Adidas Metalbone Carbon 3.3 Padel Racket vs Babolat Viper Air Padel Racket — Padel Rackets Comparison UK 2026

An interesting one, because the price gap has flipped: the Adidas now costs around £50 less than the Babolat — £108 against £160. The Adidas Metalbone HRD is Ale Galan's signature - the HRD core is the harder version, the diamond shape pushes balance high, and the carbon face is built for genuine pro-tour power. It's punishing on framers and brilliant on clean contact.

The Babolat Viper Air at £160 takes the Viper attacking DNA and trims weight via the Air construction. You still get the carbon face and the high-balance attacking shape, but the lighter swing weight makes it a touch more usable defensively and easier on the arm over a long match.

If you're a serious 4.0+ player chasing every gram of attacking bite, the Metalbone HRD now delivers it at the lower price — a rare situation worth taking advantage of. If you're 3.5-4.0, want diamond-shape aggression, but value being able to swing comfortably for two hours without arm fatigue, the Viper Air is still the better fit — just accept you're now paying roughly £50 more for the comfort rather than saving money.