Author: Racquet Network

Racquet Network staff are certified experts. Many are also certified coaches. Racquet Network Experts undergo extensive training and product knowledge testing in order to ensure that we have the most knowledgeable staff in the racquet sports industry.
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Best Shoe to Replace the Asics Gel-Blast

ASICS GEL-BLAST 7 2301

The end of Asics ™ Gel-Blast shoe series came suddenly and without warning to Calgary squash players. Like the death of an old friend, he was always there and then suddenly … he wasn’t.

Not everyone loved the Gel-Blast. It was too heavy for some. It was not breathable enough for others. But the shoe had legions of fans.

In our opinion, the Gel-Blast was one of the best squash shoes ever made.

The Gel-Blast 5 was breathable and definitely the most popular model ever made.

Unfortunately, Asics followed up that legendary effort by totally crapping the bed with the Gel-Blast 6. It was a fine shoe, man was it uuuuuugly.

They recovered the following season with the Gel-Blast 7 which was definitely the best version of that shoe. Then it was gone.

So what do Blast fans do now? What shoe could possibly replace such a legendary squash shoe?

Ladies and gentlemen. May we present Babolat ™ Shadow Tour 2018.

BABOLAT SHADOW TOUR BLACK-YELLOW-BADMINTON-SHOE
The Babolat Shadow Tour is a worthy replacement for the Asics Gel-Blast series.

Not the 2017, mind you. The Shadow Tour 2017 was a nice shoe, but it’s not in the same league as the 2018 model.

The 2018 model is the perfect replacement for the Gel-Blast 7.

It has an awesome Michelin gum rubber sole, a 3D printed mid-sole and a carbon fiber upper that provides at least as much stability as any shoe in the Gel-Blast series.

For squash players, this shoe provides a platform that is every bit as wide as the Gel-Blast and a slide guard that is every bit as tough at the Blast’s famous Rhino skin.

In our expert opinion, this shoe is not only equal in every way to the discontinued Gel-Blast, it is better in every way than anything made by Salming.

For that reason our staff have rated this shoe as a five star option for squash players.

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Gift Ideas for Pickleball Players

Pickleball is extraordinarily popular right now. Quite rightly, it has a reputation as a game that is easy to learn. Unfortunately, it also has an unearned reputation of being an injury-free sport. Those who know better, though, know that there is no such thing as an injury-free sport.

As with all other court sports, injuries ranging from minor to major happen every day of the week all across North America. Many of these injuries are completely unnecessary. They happen because pickleball players are misinformed. They think they can’t get hurt, so they don’t take steps to prevent injuries.

At Racquet Network, we want to keep all pickleball players safe and healthy. So we offer our customers a range of useful products.

Proper Court Shoes

Most pickleball injuries occur as a result of falls. Players trip and fall because they are playing pickleball in running shoes. As they fall, they stick out their hand to break their fall and end up breaking or spraining their wrist.

Unlike running shoes which are designed for steady forward movement only, court shoes are designed for explosive movement in all directions.

Racquet Network offers more models of pickleball shoes than any other retailer in Canada. We have shoes for men and women of every size, width and colour preference. Check out the shoe section of our website to find the perfect pair of shoes for the pickleball player on your Christmas list.

Proper Athletic Clothing

In addition to proper court shoes, it is essential that pickleball players wear non-restrictive athletic clothing. Freedom of movement is essential for all athletes, regardless of age.

Unfortunately, many seniors who play pickleball either don’t have the money to spend on proper athletic clothing or believe that it is not necessary for athletes at their age/level.

In fact, as our certified coaches will tell you, it is even more important that athletes over fifty wear proper clothing: A) because they are more susceptible to injury and B) because it takes longer for their injuries to heal.

Training Tools

Over the past five years, the use of training tools such as step counters and heart rate monitors by middle-aged athletes has exploded. The primary motive for using these tools by athletes in this age group appears to be weight management.

Older athletes, meanwhile are using the same tools, but for different reasons. While middle-aged athletes are concerned with monitoring calories burned, athletes over 50 are rightfully concerned with monitoring their maximum heart rates.

Tennis Elbow Prevention/Treatment

Finally, no discussion about preventing pickleball-related injuries would be complete without pointing out that tennis elbow is the most common minor injury suffered by pickleball players of all ages.

Using a Theraband ™ Flexbar is the best way we know of to prevent tennis elbow from occurring. We are also told it is one of the best ways to help treat tennis elbow once you have it.

Gift Certificates

If you are still not sure what to get the pickleball player on your Christmas list, don’t worry. We sell gift certificates in $25.00 increments and our expert staff can help the recipient get exactly what he/she needs.

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Head Light Squash Racquets – Do They Really Exist?

Head Light Squash Racquets

Every year, we see dozens of new squash racquets come out that are marketed as “head light”. Some of them will even go so far as to print “head light” on the frame, the product card or the SKU.

Unfortunately, very few of these racquets are genuinely head light.

Here at Racquet Network, our experts put every racquet on balance beam to determine its actual balance. In most cases, the number we get it very different from the manufacturer’s number.

Take the Dunlop Precision Pro 130, for example. Dunlop ™ claims this racquet is head light. They even put “HL” on the product tag to indicate that it is head light. But when we put it on our balance beam, it comes out as 6 points head heavy.

In fact, since we started balancing squash racquets in 2004, we have only ever found one all graphite racquet to be genuinely head light, and that racquet was discontinued nearly a decade ago.

The few squash racquets that genuinely come out as head light are invariably cheap, aluminum racquets with extremely heavy handles — like the ones below.

Racquet Selector For a full list of racquets in this category, please check out our ONLINE RACQUET SELECTOR. You can sort by sport, gender, brand, size, weight, balance and more.

Head Light Squash Racquets

Here is a selection of head light squash racquets available in our store and/or on our website.

Racquet Selector For a full list of racquets in this category, please check out our ONLINE RACQUET SELECTOR. You can sort by sport, gender, brand, size, weight, balance and more.

So if you have been searching high and low for a genuinely head light all-graphite squash racquet, stop wasting your time.

The closest you are likely to come is the least head heavy racquet on our racquet selector.

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Best Squash Racquets in the World

Tecnifibre ™ squash racquets are consistently the highest squash rated racquets in our in-store Try One Before You Buy One demo program. They also have an extraordinarily high rate of customer satisfaction.

While we have given many other brands precious shelf space in our store over the years since we opened our first store, Tecnifibre has earned a central place in our squash racquet program with consistently excellent products and unusually high satisfaction rates among squash players of all levels.

No matter the level or playing style, Tecnifibre makes a racquet suitable for that player’s game.

Tecnifibre Carboflex Series Squash Racquets

The Carboflex series of squash racquets is used by more Top 10 professional squash players than any other series. It is our number one selling racquet series with players of all levels from beginner to expert.

Tecnifibre Suprem Series Squash Racquets

The Suprem series of squash racquets was created for players who prefer that classic rectangular head shape associated with a control player’s game style.

Tecnifibre Dynergy Series Squash Racquets

The Dynergy series of squash racquets was created for power players who like to hit the ball hard and blast it by — or through — their opponents.

Our Try it Before You buy it program allows players to try every racquet in every series before settling on the perfect frame for their playing style. Come in see us. Our knowledgeable staff will help you pick one to get started.

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Best Shoe for Indoor Pickleball in Calgary

Best Shoe for Indoor Pickleball in Calgary
The sole on the left is the best overall type of sole for an indoor pickleball shoe in Calgary.
One of the most common questions we get from Calgary pickleball players is which shoe/sole is best for pickleball in Calgary.

The answer to that question really depends on 1) where you are playing, 2) how often you are playing and 3) the length, width and shape of your foot.

This is why the only we can really answer this question FOR YOU is to meet you and go through the process of a proper court shoe fitting in our southwest Calgary store.

Those specifics aside, however, we can give Calgary pickleball players some basic advice to start with.

First, take a look at the soles in the image above. The one on the left is a simple organic rubber outsole. It makes full contact with the ground across the entire forefoot and the entire heal. The forefoot and the rear foot are made of the same material. The midfoot features a 3D printed stabilizer that prevents the shoe from twisting.

The image on the right is a bit of a mess. There are at least three different grades of rubber in the sole. This means that the heel (grey) has different traction than the forefoot.

The shoe on the right also has several gaps where the sole of the shoe will not be in contact with the ground. And it has multiple edges, which can damage flooring such as mats.

In our expert opinion, the shoe on the left is a much better choice for most Calgary pickleball players than the shoe on the right. Here is why …

The shoe on the left will perform better for pickleball on virtually ever common indoor surface. From the hardwood floors at the Cedarbrae Community Centre to the resin floors of the Crescent Point Field house, the sole on the left provides better traction and will last longer than the shoe on the right.

The sole on the left is also welcome at facilities such as Smash City and Sunridge, while soles like the one on the right are strongly discouraged and often prohibited.

But what about the circle? … doesn’t matter.

But I like this brand … doesn’t matter.

But my friend said … doesn’t matter.

The sole on the left is a better sole for indoor pickleball — end of story.

The sole on the left will provide more traction and more stability and will be welcome in more pickleball facilities than the sole on the right.

If you want to buy the sole on the right because it has a circle or because it’s your favorite brand or because your friend told you something different, that’s entirely up to you.

Our job is to give you good advice and we’ve done that above.