Ashaway Powerkill Meta ZX Review: Harrow on a budget?

Racket	Ashaway Powerkill Meta ZX
Shape	Traditional
Advertised weight (strung)	135 grams
Weight distribution	Slightly head heavy
String	Ashaway Supernick XL
Stringing pattern	14×19
Head size	462cm sq
Colour	White/black/blue
Release date	2021
Purchase links	PDH Sports
Price at launch	£100

Ashaway is a brand synonymous with top quality strings. They’re a relative newcomer to the squash racket market, so we’re really excited to test out their brand new Powerkill Meta ZX squash racket. We took it on court to see how it performs.

Heads up – If you’re a fan of Harrow rackets, but can’t stomach the cost (or even find them on the shelves!), then it’s well worth reading on.

Purchase links
PDH Sports

First things first – this is an ultra-lightweight racket – don’t be put off by the advertised weight

The Meta ZX is advertised as 135 grams. That sounds heavy. However, don’t be fooled. It’s incredibly light. And there’s good reason for this. Ashaway have now begun advertising their rackets’ ‘strung’ weights, instead of their ‘unstrung’ weight.

Normally, when racket manufacturers advertise their racket weights, this is without the strings and grips – it’s literally just the weight of the frame alone. This means rackets typically weigh 20-30g more than advertised when you pick them up off-the-shelf. I’m a big fan of Ashaway for this change. What you see is exactly what you get.

Putting the Ashaway Powerkill Meta ZX on the scales

Racket	Weight at head	Weight at grip	Overall	Weight distribution
Ashaway Powerkill Meta ZX	74	63	137	54.0%
Eye Rackets v.Lite 110	72	69	141	51.1%
Head Radical SB120	81	70	153	52.9%
Dunlop Sonic Core Pro 130	85	73	158	53.8%
Tecnifibre Suprem 125	84	77	161	52.2%

Didn’t believe me about how light this racket is? It’s the lightest racket ever featured on squashgearreviews.com! With an all-in weight of just 137 grams, it really is a featherweight frame.

While the racket has a fairly even balance point, venturing towards head-heavy, it still only has 74 grams of weight in the head – considerably less than just about every other racket we’ve tested. This makes the racket ultra-manoeuvrable – more on that later.

A frame that’ll be familiar to fans of Harrow – for a much fairer price

This racket very closely resembles Harrow’s bestselling Vapor rackets. For a long time now, these have been almost impossible to get your hands on for a reasonable price (currently £155 at the time of publishing). The Powerkill Meta ZX can currently be picked up for a scrape under £100.

I managed to find someone with a Harrow Spark and placed the two rackets side by side – without the paint, you’d be hard-struck to find many differences.

Taking the Ashaway Powerkill Meta ZX on court

Manoeuvrability – 10/10

How could I not start here? This racket is as manoeuvrable as it possibly gets. I’ve never felt this level of freedom while on court – it opened up an immense range of possibilities when hitting the ball. Not only did I find myself hitting the ball much earlier, I also was able to play with much more disguise and deception than with heavier rackets. I also found it to be a tremendous racket when my opponent stepped up the pressure, with the light weight really helping to pick up more difficult shots.

Touch, feel & control – 9.5/10

Owing to its light weight and dense stringing pattern, the Powerkill Meta ZX provides tons of feel and feedback through the racket as you hit the ball. You’re aware of exactly where you’re hitting the ball on the strings as they make contact. I felt I was able to ‘place’ the ball exactly where I wanted to, regardless of what shot I was playing. The accuracy on my drop shots also increased significantly when using this racket, where I felt I was able to play very delicate shots with full confidence (soft hands, as some would call it).

Power – 6/10

No surprises here – you can’t have your cake and eat it. Where this racket absolutely excels in manoeuvrability, touch, feel and control, this is all at the expense of power.

You’ll need solid technique and a fast racket head speed to hit the ball hard with the Meta ZX. If you’re a club level player, the light weight could lead ‘hacking’ at the ball, rather than utilising a good technique.

(Adversely, heavier rackets encourage players to prepare their racket early and use a full swing – thus helping to develop a good technique.)

Consistency – 7/10

I debated on how to rate this racket’s consistency. I found my shots were very accurate with the Meta ZX, especially when taking the ball in short and playing delicate shots.

However, when my technique dropped, that’s when accuracy suffered. Due to the small head size and dense stringing pattern, the Meta ZX has a fairly small sweet spot – you certainly know when you’ve hit the ball off-centre. This isn’t a racket that ‘does the work for you’, so good technique is a must.

Alongside this, it’s also a little too easy to play ‘wristy’ shots and get away with it – it’s nice to have that option, but it certainly won’t help beginner/intermediate players to develop a good, proper swing.

The one thing that did help with consistency was swapping out the stock grip on the racket – I often found it slipping in my hands as soon as I started to sweat. A fresh new grip fixed that straight away.

Design – 7/10

As ever, design is subjective. I’m personally a fan of more ‘clean’ looking rackets, whereas as with most Ashaway rackets, the Meta ZX dons a fairly bold paint job.

I do really like the satin and matte paint they’ve used though – the white/blue/black is also a nice colour combination, and the racket definitely stands out in my kit bag!

Durability – TBC

I can’t properly comment durability as I haven’t used the racket for an extended period of time. What I would say however, is durability is often the trade-off of ultra-lightweight rackets. If you’re the kind of person ‘well acquainted’ with the hard squash court walls, I would be weary of investing in this racket – you may find yourself needing a few spares. Take this with a pinch of salt though – I’ve had a few wince-inducing moments when using this racket and it’s holding up just fine.

Ashaway Powerkill Meta ZX – Overall

What an awesome racket Ashaway have produced. I had high hopes for this frame – around 3-4 years ago I used the Ashaway Powerkill 120 ZX and got along really well with it. The Meta ZX didn’t disappoint. It’s been my go-to racket for the past few weeks and I’ve struggled to pick up a different racket since.

The lightweight frame has opened new avenues for me. Having previously struggled to play deceptive squash, the Meta ZX introduced a new dynamic into my game. Alongside this, I’ve found myself playing very accurate squash into all four corners of the court with this in my hands.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed using the Ashaway Meta ZX. Ironically, I typically favour heavier, teardrop shaped rackets. This couldn’t be any further from those, and yet, I find myself choosing this racket whenever I open up my bag. I would happily recommend this racket to anyone looking for a lightweight, control focused frame.

Purchase links
PDH Sports