Bullpadel Vertex 05 vs Hack 04 (2026): Which to Buy?

The two top frames in Bullpadel's 2026 pro line look almost interchangeable on a club-shop wall - both 38 mm thick, both 365–375 grams, both around the £200 mark at current street prices despite near-£300 RRPs - and play almost nothing alike. The Vertex 05 is Juan Tello's hybrid-shape signature, built for control with finishing power available on demand. The Hack 04 is Paquito Navarro's diamond-shape signature, built to put smashes through walls. This page sets the two side by side and helps you pick by playing style.

The two rackets weigh the same and use the same multi-density EVA core philosophy. Their behaviour differs almost entirely because of head shape and where the balance sits.

The Vertex 05 is a hybrid - somewhere between a round and a teardrop. The sweet spot is broader and more centred than on a true diamond, and the 25 cm balance keeps the head lighter through the swing. The contact feel is responsive but not punishing on off-centre hits. This is a racket that lets you finish points but doesn't demand you do.

The Hack 04 is a diamond with a high balance. The sweet spot is narrower, sits higher up the head, and is less forgiving. When you connect cleanly, the racket transfers swing energy into the ball with very little absorption - the stability score (8.7 in Bullpadel's profile) is the highest in the entire pro line, meaning the frame doesn't twist on impact. When you don't connect cleanly, the racket tells you about it. The 26.4 cm balance puts mass at the top of the head, which is where you want it for smashes from the back of the court and víboras into the side wall.

Both rackets use carbon faces but with different cloth weights and surface textures. The Vertex 05 has a 12K Xtend Carbon weave with a smoother surface - the contact feel is direct and predictable, with the spin coming mostly from the angle of the racket face rather than from surface friction.

The Hack 04 uses a heavier 18K TriCarbon weave with a rough 3D-grain texture laid out in a concentric pattern across the face. That texture grips the ball longer at contact and amplifies spin generation - the racket bites the ball on smashes and adds noticeable kick to víboras. The trade-off is that the rough surface is harder on ball wear (you go through balls slightly faster) and the contact feel is firmer. Players coming off a softer racket often find the Hack uncomfortable in the first few sessions until they adapt.

The Vertex 05 is the more versatile racket and the right answer for a wider range of players. Specifically:

• Right-side players who shape points, work the rally, and need to finish with placement rather than pure pace. The hybrid shape is a noticeable upgrade over a true control racket without giving up forgiveness.
• Hybrid-style players who don't fit cleanly into attacker or defender labels. The Vertex's profile lets you play long rallies and step in to attack when the ball drops short.
• Players upgrading from a Vertex 04 or similar control-leaning frame. The 05 is meaningfully more powerful than the 04 without losing the control identity.
• Anyone who plays 3+ hours a week and wants a racket that won't punish them on the third hour, when fatigue starts to show in their contact point.

It's also the racket Delfi Brea uses (on the women's variant), which matters as a real signal: she's a complete-game player at the top of the world rankings, and a frame that supports that style is unlikely to be a one-trick pony.

The Hack 04 has a narrower target audience and rewards them very well. Specifically:

• Left-side attackers who finish points with smashes from the back of the court. The diamond shape and high balance turn swing speed into ball speed more efficiently than any other racket in the Bullpadel line.
• Players who already win with power. If your game depends on hitting through opponents from the back, the Hack 04 will give you an extra gear; if it doesn't, the racket exposes the limitations of your technique.
• Strong wrists, settled technique. The high-balance head loads the wrist on every swing - this is not a racket to play through forearm pain. Comfort score 6.0 in the profile reflects that honestly.
• Paquito Navarro fans. Brand affinity is real and motivational; if watching him play makes you want to swing the same racket, the Hack 04 is genuinely his tour weapon, not a watered-down consumer version.

Bullpadel sells both rackets in two additional configurations: the Comfort (lighter, softer core, designed for less arm load) and the Hybrid (a slightly different shape and balance offering an intermediate profile). Worth knowing if you're at the edge of the spec target:

• The Vertex 05 Comfort trims weight and softens the core - a useful option for players who love the Vertex shape but aren't quite ready for the full pro spec.
• The Hack 04 Comfort moderates the diamond's harshness without changing its identity. This is a sensible bridge for an intermediate player aiming at the Hack but not yet at the technique level it demands.
• The Vertex 05 Hybrid sits between the standard Vertex and the Hack, giving more attacking bite while keeping a broader sweet spot than the diamond. This is the variant most likely to suit a hybrid-style player who already knows they want a Bullpadel pro frame but doesn't fit either signature cleanly.

For the comparison in this article we've focused on the standard pro versions - those are the rackets the pros themselves use, and the variants are easier to evaluate once you've decided which line is right for your style.

Both rackets are widely available in the UK, with street prices currently sitting around the £200 mark - well below their near-£300 RRPs. The five places to check:

• Padel Market - full Bullpadel pro line, fastest UK shipping, occasional bundle deals.
• Padel Galaxy - strong Bullpadel selection with a useful clearance section if a previous-year model will do.
• Tennis Point UK - full line, occasional sales, reliable returns.
• Just Rackets - listing both 2026 frames at standard pricing; good UK alternative.
• Bullpadel UK direct (bullpadel.com/gb) - official, full warranty, occasional pro-line drops not available elsewhere.

Both rackets typically ship same- or next-day from UK warehouses. Watch for early-summer sales (May–June) when previous-year stock gets cleared even further (the Vertex 04 has dropped to around £160), and the year-end sales (November) which sometimes knock another £30–£50 off the current-year rackets if you're patient.