The Dunlop Sonic Core Evolution 120 and 130 are hybrid shaped squash rackets, endorsed by top English squash players Nick Matthew and Declan James. In this review, you’ll find information about their design, weight, balance, feel and more, plus a comparison between both rackets.
Dunlop originally released the Evolution frame shape with a weight of 130g racket all the way back in 2012. They then released the Evolution 120 in 2015.
In more recent history, Dunlop, previously owned by Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct, was sold to Srixon. For those not in the know, Srixon are a Japanese brand who historically operated within the golf market.
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These are the first Dunlop squash rackets made in collaboration with Srixon. From speaking to the team at Dunlop, Srixon have been instrumental in taking their research, development and testing to the next level. They started out with their tennis rackets in 2018, and have now graduated to squash rackets.
The end result should mean these rackets have improved in multiple areas over the rackets they’re replacing. These new rackets can certainly talk the talk, but do they walk the walk? Read on to find out.
Introducing ‘Infingergy’
Racket manufacturers use foam in their racket construction – that’s nothing new. With Dunlop’s latest Sonic Core squash rackets however, they’ve partnered with BASF, the company behind Adidas’ insanely popular Boost foam technology.
Dunlop have opted to use the same foam technology from Adidas’ Boost shoes (‘Expanded Thermoplastic Polyurethane’) within their squash rackets. This material has ultra-elastic rebound properties and is really lightweight. The theory is that by placing this material at the 2&10 O’clock positions within the frame, it will increase the sweet spot of their rackets, make them more powerful, and at the same time increase their dampening and reduce shock.
Dunlop Sonic Core Evolution – Design
The Sonic Core Evolution is Dunlop’s ‘hybrid’ shape squash racket. This means it’s not quite a traditional shape racket, and it’s not quite a teardrop either. This means you get the best of both worlds – the rackets are designed to sit between control and power orientated rackets.
The rackets have received a fresh coat of paint with their redesign, with Dunlop opting for a much cleaner look and feel with these frames. The 130 has a black, white and green paint job, and the 120 has blue and green paint. Inside the 120’s throat, you’ll find a small ‘Wolf’ logo to signify it’s Nick Matthew’s racket – a nice touch.
Taking the Dunlop Sonic Core Evolution 120 and 130 on court – full review
Weight, balance and manoeuvrability
The Dunlop Sonic Core Evolution comes in two weights – 120g and 130g. It’s no secret that manufacturers weigh just their frames (leaving out the strings, bumper strips, grips, and sometimes even paint!). I’ve weighed these rackets to find out their ‘all in’ weights, also weighing them across two scales at the same time to work out their weight distribution.
| Racket | Head (g) | Grip (g) | Overall (g) |
| Evolution 120 (Nick M) | 82 | 75 | 158 |
| Evolution 130 (Dec J) | 83 | 71 | 156 |
I was a little surprised with the read-outs, given that the 120 weighed the same as the 130. It’s worth remembering that a 1p coin weighs four grams, so two grams is negligible.
Of course, as ever, racket manufacturers have a ‘tolerance’ for their racket weights off the production line. There might be a chance that the 130 I used was lighter than intended, or the 120 was heavier. However, it’s worth mentioning that Pierre over at Squash Source noticed the same thing, and Paul at PDH Sports also mentioned how similar the rackets felt in the hand.
With the rackets having around 82g of weight in their head, this makes them one of the lightest feeling rackets I’ve tested. They’re both really manoeuvrable rackets, making taking the ball early incredibly easy. One of the strengths of Nick Matthew’s game is that he takes the ball on the volley at every opportunity, so you can see why he favours these rackets. The Evolution 120 has a little more weight towards the grip, whereas the Evolution 130 had more weight towards the head, giving the former racket a slightly more head light balance (though not by much).
In real terms, both the Evolution 120 and Evolution 130 felt very similar in the hand. I was blindfolded, I’d probably struggle to tell the difference between either racket.
Feel
The first thing I noticed when using both the Dunlop Sonic Core Evolution 120 and 130 is how well they handle vibrations. When you hit the ball from the sweet spot, there’s literally no vibration at all. Instead, the ball seems to ‘pop’ off the strings. It’s quite a unique feel that I’ve not felt on any other rackets before.
I’m not fully sure whether this is the strings, the racket or a combination of both, but I did really enjoy the way they played. I did however choose to remove the dampener that comes with Dunlop rackets as I find a little vibration helps with feel.
Some players may like this feel, whereas others may struggle to use a racket that removes nearly all vibrations. This is entirely down to personal preference.
I also found these rackets to be pretty forgiving. The large head size and construction of the rackets lends to a fairly large sweet spot. Off-centre shots are also handled well, with little-to-no jarring vibrations through the racket when you don’t hit it perfectly.
Control and accuracy
I felt really confident hitting straight, accurate drives with both these rackets. Even just warming the ball up, it felt like most shots were arrow-straight and tight to the wall. The combination of the weight and balance for me makes this racket perfect for those who enjoy playing a traditional ‘up and down the wall’ type game.
I didn’t feel quite as comfortable taking the ball in short from the front of the court as I did with Dunlop’s traditional shaped rackets. I had a tendency to overhit the drop shots a little bit, though I’m sure with a little more time with these rackets that would be no issue.
I did however find myself hitting drop shots from the back with lethal accuracy. It’s one of my favourite shots to throw in to a rally, and I rarely missed when using these rackets.
Power
I was really surprised at how powerful these rackets were. Like, really, really surprised. When you hit through the ball, it absolutely explodes from the stringbed. Because of their relative light weight, power was also fairly easy to generate with a small swing. It seems Dunlop really have delivered on their claim of ‘enhanced power’ from the new foam inside their rackets.
Both rackets were really similar in terms of their power output. Given the similar weights, I struggled to notice much difference between the Evolution 120 and 130 in this regard.
Grip
These rackets come with Dunlop’s Hydramax Pro grip. It’s a really comfortable, high quality stock grip that also has a slim foam layer underneath for added comfort. It’s far more comfortable than most stock grips found on other squash rackets. The issue for me is that they don’t seem to handle sweat very well, at all. In fact, I found the grip slipping in my hand really badly during intense matches, leading to some fairly frustrating errors.
The good news is that removing the grip carefully still leaves the gel layer underneath in tact, so you can retain similar comfort levels with something like a Karakal PU grip (the green or yellow Karakal grips are great for comfort and handling sweat).
Durability
While I can’t comment on durability too much as I’ve only used the rackets for a short amount of time, the rackets have handled any bumps and scrapes from the walls really well.
The only look-out for me is with Dunlop’s grommet strips. I myself, and other players I know have had the occasional trouble with the grommet strips on Dunlop rackets. The grommets sometimes ‘split’, meaning string breakages may occur on a more regular basis.
I’ve only ever experienced this with Dunlop rackets, and I haven’t seen or heard anything about changes to the grommet strips on these rackets, so it’s something I’ll keep an eye out for in longer term testing.
Dunlop Sonic Core Evolution 120 and 130 review – Summary
The Dunlop Sonic Core Evolution 120 and 130 are both fantastic rackets for those looking for a combination of power and manoeuvrability. I can comfortably say they’re up there with the most powerful rackets I’ve ever tested. At the same time, I found myself confident when playing the ball tight to the side wall, with a good length and well weighted shot.
For those who enjoy taking the ball early and constructing rallies around lengths that stay tight to the side wall (cough, Nick Matthew), both these rackets are seriously worth trying out.
The way these rackets eat up vibrations through the frame will certainly appeal to some players, whereas others may prefer a more flexible feel. I would say taking the ball in short is probably where these rackets present the most challenges – the way they’re designed doesn’t favour ‘gentle’ touch shots. A look at Dunlop’s traditional shaped squash rackets is certainly a good suggestion if that’s something you’re after.
The one big thing I struggled with, was actually trying to find a difference between the two rackets I was using. I focused really hard on trying to feel the difference in the 120 and 130, switching rackets during warmups and between games and trying to observe whether I could notice any differences in power and manoeuvrability. Alas, I just couldn’t really tell a great deal of a difference. For me though, these rackets are exactly the weight I like, so I would have no issue choosing either squash racket.
Comparing the Dunlop Sonic Core Evolution to the Tecnifibre Carboflex
A question I’ve been asked multiple times is how they compare to the Tecnifibre Carboflex squash rackets. They play very differently in my opinion – I found the Dunlop rackets to be the more powerful of the two, whereas the Carboflex rackets offer a little more touch and feel. The weight and balance of these rackets is very similar, though I did find the Dunlop Sonic Core Evolution to be a little more manoeuvrable than the new Carboflex Airshaft rackets. I also found hitting through the ball to be a more comfortable experience with the Dunlop rackets than the Tecnifibres, thanks to their larger sweet spot and more forgiving feel.
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Would you recommend these for a beginner/low level intermediate as a first racquet? They seem to have a good balance of power and control and be somewhat forgiving and evenly balanced which to me suits a developing player . Looking at the 130 in particular
I couldn’t fault these rackets at all for beginners! It’s a good rule of thumb to stay away from ultra lightweight frames, as these can encourage poorer technique.
The Evolutions are both nice midweight rackets, they generate power with ease and both have a reasonable amount of forgiveness too. A good choice in my books, though if you can have a hit with one before, I’d say its definitely worth it – they have quite a unique feel that some people love, some people less so. Hope that helps!
I couldn’t fault these rackets at all for beginners! It’s a good rule of thumb to stay away from ultra lightweight frames, as these can encourage poorer technique.
The Evolutions are both nice midweight rackets, they generate power with ease and both have a reasonable amount of forgiveness too. A good choice in my books, though if you can have a hit with one before, I’d say its definitely worth it – they have quite a unique feel that some people love, some people less so. Hope that helps! 😊
Hey bud, the head and grip weights of both the rackets do not seem to add to the total, perhaps a rounding error. Would be good to round it off to the nearest decimal or have first decimal displayed to be accurate.