StarVie Basalto 2024

Technologies

Pros

• ✓Noene Inside built into the handle soaks up a big chunk of the vibration from off-centre hits — after two hours of bandejas and balls skidding off the frame, your forearm feels noticeably fresher

Cons

• ✗Ball exit isn't explosive: the EVA Soft 30 core means you have to guide the shot all the way through, and anyone coming from a livelier rubber will feel the ball die early when trying to drive deep from defence

The StarVie Basalto 2024 suits intermediate players who already have a technical base and want to progress without jumping to a too-demanding paddle. Its teardrop shape shifts the sweet spot slightly upwards, striking a balance between control and power. The medium balance keeps a balanced behaviour between baseline shots and volleys. Its 350-385g weight range places it in the medium-weight group, the most common among amateur players.

The StarVie Basalto 2024 pairs a 3K carbon face with an EVA Soft 30 core and a 38mm profile, built on a teardrop shape with medium balance and a 350-385g weight range. Add Noene Inside in the handle and the intent is obvious: this racket is aimed at intermediate players with an all-court game who put arm comfort above everything else.

3K carbon over EVA Soft 30: where the Basalto 2024's touch comes from

3K is an open-weave carbon with a thicker fibre. Compared to tighter weaves it flexes a touch more on contact and gives back a softer, less snappy response — one that talks to your hand rather than cracking at it.

Underneath sits the EVA Soft 30 rubber, which stretches out the milliseconds the ball spends sitting on the face. That extra dwell time is what lets you steer the ball instead of just sending it back, and it's why this padel racket behaves more like a control tool than a cannon.

The trade-off is the usual one with a soft core: plenty of cushioning, but no trampoline effect. If you're expecting the ball to jump off the face on its own, this racket is going to ask you to follow through instead.

Full Plane Effect, Star Balance and Noene Inside: what each technology brings

1. **Full Plane Effect**: evens out the response across the hitting face, so the sweet spot reads wider than you'd normally expect from a teardrop shape.
2. **Star Balance**: manages weight distribution to hold the medium balance without shifting mass towards the head.
3. **Noene Inside**: a cushioning material built into the handle that soaks up impact vibration before it travels up the forearm.

It's the third one you actually feel on court. Across an afternoon of repeated bandejas and balls skidding off the frame's strings, the gap versus a racket with no handle damping doesn't show up in set one — it shows up in set three.

Who is the StarVie Basalto 2024 built for?

It's built for intermediate players with an all-court game. The teardrop shape with medium balance, the EVA Soft 30 core and the handle damping all point towards someone who plays long matches, mixes defence and attack, and rates point control above raw power.

Shot by shot: where it shines and where it falls short

Smash and flat overhead. There's enough pop to close out points, but it comes from arm speed rather than bounce off the face. The rough surface helps the cut smash kick up off the back glass with usable side-spin.

Bandeja and vibora. This is the racket's home turf. The medium balance lets you get under the ball early without rushing your preparation, and the surface texture grips just enough to place an open vibora tight to the side glass without it sailing long.

Defence and pared exits. The soft core forgives off-centre contact, though it costs you depth: lobs come out comfortable, but topspin drives from the back fall a little short if you don't put your body into them.

Volley and block. The 38mm profile gives you consistency against a hard-hit ball, at the cost of a touch of reflex speed in fast mid-court exchanges.

StarVie Basalto 2024 spec sheet

Basalto 2024 or StarVie Basalto Pro 2024: which one's for you

The range splits into two tiers. The StarVie Basalto Pro 2024 runs a stiffer core and a medium-to-high balance, aimed at advanced players chasing a crisper response and head-heavy pop.

The standard version reviewed here does the opposite: soft core, medium balance, comfort front and centre. If stiff rackets are the reason your elbow's been complaining, the choice makes itself before you've even hit a ball.

How it fits your game and your partner's

It suits the player who builds the point: comes to net off a bandeja, holds firm in volley exchanges and waits for the opponent's mistake before finishing. It performs on both wings, though on the backhand its knack for varying height pays off best.

It pairs well with a hard-hitting partner running a diamond-shaped racket with head-heavy balance: one of you opens the point, the other closes it. Two rackets of this profile on the same team tend to produce long rallies that can end up costing you the set.

Verdict: comfort first, power second

The StarVie Basalto 2024 solves one specific problem well: playing a lot of padel without paying for it physically. The 3K carbon, EVA Soft 30 core and Noene Inside form a coherent damping chain, and the medium balance keeps the racket from turning sluggish on defence.

What you won't find here is a trampoline effect or the crisp, dry feel that continuous smash-happy players chase. Anyone after instant power should look towards a teardrop with a stiffer core and a more head-heavy balance.

For the intermediate player after an honest, comfortable racket with real ball-direction ability, StarVie's offering delivers without surprises or overblown promises.