by Ron Leon
Introduction:
Saxon is a popular brand of squash equipment in Western Europe. Saxon's Aerox range consists of four squash racquets, and I feel privileged to have been the first American squash professional invited to evaluate them and now I'm reporting my findings to you.
Saxon manufactures their squash racquets using innovative techniques joined with well-established materials, resulting in squash racquets that feel and play as great as they look. Saxon squash racquets compare very favourably to racquets from the better-known manufacturers, and in Europe they are sold at comparable prices to those brands. I recommend you try them and see for yourself why they're so popular among knowledgeable squash players in Europe.
The Aerox Squash Racquet Range:
The range consists of four racquets, easily identified by the unstrung weight specified in grammes contained in the name. All four of the racquets have a very evenly balanced feel, the Saxon Aerox 125 feels just a little more head-heavy and the Saxon Aerox 120 feels just a little more head-light. The lightest racquet is the Saxon Aerox 110, which has a noticeably wider shaft than the others.
This design allows Saxon to maintain the stiffness of the shaft with slightly less carbon fibre. As a result, the 110 has a slightly lower stroke speed when compared to the other three Aerox racquets. The 115 and the 125 have an almost identical appearance except for the colour scheme, and the slightly more head-heavy balance of the 125 contributes to a more powerful response upon ball impact. The 120 has a slightly larger shaft than the 115 and 125, but doesn't sacrifice stroke speed as much as the 110. For players who prefer a super-light racquet and don't consider themselves power-hitters (perhaps some female players or junior players would fit this description) the 110 might be the best choice. For ultimate power, I'd suggest the 125, which is identical to the Hi-Tec Power Tec racquet. Deciding between these very nice racquets is not easy, and some players might be swayed merely by their colour preference. They're all excellent racquets.
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General Impressions:
The Saxon Aerox racquets all have the same basic teardrop head shape, the top of the head is very round and the sides of the head extend almost straight to the point where they meet the shaft. It's a rather long head shape that is easy to maneuver, and the sweet spot is long without being overly narrow. The balance is even and the most notable thing about the Aerox racquets is the extremely fast speed of the stroke, which allows you to produce very powerful drives without sacrificing control.
I enjoy hitting powerful drives so my usually playing partners are accustomed to my fast stroke technique, but when I use my Aerox racquets they are clearly surprised at the speed of the shots and they all ask to see what racquet I'm using to produce such powerful shots. The carbon fibre materials and oil moulding process that fills the voids in the carbon combine to create a soft, comfortable feel that compares very favourably to titanium racquets made by all the major brands. The graphic design of the Saxon Aerox racquets is very distinctive: the racquets feature two-tone designs and are painted in such a way that each racquet can appear to be either of the two different colours, depending on which way you're holding it.
I enjoy hitting powerful drives so my usually playing partners are accustomed to my fast stroke technique, but when I use my Aerox racquets they are clearly surprised at the speed of the shots and they all ask to see what racquet I'm using to produce such powerful shots. The carbon fibre materials and oil moulding process that fills the voids in the carbon combine to create a soft, comfortable feel that compares very favourably to titanium racquets made by all the major brands. The graphic design of the Saxon Aerox racquets is very distinctive: the racquets feature two-tone designs and are painted in such a way that each racquet can appear to be either of the two different colours, depending on which way you're holding it.
General feel:
Generally speaking the teardrop head shape is my favourite, and the Saxon Aerox range provides all of the expected benefits of this head shape. The handle shape is a rounded oval and rather small, which makes it easier to customize the grip to individual taste than larger, more squarish handles such as I'm accustomed to finding on Head racquets and some others. The exception is the Saxon Aerox 110, which has a slightly more square handle which is also slightly larger than the other three. The striking speed is really fast as I've explained above, and the entire range has excellent power and response, and they're very easy to control.
The Saxon racquets don't utilize the space-age gel materials that are used to fill the voids in the graphite materials such as many other manufacturers are offering, however Saxon utilizes a novel "oil-moulding" process that I understand is designed to perform a similar function of filling the voids between the graphite fibers. Overall these are great all-around racquets suitable for all levels of players, including advanced and professional level squash players.
Speed-to-preparation:
The Saxon Aerox racquets have a very light and balanced feel and move very quickly from the middle "ready" position to the fully prepared backswing position on either side.
Maneuverability:
These are very maneuverable racquets and respond quickly to changes in swing direction and produce solid shots with quick flicks of the wrist or forearm. Due to the unique head shape it's very easy to dig balls out of the back corners with the Aerox and if you need to adjust quickly with a back-wall boast you'll find the Aerox very accommodating due to the quick stroke characteristics.
Stroke momentum:
The Aerox has a very balanced feel and seems to provide nearly as much stroke momentum as a heavier racquet or open-throat racquet design. It produces very satisfactory strokes. It almost begs you to play fast hard shots from a wide variety of positions. Intermediate players with decent technique will not have any difficulty producing their full variety of strokes with the Aerox.
Sweet spot:
The sweet spot of the Aerox is long and narrow, which is generally consistent with the teardrop head shape. Striking the ball at the sides of the head (3:00 and 9:00) will result in some noticeable lateral rotation due to the straightness of the sides of the head, but striking balls which are very tight to the wall with the edge of the racquet (11:00 and 1:00) can be done very confidently, the same as with an open throat racquet with a rounder head shape.
Power:
The Aerox racquets feel very powerful due to the fast stroke characteristic. The response when playing power drives and attacking shots is crisp and satisfying.
Driving to length:
I don't have any trouble finding my length with any of the Aerox racquets, and the response at different levels of pace allows for nice variations in the speed and height of the drive while maintaining excellent length. When the opportunity arises to change direction and drive the ball cross court to a width, the Aerox really shines. The speed of the stroke enables you to perform this skill with surprising power and control.
Retrieving tight shots:
The Saxon Aerox racquets are capable of responding admirably during tight rallies along the wall, due to its teardrop head shape and the relatively small radius and shape of the beam surrounding the head. The response created by the materials allows you to lick the ball delicately even when it's glued to the wall and send it back just as tight to a good length, and when you have just a little more room to work with you can quickly add pace and keep the ball tight to pass your opponent and force them into the back corner.
Volleys to length:
If you're a player who has developed the skill to take the volley early and return the ball to a length, the Aerox will not let you down. Hold your racquet up early and you can execute this skill with amazing speed. You'll be hunting for the volley with confidence and maintaining your position effectively by using your Aerox to execute these shots.
Volley kills:
As above, if you possess the skill to execute the volley kill, the Aerox is a suitable tool. If one of my students wanted to develop this skill I would not have any hesitation to help them with their technique using the any of the Aerox racquets, but I feel that the 125 model is the best tool in the range for this purpose.
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Volley drops:
The responsiveness of the Aerox allows you to apply delicate touch for the volley drop and stop volley and maintain excellent control over the ball. This is a popular shot amongst professional players and I wouldn't hesitate for a moment to execute this skill when playing with my Saxon Aerox.
Drops:
The stroke momentum and maneuverability of the Aerox enables players to executes drops with either a full or a compact swing. If you're a player who is still developing this important skill, the Aerox could be very helpful to you in establishing a strong foundation for this and other finesse shots.
Boasts:
Executing tight boasts that pull your opponent in different directions and open up the court for attacking opportunities requires confidence in your racquet and an instinctive feel to manage and control the various dimensions of the boast. Sometimes you want to strike the boast with a lot of power, and sometimes you want to strike it softly so it floats to its target destination or rolls across court away from your opponent. The Aerox has the responsiveness and maneuverability to enable you to produce the maximum variety of effective boast shots, including back wall boasts and skid boasts high off the side wall.
Lobs:
The stroke speed and maneuverability of the Aerox will enable players to lift the ball to a proper height and control the direction of their lob shot, even if they've had difficulty developing this skill using other racquets. The lob is an important shot to have in your repertoire, and if you aren't satisfied with the consistency of your lobs, try an Aerox racquet and I think you'll find it's easier than you thought.
Spins / Cuts:
The rough textured string that comes with the Aerox enables you to apply maximum spin and cut to your shots, including power drives that seem to pull forcefully down to the floor in the front of the court after striking the front wall.
Conclusion:
American players will probably be unfamiliar with the Saxon Aerox racquets, but hopefully they will catch on because the entire range is very appealing from a variety of perspectives. In Western Europe, where many of the world's top players live and train, Saxon racquets are very well respected and although the Saxon C4 is by far the most popular model offered by Saxon, the Aerox range of racquets from Saxon is also very popular and impressive. If you play with Hi-Tec squash shoes, especially the black and yellow 4-SYS model, consider the
Hi-Tec Pro-Tec racquet, which is similar in feel to the Aerox 125 (my personal favourite in the range) and has a colour scheme that matches those shoes perfectly. In addition to the distinctive two-tone graphics on these racquets, another nice design touch of the Aerox range is the excellent quality textured multifilament strings which are colour co-ordinated to match the graphics of each model. Saxon has obviously put a lot of thought into this range of racquets and I am happy to recommend them to my squash playing friends, as well as the customers of Squash Experts.
