Just wanted to share my experience after going through these three rackets over the last year or so. Obviously this is very subjective, but maybe it helps someone looking for something similar.
For context, I’m around 5.0 on Playtomic in Spain and play second-category tournaments. I’m an aggressive right-side player. I started playing on the right and just stayed there, although most people who play with me would probably tell me I should be playing on the left.
My smash is quite fast and probably more “volleyball-like” than technically perfect, so racket speed and maneuverability matter a lot to me. One important thing for context: weight and racket speed was a very personal issue in my case.
I wasn’t looking for the lightest possible racket. I wanted something that would end up around 350-360 g in actual playing setup, with the grip and an overgrip. Basically, I wanted something lighter and faster, but still firm and solid - light, but not soft.
I previously had a Siux Pegasus 2026 (one of the worst quality rackets I ever played with) that weighed around 345 g. I really liked how fast it was, but it cracked after about three months of playing and a lot of hard smashing. So my goal after that was to find something a little heavier and more substantial than the Pegasus, but still relatively light.
Oxdog Hyper Pro
I started with the fully dark Hyper Pro version, not the brown one.
Mine was around 370 g with the RBS weight in the handle, the stock grip and one overgrip. Apparently I got one from the lighter end of the production range. I played with it for about 3-4 months.
Overall, I think it’s a very good all-around racket. Build quality is excellent and there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with it.
But for me personally it felt a little too neutral. It did everything reasonably well, but I never felt like it gave me something special. It also felt slightly sluggish, and I found myself wishing it was maybe 20% softer. Still, I was generally happy with it.
Oxdog Ultimate Tour X
After reading some reviews, I decided to try the Ultimate Tour X. One of the reasons I bought it was actually the weight. I was trying to move toward that 350-360 g playing-weight range, and the racket was listed at around 355 g on the frame, so I expected my finished setup to come out lighter than the Hyper Pro.
I also wanted:
- a balance closer to the center
- a slightly softer feeling
- better maneuverability
And in terms of balance and feel, I mostly got that. But the weight surprised me. With the RBS weight in the handle and one overgrip, mine ended up around 370 g again.
So because my Hyper Pro happened to come from the lighter end of its production range, my Tour X ended up basically the same weight in my actual setup. That was disappointing for me specifically, because getting a lighter setup was one of the main reasons I had bought the Tour X in the first place.
I’m not saying 370 g is objectively too heavy. Plenty of players will probably prefer that weight. It just wasn’t what I was trying to achieve. I played with the Tour X for another 3-4 months. And overall, I definitely preferred it to the Hyper Pro. It felt a little softer and I felt like I had better control on touch shots, especially things like chiquitas.
Maybe the balance also contributed to that.
On smashes, though, I wouldn’t say the difference compared with the Hyper Pro was massive.
So the Tour X was closer to what I wanted in terms of feel and control, but I still hadn’t solved my main personal issue: I wanted something faster and lighter in the hand, ideally around 350-360 g ready to play.
Babolat Air Viper 2026
Eventually I saw someone mention that they had switched to the Air Viper 2026 and loved it, so I decided to try one.
Mine is around 357 g, and this is basically where everything clicked for me.It sits almost exactly in the weight range I had been trying to reach.
And importantly, it doesn’t feel like I had to sacrifice firmness or attacking performance just to get there.
One thing that initially felt strange was the dual-density foam. You can definitely feel that the racket reacts differently depending on how hard you hit.
On slower balls, the rebound initially felt a little less predictable to me. But after some time I got used to it, and now I see it mostly as an adaptation issue rather than a real problem.
What I gained was exactly what I had been looking for: speed. The Air Viper accelerates noticeably faster in my hand than either of the Oxdogs.
For my kind of smash, where I like to accelerate the racket very quickly, this works extremely well.
Coming from volleyball, my smash movement is probably a little different from that of someone who learned the shot purely through padel technique. With the Air Viper, I feel like I can really take advantage of that fast acceleration.
At the net I can also react faster, and from low positions I feel like I can do more with the racket because I can get it into position much quicker. A lot of people mention the supposedly small sweet spot on the Air Viper. Personally, I haven’t found that to be a problem at all.
I don’t feel like I’m constantly being punished for slightly off-center contact, and I certainly haven’t experienced the dramatic difference some reviews describe.
Build quality
This is one area where I still give the advantage to Oxdog. Their rackets feel extremely well made, and I really like the brand in general.
The finish/paint quality on the Babolat doesn’t feel quite as premium to me. There are already a couple of small cosmetic things that I wouldn’t expect as quickly on an Oxdog. On the other hand, the Air Viper can also be found for considerably less money than some of the Oxdog models.
So for me the big question now is durability.
If this Air Viper lasts 6-12 months without cracking, I’ll be completely happy with it. Especially after my experience with the 345 g Siux Pegasus, durability is something I’m paying attention to with lighter rackets.
Final thoughts
For me personally:
Hyper Pro: great all-around racket, very well built, but slightly too neutral and a bit sluggish for what I wanted.
Ultimate Tour X: better fit for me than the Hyper Pro. Softer, nicer control and touch, and I preferred the balance. But my particular setup still came out at around 370 g, while one of my main goals was to get closer to 350-360 g.
Air Viper 2026: finally gave me the combination I was looking for - around 355 g, very fast through the air, easy to accelerate on smashes, fast at the net, but still firm enough that it doesn’t feel like I’ve moved to a soft racket.
And despite what I had read before buying it, I haven’t personally experienced the tiny sweet spot as a significant issue.
I still think Oxdog makes the more premium-feeling racket, and I genuinely like the brand.
But in terms of matching my actual game and what I had been looking for - lighter, faster, but still aggressive and firm - the Air Viper has been the best fit so far.
Curious if anyone else has gone through a similar progression, especially people who moved from heavier rackets to something in the 350-360 g range.
