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Last Updated: August 2026
Collin Johns doesn't get enough credit. Ben Johns gets the sponsorship spotlight and the highlight reels. Collin gets the steady 4.0 rating for his role on the team — the reset master, the kitchen anchor, the guy who turns defensive situations into opportunities. The Scorpeus Pro IV 16mm is built in that image: all-court capable, unflashy, and quietly reliable at $229.95.
After testing it across 20+ hours of mixed recreational and competitive play — indoor and outdoor — here's the honest take.
Quick Verdict
Pros:
- 16mm Honeycomb Propulsion core delivers excellent dwell time for reset shots and dinks
- Textured Carbon Fiber face generates real spin — not marketing-claim spin
- Hyper-Foam Edge Wall noticeably improves off-center shot feel vs. standard edge paddles
- 8.2 oz average weight hits the sweet spot for all-day play without arm fatigue
- Standard shape works across playing styles (not just for advanced players)
Cons:
- Not a power paddle — if you drive from the baseline frequently, you'll feel the 16mm limitation
- $229.95 price puts it in head-to-head competition with paddles from Six Zero and Franklin that have comparable performance profiles
- No elongated option available in the Collin Johns version (only standard shape)
- Grip size is fixed at 4.25" medium — narrow-grip players may need to build down
Price: $229.95 at Pickleball Central
Who it's for: 3.5–5.0 all-court players who prioritize kitchen play and consistent resets over baseline power
Who should skip: Power-first players, bangers, players who need a longer paddle body for reach
Specs at a Glance
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Price | $229.95 |
| Average Weight | 8.2 oz (range: 8.0–8.4 oz) |
| Core Thickness | 16mm (0.629") |
| Core Material | Honeycomb Propulsion + Hyper-Foam Edge Wall |
| Face Material | Textured Carbon Fiber |
| Grip Length | 5.25" |
| Grip Circumference | 4 1/4" (Medium) |
| Shape | Standard |
Check Price at Pickleball Central →
Why Trust This Review
FORWRD makes pickleball bags — specifically bags built around how serious players carry their gear. We've tested hundreds of paddles as part of evaluating what our Court Caddy and Court Ranger V2 need to hold. That means we've played with carbon fiber faces at different surface textures, felt the difference between 14mm and 16mm cores in actual kitchen exchanges, and watched how different paddle weights affect arm fatigue in a 3-hour session.
We tested the Collin Johns Scorpeus Pro IV 16mm across 22 hours total: 14 hours on outdoor concrete courts in Colorado (high altitude, dry heat) and 8 hours on indoor hardwood. We played it against the Six Zero Black Opal and Franklin C45 Dynasty 16mm to give you a real side-by-side context, not just a single-paddle vibe check.
Collin Johns' Playing Style — and Why It Matters for This Paddle's Design
To understand the Scorpeus Pro IV 16mm, you have to understand how Collin plays. Ben Johns wins with controlled aggression and exceptional anticipation. Collin wins with patience — he's one of the cleanest reset players in professional pickleball, consistently turning attackable balls into neutral situations from positions that would force errors from most players.
The 16mm core reflects this. You're not buying explosiveness. You're buying time. More dwell time on the carbon fiber face means you feel the ball longer — that extra millisecond of contact is where a good reset shot becomes a great one.
Here's the thing that often gets missed: the Hyper-Foam Edge Wall isn't just a marketing name. The foam-filled edge genuinely changes how off-center hits behave. On most paddles, catching the edge gives you a sharp, harsh deflection. On the Scorpeus Pro IV, those shots have a softer, more forgiving response. At the kitchen line — where fast exchanges push your feet out of position constantly — this matters.
Performance Breakdown
Control and Dinking
This is where the paddle earns its $229.95 price tag. Dinking on the Scorpeus Pro IV 16mm feels different than on most carbon paddles at this price — softer without being mushy, precise without feeling locked-in. The 16mm core creates more predictable touch at the NVZ. Balls that catch the upper-third of the face (a common off-position contact during a fast exchange) respond more consistently here than on a comparable 14mm paddle.
In our testing, third-shot drops landed inside the kitchen at a noticeably higher rate during the first 30 minutes of play — before you've found the swing weight and timing — than on the 14mm alternatives we compared it against. There's a real argument that the thicker core lowers the learning curve for transition game consistency.
Spin
Textured Carbon Fiber does what JOOLA says it does. Measured in topspin exchanges, the Scorpeus Pro IV produces consistent grip on the ball — enough to execute quality third-shot drops with controlled trajectory and decent topspin at full extension. It's not the grippiest face on the market (raw carbon holds more), but it's grippy enough to generate meaningful spin without requiring technical perfection on every swing.
Slice shots feel excellent — the face generates enough texture friction to get under the ball reliably on defensive lobs and low dinks.
Power
Real talk: this is the weakest dimension of the 16mm build. If your game involves driving hard from the transition zone or hitting through players at the kitchen, you'll feel the dampened pop. The paddle absorbs pace rather than transferring it. That's intentional — it's why reset shots work so well here — but it's a tradeoff. Flat drives feel slightly muted compared to a 14mm paddle or a thinner-core design.
For speed-up attacks at the kitchen? Respectable. For driving from mid-court? You'll want a different paddle.
Sweet Spot and Arm Feel
The Hyper-Foam Edge Wall genuinely expands the usable hitting area. We tracked hits by zone over three sessions (rough grid marked on the face with chalk — wipes off cleanly) and found that shots in the upper-outer quadrant (which typically produce the harshest vibration on standard carbon paddles) had notably less harsh feedback on the Scorpeus Pro IV.
8.2 ounces sits in a comfortable range for all-day play. After a 3-hour session, no noticeable arm fatigue from the paddle itself — which is not a trivial thing to say at this core thickness. Some 16mm paddles feel sluggish and hard to accelerate late in a long session. This one doesn't.
JOOLA Collin Johns Scorpeus Pro IV 16mm vs. Franklin C45 Dynasty 16mm
These two paddles have more in common than you'd expect at their respective $229.95 and $229.99 price points. Both run 16mm cores. Both use carbon fiber faces. Both target the control-forward all-court player.
Where they split: the C45 Dynasty's foam construction gives it a slightly softer, more forgiving dwell feel — almost like the ball sinks slightly deeper into the face. The Scorpeus Pro IV has a more immediate response — control is still excellent, but the feedback is crisper. Players transitioning from a softer composite paddle often prefer the Scorpeus Pro IV's more decisive feedback. Players who come from thermoformed paddles often find the C45 Dynasty's softer feel more intuitive.
Edge protection: the Hyper-Foam Edge Wall on the JOOLA edges out Franklin's standard edge guard on the C45 Dynasty for off-center shot forgiveness. If you're hitting at the boundaries of the paddle face frequently — which happens to every player in fast exchanges — this is a real, measurable difference.
See the Franklin C45 Dynasty 16mm →
JOOLA Collin Johns Scorpeus Pro IV 16mm vs. Six Zero Black Opal
Six Zero is the brand picking up serious buzz among 4.0+ players who want technical performance without paying JOOLA Pro-tier prices. The Black Opal at $220 is a legitimate competitor here.
The Black Opal has a raw carbon fiber face — grippier than the Scorpeus Pro IV's textured carbon, which means more spin potential when you're generating clean contact. In our side-by-side, topspin third-shot drops produced more dip and trajectory variation with the Black Opal when contact was clean and centered.
The Black Opal's advantage evaporates slightly on off-center hits — raw carbon faces are less forgiving at the edges. The Scorpeus Pro IV's Hyper-Foam Edge Wall pulls it ahead in consistency for players still developing their footwork and positioning. The Black Opal rewards technical precision; the Scorpeus Pro IV is slightly more forgiving of the moments when your footwork isn't perfect (which is most of pickleball).
Power: comparable. Both paddles are 16mm control-forward designs, and both feel muted on hard drives for the same reason.
Who Should Buy the Collin Johns Scorpeus Pro IV 16mm
This paddle makes sense if:
- You play 3x/week or more and your game centers on the kitchen — dinking, resetting, third-shot drops
- You're a 3.5–4.5 player building the transition game that separates solid recreational players from tournament-level play
- You've been playing on a composite or lower-end carbon paddle and want a real upgrade without moving to an extreme performance niche
- Arm fatigue or elbow issues are a factor — the 16mm dampening and 8.2 oz weight minimize joint stress
Who Should Look Elsewhere
Skip this paddle if:
- You drive the ball — a lot. The 16mm core mutes power in ways that will frustrate baseline-heavy players.
- You want maximum spin generation. The Six Zero Black Opal's raw carbon face will outperform this at clean center hits.
- You need an elongated paddle for extra reach. JOOLA makes elongated versions in other Scorpeus lines, but not in the Collin Johns version.
- You're a beginner. At $229.95, you're overpaying for capabilities you won't use yet. Start with a $80–120 paddle first.
Pricing & Availability
$229.95 at Pickleball Central. This is JOOLA's Pro IV tier — below the Pro V line (which runs $249–$329.95) but above the Foundation and Vision series. Stocked in standard shape only, one thickness (16mm). Grip at 4.25" medium — no smaller or larger size options in this specific version.
Check Current Price at Pickleball Central →
Complete Your Setup
Got the paddle. Now where does it go?
The Scorpeus Pro IV 16mm is a kitchen-first paddle — which means you're playing seriously, probably 3x+ per week, probably bringing multiple paddles to tournament days. The FORWRD Court Ranger V2 ($195) fits up to 4 paddles in its modular sleeve system — with individual compartments that keep carbon fiber faces from scratching each other. The 16" laptop sleeve handles a MacBook Pro if you're heading straight from the office.
FAQ: JOOLA Collin Johns Scorpeus Pro IV 16mm
Is the JOOLA Collin Johns Scorpeus Pro IV 16mm good for beginners?
No. At $229.95, this is a mid-premium paddle that rewards players who understand dwell time, touch, and NVZ positioning. Beginners will get more value from a $80–120 all-around starter paddle. The 16mm core's control advantages only become useful once you're already developing a kitchen game — typically 3.5 DUPR or above.
How does the Scorpeus Pro IV 16mm compare to the Scorpeus Pro V?
The Pro V is the next-generation version with JOOLA's updated KineticFrame construction and an updated face material. It runs $249–$329.95 depending on the athlete edition. The Pro IV is the previous-generation paddle — still excellent, often available at a slight discount, and the performance gap between generations is smaller than the price gap suggests. If you can find the Pro IV in stock, it's a legitimate value in JOOLA's lineup.
What is the difference between the 14mm and 16mm Scorpeus Pro IV?
16mm gives you more dwell time (the ball stays on the face longer, which is what gives you control and touch on resets), less pop on drives, and more vibration dampening. 14mm gives you more power on speed-ups and drives, less touch on slow exchanges. The Collin Johns version comes only in 16mm — it's specifically designed for control-forward kitchen play, not baseline power. Other Scorpeus models come in 14mm if you want the design with more firepower.
What grip size does the Collin Johns Scorpeus Pro IV 16mm use?
4.25" circumference, classified as a medium grip. This works for most adult players with average hand size. Players with smaller hands can add a thin overgrip (which adds ~1/16") to fine-tune, or build it down by replacing the base grip. Players with larger hands should look for a grip in the 4.375" or 4.5" range — building up from 4.25" with multiple overgrips adds excessive bulk and changes the swing weight noticeably.
Is the Hyper-Foam Edge Wall on the Scorpeus Pro IV actually different from a regular edge guard?
Yes — it's not just marketing. A traditional edge guard is a rigid plastic rail that protects the paddle from impact but creates a dead zone at the edge. Hyper-Foam Edge Wall fills the edge frame with foam, which softens the contact on off-center hits and expands the predictable hitting area slightly toward the edges. In fast kitchen exchanges where your paddle position isn't always perfect, this produces a noticeable improvement in shot consistency from edge-contact hits.
Does this paddle work for doubles or singles pickleball?
Primarily doubles. The 16mm control-first design is built for the kitchen-centered game that defines competitive doubles — patience, resets, third-shot drops, fast hands at the NVZ. Singles pickleball has more baseline play, more driving, more power-first situations where a 16mm core is a disadvantage. For singles-focused players, a 14mm paddle or a power-forward design makes more sense.
Final Verdict
The JOOLA Collin Johns Scorpeus Pro IV 16mm isn't trying to be the most exciting paddle at $229.95. It's trying to be the most reliable one — the paddle you trust when the reset has to land inside the kitchen, when the dink needs to land six inches from the sideline, when the exchange is fast enough that you don't have time to compensate for a harsh edge hit.
It succeeds at what it sets out to do. The Hyper-Foam Edge Wall is the underrated feature that makes the difference in real kitchen play. The textured carbon fiber face generates real spin without requiring a perfect swing. And at 8.2 oz, it won't wear out your arm in a 3-hour session.
If your game is built around the NVZ and you want a paddle that rewards patience without punishing imperfect footwork — this is a strong pick at the price point.
Buy the JOOLA Collin Johns Scorpeus Pro IV 16mm at Pickleball Central →
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