The Prince Airstick 130:
Product Info
Price: $150
Sponsored Links ↓
Buy (US): squashgear.com
Racket Specs chart
Advertised weight (unstrung): 130 grams
Head size: 480 cm sq
String pattern: 16x17
Measured weight (all-in): 142.5 grams
Measured balance: 37 cm
Airstick 130 Review and Info
Here’s a quick video of this racket that I put together, giving you my first impressions and showing the racket in action on court:
A while back, Ramy was playing with Dunlop, but they seem to have parted ways, and now Ramy is using the Prince Airstick 130. A nice scoop from Laurent Cossa.
This racket’s a bit old but you can still get it, because Ramy Ashour.
Update: Ramy is getting his own signature Prince racket.
Spotted
Anyway here’s Ramy using the Airstick:
Screenshot via PSA Squash TV
And here’s a clip showing what you can do with the Airstick:
Here’s Karim El Hammamy using the Airstick at the 2016 World Championships:
Photo via SquashSite →
Salma Youssef was still using this in 2019:
Photo via BlackBallSquash →
Shoes: Asics Gel Rocket 7
Location: 2019 Black Ball Open
And Yousef Ibrahim was spotted with this racket in 2021:
Photo via Steve Cubbins
Shoes: Salming Viper 5
Location: 2021 Black Ball Open Men
Stephan says
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Has it replaced your Vapor?
Pierre says
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Funny, when I saw your comment, I was in between games playing with the Airstick. I still use the Vapor in league matches but grab the Airstick for fun sometimes. If the Vapor breaks, I may switch to this guy.
MC says
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Youssef Ibrahim using this beauty at Blackball?
John says
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Yes indeed it looked like it! Was excited to see that.
Oddly enough too I thought Abouelghar had his own blue Prince racquet (Venom Tour Pro?), but watching his match against Ali he’s back to the ol’ Rebel Pro, wonder what happened there
MC says
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no idea why abouelghar hasn’t moved to the new racket – maybe he didn’t like it?
the airstick 130 is an all time classic – Prince should re-release it?
B says
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Just started using this (and can’t wait to hit again when all this virus stuff is over!). really love it, enjoy the head heavy nature and it’s still maneuverable.
perhaps slightly more delicate than TF rackets though
and it’s a bit hard to find these days? has anyone a source of getting these rackets?
Viva Ramy!
Jay says
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I was able to find a couple of these used but in great condition, for only $70 total. I break them out for the odd practice session or when I’m feeling in a funk with my regular racquet. It always feels good to hit with it again.
Here’s one Canadian vendor that still has them: https://racquetguys.ca/collections/squash-racquets/products/prince-airstick-130-squash-racquet
b says
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thanks for that! they’re such a great racket and they look so cool too
Mohamed Hesham says
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I have played with the airstick 130 since it came out and I find it the best all-round racket. Recently I bought couple of rackets from PDH sports as a backup for the one I already have. The new ones have completely different feel than my old racket. On the negative side they feel heavier and their balance is more head heavy and less maneuverable. I haven’t played with the prince sovereign before but my guess the new rackets have the same feeling. The positive thing is that the new rackets have alot more power than the old ones and feel alot more stiff and durable ,and my drives are very much improved. For anyone who wants to spot the difference, the old airstick was made in China, while the new one is made in Myanmar.
Qasim says
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After being disappointed with several tear drop rackets I recently bought the Airstick 130. Man, this is by far the best squash racket I have used. Lobs, drops, kill shots, close to the wall shots, rails, anything u wanna try this racket can do it all.
Earlier played with the Dunlop 4D Elite, Pro GTS, both rackets where good but I always felt I was playing tennis vs. squash. Squash you got have the whip feel.
The main issue with most rackets is the head speed is slow & that can really stop u from improving your game/ being creative with your shots. With the Airstick the design is super aerodynamic. Hard to find this racket. Bought mine from Pdh sports. Strongly recommend best racket for medium to advanced players.
Brent Coe says
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After trying a dozen racquets over the last few years, I pulled out my old cracked Airstick and it was like a revelation. The feeling of manueverability was just incredible, so whip quick.
So any ideas of another racquet with a similiar quick feeling?
I’ve tried:
Wilson Ktour — It’s the closest feeling I could find some mods. Much lighter than expected. With 305 and an Eye grommet kit, 143 grams. Didn’t like the small sweetspot.
Tecnifibre Carboflex 130 — Nope, small sweetspot for the size head. More flex than I like. Too big of grip.
Tecnifibre Dynergy 125 — Very close, but I just can’t get used to those bigger grips.
Dunlop Venom/Vision 115 — What I was using before getting out the Airstick. Just picking it up, it feels the same. Balance feels about the same too, but quick movements feel like the large head slows it down.
Any other ideas?
Pierre Bastien says
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I’ve heard the Prince Pro Airstick Lite 550 (2014 version) is supposed to be similar. There’s more below.
Brent Coe says
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No more Princes, thank you. My experiences bear out what most comments about their durability. Seen alot of them break and it makes me miss the quality late ’00s.
koo-jii says
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The Warrior 600 used to be extremely fragile. Prince changed the manufacturing process a year ago, and now they are very durable.
nick says
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is there a difference between air stick 130 and air stick lite 550? or what is the difference? the latter is easy to find while the 130 is pretty hard to find around here. a racket with a similar weight and balance I’ve used is the gtx-130 but I found that one lacking in power and not rigid enough for my liking. I assume the string pattern on airsick will give more power.
Pierre Bastien says
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I’ve heard they are the same other than the paint job — but haven’t compared them side by side
Geoff says
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I have both rackets in my current bag.
I say there are slight differences as the air stick lite 550 seems to be just a bit less whippy and a bit more head heavy when you actually play it.
However, it’s close enough to not affect your game significantly.
Rod Foster says
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i’d agree w/ this
i have both as well
nick says
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Both rackets are strung with same string or could it be that slightly different (factory?) strings could account for 550 feeling slightly more head heavy?
Lior Lotem says
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Unfortunately I have to agree with many of the other comments.
I just loved this racket from the very first moment I took it in my hand.
it was :
1. Light, but not too much
2. Precise
3. Powerful
4. Cheap (bought it around 50 euro)
HOWEVER – it is way too fragile !
I have played with other Prince rackets that, though more fragile than your avarage Dunlop, Wilson or Tecnifiber, kept servig me for well over a season.
This one, however, cracked on the slightest contact (more of a graze, actually) with the sidewall.
Pity. I really loved it while it lasted…
🙂
Theone Wee says
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Any recommendations for a durable Prince ?
michel goulche says
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https://pbs.twimg.com/media/COz6p0LUEAAiHYJ.jpg:large
Ramy’s new toy !
Pierre Bastien says
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Thanks Michel! Just posted it here.
Brent says
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My experience with the “new” releases of the Air Stick has that they are more fragile than the originals. I had three of the black/gold models that lasted almost 3 seasons. The three I’ve bought with the black/grey paint have all broken within a few months. Scared me off Prince for the time being.
Pierre Bastien says
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Thanks Brent. I didn’t realize there was actually a new version as opposed to a continued printing of the original version. Did you buy the new version online somewhere?
Ian says
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Anyone know where I can find it available online in Canada?
Snelly says
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This is the best Prince racket I have ever used. It is so much more robust than any other that I have owned and has everything you could want: good balance, excellent power and nice touch with great manoeuvrability.
Highly recommended. Cheap too.
Snelly says
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Sods law – bust it last night! 🙁 🙂
Joe Robinson says
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I bought this racket after being recommended it by a squash coach. I’ve probably used it for around 30 games now, and I’ve always felt very indifferent to it. Usually with a racket, after a period of adjustment I bond with it and have strong opinions around its balance, control, feel etc. But I don’t have any of those strong feelings with this racket hence my 3 star, it’s “OK” review.
It is light, and thus very manoeuvrable, but that’s about all I can compliment it on.
I think there’s possibly a bit of hype around this racket due to the association with the great Rammy Ashour…
3/5*
Pierre Bastien says
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Thanks for the feedback Joe!
Untitled says
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I will never use prince again! this racket broke after the slightest nick on the side wall. I broke two of these rackets in one month. I never banged it on the side wall or the floor out of anger, and when it had the slightest contact with the wall it broke. It’s a waste of money and I suggest not ever using prince and stick to Dunlop. They’re racket are more sturdy and have 100x more quality than the newest Prince racket. Dunlop has more advanced technology than Prince. If you plan to play with Prince rackets you will have to be INCREDIBLY careful. It’s worse than a dunlop racket I found in the garbage! don’t be fooled by the fact that all of the top players in the world use it. It’s a crappy racket and the only reason pros use it is because Prince pays them more money. you’ll play good the first day you use it and then all the other days you’ll play like crap. I’m not a hater i just want you guys to have the best quality racket out there. If I had a choice to play with a Prince racket or a stick, I would choose the stick. Plus, Prince racket is as sturdy as a twig. I can’t afford to buy a new racket every week.
Pierre Bastien says
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Thanks for the feedback. The twig thing had me laughing, but that sucks to have two of them break like that.
Dave says
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I’ve had an airstick for a year now with no trouble (although im not really a big wall hitter). I did crack one about 18 months ago but that was almost a year old so a racket every 2 or so years I can live with. I much prefer the feel of them to any other racket I have tried so far (not tried any Black Knight though)
Rod Foster says
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gotta say i’m sure which racket is more prone to breakage…surely prince will be deemed so if more of them are in the hands of players…right? law of probability and all that….
anyways, i’ve broken both a wilson and a prince and the prince pro beast 750 broke only cause of an errant and erratic player decided to smack the holy piss out of it. it cracked shattered and disintegrated right on the spot..not sure how many rackets could with stand that…
anyways…the prince air stick has last a good while now for me and has a taken a beating….if/when it breaks i’ll be getting a new one…it’s literally been the best i’ve used…i’ve only just demoed the eye rackets and i have to say i’m on the lookout on ebay for a used one and will buy it when i get the chance…
tecnfibre carboflex 125s, pro beast 750, airstick 550, Prince Airstick 130, dunlop aerogel 4d elite, wilson hyper hammer, wilson n120, wilson 140 blx
all have been wonderful….i prefer the airstick 130 and i’m eventually going to try that new textreme warrior…..eventually.
Michal says
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Well said! I broke 3 in one week. I would use a stick or frying pan instead of Airstick.
Prince? They should change the name!
Rod Foster says
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Princess?
Ben says
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This is my current racket as well as other, I like it but it does take a long time to get use to it, it was my first racket when i started just over 2 years ago, and that broke a while ago but got it a couple of months ago and now love it, got mine strung with Tecnifibre 305+ 1.3 String and now is a great racket with power and control. Get it now when it’s cheap!
Ben
Shane lim says
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Just got this racket today. Slight head heavy but comfortable swing …still using stock string ..will try to change string and give it another try … Will keep u guys updated!
Pierre Bastien says
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Thanks Shane!
Jeroen Mulderij says
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I think Ramy will be sponsored by Prince soon, according to this tweet: https://mobile.twitter.com/RamyAshour/status/295198656947187712
Pierre says
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Thanks Jeroen so does it look like Prince to you? We will see!
Jeroen Mulderij says
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It’s official!!!
http://instagram.com/p/Vy30W2NiJz/
Bopper says
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The Dunlop website only lists four players as their tour team now – Alison Waters, Greg Gaultier, Nick Matthew and Ong Beng Lee. It appears there might have been a sponsorship rationalisation at Dunlop. Perhaps sponsoring Egyptian players was not translating into sales…
Pierre says
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You’re right Bopper they have narrowed down their “team” on the Website. I hadn’t noticed that. Although I see they still have a picture of Shabana here. Heh.
Delch says
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Hey there!
I’ve noticed that Golán is also missing… No Spaniards either
Pierre says
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True. I wonder how Dunlop came to this decision. Or as someone pointed out on Twitter, maybe it was the players that all left Dunlop!
Jeroen Mulderij says
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Last year Ashour was not happy with Dunlop, they only gave him two rackets for the Australian open and at first they didn’t tweeted that he won the world open. He retweeted this tweet https://mobile.twitter.com/Stringways/status/280732975430262785
I think that he wasn’t happy with dunlop at all 😮