The Bandeja Magazine Issue 1

It’s Tribal
It’s Tribal
#Padeltribeuk
Equipment reviews & discussion from a padel geek
Nox ML10 Lightweight
Nox ML10 Smartstrap
Nox ML10 Luxury
Padel Tribe grew out of an Instagram page - Essex Padel
- set up by David Capper to talk about games he played,
usually at Prested Hall, Padel United in Maldon and David
Lloyd Chigwell. As the account’s popularity grew a name
change was required and Padel Tribe UK was born and
has gone from strength to strength.
Padel Tribe UK has gone from
strength to strength, discussing
the padel scene. People say padel
is a cross between tennis and squash,
but where similarities do exist, padel
is padel and has its unique shots and
tactics. The beauty of padel is the ease
to start playing, difficulty to master and
that it quickly becomes very addictive. I
am totally addicted to padel.
I’ve been given the opportunity to talk
about all things padel - equipment,
the club scene etc. Being a total
padel geek this is a great opportunity.
Remember though, these are my
opinions and thoughts. Padel rackets
or bats, (rackets have strings, bats
don’t?) come in a myriad of shapes
and designs. If you are from a tennis
background (I’ve played tennis and
squash) some brands might be
familiar, such as Head or Wilson, but
there are many other great Spanish
and Argentinian brands in the
marketplace - Bullpadel, Nox, Drop
Shot and Royal Padel to name a few.
For this launch issue of The Bandeja
I thought I would review one of the most
popular and best-selling bats in the
history of padel: the Nox ML10 Pro Cup.
They say you never forget your first
love and, in terms of padel, the ML10
Pro Cup was the bat I used, loved
(and still love) for a number of years!
The beauty of this bat is that it can
be used by all levels of player. The Pro
Cup is synonymous with one of the
most popular players in the history of
Padel, Miugel Lamperti, who assisted
with its development and design over
the last 10 years. My son Harry has
also used the Pro Cup; it’s ideal for an
advanced junior player.
When recommending a bat I advise
looking for comfort and ease of use.
No one wants to spend £££ on a bat
that is difficult to use and ends up
injuring your arm. Tennis elbow is
prolific in padel!
The ML10 Pro Cup is the round shape,
meaning the balance is closer to
the hand, providing better control of
shots. The sweet spot (the area on
the face that is optimal to hit the ball)
David (and his Nox Pro Cup) with
World Padel Tour player Pablo Lima.
is large and the unique HR3 rubber core
and metallised fibreglass in the face of
the bat provide a ton of comfort,
power and durability!
For 2022 Nox has introduced its
‘SmartStrap’ system which allows you
to personalise your racket, improve
hygiene and safety by easily
replacing the strap - there’s a loop
at the end of the racket. Simple but
effective. Watch Miguel Lamperti
demonstrate it here.
So how does the Pro Cup perform
on court? From the back of the
court in defence, the round shape
and lower balance make it easy to
move into the right positions. It has a
relatively large sweet spot, provides
a sense of security in the defensive
game and makes it easy to play
forehands and backhands. The lob
can be played with confidence to
hit the ball high and deep.
Transitioning up the court from
defence to attack the Pro Cup,
with its great manoeuvrability,
makes playing consistent volleys
and bandejas with confidence
straightforward, providing the control
to find the gaps and place the ball
exactly where you want it.
Being a control focussed bat,
viboras and smashes are played
with surprising power, providing the
ability to finish the point.
If you watch Lamperti play you will
see him smash out of the court with
ease (but he is a top world pro!)
SUMMARY The Pro Cup is an all
round performer. It provides comfort,
playability and durability. This is why it
is the best-selling padel bat ever and
why I recommend people should try it.
Final note, the ML10 is also available
as an Ultra Light version with similar
properties and the latest release is the
new ML10 Pro Cup Luxury which features
all the great properties of the original
Pro Cup but with added technologies
such as additional anti-vibration
features and a rough finish on the
face to provide additional
grip and spin on the
ball, all in a slightly
updated mould.
#padeltribeuk
“You may hear of
rackets being diamond,
teardrop or round in
shape, and each has
its benefits, but for
club level players my
recommendation would
be a round shaped
racket.
”
36 thebandeja.com
the UK padel magazine - May 2022
37