The Hyperion 3S is JOOLA's rounded-head elongated, and it swings lighter than most long paddles, so it's quick in your hands when someone speeds a ball at your body. JOOLA put it out in 2024 as the round-top sibling of the Perseus 3S, so it's for a player who wants the reach of a long paddle without the Perseus's heavier swing. But right now I'd skip it, because cheaper paddles beat it on every score I test.
Its big weakness is pop, meaning how fast the ball comes off the face on a short punch. The Hyperion's pop is in the bottom sixth of the elongateds I've tested, and nothing else on it is good enough to make up for that, since its other scores are about average at best.
JOOLA has stopped selling the original, and the one it sells now is the Hyperion 3S Dual, where the big change is approval. JOOLA's page shows it with USA Pickleball approval, so you can take it to sanctioned tournaments, and it has UPA-A too, which is what PPA and MLP pro events go by. My numbers are all from the original 16mm, since I haven't tested the Dual yet.
Pros and cons
Pros
- It's one of the lighter swinging elongateds, so it's easy to move at the kitchen for a long paddle.
- The handle is long enough for a two-handed backhand.
Quick answers
Is the Hyperion 3S banned?
No. It was never pulled the way JOOLA's earlier Gen 3 paddles were. The original 3S launched with UPA-A approval only, so it isn't on USA Pickleball's list, and that keeps it out of USA Pickleball sanctioned tournaments, though most local leagues and clubs accept UPA-A. The Dual fixes that, since JOOLA lists it with both approvals.
What's the difference between the Hyperion and the Perseus?
The one you can see is the head shape, a rounded top on the Hyperion and a flat one on the Perseus. In my testing, the Hyperion swings lighter and the Perseus has a lot more pop, and in 16mm the Perseus is also more stable. I break down both below.
Is the Hyperion 3S Dual the same paddle?
Close, but not exactly, and JOOLA and the stores don't quite agree on what changed. I haven't tested it yet, so I lay out what each one says below.
What replaced the Hyperion 3S?
The Hyperion Pro IV in spring 2025, then the Hyperion Pro V in 2026 at $300. JOOLA brought the 3S back in October 2025 as the $200 Dual, so you'll find it on JOOLA's site next to the Pro V. I don't have numbers on the Hyperion Pro IV or Pro V yet, so they aren't scored on this page.
How I tested the Hyperion 3S
Here's what goes into my numbers. Power and pop are how fast the ball leaves the face, clocked on a Stalker Pro 3S radar, and spin is the RPM it carries off a serve test. Swing weight and twist weight are measured on a Briffidi SW1. Swing weight is the effort it takes to move the paddle through a swing, and twist weight is how much it resists twisting on an off-center hit. Sweet spot and control are my own ratings, from a ball machine feeding me resets, drops and dinks. Every rank here is out of the 81 elongateds I've tested that are still for sale, and prices and stock are from November 7, 2026.
I tested the original Hyperion 3S in 16mm. JOOLA also sold a 14mm, but I don't have numbers on it, and the Dual only comes in 16mm.
What the Hyperion 3S Dual is
How its spin stacks up against other elongateds you can buy
Less spin than most elongated paddles, 41 RPM below 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
- 56JOOLA Hyperion 3S2,237187 RPM behind
The 3S line exists because JOOLA's Gen 3 paddles got pulled. They passed USA Pickleball's testing when they were new, but once they broke in, they were way over the power limit, and USA Pickleball took them off its list in May 2024. JOOLA came back that August with the 3S, a toned-down version with UPA-A approval only. The Hyperion came in Ben Johns and Simone Jardim editions.
Then in October 2025, JOOLA released the 3S Dual at $200, approved for USA Pickleball play as well as UPA-A. Here's where it gets murky. JOOLA says the Hyperion Dual has "a new and improved core," but one store said JOOLA told them the 3S Dual line is built almost the same. Two stores describe the Hyperion Dual as playing with slightly less raw power than the original, with a smoother finish on the face. Until I can test it, I'd expect a Dual to play close to the numbers here, maybe with a touch less power and spin.
For the original, Tennis Warehouse has the Simone Jardim edition in stock at $185. It's $15 cheaper than the Dual and fine if your leagues and clubs accept UPA-A. If you play USA Pickleball sanctioned tournaments, get the Dual.
How it feels in your hand next to other elongateds 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 elongated paddles.
How well the paddle resists turning in your hand when you hit off center. Higher means steadier.
About average twist weight for an elongated paddle.
How its sweet spot stacks up against other elongateds you can buy
An average-size sweet spot for an elongated paddle
Both rings are sized to their score.
A light elongated, and what that costs you
The Hyperion's whole reason to exist is its swing. It's the same length as the Perseus with the same 5.5 inch handle, but the rounded head takes weight out of the top, and that's where its light swing comes from. Only 13 elongateds swing lighter, so in a fast exchange at the kitchen, it feels a little quicker in your hands than most long paddles do.
The trade is a little stability. A rounded head usually swings faster but gives up some steadiness on mishits, and the Hyperion is a bit less stable than the 16mm Perseus when you block a ball off center. Next to elongateds as a whole, though, its stability is about average.
If you hit a two-handed backhand, the handle helps too. It's long enough for both hands, which suits a player like Simone Jardim, who hits two-handed, likes a lighter elongated and had her own edition.
What the low pop costs you at the kitchen
When you get a high ball at the kitchen, you can't just punch it away the way you would with a Perseus, so it takes a real swing to end the point. Your counters come back slower too, which gives the player across from you more time to get set. And power is a bit below average for an elongated, so you won't make up that lost pace on drives from the baseline either.
An ordinary soft game for a long paddle
Nothing here stands out much either way. Its sweet spot rates 55 out of 100 against an elongated average of 52, about average, so a dink you catch a little off center lands about where you'd expect from a long paddle. Its control rates 36 against an average of 45, a bit below, so drops and resets are a little harder to place than with most long paddles.
Hyperion 3S or Perseus 3S
In 16mm, the real differences are pop, swing and stability. They hit about the same on drives, and their spin, sweet spot and control are all about even.
The Perseus 3S has a lot more pop. In 16mm it's in the top sixth of elongateds for pop, while the Hyperion is near the bottom, and the 16mm Perseus is also more stable on mishits. What the Hyperion gives you back is a swing that's a bit lighter, from a paddle that's just as long.
So if your game is speeding balls up and countering at the kitchen, the Perseus is the better 3S. If the Perseus feels too heavy in your hand and you'd rather have quick hands than pop, that's when the Hyperion makes sense. My Perseus 3S review has the full breakdown on that one.
What owners are saying about the Hyperion 3S
There's almost nothing to read. When I looked in November 2026, I could only find one owner review, a five-star one for the Ben Johns Hyperion 3S on Pickleball Warehouse: "Love the paddle. Weight evenly distributed throughout. Highly recommend."
So I can't say how the Hyperion holds up over time. JOOLA's warranty is only 6 months, which is short for a $200 paddle, so register the paddle through its NFC chip to stretch it to 12.
Enhance MPP Turbo ArmorGrit Elongated: the rival that beats it on paper
Before you spend $200 on a Hyperion Dual, look at what $99.99 gets you. Enhance put out the MPP Turbo ArmorGrit Elongated in 2026 with a foam core and ArmorGrit, a durable grit coating that goes over the carbon face. Its pop is a lot higher, right where the Hyperion is weakest, and it spins a lot more too. It beats the Hyperion on everything else as well and swings just as light, and it's my No. 1 pick on my best paddles under $100 list. It lists at $120, but my code STSPICKLEBALL gets it to $99.99, and it's USA Pickleball approved and in stock at Enhance.
The main worry is the grit. So far in my testing on production paddles, about 20 to 25 games in, ArmorGrit is losing its texture a bit quicker than 11SIX24's HexGrit and Honolulu's Crystal Blue grit, though slower than Selkirk's InfiniGrit. If you've only hit with it a little, Enhance takes it back within 14 days, and after that, its warranty doesn't cover grit wear. So run your fingers across the face after your first games, and if it's already smoothing out, send it back. If the Hyperion's light swing is what drew you in and you're buying for value, I'd get this instead.
Three more elongateds I'd look at
Two paddles you might pick instead
How it stacks up against the unMARKed 2026 and the V-Sol Pro V7
A paddle only wins a score when it leads by 5 points or more.
Hyperion 3SElongated · $199.95
unMARKed 2026Elongated · $170.99The unMARKed 2026 hits harder, has more pop, spins more, has a bigger sweet spot and is more controllable. The unMARKed 2026 costs about $28 less.
Hyperion 3SElongated · $199.95
V-Sol Pro V7Elongated · $99.99The V-Sol Pro V7 has more pop, spins more, has a bigger sweet spot and is more controllable. Power is about the same. The V-Sol Pro V7 costs about $99 less.
MARK unMARKed 2026: about as light, and better everywhere
MARK's unMARKed 2026 came out in August 2026 with a foam core. It swings about as light as the Hyperion and has a lot more power, pop and spin. It's USA Pickleball approved and costs $190, or $171 with my code STSPICKLEBALL. The catch is that it's on pre-order, and the batch you can get into now is the November 13 one. And its face has MARK's VelosiGrit, a durable grit coating that's new enough that I can't tell you yet how well it lasts.
Vatic Pro V-Sol Pro V7 16mm: big pop for about half the price
If pop is what you're missing on the Hyperion, this is the paddle that fixes it. Vatic Pro's V-Sol Pro V7 is a foam-core elongated, and only three elongateds have more pop, so you can end a point at the kitchen with a quick punch. Control is a big step up too, and it hits about as hard as the Hyperion. The price is $110, or $99.99 with my code STSPICKLEBALL, and USA Pickleball approved it. It does swing a bit heavier than the Hyperion, though. Its face is raw carbon like the Hyperion's, and three V7 owners on Vatic Pro's site said between February and May 2026 that theirs lost its texture quickly. Its standard handle is a little shorter than the Hyperion's too, so if you hit two-handed, look at Vatic Pro's long handle version, which I haven't scored.
11SIX24 Hurache-X Power 2: more room for two hands
Two-handed players should look at the Hurache-X Power 2, 11SIX24's 2026 power elongated. Its 6 inch handle is half an inch longer than the Hyperion's, so both hands have even more room. Next to the Hyperion, it's a big jump in pop and spin, and it has a good bit more power on drives, with about the same control and swing weight. On the downside, it's a bit less stable on mishits, and it only carries UPA-A approval, so you can't take it to a USA Pickleball sanctioned tournament. 11SIX24 has it marked down to $160 from $210 until December 4. Between March and May 2026, owners on 11SIX24's site left 10 reports of a face coming loose or a paddle that went dead, and those reports stopped after May.
My call
The Hyperion 3S's best trait is a light swing for an elongated, and right now that's not enough to justify $200. I'd get the Enhance MPP Turbo ArmorGrit Elongated instead, because it beats the Hyperion on every score I test for about half the price. If you want more power and don't mind waiting on a pre-order, get the unMARKed 2026. And if you're set on a JOOLA 3S, I'd take the Perseus over the Hyperion unless its heavier swing slows your hands down.
Testing details
- Tested
- August 18, 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 2,237 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
- Scores from
- My database, updated November 8, 2026. How I test
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No. 2
No. 3
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No. 4
