If you play an elongated and want power without giving up your soft game, the Honolulu J6CR Crystal Blue is my pick. It's my main paddle. It's also No. 1 on my elongated list and No. 2 on my Best of 2026 list. No elongated I've tested spins more, and for an elongated it's really quick in the hands. It also has way more control than most elongateds, so your drops and resets are a lot easier to keep low. Just know it's a bit less stable on off center blocks, though a few grams of lead tape take care of most of that. The Crystal Blue is UPA-A approved but not USA Pickleball approved, so check with an organizer before a USA Pickleball tournament. If you play USA Pickleball events, the original J6CR is the same paddle with a raw carbon face, and it's approved.
Pros and cons
Pros
- The spin is the best in its shape, and it lasts.
- It has plenty of power, and you can still play a soft game with it.
- It's quick in the hands, and it's the most head-light elongated I've measured.
- It's very forgiving for an elongated, so soft shots you mishit still land.
Cons
- Big hitters can push it around a little on blocks you catch off center. Some lead tape at 3 and 9 o'clock is the fix, and I explain the setup below.
- Honolulu sells it in batches, so you might wait a few weeks for yours.
Quick answers
Should I get the J6CR or the J2CR?
It comes down to where you win your points. The J2CR Crystal Blue is Honolulu's hybrid with the same core and grit. It's the better pick at the kitchen, with a bigger sweet spot and a little more pop on short punch shots. The J6CR gives you a little more reach, plus a bit more power than the standard J2CR. Spin is about the same, and the full breakdown is below.
Crystal Blue or the original J6CR?
The only difference is the face. The Crystal Blue grit gives you a good bit more spin and wears a lot better, and the raw carbon original has a little more power and USA Pickleball approval. The Crystal Blue has UPA-A approval, which is what PPA and MLP pro events go by. Most clubs and leagues accept both. USA Pickleball started a new spin test on October 1, 2026, and some grit paddles have passed it since. Honolulu hasn't announced the Crystal Blue as one of them.
Is the J6CR or the Boomstik better?
Selkirk's Boomstik Elongated is one of the hardest hitting elongateds out there, and it's more stable, so it's the one for hitting through people. If you want spin and a soft game you can trust, get the J6CR. It spins a lot more, has more control and swings lighter, for about half the price.
How long is the J6CR handle?
Honolulu lists it at 6 inches, counting the part where it widens into the face. That's plenty of room for a two-handed backhand.
How I tested the J6CR
The J6CR Crystal Blue went through the same tests as every paddle I review. Ball speed for power and pop comes off my Stalker Pro 3S radar, which also reads spin RPM on my serve test. My Briffidi SW1 gives me swing weight and twist weight, and I measure the balance point on every paddle. Control and sweet spot are my scores from the same ball-machine dink, drop and reset drills every paddle gets. For grit wear, I tracked the Crystal Blue face through my wear test with my Starrett SR160 surface roughness tester. I first made a video on the Crystal Blue in June 2026, I Tested the Most Hyped Paddle of 2026 | Honolulu J6CR Blue Grit.
The most spin of any elongated I've tested
How its spin stacks up against other elongateds you can buy
The most spin of any elongated paddle you can buy, 146 RPM above the average
The top three for spin
- 1Honolulu J6CR Crystal Blue2,424
- 211SIX24 Hurache-X Jelly Bean 22,39529 RPM behind
- 3Engage Axiom Elongated2,39430 RPM behind
You don't need a big swing to get the spin. A roll dink dips at your opponent's feet, and topspin drives drop into the court instead of sailing long. It measured 2,424 RPM, a perfect 100 for spin, against 72 for the average elongated. My No. 1 for 2026 is 11SIX24's Ultré Power 2 hybrid. It spins about the same, so spin won't settle a choice between those two, and I compare them further down.
The spin also lasts. In my wear test, the Crystal Blue grit lost only about 1% of its spin over 75 games, the same as the HexGrit face on the Ultré. Raw carbon faces lost 14 to 20%, which is the big reason to pick the Crystal Blue over the original J6CR.
It hits hard, and you can still reset
Drives come off deep and fast. It scores 87 out of 100 for power, above the average elongated's 80 and a step below the hardest hitting elongateds like Selkirk's Boomstik Elongated. There's plenty of pop too, so speed-ups and counters at the kitchen come off with pace.
What sets it apart is that the power doesn't run away from you. The ball comes off at a pace that matches your swing, so a soft drop stays soft. It scores 69 out of 100 for control, way above the average elongated's 45. A rushed reset can still sit up, though, because it has pop to spare. Your touch may take a little time to adjust to it.
Quick in your hands
It swings light and moves fast. Only three elongateds you can buy have a lower swing weight, and no elongated I've measured is more head-light. In hands battles, it plays more like a hybrid than an elongated.
Forgiving on dinks, less stable on hard blocks
The sweet spot is one of the biggest you'll find in an elongated. It scores 72 out of 100, a lot more than the average elongated's 52, and only the Boomstik Elongated and the original J6CR beat it. Catch a reset a little off center and it still lands close to your target.
Hard blocks are a different story. On a hard drive you block off center, the face turns a touch more than most elongateds, and the block can drift wide. That's what twist weight measures, and the J6CR's is below average for an elongated. It's the main con, and it's an easy fix. I'd add about 3 grams of lead tape on each side of the head, at 3 and 9 o'clock, which makes the face noticeably more stable.
How it feels in your hand next to other elongateds you can buy
Quick in your hands, a little less steady when you miss the middle
How heavy the paddle feels when you swing it. Lower means faster hands.
Only three elongated paddles you can buy swing lighter.
How well the paddle resists turning in your hand when you hit off center. Higher means steadier.
Less steady than most elongated paddles.
How its sweet spot stacks up against other elongateds you can buy
Only two elongated paddles you can buy have a bigger sweet spot
Both rings are sized to their score.
The feel: a little Honolulu softness
Compared to most power paddles, you still get a little of that Honolulu softness. It's just not a plush paddle. It's on the firm side with a slightly hollow sound, but not as firm as the Boomstik. The Crystal Blue face makes it a touch firmer than the original raw carbon J6CR. If you want plush, look at Enhance's MPP Turbo ArmorGrit Elongated instead. It's a budget paddle I cover below, and MPP foam is usually softer than the EPP foam in the J6CR.
Crystal Blue, raw carbon or the new MPP core
Honolulu builds the Crystal Blue and the original J6CR the same way, and only the face changes. Both are $195, or $176 with code STS10. The original came out first, in January 2026, and Honolulu started shipping the Crystal Blue in late May 2026.
The original hits a little harder on my numbers, and everything else is close except spin. That's where they split. The Crystal Blue is at 100 out of 100 for spin against 85, and its grit keeps that spin while raw carbon wears down. The original is USA Pickleball approved, so it's the one for USA Pickleball tournaments. As of October 24, 2026, it was sold out on Honolulu's site. The Crystal Blue sells in batches, and the next one ships November 13, 2026.
On October 6, 2026, Honolulu opened pre-orders for the J6CR M 105 Crystal Blue. It's a version with an MPP core, which Honolulu says gives a "softer bottom end feel and more potential top end power." The first batch sold out, and the second ships December 10, 2026. It's a different core, so none of my numbers here apply to it.
The rest of the Crystal Blue family
Honolulu makes the same core and grit in two other shapes, the J2CR Crystal Blue hybrid and the J3CR Crystal Blue widebody. The J2CR comes in a standard and a Long Handle version. Spin is elite on all of them, so the choice comes down to shape.
The J2CR is built for kitchen battles. The standard version is the poppiest of the family, and its sweet spot is a good bit bigger than the J6CR's, 84 out of 100 against 72. Against the standard J2CR, the J6CR has a bit more power, and its longer shape adds a little reach. The standard J2CR's handle is tight for two hands, so get the Long Handle if you hit a two-handed backhand.
The J3CR has the most spin of any widebody I've tested, and a good bit more power than the average widebody. It's the one if you want a widebody that doesn't give up spin. All of them are $176 with code STS10.
Next to the Ultré Power 2
The Ultré Power 2 sits one spot above the J6CR in my 2026 rankings. I compared them head to head in July 2026 in J6CR vs Ultre Power 2: The Paddle I'd Actually Buy in 2026.
Power goes to the Ultré, 94 out of 100 against 87, and its flat top keeps the face more stable on off center blocks. In return, the J6CR has more control, 69 against 58, and it swings a bit lighter. It's also about $24 cheaper, with code STSPICKLEBALL on the Ultré and STS10 on the J6CR. Their spin is right around the same, and both grits held up equally well in my wear test. If your game is pace from the baseline, the Ultré is the better buy. If you'd rather play an elongated and lean on your soft game, go with the J6CR.
What owners are saying
In October 2026 I read through the owner reviews at four stores, for both the Crystal Blue and the original. What owners bring up most is getting power and control in one paddle, and about a dozen said so across both versions. A few Crystal Blue owners call out the spin, and one on JustPaddles said the shapes they're getting on the ball are "ridiculous."
The sweet spot mostly gets praise, and Desert Paddles owners call it huge and forgiving. One Pickleball Nation owner of the original found it small and said they'd use the J2CR instead. The J2CR does have the bigger sweet spot, but for an elongated, the J6CR's is one of the biggest I've tested.
A couple of owners of the original saw the raw face wear. One on Rackets & Runners in Canada noticed the texture wearing down a little in the middle after six months and switched to the Crystal Blue. Another on Desert Paddles said the raw surface marked up fast. A few Crystal Blue buyers on Desert Paddles mentioned long waits, up to seven weeks. Not one owner I read reported a crack, delamination or core problem. Honolulu's warranty is one year, and it doesn't cover differences in how the grit looks.
Other elongateds to consider
Two paddles you might pick instead
How it stacks up against the Boomstik Elongated and the MPP Turbo ArmorGrit Elongated
A paddle only wins a score when it leads by 5 points or more.
J6CR Crystal BlueElongated · $175.50
Boomstik ElongatedElongated · $333.00The J6CR spins more and is more controllable. The Boomstik hits harder and has more pop. Sweet spot is about the same. The Boomstik costs about $157 more.
J6CR Crystal BlueElongated · $175.50
MPP Turbo ArmorGrit ElongatedElongated · $99.99The J6CR spins more, has a bigger sweet spot and is more controllable. Power and pop are about the same. The MPP Turbo ArmorGrit costs about $75 less.
Selkirk Boomstik Elongated: more power and stability
The Boomstik is Selkirk's big power paddle from August 2025, and it's the one to look at if you want more firepower. It hits harder, with more pop, and it's one of the most stable elongateds I've tested. Unlike the Crystal Blue, it's USA Pickleball approved. It spins a lot less, though, and it has less control and a heavier swing. It's also noticeably stiffer and more hollow. It's $333, nearly double the J6CR's $176 with code STS10. Code INF-STSPICKLEBALL adds a $40 Selkirk gift card, the most Selkirk gives on an order this size. The price stays the same. Thank you for supporting the channel.
Enhance MPP Turbo ArmorGrit Elongated: the budget pick
Enhance's MPP Turbo ArmorGrit Elongated came out in October 2026 with its ArmorGrit surface, and it's the elongated I'd look at if you want to spend less. Power and pop are about the same, and it's more stable when you catch a block off center. It's USA Pickleball approved, and at $99.99 with code STSPICKLEBALL, it's about $76 less. What you give up is spin and control, a good bit of each, plus a bit of sweet spot. It also feels softer and more plush, thanks to its MPP core. So far in my testing, ArmorGrit has worn a little faster than Crystal Blue. Enhance covers the core for one year.
My call
For an elongated player who wants power, spin and touch in one paddle, the J6CR Crystal Blue is the paddle I'd buy, and it's the one I play. Add a little lead tape if you block a lot of hard drives. Get the original J6CR if you need USA Pickleball approval. If you live at the kitchen, the J2CR Crystal Blue gives you more forgiveness, and if you want more pace and a more stable face, look at the Ultré Power 2. The Boomstik Elongated brings even more firepower, and the MPP Turbo ArmorGrit Elongated is the pick on a budget.
Testing details
- Tested
- April 28, 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, which gave this paddle 2,424 RPM.
- 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
- Updated
- Scores from
- My database, updated October 21, 2026. How I test
Watch the review
10:32I Tested the Most Hyped Paddle of 2026 | Honolulu J6CR Blue Grit
No. 3
No. 4
No. 1
No. 4
No. 4
No. 1
No. 3
