The CPX Hyper+ pickleball paddle may be the most marketed paddle right now, so I was really curious to see how it compared to the best pickleball paddles. For example, the website states that the paddle has 99% sweet spot coverage, 0 dead spots, and generation 5 technology. I personally don’t even know what a self proclaimed gen 5 paddle is at this point, so that sounds impressive.
That said, how did Hyper + play?
There were a lot of surprises, starting with my unboxing experience, and then the playability is where things took a real turn.
Let’s talk unboxing experience and first impression differences, playabiliy, cost considerations and which paddle I would choose.
Unboxing Experience
The CPX Hyper+’s unboxing experience started off very strong with a premium unboxing experience. It feels like CPX is trying to compete with Selkirk Boomstick’s unboxing experience.
Inside the box, you’ll find a premium paddle cover, a nice looking paddle and a keychain. I prefer the Boomstick’s paddle cover as it feels more premium, but the CPX Hyper+ paddle cover is really nice.
The paddle itself looks good as well as you can see in the picture below.
I’m spending the most time on the CPX Hyper+ unboxing experience as I have covered the unboxing experience with the other paddles. Here are those articles:
- Friday Aura Pro paddle review
- Vatic V-Sol Tour paddle review
- Spartus Spitfire paddle review
- J6CR Crystal Blue paddle review
So far, the CPX Hyper+ is living up to the hype, but the playability is where I want to spend the most time.
Playability
Power
I want to start with power at the CPX Hyper+ is a power paddle. Firstly, I noticed right away that pop. The paddle has a lot of pop. The pop was so poppy that it was really difficult for me to control. I returned three serves long in my first game, and that is not normal for my play.
Once I got used to the paddle, the paddle was slightly more maneagable, but it reminds me of a Joola Pro IV or Loco in terms of controllability.
The Honolulu J6CR Crystal Blue gets the top spot because its elongated shape gives me extra leverage on serves and drives, while its pop makes it easy to attack from the baseline. It is powerful, but after I adjusted, I found it easier to manage than the Hyper+.
The two Spartus Spitfire and CPX Hyper+ (tie) produce power in different ways. The Hyper+ has the more immediate pop that caused my early serves to sail long. The Spitfire feels more connected to my swing, with its elongated shape and slightly head-heavy balance adding momentum through the ball. In my separate V-Sol Tour comparison, I ranked the Tour ahead of the Spitfire for power; the gap was close, and this is my ranking for this five-paddle group.
The Vatic V-Sol Tour still has strong power and more pop than the V-Sol Pro, but it doesn’t feel overly hot. I could swing aggressively on drives, serves, and counters without feeling like I had to fight the paddle. It lands below the Hyper+ and Spitfire in this ranking because its power felt more controlled and less forceful to me.
The Friday Aura Pro is a real power paddle compared with the regular Friday Aura: it gives serves more depth and adds pace to speedups. It ranks fourth here because its power felt more balanced and less explosive than the other four, while still giving me enough offense to attack.
Here are my power rankings:
- Honolulu J6CR Crystal Blue
- Spartus Spitfire and CPX Hyper+ (Tie)
- Vatic V-Sol Tour
- Friday Aura Pro
Spin
The CPX Hyper+ had decent spit. Let’s look at a close-up of the grit. The Hyper+ can produce usable spin, but I didn’t feel the same level of bite or shot shaping I got from the top three. Its spin was decent; it just wasn’t the reason I would choose this paddle.
The Honoluluc J6CCR Crystal Blue surface grabs the ball exceptionally well. I’ve seen serves move sharply and could shape drives and slices with confidence. The elongated J6 shape also gives me leverage to swing through the ball and combine pace with spin. This is the strongest spin paddle of the five for me.
The Vatic V-Sol Tour’s EverGrit surface gives it outstanding bite for its price. In my review, I noticed more movement on serves, topspin drives dipping harder, and slices staying lower. It is close to the J6CR, but I give the Honolulu a slight edge in this five-paddle group.
The Spitfire’s PermaGritNano face is one of its biggest strengths. It grips well on topspin serves, dipping third shots, roll volleys, and crosscourt drives. It ranks behind the J6CR and V-Sol Tour here, even though it performed near the top in my separate Spitfire comparison.
The Friday Aura Pro still has above-average grit and can create impressive topspin and slice. It finishes fifth only in this group: the other paddles gave me more obvious bite on full swings. It is not a low-spin paddle in general.
Here are my spin rankings
- Honolulu J6CR Crystal Blue
- Vatic V-Sol Tour
- Spartus Spitfire
- CPX Hyper+
- Friday Aura Pro
Control
The CPX Hyper+ was the hardest of the 5 paddles to control. As I state earlier, I found that the paddle has so much pop that it was difficult for me to control. After I got use to the paddle, I was able to control the paddle a bit more, but it took some getting used to.
The Vatic V-Sol Tour takes first because its extra power and very gritty face did not cost me much control. Drops, dinks, resets, and transition shots still felt manageable. In my separate four-paddle review, I ranked it behind the control-first V-Sol Pro, but among the five paddles here, it gave me the best mix of control and offense.
The J6CR has a soft, connected feel, which helps offset its power. It took me a little longer to adjust to the pop and elongated shape, and some early drops and resets sat high. Once I adjusted my hands, it became much easier to trust, which is why I put it just behind the V-Sol Tour and still consider it the best all-around paddle.
The Aura Pro is more forgiving and easier to settle into than the Hyper+ or Spitfire, and I did not feel that it lacked control despite its added power. It is less soft and control-oriented than the regular Friday Aura, but it gives me a more balanced power-and-control feel than the two paddles below it.
The Spartus Spitfire is stable enough for blocks and resets, and its spin helps bring aggressive shots back into the court. Still, its forward balance and elongated shape make it feel more naturally suited to attacking than to a soft-game-first style. That puts it below the V-Sol Tour, J6CR, and Aura Pro for control.
Here’s my control rankings.
- Vatic V-Sol Tour
- Honolulu J6CR Crystal Blue
- Friday Aura Pro
- Spartus Spitfire
- CPX Hyper+
Cost Considerations
As of October 23, 2026, CPX lists the Hyper+ at $150 for preorder with an estimated two-to-three-week wait, or $199.97 for an in-stock option. That makes the $150 preorder price much more appealing than the in-stock price for me. My paddle arrived in just 7 days, so I am not sure if the $50 additional makes sense to get the paddle a few days soon.
I have a discount code BEN94566 that takes 10% off, but there’s a discount code SWEETSPOT that took 15% off, so I would recommend the higher discount rate although I’m not sure why a brand provides different level discount codes.
The Honolulu J6CR Crystal Blue retails for $195, and code PICKLEBALLER20 takes nearly $20 off, bringing it to about $175. The paddle has a premium price, but my pick for the best all-around value here.
The Vatic V-Sol Tour gets $10 off with code BEPICKLEBALLER, bringing it under $100 and making it my value pick for the combination of power, spin, and control. The paddle also comes with a paddle cover which I love.
The Spartus Spitfire is about $109.99, and code BEPICKLEBALLER takes $10 off, bringing it to roughly $99.99 for a powerful, spin-friendly paddle. The spitfire also comes with a paddle cover.
The Friday Aura Pro is $169, or about $159 with code BEPICKLEBALLER; I enjoy playing with it, but I’d weigh that extra power against spending about $60 more than the discounted Spitfire.
Unfortunately, the Friday Aura Pro doesn’t come with a paddle cover.
So, let’s chat next about which paddle I would choose.
Which Paddle Would I Choose?
Personally, here’s what I would choose.
If I am looking for best all around, I would choose the Honolulu J6CR Crystal Blue. The paddle is just incredible. You have a very powerful paddle that is controllable, and spin that is just ridiculous.
My second choice paddle here would be the Vatic V-Sol Tour as it’s sub $100 and I believe that it has better playability than the Friday Aura Pro, the Spartus Spitfire and the CPX Hyper+
If you like raw power that’s hard to control, I would consider the Spartus Spitfire or potentially the CPX Hyper+ if you can get the paddle for around the $125 mark and like a premium unboxing experience and paddle experience.
The Friday Aura Pro is still a good paddle overall that I really like playing with, but my question is at what price point.
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