Adidas Metalbone Carbon 3.4 2025 Review: Metalbone Power, Sensible Money
The Metalbone experience — octagonal carbon frame, diamond head, serious attacking intent — at €179.95 instead of €260. If you want the line's identity without the flagship outlay, this is where you get it.
Metalbone is adidas's attacking line, and the flagship frames now sit comfortably north of €250. The Metalbone Carbon 3.4 2025 is the version that brings the line's core engineering — the Octagonal Structure tubular carbon frame, a diamond head, a 485cm² face — down to €179.95 against an RRP of €260. adidas describes it as a racket for its most demanding players, and the technology list backs that up: Octagonal Structure, Low Poly, Extra Power Grip and the Spin Blade Decal. This is what you actually get for the money.
✓ What we like
- Genuine Metalbone engineering at €80 under RRP
- Octagonal Structure tubular carbon frame reduces torsion for accuracy
- EVA Soft Performance core softens what could have been a brutal frame
- Outstanding rebound in independent testing
- Extra Power Grip is designed to raise swing speed on offensive strokes
✗ Watch out for
- adidas rates it advanced/professional — it is not a forgiving racket
- High, head-heavy balance is hard work at the net and on the arm
- Sweet spot and manoeuvrability are its weakest measured traits
- No adjustable weight system on this Carbon variant
Specifications
Taken from adidas's published specification for this model. Note that this is the Carbon 3.4 — it does not carry the adjustable weight system found on the standard Metalbone 3.4, and adidas does not attach a signature player to it.
| Spec | Detail |
| Shape | Diamond |
| Surface area | 485cm² |
| Weight | 360–375g |
| Balance | High / head-heavy |
| Profile | 38mm |
| Length | 455mm |
| Face | Carbon 6K |
| Core | EVA Soft Performance |
| Frame | Octagonal Structure tubular carbon |
| Technologies | Octagonal Structure, Low Poly, Extra Power Grip, Spin Blade Decal |
| Level | Advanced / professional (adidas: "most demanding players") |
| RRP | €260.00 |
Review scores
The bars below are Padelful's published independent metrics for the Metalbone Carbon 3.4 2025. These are an independent review platform's ratings, not our own.
Source: Padelful.
Our overall score is 8.3. That is our own editorial rating and it is close to, but not the same as, Padelful's 8.4 — ours additionally reflects the €179.95 price against the €260 RRP and how narrow the target player is. The 8.4, the five metrics and the 7.5 community figure above all belong to Padelful. We keep the two clearly apart.
What reviewers praise
The rebound is exceptional. A 9.7 is a very high score by any standard. adidas pairs a rigid octagonal carbon structure with a genuinely soft EVA Soft Performance core, and the result is a frame that returns a lot of energy without feeling like a plank.
The frame does what adidas claims. adidas credits the Octagonal Structure with reducing torsion for greater accuracy, and Low Poly with raising structural rigidity for more power. An 8.1 control score on a head-heavy diamond suggests the torsion claim holds up on court.
Extra Power Grip on the attack. adidas describes this technology as increasing inertia and swing speed on offensive strokes. In practice that is a frame designed around the overhead game — the smash, the bandeja finished aggressively, the vibora.
What reviewers criticise
The sweet spot. At 7.8 it is the lowest of the five metrics, and it is the single most repeated criticism from players who own one. A diamond head with a high balance concentrates the effective hitting area, and off-centre contact is punished.
Manoeuvrability. 7.9 is respectable but it is not fast. Head-heavy frames are always slower to reposition in a quick net exchange, and 360–375g with the mass forward is real work over three sets.
Owner feedback is mixed and thin. Padelful's community rating sits at 7.5 from just two reviews, with vibrations and sweet spot size both raised. Two reviews is not a verdict, but it is worth knowing before you buy.
Irish conditions
Indoors at Ireland's heated clubs — Dublin, Cork, Galway, Belfast — this racket is in its element. The court is quick, the ball stays alive, and the Carbon 3.4's rebound and power let you take the ball early and finish. If your padel is club-based and indoors, the head-heavy balance is far less of a burden than it sounds.
On a cold outdoor court, be more careful. A 38mm carbon frame with an octagonal rigid structure gets firmer as the temperature drops, the ball goes dead, and you end up swinging harder to compensate — which is exactly the situation where a small sweet spot and a head-heavy balance start to cost you, both in errors and in arm comfort. The EVA Soft Performance core is the mitigating factor here and it is a real one; adidas chose a soft rubber for this frame precisely to take the edge off. Still, if you are an outdoor winter player with any elbow history, this would not be our first recommendation. Find your nearest court on the Ireland court finder.
Head-to-head comparisons
vs adidas Metalbone Carbon 2026 (€199.95)
The 2026 Carbon is the current-season equivalent at €199.95, a €20 step up. If you want the newest iteration of the Carbon and the current graphics, that is the one. If you are buying on value, the 3.4 at €179.95 against a €260 RRP is the sharper deal. Read our Metalbone Carbon 2026 review.
vs adidas Metalbone 2026 (€249.95)
This is the full flagship at €249.95 — €70 more than the Carbon 3.4. It is the top of the Metalbone tree rather than the accessible entry into it. Worth it if you are a genuinely advanced attacking player who will use every bit of the frame; overkill for most club players, who will get the Metalbone character from the Carbon 3.4 and keep the €70. Read our Metalbone 2026 review.
vs adidas Adipower 3.2 (€119.95)
Both diamonds, both 360–375g, both 455mm. The Adipower 3.2 is the friendlier all-rounder with a 15K aluminised carbon face and an EVA High Memory core; the Metalbone Carbon 3.4 is the more rigid, more aggressive frame with a structured octagonal carbon build and adidas's most demanding level rating. Save €60 and take the Adipower if you value forgiveness; pay up for the Metalbone if you want the structure. Read our Adipower 3.2 review.
Who should buy this racket
This racket is for you if...
- You are an advanced attacking player who finishes points from the net
- You specifically want a Metalbone and will not pay €250 for one
- You have clean, repeatable technique and consistently find the middle
- You play mostly indoors at a heated Irish club
Who should avoid it
Look elsewhere if...
- You are a beginner or intermediate — adidas aims this at its most demanding players
- You need a large, forgiving sweet spot
- You want a fast, manoeuvrable racket for defensive play
- You were expecting adjustable weights — this Carbon variant does not have them
More forgiving and cheaper? See the Adipower 3.2, or browse all adidas rackets.
Adidas Metalbone Carbon 3.4 2025
Diamond, 485cm². Carbon 6K face. Octagonal Structure tubular carbon frame. EVA Soft Performance core.
€179.95 €260.00
The bottom line
The Metalbone Carbon 3.4 2025 is the honest middle of adidas's attacking range. You get the things that define a Metalbone — the Octagonal Structure tubular carbon frame, a diamond head over 485cm², a 38mm profile, adidas's Low Poly rigidity and Extra Power Grip — without paying flagship money. Padelful's independent testing rates it 8.4 overall, with a remarkable 9.7 for rebound.
It is not a racket for everyone, and we would not pretend otherwise. The sweet spot is its weakest measured trait, the head-heavy balance is genuine work, and adidas itself limits it to advanced and professional players. But if you are that player, and you have been looking at €250 Metalbones and hesitating, €179.95 against a €260 RRP is the right answer.
Browse all adidas padel rackets, the Metalbone collection, the full rackets range, or compare with the Metalbone Carbon 2026 and Metalbone 2026.