Adidas Metalbone HRD Padel Racket vs Babolat Counter Viper Padel Racket — Padel Rackets Comparison UK 2026

The uncompromising racket is also the dearer one, by £78. The Adidas Metalbone HRD at £248 is a tour-grade diamond — 12K carbon face, Hard EVA core, Spin Blade surface, and a head-heavy balance built for finishing rallies. It's one of the most uncompromising rackets in the UK market and demands matching technique.

The Babolat Counter Viper at £170 shares the design intent — a diamond shape with Babolat's Spin Booster surface and a slightly softer core. It's a more accessible version of the same idea: aggressive, head-heavy, but with a touch more forgiveness on off-centre contacts.

So the decision is the classic one: pay £78 more for the harder, more demanding frame, or take the forgiveness and the saving. Buy the Metalbone HRD if you're genuinely playing at 4.0+ level and can extract everything from a stiff diamond. Otherwise the Counter Viper's extra forgiveness comes with a £78 saving at club level; a racket you can actually use beats a harder one that punishes you.