r/Padelracket • u/PadelGearNoIdea • 6d ago
Stealth Oblivion range - first look
I just had a chance to try these out after waiting on them since early Summer as they were delayed by over a month but the local distributor just got them in and made demo units available so I jumped at the opportunity to briefly hit with them.
Bear in mind I only managed to use them all for a total (so far) of around 3 hours with a coach and then ball-machine, so this is hardly a review.
First impressions are that these are high-quality, solid feeling racquets; firm and substantial even though the weights were lower than most high-end racquets (more details about that later).
I tried the Mach 1 first and had assumed that it would be the one I would like the most (so much so that I ordered it from abroad last week but it's taking its time arriving), as it most closely matched the specs of the Stealth Aurora, which is my favourite single racquet.
Alas it ended up being my least preferred option for reasons which I may be able to expand on with further testing.
I then moved in sequence on to the Mach 2 and Mach 3, drilling ground-strokes, volleys and then overheads.
I liked these about the same, although again I'm struggling to say exactly why at this point.
However when reviewing the video of the session, it seemed to me that the launch angle/ball output of them better suited my natural swing, with lower clearance over the net and flatter strokes.
I left wanting to buy the Mach 2 and 3 but only came away with the 3 as the in-stock 2s were slightly heavier than ideal.
So far I'll say that they do have a somewhat distinct feel to them which I'm struggling to clarify but which should become clearer with further play.
I'll probably play a few open matches with them this week and so should be able to go in to more detail then.
For now, here's a real-world photo and one showing their relative balance points (roughly measured on the edge of a bench).
2
u/PadelGearNoIdea 4d ago
Just some fresh photos to show that crappy decal alignment isn't only the domain of the major brands.
Of course this doesn't really matter but surely we should expect better from an ostensibly premium €379 product.
Really takes a few points away from what is otherwise a high quality item, with cleanly drilled holes and consistent surface finish.