After Nox Tempo and Nerbo WPT review, we continue the series with three signature models: the AT 10 Luxury Genius Arena by Agustin Tapia as well as the ML10 Pro Cup Luxury and ML 10 Luxury Bahia by Miguel Lamperti. As you will have understood, all three belong to the Luxury range, which brings together the best components and innovations of the brand.

AT10 Luxury Genius Arena

AT10 LUXURY GENIUS ARENA 2022 BY AGUSTÍN TAPIA

The young Argentinian player Agustin Tapia has become the flagship of the brand thanks to his supersonic smashes, his sense of the spectacular game and his genius on the pitch. This has led to his racquet being one of the most sought after by players around the world.

This model is categorized as being a great all-around racket and suitable for many styles of play. Regarding its shape, it is referenced as a teardrop on the Nox site, and yet, I do not completely agree with this official feature. I would say it is round on the outside, teardrop on the inside. We are therefore rather dealing with an oversize circle, which will not change much for the vast majority of players, but I wanted to point it out.

In any case, not as round as the ML10 Pro Cup, it gives us a plus on the offensive side thanks to its less neutral balance due to this hybrid anatomy. The handling of this model is fast and very pleasant.

For 2022, we take the same ingredients as those present on the previous version in order to perpetuate one of the best-selling rackets of the last season. A slightly raised balance which facilitates the management of the defense while producing good power in attack and a very generous sweet-spot will delight players looking for an all-terrain racket.

When it comes to materials, Nox uses carbon in the construction of the entire racquet, both in the frame and on the faces. This material gives us lightness and firmness, managing to combine longevity and efficiency, giving us fantastic touch and control thanks to 12K carbon, a material with 12 carbon fiber threads per cm². At its heart, Nox is once again betting on HR000 rubber, the mythical rubber that has been fitted to Nox models for many years, and that players of padel loved so much for its management and high density.
Its optimal recovery power, combined with the 12K carbon fiber, offers a medium feel that tends to lean slightly towards some stiffness.

The HR3 foam accelerates the recovery of the shape of the core of the racquet after an impact, allowing to deliver maximum power on all shots.

This pala is characterized by the rough finish with silica sand, rough touch similar to sandpaper, which Nox has already implemented in its 2021 model and which is maintained due to its success.

Technologies to reduce vibrations also appear in this model to increase comfort, the AVS system will provide softer keystrokes and avoid muscle discomfort.

Nox integrates its new interchangeable strap system in 2022 smartstrap, which allows the cord to be easily replaced as we wish, improving hygiene while reducing the risk of tearing due to the acidity of sweat.

The design is similar to last season, except for the color change: red has replaced green.

NOX ML10 Pro Cup Luxury 2022

ML10 PRO CUP

The most popular and recognizable racket on the market, this new ML10 Pro Cup, again in collaboration with Miguel Lamperti, keeps the essence of the previous models: a round shape, a low balance, a huge punto-dulce located in the center and benefiting this season from a new bridge which reduces vibrations and gives additional stability.

Its legendary sweet spot and incredible maneuverability improve comfort and precision again and again. The core of the racquet is once again made up of HR3 technology, this shape memory rubber that instantly returns to its initial shape, giving the racquet greater responsiveness and unparalleled control.

Its faces are made of 3 layers of fiberglass in order to obtain that comfortable touch and excellent ball output that Lamperti loves so much. The famous Fiber Glass Silver is a fiberglass fabric with a metallic finish to give a degree of stiffness that is somewhere between carbon and fiberglass.

For this Luxury version, the type of surface is no longer smooth but now benefits from rough planes which consist of a bath of low-grammage siliceous sand. Thanks to this roughness, hits with greater effect are obtained.

The Barcelona brand has designed this racket following the design of the original model, in particular a color with a white background which is contrasted by the gold of the Nox logo located in the center of the pala, and the details in grey, silver, red and black, giving this famous look, signed year after year by Miguel Lamperti.

All the innovations are there to make this racket a more contemporary model than its predecessors: Carbon Frame, DCS, AVS and the famous SmartStrap system.

This pala is a great option for many different types of players. Comfortable, solid, powerful, durable, it is perfect for beginners thanks to its forgiving qualities, but is also suitable for advanced players who prefer ball output to raw power, as well as those who want to protect their elbow from bad vibrations caused by full carbon (frame+plan).

Nox ML10 Bahia

ML10 LUXURY BAHIA 2022

The ML10 Bahia Luxury was designed in homage to Miguel Lamperti, Bahia since it is the name of the city where he was born.

In the shape of a teardrop (rather round/hybrid like the AT10) with an average balance, this model was designed by the famous Argentinian gunner in order to have a boost of power in certain tournaments or to adapt better against his opponents of the day.

Its 12K carbon fiber faces will sound the death knell and the warning shots will only be more vile.

Inside this pala, I found the HR3 core to be slightly softer than on the AT10 Genius, which makes the racquet a tad more forgiving on the arm and gives a softer, more comfortable hitting feel.

As for its design, it is simply spectacular. The combination of silver, steel blue, orange and visible carbon fiber looks great. The logo, with a multicolored finish, will change depending on the position and the light it reflects.

This model incorporates a transparent protector in the frame to protect the racket from possible blows in this area. Unlike the palas presented above, the rough surface here is of the honeycomb type. All the brand's new technologies are also present on this model, which was renewed in 2022.

Note that for this season, Nox has chosen to call on an external audit in order to have all the models leaving the factory officially certified. In fact, the quality label of the Universitat Politècnica de València has appeared on all the new palates in the collection, as you can see in the video below:

“The Testea quality certificate is made up of a series of laboratory tests designed according to three objectives: on the one hand, to ensure that all units of the same model behave in a similar way; secondly, to check the good resistance to wear, making sure that the racket does not quickly lose its performance with use and, finally, to check the good resistance to breakage of the frame and the face of the racket”, explains Jordi Piedra, CEO and co-founder of Testea Padel.

To obtain the Testea seal Padel, the rackets are subjected, in a test laboratory specially designed for this purpose, to the most demanding breakage tests, both of the frame and of the faces, as well as with regard to durability.

En conclusion

We are faced with three references with disparate returns although the innovations are for the most part shared.

The two models that come closest are the AT10 and the Bahia. Same shape, same balance, same 12k carbon, but different reactivity and opposite roughness for these two palas. As said before, I found the Bahia more flexible than the AT10, therefore more comfortable, but less powerful. It's up to you to see which side you prefer to put the cursor on.

The ML10 Pro Cup, meanwhile, is a benchmark apart, a pure round model benefiting from a low balance and fiberglass faces, which will have the effect of offering a huge ball output at the expense of a less barbaric power.

As usual, thanks to Julien and Manu for French Padel Shop, my loyal sponsors, without whom nothing would be possible!

Stéphane Penso

Fan of padel, Stéphane has become the official tester of the planet padel in Europe. Everything goes through his expert hands. Thanks to his extensive experience in the snowshoeing world, he is able to scan your gear from head to toe!