Head Speed 135 Slimbody Review – Squash Gear Reviews

Racket	Head Speed 135 Slimbody
Head shape	Teardrop
Advertised frame weight	135 grams
Actual weight (inc. strings & grip)	158 grams
Weight distribution	80g head x 78g grip (very head light)
String	Head Perfect Power
Grip	Head Hydrosorb Pro
Stringing pattern	12×17 or 16×17 with Adaptive Fan Pattern
Construction	Graphene 360+
Release date	May 2021
RRP at launch	£150
Purchase links	PDH Sports Amazon
Endorsed by	Joelle King, Georgina Kennedy, Adrian Waller

With the incredibly popular Speed 120 Slimbody in Head’s latest lineup, it can be easy to overlook its heavier sibling, the Speed 135 Slimbody. However, this may just be the racket that suits the greater majority of players. Read on to find out why this is such a fantastic all-round racket.

Head Speed 135 Slimbody – At a glance

With an advertised frame weight of 135 grams, and an all-in measured weight of 158 grams, this is a mid-weight racket.
The racket is very head light. Weighing the racket across two scales simultaneously, it had 80 grams of weight in the head, and 78g in the grip.
Proportionally, this is the most head-light racket featured on Squash Gear Reviews to date.
The racket features Head’s upgraded Graphene 360+ construction. This offers improved feel through enhanced flex, while helping add more power at the same time.
The black and white colour scheme is classic, clean and looks great in person (photos don’t do this racket justice!).
The Speed 135 Slimbody, as with almost all Head rackets, has 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.
This racket is endorsed by top New Zealand player Joelle King, alongside top British players Adrian Waller and Georgina Kennedy.

Purchase links
PDHSports
Amazon UK

Here’s how the Head Speed 135 Slimbody compares to similar rackets on the market:

Racket	Weight in head	Weight in grip	Overall weight	% Weight in head
Head Speed SB135	80	78	158	50.6%
Head Speed SB120	78	66	144	54.2%
Dunlop Evolution 120	82	75	158	51.9%
Tecnifibre Carboflex Airshaft 125	84	72	156	53.8%
Dunlop Hyperfibre Revelation Pro	83	65	148	56.1%

Taking the Head Speed 135 Slimbody on court

Don’t be fooled by the advertised 135g weight. The Head Speed 135 Slimbody feels much lighter than you’d think.

With a total weight of 158 grams, this racket is just a hair heavier than the incredibly popular Tecnifibre Carboflex Airshaft 125 (156 grams). However, the Tecnifibre has 84g of weight in the head, whereas the Head Speed 135 has just 80g. This makes the racket more head-light, and in practice it actually feels fairly similar, if a little lighter.

Power – 8/10

Combining a mid-weight frame, teardrop shape and fairly sparse 12×17 stringing pattern, this has all the ingredients to deliver a very respectable amount of power. My main criticism of the lighter Speed 120SB was its lack of power. This racket really plugs the gap in the 120SB’s scorecard.

This racket is well suited to playing nicely weighted drives to the back of the court. It’s not bonkers-powerful like Head’s regular Speed 135 (which can be a little easy to overhit), this racket gets it just right.

Manoeuvrability – 7.5/10

Even though this racket is mid-weight, having only 80g of weight really helps this racket to feel manoeuvrable. In fact, the only racket with less weight in the head we’ve tested is Head’s very own Speed 120 Slimbody (78g).

Thanks to the head-light balance, this makes the racket well suited for taking the ball early, with volleys feeling second nature.

It’s worth mentioning that there are much more lightweight feeling rackets available on the market, however any pre-conceived ideas that a 135-gram racket should feel ‘heavy’ are quite far off-the-mark. This really does feel similar to lighter rackets such as the Tecnifibre Carboflex 125 Airshaft and Dunlop Evolution 120.

Control, touch & feel – 8/10

I found this racket fantastic for playing an accurate short game. There’s a lovely amount of feedback through the racket when you hit through the ball. Thanks to the feel from the strings, I felt confident when taking the ball in short.

I’m yet to test the Head Speed 135 Slimbody’s Adaptive Fan Pattern, which gives the racket a 16×17 stringing pattern. This reduces the space between strings, therefore theoretically increasing the level of control. If Head’s claims are true, this could-well increase the score in this category, albeit at the cost of power.

Consistency – 9.5/10

A racket that performs admirably in every aspect is bound to score highly in the consistency bracket. I found myself playing really accurate squash whenever I had this racket in my hands. I could play the ball to just about where I wanted without it feeling forced.

Where the lighter Speed 120 Slimbody struggled with consistency on lengths, and heavier Speed 135 struggled with consistency on the short game, the 135 Slimbody gets it spot on.

Design – 8.5/10

As ever, design is entirely subjective. I love the look of this racket though. The black and white paint looks clean and timeless, and arguably this is my personal favourite in the new range. Thanks to the simple paint colours, it goes really well with just about any colour grip too.

Durability – TBC

As this is only a test-racket, it’s hard to determine how well the Head Speed 135SB will hold up over time. I’ve heard mixed feedback on the lighter 120 Slimbody, however given the extra weight in the 135, it should undoubtedly help it to hold up to bumps and bruises.

Overall

When writing product reviews, I try to be balanced in picking out both the positives and negatives. However, I really struggled to find anything to criticise with the Head Speed 135SB. It does just about everything you could ever ask from a squash racket, and does it really, really well.

It’s powerful enough to ensure your drives reach the back of the court, it’s manoeuvrable enough to take the ball from any position, and has enough touch and feel to give you confidence to take the ball in short.