Bullpadel Vertex 05 27 Padel Racket

The headline change is where the mass sits. PadelSpeak put a 2026 Vertex 05 on the scales at 370 g with its balance at 263 mm from the butt, against 251 mm for the Vertex 04 2025, and called the newer racket clearly more powerful. Bullpadel also redesigned the heart into a more triangular shape and stiffened the frame. Twelve millimetres is roughly the width of your little fingernail. On a padel racket it is the difference between a smash that sits up and one that kicks out over the fence.

Everything else carried over: the diamond head, the 12K face, the MultiEVA core, the 38 mm profile and the 365 to 375 g weight band. So this is a more extreme Vertex rather than a different racket, and players who found the 04 just right sometimes find the 05 a notch too much.

Hit a bandeja with it and the ball goes where you aimed, deep and heavy. Padelful's 2027 scores sit at 8.6 for power, 8.9 for control and 9.2 for the sweet spot, which is generous by diamond standards, and NinePadel found the 27 cleaner and more refined in day-to-day play than the 2026 edition. The numbers back that up: every rating ticked up a fraction or held level.

The weak spots are the ones you'd expect from a stiff, head-heavy frame. Blocks against heavy volleys come off livelier than you might like, the feel is less cushioned than a soft control racket, and Padelful notes that the smash still asks you to supply the speed. PadelSpeak's list of people who should avoid it is blunt: defensive players, anyone at level four or below, and anyone with a sensitive arm.

So why did Bullpadel relabel the balance as medium for 2027 on the same mould? Our guess is marketing more than physics. Treat it as the head-heavy racket the scales say it is.

Under the frame protector sit four slots for Bullpadel's CustomWeight plates, 3 g each, so you can add up to 12 g around the top of the head. One plate is a subtle nudge; all four turn an already head-heavy racket into a sledgehammer, which suits a left-side finisher and very few others. Bullpadel sells a four-pack of CustomWeight pieces separately.

Going the other way is easier still: leave the slots empty and the racket stays as quick as it gets. If you want weight lower down instead, the screw-in 5g or 10g weights in Bullpadel's Grip Custom Weight kit add mass at the end of the handle and calm the head.

Be honest about two things: how often you finish the point yourself, and how your arm feels after a stiff racket. If the answers are 'most of the time' and 'fine', this is one of the best diamonds made. If not, one of its siblings will make you a better player this season.

Protect the head before anything else, partly because the CustomWeight slots live under the protector and partly because a diamond takes knocks off the glass. The racket protector page has tapes and guards that fit Bullpadel frames.

Then the hand. A fresh overgrip matters more on a powerful racket because a slipping grip costs you the very swing speed you bought it for; the padel grips page compares tacky and dry wraps. For balls, a tube of Bullpadel Next Pro FIP balls keeps the whole bag one brand, and our padel balls guide explains how long a tube stays lively.

Carry it in the matching Vertex racket bag or browse every padel bag; if it travels inside a sports bag instead, Bullpadel's plain black racket cover keeps the sand off the face. And shoes: a racket built to attack the net is wasted on a sole that slides, so start with padel shoes made for sand-filled turf.

Still weighing up diamonds against everything else? Our guide to choosing a padel racket explains shape and balance from first principles, the diamond padel rackets page lines up every diamond we stock (Head's nearest equivalent is Arturo Coello's Coello Pro, 370 g with a published 272 mm balance), and the full padel racket range covers the rest. Every Bullpadel we sell is on the Bullpadel rackets page.