The Honolulu J2NF is a 2025 hybrid, and the best thing about it is a big, forgiving sweet spot on a paddle that still swings light. Only eight hybrids have a bigger sweet spot, and it has a bit more control than the average hybrid too. Its power and spin don't stand out, though, so it's an all-court paddle for players who want forgiveness more than raw power. But Honolulu's newer J2CR comes in the same shape for the same $176 with code STS10, and it does more, so that's where I'd go now. For most players that means the J2CR Crystal Blue, which has a durable grit on its face for more spin, and if you need USA Pickleball approval, it means the raw carbon J2CR for its extra power. There's also a J2NF Long Handle with a 6 inch handle instead of 5.5, made for two-handed backhands, and it swings even lighter but gives up some stability.
Every version, side by side
| Out of 100 | J2NF$175.50 with code · hybrid | J2NF Long Handle$175.50 with code · hybrid |
|---|---|---|
| 77B | 77B | |
| 74B | 73B | |
| 73B | 72B | |
| 79B | 76B | |
| 77B | 75B | |
| lower is quicker | 108.9 | 105.9 |
| higher is steadier | 6.60 | 6.13 |
J2NF
$175.50with code STS10
list price $195Code STS10 takes 10% off, and my link applies it for you.
Long Handle
$175.50with code STS10
list price $195Code STS10 takes 10% off, and my link applies it for you.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Its big sweet spot keeps your mishits in play.
- Your dinks and resets come off the face more consistently than on most hybrids, thanks to control that's a bit above average.
- It swings a bit lighter than the average hybrid, which helps in fast exchanges at the kitchen.
- The Long Handle swings even lighter and leaves room for your second hand.
Cons
- Honolulu's raw carbon J2CR costs the same and hits a good bit harder with the same control, so the J2NF's edge comes down to a lighter swing and less pop to manage.
- Power and spin are only average, so if you win your points with drives and serves, it won't give you an edge there.
- Its face is raw carbon, and raw carbon loses spin as it wears, which matters if you play a lot and lean on spin.
- The Long Handle is less stable than most hybrids, so you'll feel more twist when you miss the center.
Quick answers
Is the Honolulu J2NF a power paddle?
No. Its power sits right at the average hybrid's, which is plenty to put away a ball that sits up but won't win you points by itself. Think of it as an all-court paddle that leans toward forgiveness and control.
J2NF or J2FC+?
The J2FC+ is a Honolulu hybrid I reviewed alongside the J2NF in June 2025, and the two score within a few points of each other everywhere. So it mostly comes down to feel. The J2FC+ is plusher, and the J2NF is firmer. The J2FC+ is also one of the steadier hybrids on off-center hits, where the J2NF is about average.
Should I get the 5.5 inch handle or the Long Handle?
Get the Long Handle if you hit two-handed backhands, because that extra half inch is the whole point of it. The overall length stays the same, so the face is a little shorter, and you trade some stability for an even lighter swing. If you don't really use a two-hander, the 5.5 inch version is the more forgiving paddle.
Can I use the J2NF in tournaments?
Yes, in USA Pickleball sanctioned events. The J2NF has been on USA Pickleball's approved list since June 2025, and Honolulu sells the Long Handle as a handle option on that same paddle. Since it isn't UPA-A approved, it's out for PPA and MLP pro events, which go by UPA-A.
How I tested
Honolulu sells both handle lengths as one paddle, the Sword & Shield J2NF, with the handle picked at checkout. I reviewed the J2NF when it went on sale in June 2025 (my first video on it) and the Long Handle that September (my Long Handle review), and each handle length got my full set of scores. Power and pop both come from my Stalker Pro 3S radar. Power is how hard the ball comes off the face on a full swing, and pop is how fast it leaves the face on short punch volleys up at the kitchen. The same radar gives me spin in RPM from 20 serves, with the outliers tossed before I average them. Swing weight is the heft you feel through a swing, and twist weight is how much the face resists turning when you catch a ball off center, and I measure both on my Briffidi SW1. Sweet spot and control are my scores from ball machine sessions, with the same soft-game drills for every paddle. Every score is out of 100, and when I say the average hybrid, I mean the middle of the 61 hybrids I've tested that you can still buy. To see how well different faces hold their spin over time, I also run raw carbon and durable grit paddles through a 75-game wear test, tracking the texture with a Starrett SR160.
Why it's so forgiving
How its spin stacks up against other hybrids you can buy
About average spin for a hybrid, 10 RPM above the average
The top three for spin
- 1Honolulu J2CR Long Handle Crystal Blue2,467
- 211SIX24 Vapor Jelly Bean 22,40364 RPM behind
- 311SIX24 Ultré Jelly Bean 22,39770 RPM behind
- 28Honolulu J2NF2,282185 RPM behind
The sweet spot is a bit bigger than the average hybrid's, and that's where the forgiveness comes from. When a ball catches the face low or out toward the edge, it still makes it back over instead of dying in the net. The extra control helps here too, most of all when the rally speeds up and you need a reset to stay low.
The 5.5 inch version isn't extra stable, though. Its twist weight is right about the average hybrid's, so it holds about as steady as most hybrids when you catch one off center. So that forgiveness comes from the sweet spot, not from stability.
Power, pop and spin all land in the middle
Its power and pop both land right on the average hybrid, and its spin is about average too. So on offense it's a middle-of-the-pack hybrid. What sets it apart is the forgiveness and control.
The spin comes from a raw carbon face with a peel-ply texture, which is the rough finish left on the carbon when the paddle is made. It grabs the ball well when it's new. Raw carbon smooths out the more you play, though, and the raw carbon paddles I've run through my wear test lost between 14 and 20% of their spin. Honolulu's newer J2CR Crystal Blue doesn't have that problem, because its face has a durable grit instead of raw carbon. That Crystal Blue grit lost only about 1% of its spin over all 75 games of the same test. So if spin that lasts matters to you, that's a real reason to look at the J2CR Crystal Blue, which I get into below.
How it feels in your hand next to other hybrids you can buy
Quick in your hands, about average when you miss the middle
How heavy the paddle feels when you swing it. Lower means faster hands.
Swings lighter than most hybrids.
How well the paddle resists turning in your hand when you hit off center. Higher means steadier.
About average twist weight for a hybrid.
How its sweet spot stacks up against other hybrids you can buy
Only eight hybrids you can buy have a bigger sweet spot
Both rings are sized to their score.
Is it crisp or soft?
The J2NF is all foam inside, meaning a solid foam core instead of a plastic honeycomb, so it won't crush and go dead over time the way a honeycomb core can. As for how it feels, that depends on what you're coming from. It's the firmest of Honolulu's 2025 foam hybrids, so next to the J2FC+ it plays crisp and direct. Next to two stiffer foam power paddles, Selkirk's Boomstik and Bread & Butter's original Loco, it feels softer and denser, and it's less hollow than the J2CR too. When I hit my first ball with it in June 2025, my reaction was "Oh man, this is a wonderful feeling paddle."
The Long Handle version
The J2NF Long Handle stretches the handle to 6 inches but keeps the same overall length, so the face loses a little height to fit your second hand. What you get for that is speed. Only two hybrids swing lighter, so it's really quick in hands battles and easy to whip through on a drive. Power doesn't change, though.
What you give up is stability. Its twist weight is lower than most hybrids', so when you catch a hard ball off center, the face gets knocked around more than on the 5.5 inch version. The sweet spot itself is about the same size as the 5.5 inch version's, just a touch smaller.
When I reviewed it in September 2025, I liked it enough that I was pulling it out of my bag more than the 5.5 inch J2NF, but I called it "more of a side grade," not an upgrade.
Weight is how you get the stability back. I ran 7 grams a side, two stacked strips of tungsten tape at the middle of each side edge, and the stability on off-center hits went way up and the plow through got really good. Flick rolls did get a little harder to pull off, though, because all that weight makes the paddle heavier to swing.
J2NF or J2CR?
Honolulu put the J2CR on sale in February 2026, in the same shape and at the same $195 list price. It's built with new tech Honolulu calls Core Reactor, Dynamic PowerFlex and Control Joint, in place of the NF line's Connected Reflex. On court, the CR paddles play hollower, with more firepower.
Next to the J2NF, the raw carbon J2CR hits a good bit harder, has a bit more pop, and its sweet spot is bigger still, with only one hybrid ahead of it. Control comes out dead even and spin is about the same, and what you give up for that is a slightly heavier swing. I reviewed the J6CR, Honolulu's elongated CR paddle, when the CR line was new in November 2025. In that review I said the CR line was going to be a better pick than the NF line the J2NF comes from. That call has held up.
Against the raw J2CR, two things still go the J2NF's way. It swings a bit lighter, and it has less pop to manage than any J2CR. That extra pop on the J2CR takes a lighter touch on drops and resets, so if you're coming from an all-court or lower-powered paddle, the J2NF is the easier one to keep the ball down with.
Which J2CR to get depends on where you play. If you play USA Pickleball events, get the raw J2CR, which is approved and also comes in a 6 inch handle version, in blue only. If you don't, the J2CR Crystal Blue is the one, and it's No. 1 on my hybrid list. It spins a lot more than the J2NF, with a spin score of 94 out of 100 against 73, and it has a good bit more pop. And its Crystal Blue grit barely lost any spin in my wear test. For the longer handle, the J2CR Long Handle Crystal Blue has more spin than any paddle I've tested. Both Crystal Blue versions are less stable than most hybrids, though, so the 5.5 inch J2NF holds steadier when you miss the center.
The catch with Crystal Blue is approval. Both Crystal Blue versions are UPA-A only, so you can't use them in USA Pickleball sanctioned tournaments. UPA-A is the approval the PPA and MLP pro tours go by, and most local clubs and leagues take either approval. USA Pickleball started a new spin test on October 1, 2026 and has begun approving durable grit paddles, but Honolulu's Crystal Blue paddles aren't on its list.
What owners are saying
I read the owner reviews on JustPaddles in November 2026, because Honolulu's own store has none on the J2NF. All four are from intermediate players on the 5.5 inch handle, and they keep coming back to control with enough pop and a big sweet spot. One owner said the ball popped off the face on hard strokes until they got used to it, though power and pop both score about average on my radar. Another said the surface wore down quickly with heavy use, which is what raw carbon does.
Three other paddles to consider
Two paddles you might pick instead
How it stacks up against the J2NFK and the Zen S+
A paddle only wins a score when it leads by 5 points or more.
J2NFHybrid · $175.50
J2NFKHybrid · $175.00The J2NF has more pop. The J2NFK is more controllable. Power, spin and sweet spot are about the same. Same price.
J2NFHybrid · $175.50
Zen S+Hybrid · $169.99The J2NF is more controllable. The Zen S+ hits harder, has more pop, spins more and has a bigger sweet spot. The Zen S+ costs about $5 less.
Honolulu J2NFK: the same shape with more control
Honolulu's J2NFK is the June 2025 sibling with a Kevlar face instead of carbon, and its control is a good bit higher, with only three hybrids above it. Power, spin and sweet spot come out the same as the J2NF's, and it's steadier on off-center hits, since only six hybrids have a higher twist weight. Pop drops a bit, and it swings a bit heavier, so it's not quite as quick at the kitchen. It's on my beginners list because it pairs that much control with power right at the hybrid average, a mix no other paddle I've tested has. Honolulu sells it with the 5.5 inch handle only, and code STSPICKLEBALL takes $20 off its Kevlar models, so it's $175.
Pickleball Apes Zen S+: a lot more power for a bit less control
The Zen S+ is a 2026 foam hybrid from Pickleball Apes, and it's the hardest-hitting paddle I've tested. Next to the J2NF it hits a lot harder, and it spins and pops a good bit more. It forgives a bit more too, with the biggest sweet spot of any hybrid, and it even swings a bit lighter. It has a bit less control, so drops and resets ask more of your hands. If you have the touch for that, it's a lot more paddle for $6 less. The Zen S+ is USA Pickleball approved and $170 with code STSPICKLEBALL, and as of November 3, 2026 it's sold in pre-order batches.
Enhance MPP Turbo ArmorGrit Hybrid: more spin and pop for a lot less
Of these three, the MPP Turbo ArmorGrit Hybrid saves you the most money. It's one of Enhance's 2026 hybrids, and ArmorGrit is the grit coating Enhance puts over its carbon face. At $99.99 with code STSPICKLEBALL, it costs $76 less than the J2NF and still does more on offense. It hits a bit harder, it pops a good bit more, and its 2,354 RPM is the most spin of any paddle under $100 I've tested. Its sweet spot and control are about level with the J2NF's, and it swings just as light. So far, 20 to 25 games into my wear test, ArmorGrit is wearing a little quicker than Honolulu's Crystal Blue. It's USA Pickleball approved too.
My call
The J2NF is still a forgiving, easy paddle to play, and if you already own one, there's no reason to replace it. If you're buying today, though, a J2CR is the better spend at the same price. If you play USA Pickleball sanctioned events, I'd get the raw J2CR, which hits harder and has an even bigger sweet spot with the same control. If you don't, I'd get the J2CR Crystal Blue for the spin and pop, or the J2CR Long Handle Crystal Blue if you want the longer handle. The J2NF still makes sense if the J2CR's extra pop is more than you want to manage. If that's you, get the 5.5 inch handle unless you play two-handed, since it's the more forgiving one. Code STS10 takes 10% off at Honolulu.
Testing details
- Tested, J2NF
- August 7, 2026
- Tested, Long Handle
- August 7, 2026
- Power and pop
- 20 full serves for power and 20 punch volleys for pop, every ball speed read on a Stalker radar gun.
- Spin
- 20 more serves on the radar. I drop the outliers and average the rest.
- Swing and twist weight
- Measured on a Briffidi SW1 swing weight machine.
- Sweet spot and control
- The same dinks, drops, resets and drives off a Titan ONE ball machine, for every paddle.
- The scores
- Out of 100, with the same tests for every paddle. The top paddles I've tested score 100.
- Published
- Scores from
- My database, updated November 8, 2026. How I test
Watch the review
11:38Honolulu J2NF Long Handle Review | This Paddle is Amazing
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