Most Padel players and practitioners do not know what materials are used in the construction process of a padel racket. They are therefore unaware of the advantages or disadvantages that can be had by using a racket model with one component rather than another.
Below is a list of materials that can be found in a racket:
CARBON FIBER:
More familiar, the essence of graphite particles. It is expensive, but offers excellent results in terms of lightness and resistance, which is why we also find its use in Formula 1, motorcycles and many other sports. Few brands produce 100% Carbon rackets because the cost is very high.
In summary: quality, high cost, low weight, maximum resistance.
FIBERGLASS:
The material par excellence in the manufacture of Padel rackets, a little softer than carbon, but less light. Combined with graphite or carbon it offers exceptional qualities with excellent resistance to impacts. It is more elastic than carbon fiber, so it provides more ball output but less power. Possessing bending qualities it is ideal to incorporate it on the surface of the rackets allowing for greater absorption of impacts and also on the frame as additional protection.
In short: cheapest, most used to make rackets, usually incorporated into the surface of the racket.
GRAPHENE :
Graphene is a two-dimensional crystalline material made of carbon. It is the thinnest known component (with a single atom thickness), the lightest (1 square meter of graphene weighs 0.77 milligrams), the best conductor of heat at room temperature and is also the best conductor of electricity. Another property of graphene is its strength, it is the strongest material discovered with a tensile strength much higher than steel and Kevlar . Graphene is more expensive and difficult to obtain artificially although production techniques are constantly improving. Reducing costs and complexity.
Brands like Head introduce racquets that incorporate graphene on its high-end models.
Bottom line: very tough, very hard, and very strong. Expensive.
GRAPHITE :
Graphite is made of pure carbon. Their different qualities, thicknesses and combinations make them a very light and resistant material. It is used for snowshoe frames or fiberglass as reinforcement in snowshoe areas where we want to have additional rigidity in the frame, core and torsion areas.
Brands like By-VP use Graphite for most of their racquets.
In short: material used very little today.
KEVLAR:
It is a fabric with a special treatment that gives it a very strong resistance, one of the most resistant materials. Being very rigid, it is very expensive to work with this material, but it can be added as an additional reinforcement in a part of the racket. Carbon-woven Kevlar offers exceptional durability results. Currently only a few brands use it because it is too difficult to work with, but given its strength much stronger than carbon and glass, it offers extraordinary power and good control. On the other hand, no elasticity and therefore no ball effect (ball exit).
Bottom line: Maximum power, good control but very little projectile power. Difficult to work with.
TITANIUM :
It is a metal that comes from rutile, ilmenite and titanite. Due to its low weight and high temperature fusion, titanium is even used in the construction of jet engines. In Padel it can be added to the racket in the form of a powder mixed with paint with the term titanate. With padel snowshoes it provides firmness and resistance without increasing its overall weight too much, providing greater durability. It is usually applied as a powder mixed with paint.
In short: low weight, currently little used.
ALUMINUM FIBER:
It is a harder material than fiberglass, but more flexible than carbon. Mixed with carbon, this fiber offers excellent results in terms of power and control, producing a very characteristic metallic noise.
In short: not widely used, it depends a lot on the blends the fiber is mixed with.
EVA RUBBER:
With FOAM ( foam ), the most used material in the manufacture of rackets. It is a rubber whose main property is that of shock absorption and its main component is latex, a resin that is extracted from trees or oil. We can find an EVA racket with different densities and qualities, which makes it more or less compact, rigid, flexible, elastic ... The effects on a racket would be more or less flexible to impact with the ball, giving us different sensations of hits, power, control .
In theory, EVA rackets have more control and durability, since they are a less elastic material. They have a lower projectile output than FOAM and polyethylene rackets.
We can divide the stiffness of the EVA rubber into ultra soft, soft, medium hard and hard. Some brands include a number next to the rubber in the specifications of the blade; for example, the Pro Kennex Focus Pro with EVA #13. Well, that number indicates what density of rubber has been used and generally they travel between #13 and #22, with a selection like this:
#13-#15, low density, ultra soft and soft rubber
#16-#17, medium density, medium hard rubber
#18-#22, high density, hard rubber
Bottom line: more control and power, but with lower projectile output, durable.
FOAM
With EVA rubber, the most used material in the manufacture of rackets. It is a colloquial term given to the synthetic resin obtained by condensation of different types of polyester, therefore, also called “Styrofoam” and is characterized by its low density. Technically FOAM is an expanded polystyrene, a thermoplastic polymer obtained by polymerization of styrene. If we take this definition in the world of Padel, we get a softer touch than EVA rubber and that offers a good ball output with less force. This is because polystyrene has a greater absorption capacity allowing a further reduction of vibrations, something especially interesting for players who suffer from arm pain such as tendonitis, shoulder problems, etc. FOAM rackets will have a good ball output because FOAM has a spring-like mechanics on the impact of the ball and therefore accentuates the effects of the ball. But this same effect causes a reduction in power, because it absorbs a lot of the force we provide. They are less durable and the finishes are of lower quality, since the material is not necessarily stable over time.
In summary: soft rackets, less control and power, but more projectile output. Also less resistant but very effective for fighting and avoiding arm injuries.
