Padel Racket Review - Adidas Metalbone 34 2025

What the reviewers say

Reviewers agree on the headline: this is the most complete Metalbone so far. Padel Review, whose on court test Practica Padel wrote up in full, called it "the best Metalbone we have ever tested" and scored it 9 out of 10 for both net play and spin, with power and smash at 8.5. PadelShop's Jorn van 't Klooster framed it as a tuning project rather than a finished object: "This is not just a racket, it is a fully customizable weapon." PadelZoom came at it from the accessibility angle, describing a racket that lets you "attack with greater ease of play" because the ball still leaves the face cleanly on an incomplete swing.

Where they split is forgiveness. Zona de Padel's Pablo Risueño García, comparing the standard against the Hard, said the soft core version has "high control for this type of racket, and it helps in defence" and is comfortable enough for long matches. SimplePadel's Lucas Sánchez is blunter about the cost: "on control and defence it is demanding, this is a racket for players who generate their own pace and rarely miss the middle." Both are describing the same frame. The difference is what they are holding it against, and that is the useful signal: soft for a Metalbone is still firm for a padel racket. Everyone flags the same practical annoyance, a handle that is longer than before but still thin and slippery out of the box.

The video testers fill in the on court detail. Dani 13, who weighed it at 358 grams bare and 370 grams with every weight fitted, put the gain and the cost side by side: "this year it is more powerful without you having to work harder for it, but we have lost something in the other areas of the court." SetUP Padel is the outlier on feel, saying "I am used to playing hard rackets, and this one does not come across as a soft racket to me", and rates the víbora above everything else it does. Conect Padel expected a diamond this head heavy to punish him at the back and did not find it: "in defence it goes better than I expected, it is very easy to move, and the lob comes out well."

Our take: Bowe's summary

The parts that hold up best here are the ones you feel on every ball. The 16K face gives short, direct feedback, and the Spin Blade texture genuinely grips, so a víbora bites instead of drifting long. The cost is a head that keeps travelling after your arm has stopped, and an output lively enough that a half swing sends the ball a metre deeper than you meant. Players who place the ball rather than hit through it should leave the weights off at first and accept that central contact is not optional on this one.

The soft EVA core is what keeps this racket playable behind the service line. Low balls off the glass come back without much of a fight, and defensive lobs carry enough depth to buy you the net, which is not a given on a diamond this head-heavy. Padel Review scored it 8.5 from the back of the court and 8 on lobs. The limit is speed: when the ball arrives at your feet in a fast exchange, the head weight shows up and you have to prepare earlier than a rounder frame would ask.

This is what the frame is built for. The head-heavy balance, the stiff 16K face and the longer handle turn a full arm swing into flat, heavy put-aways, and the extra handle length gives real leverage on the bajada and on a two-handed backhand. The rough Spin Blade surface is the other half of it: you can hit a kick smash hard and still trust it to drop. Reviewers put power and smash around 8.5 out of 10 and rate spin a point higher, which matches how the racket behaves.

The net is where it scores highest, 9 out of 10 for volleys in Padel Review's test. The frame is rigid enough that a hard ball blocked at chest height goes where you aimed it instead of twisting off the face. Touch is the trade-off. The output is lively, so a drop volley needs a deliberately softer hand than a control racket would ask for, and the bandeja takes a few sessions before the depth settles.

How it compares

Against the Adidas Metalbone 3.4 HRD+ 2025, the difference is the core. The HRD+ is firmer and gives back almost nothing, which suits a player who already generates pace and wants the hit to stay direct. The standard 3.4 keeps most of that power and returns comfort and a little margin, which is the better trade for nearly everyone below professional level.

Against the Bullpadel Hack 04 2025, the Hack has the larger sweet spot and the more planted feel on a smash, while the Metalbone is quicker through a net exchange and grips the ball harder on spin. Take the Hack if you want forgiveness, the Metalbone if you want bite.