Squash racquets – what do I need?

playing a bit of squash every couple of weeks.
not looking to get into it in a big way, but want to get a racquet – anything I should be looking out for in particular? are there different types of racquets? will a more expensive one be too tightly strung and difficult to handle?

Try sports direct…I picked up a graphite number for 20quid and it’s still doing good after a couple of years

(Preparing to be flamed by proper squash-ists) get down to sports direct. Dunlop is one of their own brands now, you can pick up a decent looking graphite racket for 20-30 quid. I would just get something in-budget, see how you get on, and then go from there if you get into it more.

Edit: lol, beaten to it!

blimey, there are loads on Sports Direct, thanks.
should I be looking for one that is not too stiff? I tend to be a bit aggressive, is there a type that might make me less thrashy and more controlled with my shots?

I am still very much a beginner, but I found my game came on immensely when I slowed myself down and started thinking about placing shots rather than just belting the ball the whole time. I would go for one that was biased in favour of control rather than power. YMMV of course.

Browning Racquets are ace, I bought one off amazon and love it. The ones at sports direct are good but the strings aren’t the best unless you pay a bit more. The pure nylon ones will stretch and become knackered within a short time

Having spent about £120 on a new racquet, then gone back to my old one…

It’s worth getting a new racquet restrung almost immediately by someone who has a bit of an idea what they’re doing. It makes a huge difference.

Your local club probably has “a bloke”. Costs less than £15!

It’s not very helpful to the thread, but why is a squash racquet spelt differently to a tennis racket ?

I’ve often wondered.

(The racquet/racket bit. Not the squash/tennis bit, I understand that bit 🙂 )

I used to like head.

I’ve got 2 Wilson racquets and covers that I bought 6 or so years ago when I began to play. Probably less than 10 games between them in the end! £15 posted?

And apologies if this isn’t the done thing!

I play a lot of squash and always go for the same racket (american I know) just out of habit and not wanting to change something that works. Trouble is my racket is a prince job costing around £100. Considering they may only last a year its a bit expensive. A mate just replaced his with a sports direct dunlop and it feels just fine to use. I’ll go down that route in future I reckon.
Btw I’ve never noticed too much difference between string types. They snap fairly regular so I just get cheap strings. Tension is noticeable however and if you want more control, get a lower tension.

Being able to control the centre of the court, being in position for the shot and timing are the keys to a good game.

I just set up a squash club and league at work, for the beginners I bought 2 of these
http://www.sportsdirect.com/dunlop-blackstorm-force-squash-racket-733090
From sports direct and every one has liked them, one of the better guys broke a string and borrowed one for a match, he was very pleasantly surprised what £30 gets you these days.

OP/ superfli also check out this site for deals on rackets.
http://www.isportstore.com/Special-Offers/Squash-Offers/Squash-Racket-Offers.aspx

I was looking at that one Rusty Mac, there’s a Sports Direct near work, perhaps I’ll pop down and get one tomorrow. Just don’t want to buy a dud.

Bit like everything else really, all a bit personal. Like bikes there are probably no bad ones and you should buy to budget and try before you buy 💡
Played squash for best part of 30yrs but due to knackered knees and back I have finally had to give up 😥
Club coach was a rep for Karakal and I had been using them for quite a few years without issue.
If a beginner don’t go too light, light racquets can be hard work.
You need to like the “feel” of the grip and balance. If it feels right it will be. Wouldn’t worry about stringing until you break some.
Prince, Karakal, Wilson, Dunlop, Kappa, Greys are all popular makes.

not looking to get into it in a big way, but want to get a racquet

Hahaha……that’s what I said. Started off with a mate playing once a week(with wood racquets)and progressed to 7 days a week with the occasional double session, play for teams inc the occasional stand-in role for the clubs West of Scotland team 😆 🙄

Brakes, that one is not a dud, if you are getting into the game it will do you well. It is a reasonable weight without being too fragile. It is also not to heavy that you will need to swing it like a golf club when you want to get the ball to the back of the court.

I’d recommend the Blackstorms too, I’ve had a couple of them. I’m hardly professional, but I play once a week and have never felt like the racket is holding me back.

Well actually I did for a while, but that was when my mate re-strung my racquet with tennis strings, which are a complete different gauge (thicker).

all squash rackets feel light to me! think I’d prefer something with a bit of weight in the head so I can feel where it is. at the moment all I can feel is the handle.
I played tennis for a number of years and am finding it difficult to not play tennis on the squash court.

I guess it’s a good idea to go to shop and have a feel.
and I know it’s more about me than the racquet… but still.

Hated playing a tennis player, they hold the racquet in a wired way which masks what is a “normal” shot 😯
They also forget to move, not understanding the court craft 🙄

http://racquet.about.com/od/playsquash/ss/BeginSQBallCtrl_all.htm

http://www.ehow.co.uk/videos-on_1754_squash-movement-drills.html

Your club will likely have an equivalent jedi type coach, invest in a few lessons 💡

Sorry, gonna struggle to recommend a head heavy racket, I prefer head light and haven’t looked into the head heavy ones for 5-6 years. I find head light gives me better feel for drop shots etc.

[edit] that comes across as head heavy rackets are crap, it was not ment to. I just don’t get on with them and wouldn’t know a good one from a bad one. [/edit]

There’s a lot of sense in what Alaric said. I went to go down that route and bought a half decent frame. A guy I use I know in Plymouth used to restring rackets and said that most original rackets at the cheaper end were really crap and just restringing the would make a massive difference to the game. He did a mates racket for free and said that he only had to pay if he found it better. He paid the next day.

DaveG – where do you play? You part o a squash club? Everywhere around here is so expensive for non-members

Taff, I play at The Avenue LTSC, Warblington/Havant.
It’ll be your closest club. If you fancy a game and to check out the club, then just drop me an email and we’ll arrange something. Oh, prob is, I’m restricted squash, meaning my pass wont get me in after 6 I think. I play Mon+Thurs lunchtimes as eves for me are always busy.

There’s no right answer but Sports Direct are flogging the Dunlop Biomimetic Pro for £60 notes. Good bat and it’s not exactly millions. Looks like anything from £30 will be decent on there though (maybe cheaper strings – not sure).

Sort your swing out and you won’t need the head weight. Watch a few highlights videos on psasquashtv.com to see how you’re supposed to do it.

Have fun and get it in the corners.

I play squash couple of time a week and the above comments are excellent. The 1 thing I would add is get some descent shoes, it’ll keep your ankles in one piece and mine were worth every penny. I got Adidas stabils, you can of course spend much more but just make sure you get something that gives descent support else you’ll be off the bike aswell…

As above sports direct are good and when I bought mine you had an option to restring it.

The strings made a huge difference, a mate bought exactly the same racquet without the restringing and it was a lot less accurate and not as smooth to hit with.