Alinta 7.9s

Vital Stats

Price: $200 AUD
Weight: 145g
Head Size: 470 sq. cm
Balance: Feels head heavy but listed even
Gender: Definately Male

Ever heard of this one? No, I thought not. Alinta have been going about racquet making in the same manner as Santa's elves - quietly, out of sight, and probably in some ice-cold chamber in the middle of nowhere wearing nothing but green stockings. That being said, the product is no less awe inspiring that the big red man stuck in a chimney.

The 7.9s boasts a solid connection, and is strung up with Alinta Snick 1.25mm. With the anvil in the head of the racquet, power is excellent, even with a sloppy swing, but the weight impairs wristy players or quick flicks cross-court.

On the down side, the colour scheme is boring, and the handle is big. Even the thinnest of grippings makes this racquet a little chunky for its elvish creators. The top of the racquet is white, and the bottom is blue...wow... The only cooless incorporated into the design is Alinta visible through the grommet on the tip of the racquet (trust me, it looks quite funky!).

The real deal with this racquet is the enormous value for money. At $200, a racquet that performs with as much control and power as the 7.9s is unheard of. Also, this piece can withstand a mashing against all walls and corners, believe me we tried. The Alinta also reponds very well to restringing; when we cracked some TF 305 on ours, it went nuts in good way! All in all, its not a weapon for pros or top amateurs, but if you're looking for value for money without trusting online stores, it probably can't be beat!

Power: 8.5       Control: 7.0       Value: 9.5

Dunlop Aerogel Ultimate

Vital Stats

Price: Around 100 Pounds Sterling
Weight: 145g
Head Size: 500 sq. cm
Balance: Head Light
Gender: Male

Let's cut to the chase, the world number one can't be all that wrong when it comes to racquet choice. That being said, to me, the Ultimate wasn't quite all that I expected it to be.

500 squares should deliver some serious muscle, and while the Ultimate can monster any given ball on any given day, its just not consistent in its brute force. To us, it also felt heavier than the Pro GT or any of the e-squash 500 sq. cm racquets.

Now that I've bagged it, let me say thats the Ultimate is not the ugly duckling of the family. It is a great racquet; looks sharper than Eddie Murphy doing stand up and when you middle it, the feel is like cream cheese in an oven - it goes all runny and makes you feel warm and mushy (by the way, don't try that at home, I sure wouldn't). Also, when we cracked it up with some super sexy Powernick 18 from the boys at Ashaway, the racquet delivered some delicate touch too.

As with all the Aerogels, unzipping the racquet thermo is like opening presents and Christmas, the bag promises soooooo much and is nearly as deliciously enticing as its contents. Be that as it may, for the cost of a helicopter flight, I would prefer to drop eggs from tremendous hights on unsuspecting neighbours. If you're certain your looking for 500 squares in a tour shape, head to e-squash (just wait for the review of the Titanium!!), then perhaps to the Aerogel Elite, then stop here and ask to test the demo!

Power: 8.5       Control: 8.0       Value: 6.0

Technifibre 225 v Ashaway Powernick 18

Vital Stats


TF 225
Width: 1.1mm
Colour: Green
Construction: Multifilament/PU


Ashaway Powernick 18
Width: 1.15
Colour: Red
Construction: Zyex

This battle is as old as decently coloured strings. Since moving on from the 80's look of Supernick, spunky strings are all the rage. So, here we review the resident supermodels of the stringing catwalk.

First things first, lets look at how much a set of these bad boys will damage your reputation with the bank. Off the shelf at anywhere respectable, your probably looking at around $30 to $35 retail for each, hardly melting that credit card; to chuck them in your frame, forgoe an upsized meal deal on top of the retail.

So it's not too damaging to wallet, but what about damaging the strings themselves? Read any good squash forum and 50% of people will say TF breaks, and 50% of people will tell you that their Powernick had a shorter lifespan than 70s spandex t-shirts. Cutting to the chase, both of these strings are thin, they break, it's a fact. However, having used both for a long time without breaking, your swing, and your stringer probably have the most impact on whether you'll need to swipe your strip again.

Most importantly, they both look flash. Red and green strings go with nothing, which makes them especially cool. In my experience with these two strings, TF tends to holds its power and liveliness better over the long term. Both hit the ball super hard in general, and yield good control, so there is not much to seperate them.

In short, buy two racquets, buy a set of each, and see how you feel, but I lean towards the TF for longevity as my Powernick went dead after about 40 Hrs court time.

TF 225
Power: 9.5       Control: 9.5       Longevity: 8.5

Powernick 18
Power: 9.5       Control: 9.0       Longevity: 7.5

Dunlop Aerogel Pro GT

Vital Stats

Price: Around 80-90 Pounds Sterling
Weight: 137g
Head Size: 470 sq. cm
Balance: Head Light
Gender: Likely Female, but with muscles

Dunlop's evolution of the M-Fil label has just arrived in Europe, and is still making the slow trek to the US and Australia. With the Aerogel, Dunlop decided to revert back to the feel of the Hotmelt series, that chunkier look, rather than the slim and flimsy, yet stiff, look of the M-Fil.

'Space-age-ness' aside, in our opinion, this has made the Pro GT (the main Aerogel racquet) one of the better racquets on the market. With a good technique, the Pro GT can deliver ball bursting speed, but in delicate hands can touch succulent drops into the nether regions of the court.

The handle is pretty standard Dunlop, nothing special there, and the racquet feels very very stiff to use. Head is the regular Tour shape oval. Out of the wrapper though, the the racquet doesn't do itself justice. The grip feels deceptively good, its actually bad, and the strings can best not be described at all. I cracked some Technifibre 225 on the one I tried and the racquet improved 5 fold!

This racquet is must get for anyone not sure what they want, or for fans of old school Dunlop Hotmelt Pro or C-Melt. If your looking for one in Europe, then you probably know where to get it, in Australia, try Racquet Force, and in the US, wait because its coming in August.

Power: 8.5       Control: 9.0       Value: 8.5

Prince O3 Tour...hmmm..

Vital Stats

Price: Around $270 AUD
Weight: 145g
Head Size: 470 sq. cm
Gender: Neutered

Before I launch in, RR got its O³ of the shelf with some of the old Technifibre 315, the dark green one that frays like you wouldn't believe. The Tour has very good touch to go with its funky fan string pattern, and is quite head light to allow wristy players to bring the racquet around with some vigor. A small circumference handle allows smaller hands around the racquet, and bigger hands can just grip thicker. But, in short, sadly the O³ tour is kind of superfluous in today society.

Back in the day, there was the Silver and the Tour. I found the Tour to be a Silver minus the power. Kind of like light beer... or day time TV. That being said, when you found the very middle, the racquet performed with power as advertised.

Now with the O³ Black, I think the Tour's days are probably numbered. If you're reaaaly keen on a Tour, try and test it first. If you're keen on Prince in general, get an O³ Black, which is silver, or a Silver, which actually has more black on it than the black - Hmmmmm.

Power: 7.0       Control: 7.5       Value: 6.0

Head Metallix 160

Vital Stats

Price: Around $250 AUD
Weight: 160g
Head Size: 470 sq. cm
Balance: Even
Gender: Probably Male

The heavist in Head's new range of Metallix racquets, the 160 packs some serious muscle for the Arnold Schwarzenegger in every squash player. An astoundingly docile paint job, rusty orange, however, raises doubts as to the racquets true character.

Underneath however, the Metallix 160 is a pretty solid piece of carbon engineering. We found it delivered clean connection, and was reasonably forgiving. That being said, its weight is a draw back unless you dig it. Some do, some don't.

In summation, its a solid racquet, with bad strings. Get them redone ASAP, and then cut back on life to cover the total of around $300 including on road costs.

Power: 8.5       Contol: 8.5       Value: 7.5

What We Do...

Here a Racquet Review, we're sick of paying big money for big brands only to be let down after a week of use. So now, no racquet, string, grip or shoe is safe as Racquet Review pulls them apart and twists them inside out, giving you the low down on what's hot and what's not.

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