Play squash once a week and fancy a new racket, I’d imagine my current one has an RRP of about £20.

Had a quick look on the net and there are hundreds to choose from.

Initially though I should buy the lightest I can afford but is this the right way to go about it/

Or should I just pop along to sportsdirect, browse the ones that are £40 reduced from £100 and buy the one I like the feel of?

Cheers.

I remember me and my mates comparing the tension of the strings on our racquets, but much as I tried, I obviously wasn’t good enough to take advantage of a looser/tighter string (I assumed the looser racquet would help you put spin on the ball, never managed to make this work in practice though).

I always bought the Dunlop Black Max as it seemed both light and tough, took a fair few hefty clatters of walls and floors and seemed to cope.

Saw a mate bounce one of the floor and into the ceiling, not sure if that one survived…

I started at £20 rackets and worked my way up to a Head 120 quite a few years ago. It was really light but I didn’t like it. My timing was way off and it clearly wasn’t turning me into the squash player I thought it would so I smashed it into the wall in frustration within a month.

Bought 2 Black Max’s to replace it and have stuck with them ever since.

They are fine for the once-a-week squash player and cheap to replace :o)

I used to play a bit and never spent more than £20-30 from sports direct and the like.

they only used to last me a couple of months anyway so no point in spending more.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/search/rh=n:324062011,p_8:25-100?tag=moneysavingex-21

I got a mine from here using the amazon bargain basement finder on martin lewis website. I paid £30 for a raquet that was £300 originally dunno much about them but Its much better than the sports direct £12.99 Job I had before. I used to play once a fortnight and can’t say I had much in the way of skill, but was fun.

I’ve had a few cheap ones and it’s worth looking that you’re getting one that has a single bit of frame where it joins the handle (rather than sides coming into the handle in parallell)

The later seem to get loose and rattley

I went along to my local equivalent of sports direct and tried all the reduced ones – got a £100 racquet for about £35 and its great – turned down a better deal (more expensive raquet for less) as it felt weird to me.

But I’d been playing with a basic cheapo one borrowed from a mate for a few weeks so I had a vague idea of how its meant to feel to start with.

The raquet I bought is great – lots of control but tight enough to get some pace on the ball – bounces off walls, floors, other players etc. fine and is still in one piece.

sorry just realised my comments are kinda useless given that I forgot to say what my raquet is! (Doh!)

Its a Wilson Pro Staff Hyper Head (unstrung weight of about 140g) – but I don’t think they sell this one any more – but Wilson seem to be good racquets.

Prince o3 tour the end. Without doubt the best I’ve ever played with. Several guys I play also use them.

MarginTalker

I started at £20 rackets and worked my way up to a Head 120 quite a few years ago. It was really light but I didn’t like it. My timing was way off and it clearly wasn’t turning me into the squash player I thought it would so I smashed it into the wall in frustration within a month.Bought 2 Black Max’s to replace it and have stuck with them ever since. They are fine for the once-a-week squash player and cheap to replace :o)

Really, um very interesting, I would never of thought that . 🙄

I never liked Dunlop rackets, don’t like the feel or the balance point. I always enjoyed Prince rackets.

I use a Prince o3 Black. It is a great racket, but I am not sure it is available anymore. I would think there is an new equivlent from prince. More tension gives you control, less tension gives you more power.

i just clicked the link a couple of post above & it is still available.
I used to play with a Black Max & it was a good racket but it is nowhere near as good as a Prince o3 Black.

From way back, I seem to remember that some rackets where light and flexible, and some were stiff. I found flexible whippy ones better for slamming the ball hard, and stiff ones better for accurately directing shots.

Could have all been in my head though.

Silly as it sounds, get down to Sports Discount World, or whatever they are called, they normally have previous MY bats at vastly discounted prices.

If it’s just for recreation, that will be just fine. Light doesn’t necessarily mean the best. Balance point, overall weight, head shape & string tension all play a part into what feels right for you, thats why there is so much choice!

I’d probablt go ebay myself & get an old Price Airstick if I could get on with that design. Good VFM.

Harrow user here 🙂

Thanks all, will get down the local shop and try a few out.

I used to play twice a week,once with a mate and once in a squash club.I was using a ProKennex,Found this to be excellent,Had the strings re-tightened after 6 months by one of the blokes in the club.Very light and fast handling.

I play once a week, nowt properly competitive, just some friends.

We swap rackets occasionally and it’s surprising how different they feel – weight, tension etc. You just have to find one that suits you. It doesn’t have to be superlight or supertense though. I run a lightish Head with medium tension, if that’s any use. I like Head and have run them for the last 5 years or so. 8)