R3 is a power paddle unlike most of the others in this video. I would say its firepower is similar to floating EPP foam core paddles like the Vatic V-Sol Pros and the Bread & Butter Locos but the feel of the paddle is more similar to the Enhance Duo. In a nutshell I would describe the Mark R3 as a juiced up Enhance Duo. It lacks the hollow stiff feedback that the V-Sol Pros and Locos have and it does have a more muted and denser feel like the Duo. But like I mentioned earlier, it’s power level is higher so it is a step up in both power and pop than the Duo. As for the feel, the kevlar in the R3 gives it a slightly softer feel off the face than the Duo which is a bit denser in comparison but you do notice the ball shoot off quicker on impact on the R3.

I do think the feel of the R3 is its key selling point. I found it easier to control than something like the Loco or Luzz Inferno because the kevlar does help absorb the impact more and its construction doesn’t give off that hollow feedback, kind of similar to how the Enhance Duo is but unlike the Duo, the R3 keeps up in firepower with other foam power paddles. It’s in that category where it has higher power than it does pop.

Finally for metrics like the sweetspot they felt comparable to other elongated paddles and there wasn’t anything special to note there.

The R3 isn’t a super unique paddle to hit the market but I do think it’s a very solid performance power paddle and the best paddle Mark Pickleball has released so far. It’s not too different from existing foam power offerings but it does have its own unique feel and a solid spot in the market.