The Eye X.Lite 130 from Eye squash rackets. This is the Borja Golan signature racket.
Here’s the new 2019 cosmetic, dubbed the Eye X.Lite 130 Signature Series:
Spotted
Borja Golan rocking this at the 2019 US Open:
Here’s the original racket, the Eye X.Lite 130 Control, which was released back in 2017:
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Buy (Canada): controlthet.com | racquet-science.com
Buy (US): squashgear.com
Racket Specs chart
Advertised weight (unstrung): 130 grams
Head size: 490 cm sq
Reviews
I got a brief chance to hit with some of the Eye rackets, including the X.Lite 130 Control. You can watch the video here. This was actually my favorite of the Eye rackets. It’s got a little more weight in the frame than their other models.
An overview by Joey Barrington from Eye:
Danie says
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I am more than impressed with my xlite 130…used a 120 power before but developed tennis elbow, was told the extra weight could help with the follow through
Jazz says
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I have this racket, the 130 control and now play with it only once a while. Though I play 5 days a week, atleast an hour a day at 6am.
Overall its an average racket ( comes without a cover ) and there are many better rackets and cheaper out there. Many examples say: a Dunlop Pro Revelation + ( Farag Ali’s signature racket ) is near perfect, 128 grams and handles hugely better than the Eye Control 130, has awesome control and power, very quick thru the air and costs around have the price
Also the Eye Control 130 comes without the Grommet strip, so if you need to remove a broken string, or the original string, its a hell of a job to make sure the small nipples placed in the string holes “stay in place and don’t fall out.
Also the Logo stencilled on the strings was holding the strings together at the crosses. Possible that the ink used was poor quality, never had this issue with other rackets, Changed the strings asap.
Going by my overall experience playing with this racket and its overall build, Won’t buy another Eye racket.
Danie says
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Hi Jazz
I dont play as much as you and I am only a beginner, dont you think the sweet spot of the Dunlop is too small?
Regards
Jazz says
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Not the Dunlop Pro Revelation + that I wrote about. It has a very large sweet spot, remember it has Hyperfibre + at 10 and 12 o’clock, this area feels a bit different but has good control and power. And just below that the sweet spot continues.In the middle you get Max power.
In my view, this is the best teardrop racket today.
Easy to play, lots of power but not control etc, good for club play Head ix ( intelligence) 120.
Danie says
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Hi there Jazz
I played tonight again and I am more and more impressed with my Xlite 130.
I think, referring to comments on this blog for the X120, that I was lucky enough to get one of the better ones in the batch…
Another interesting point, I live in South Africa and the Eye rackets are not that expensive, I think the Dunlop of Farag would be more expensive here.
Pierre says
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Yeah same in the US, the Dunlops are more expensive than the Eyes
Jazz says
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Possible. I bought my Eye xlite 130 from a UK based site : justrackets.com . Paid Pounds 120 + courier. The All Farag racket is available at Pounds 65. I live in India.
I love my squash, hence love to try out rackets, strings, tension etc. Have about 10 rackets in my current collection. Give away a few regularly to good young players who need better equipment, better than they are currently using.
Squash rackets are reasonably priced here. Only some rackets like Black Knight, Eye and Harrow are not available and Ofcourse Ashaway squash strings. In my experience Head rackets are easiest to play with and easy on price. Perhaps the largest selling racket here.
Good to exchange views and learn. Enjoy !
Danie says
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Hi Jazz
What racket are you playing with nowadays?
I switched over to a Prince Pro 750 …huge improvement for me
Jazz says
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Hi,, I am playing with Dunlop Hyperfibre + Revelation Pro. It’s the signature racket of Farag Ali.
Good complete racket. Awesome power and control. Very quick through the air. 128 grams.
Chris says
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Jazz, I get how you are disappointed, given the price, but instead recommending a dunlop teardrop with a different string pattern sounds very subjective to me. I’ve had two of the x-lite’s for two years now, after or while having tested a range of eyes, dunlops (including the revelation), tecnifibres, heads and black knights (I know the people at the local store), and I tremendously enjoy the x.lite’s balance and feel. Had no issues with quality, bumpers (I use crash tape) or stringing.
That’s not to say, everybody will enjoy it, but since other’s here are asking what to start with, I feel your comparison with a very different type of racket is odd. Aside from weight and arguably a similar balance point, there’s not much to compare the two. Personally, I would rather recommend a classic shape than a teardrop to a beginner, but that’s just my subjective viewpoint as well. Cheers.
Jazz says
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My intent was to mention other easily available rackets, that I felt we’re easier to play with, reasonably priced and offer good Powe and control. Yes, subjective to that extent.
Jazz says
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I bought this racket last week, played with it, Found it very ordinary. Despite playing for 4 hours over 3 days I found that the strings were subpar, the paint used to put the logo on the strings was still holding most of the strings in that area together. So I decided to get it restrung or it was fairly unplayable.
It has been restrung with Ultranick 18 @ 23 lbs ( since the string is 1.15 mm and essentially this is a control racket, fairly dense with 14 by 18 stringing.) The performance became better by about 50%. It is now playable and perhaps better than an average racket. Good control and ample power.
The other issues one needs to be prepared for 1. It has no protection guard over the head or what is called bumper strip. This exposes the racket straight on in case of wall hits. 2. There is no connected grommet strip along the head, you have holes for the string to pass through and an individual plastic nipple for the string to rest in, inserted from the outside. You have to careful when you restring as these can fall out will have to be replaced if you cannot find it. Also when the string is inserted from inside the frame you can displace / move out the individual plastic nipple. So stringing needs time and lots of care.
I got racket at Pounds 120. cannot say it justifies the price. At that price we are spoilt for choices : possibly with savings !