Head Graphene 360+ Speed 135 Review: The most powerful squash racket?

Racket	Head Speed 135
Shape	Teardrop
Advertised frame weight	135 grams
Actual weight (inc. strings & grip)	165 grams
Weight distribution	86g head x 79g grip (slightly head light)
String	Head Reflex 1.20
Grip	Head Hydrosorb Pro
Stringing pattern	12×17 or 16×17 with Adaptive Fan Pattern
Construction	Graphene 360+
Purchase Links	PDH Sports Amazon UK
Release date	May 2021

When testing new squash rackets, there’s a few broad features to look out for. Manoeuvrability, control, touch & feel, durability, and last but not least, power. If you’re in the market for the latter – that being a powerful squash racket – look no further than the brand new Head Speed 135. This might just be the most powerful squash racket on the market today.

Head Speed 135 – At a glance

• With an advertised frame weight of 135 grams, and an all-in measured weight of 165 grams, this is a mid-to-heavyweight racket.
• Though this racket is fairly heavy, its head-light balance keeps things manoeuvrable.
• A combination of teardrop shape, sparse stringing pattern and heavy overall weight make this a very powerful squash racket.
• The racket now features Head’s upgraded Graphene 360+ construction. This offers improved feel through enhanced flex, while helping add more power at the same time.
• It features a clean navy/light blue colour scheme, with colour-matched strings and grip.
• The Speed 135, as with almost all Head rackets, features their Adaptive Fan Pattern (AFP). This means you can string the racket in two different ways, with one offering more power, and the other offering more control.

Quick Purchase links
PDH Sports
Amazon UK

How the new Head Speed 135 compares to other new Head rackets

Racket	Head (g)	Grip (g)	Overall (g)
120 Speed Slimbody	78	66	144
120 Speed	82	67	149
135 Speed Slimbody	80	78	158
135 Speed	86	79	165

The Bugatti of squash rackets?

An odd analogy for a squash racket, I know. But hear me out. The Bugatti Chiron is fast. It’s unfathomably fast. But it’s also heavy, using an enormous powertrain to shift the car at unthinkable speeds. Well, if you squint hard enough, there’s a similar approach with the new Head Speed 135.

This is one of the heaviest rackets Head produces. It’s matched only by their 135X and 135 Radical rackets. All this weight, combined with a teardrop head shape, thick frame, re-engineered shaft and sparse stringing pattern gives you a racket that’s designed to generate effortless power. The Head Speed 135 is to squash rackets, what the Bugatti Chiron is to cars.

Those more observant will notice a coincidentally close colour scheme between the two. Who knows?

Taking the 2021 Head Speed 135 on court

Power – 10/10

I’ll preface this section by saying that squash certainly isn’t all about power. However, having a racket that requires less effort to get the ball to the back of the court can undoubtedly help players at all levels.

To answer the question then, this racket is very, very powerful. With an overall weight of 165 grams, playing deep, well weighted drives doesn’t get much easier. With minimal effort, I found my drives consistently making their way to the back of the court. There’s also a lovely feel from the strings when playing drives. The racket feels lively, with the ball exploding from the stringbed on impact.

I found that when I wanted to really hit the ball – and I mean really hit the ball – the noise on contact with the front wall was, for lack of better words, brutal. There’s only a small handful of squash rackets I’ve been able to make the same kind of noise with. It’s certainly not ‘good squash’ to hit the ball that hard, but it is inherently satisfying (and useful, on occasion).

Consistency – 8/10

Perhaps the greatest advantage of a heavier racket isn’t actually power. I mentioned consistency in the last section, and it’s worth expanding on. Lightweight rackets are great for being manoeuvrable, but not-so-great when it comes to shot consistency, especially for non-professional players (I.E. 99% of players on a squash court!).

Heavier rackets ‘do more of the work’ for you. You can really use the weight of the racket to help guide and shape your swing. This means there’s less potential for errors with your drives. I found my lengths were often glued to the wall and rarely ever landed in the middle of the court (nothing short of a miracle for me as of late!).

The only complaint I had in regards to consistency was when it came to shorter, more gentle-touch shots. The additional weight made placing the ball a little harder when it came to taking the pace off, leading to a somewhat inconsistent short game. This leads nicely on to…

Short game – 6/10

I found this was where the Head Speed 135 fell short of other rackets in the Speed range. The additional weight in the frame reduces the overall feel from the strings. This is because ball has less of an ‘impact’ on the racket when the two make contact, meaning there’s less feedback through the racket as you play your shots. This gave me a little less confidence when taking the ball in short. Drop shots were particularly difficult – I found myself overhitting the ball more often than I’d like.

Thankfully, Head has a really innovative solution. Their Adaptive Fan Pattern (AFP) allows you to string the racket with a much denser 16×17 pattern (as opposed to the standard 12×17 pattern the racket comes with). A more dense pattern provides more feel and control from the strings, though this is at the expense of power.

Manoeuvrability – 6/10

While this is far from the lightest racket on the market, it’s worth pointing out that 135g isn’t actually that heavy in the grand scheme of things. It’s still light enough to feel manoeuvrable around the court. It’s head-light too, which means the racket doesn’t actually feel as heavy as you might expect.

I never once felt fatigued using the Head Speed 135, and rarely found myself struggling to adapt to a shot. However, in comparison to something like Head’s new Slimbody 120, you certainly do notice the extra weight when you swing the racket, especially if you try playing a ‘wristy’ shot.

Squash brands often market lighter rackets as their ‘best’, and therefore most expensive products. Because of this, heavier rackets are often overlooked by the masses. The irony is that many players would benefit from a racket with a little more weight behind it. In fact, plenty of professionals have switched to 135 gram rackets in recent tournaments. 

Remember – lighter does not equal better, and 135g isn’t even close to being a ‘heavy’ racket. Next time you’re looking for a racket, make sure to try out a variety of weights, you never know which you’ll prefer!

Stock strings and grip – 8/10

The 2021 Head Speed 135 comes pre-strung with Head’s Reflex 1.2 strings. These have been colour-matched to the racket in a light shade of blue. I particularly enjoy using the Reflex 1.2 strings from Head and would highly recommend them, therefore it’s great to see it used as the stock string for this racket.

The stock grip is Head’s Hydrosorb Pro, again colour matched to the racket. This is a brilliant stock grip, staying tacky even in warm, sweaty conditions, and standing the test of time fairly well. It’s also adequately cushioned, so feels comfortable in the hand.

Durability – too soon to say

Finding out the durability of a squash racket requires lengthy testing and feedback from a variety of players. At the time of writing, it’s a little too soon to say. I’ve seen some slightly unfavourable comments on Head’s Slimbody Speed rackets, but none as-yet on the non-slimbody variants.

Alternatives to the Head Speed 135

The only real alternative I can think of is the formidable Tecnifibre Dynergy APX 130. It’s a little lighter than the Head Speed 135 (10g less overall), with a slightly denser 14×17 stringing pattern and more head-heavy balance. Both have a fairly thick frame and firmly fit into the ‘power’ band of squash rackets. All in all, if memory serves me correctly, they feel pretty similar in practice (though don’t hold me to that, it’s been a while!). There’s also the Dunlop Revelation 135 – a racket I’m yet to test, but should be taking on court this year.

Overall

This is undoubtedly one of the most powerful squash rackets on the market in 2021. Hitting well weighted shots to the back of the court with this racket feels like second-nature. If you enjoy playing a consistent, structured game, where you value accuracy, width and good length in your shots, this really could be the racket for you.

All the power does come at the cost of touch and feel. I loved playing drives with this racket, however didn’t have quite as much success with my short game.

It’s a lovely feeling racket to use in practice, and should be well suited to all levels of squash player, from beginner through to advanced.

With a launch price of over £120, it’s far from the cheapest racket on the market. If you can justify the cost though, you’ll be getting a fantastic racket. For those on a tighter budget, the previous season’s Head Speed 135 should perform very similarly, and can be picked up from Amazon at a really reasonable price.

Purchase links
PDH Sports
Amazon UK