travlerajm
01-15-2012, 09:36 PM
I’m pleased to report that after a series of heavy modifications, I’ve got my Warrior OS performing fastastically in all aspects. It’s now my favorite all-around racquet I’ve ever built.
A listing of some of the mods that led to this masterpiece:
Length Optimization: After experimenting with various lengths ranging from 27-1/4” to 27-3/4”, ultimately found that 27-3/8” feels optimum for this frame. I had it feeling terrific and solid on volleys and blocked returns at 27-1/4”, but the 2hbs were a little flatter than I like, and the serves needed a little extra leverage. I stuck 3 layers of octagonal corrugated cardboard spacers under the buttcap to lengthen it back to 27-3/8”, and it gave the frame just enough flex to add the right amount of spin to my 2hb, and the serve pop felt great without giving up the solid crisp feel on volleys.
Throat Bridge Modification: Extra weight in the throat bridge always seems like a wasted place to put the mass. I removed the 6-g slab of transparent silicone rubber in the double bridge. I trimmed it down to 0.3” x 0.4” piece weighing only 0.25-g, leaving half of the string hole on each side of it to keep it lodged securely between the 2 center mains. I used this small piece to bear the compressive load of the main strings, because without it I would be worried that the thin lower bridge would not be strong enough by itself.
Lead under the bumper: Stock, my frame had a low swingweight of about 312. This allowed my to stash 3 layers of lead under the bumper spanning the entire length of the bumper guard. Each lead layer is ~14 inches long, with a total of about 21g added under the bumper.
Leaded up the handle: I have about 50g of lead wrapped around the handle. The majority of it located 7-8 inches from the butt, where I used the lead to build up the shape of the frame beyond the end of the handle so that my handle is now almost 9” long.
Extra Long replacement grip: I threw on a black Wilson Cushion-Aire replacement grip, which is extra long. Until now, I never realized that most racquet handles are a tad short to allow my entire left hand including index finger to fir comfortably. The Warrior OS handle is normally only a little over 7” long, but mine is over 8.5”.
String: The Warrior OS is a unique frame. Although 16x19 like most OS frames, it has a denser pattern in the center than any other 107” racquet I have seen. Once leaded up, the dense pattern Warrior feels very control oriented like a smaller headed player’s frame, but in a much wider more forgiving round-shaped head. I found that this racquet plays best with a max-spin, max control string setup like the Kevlar/poly setup I have in out presently. With syn gut crosses, the dense pattern made it insufficiently spin-friendly. And with full syn gut, it was extremely powerful and great for serving.
Summary: The Warrior OS is a great customization platform. The combination of dense pattern, large head size, round head shape, medium stiffness, and low stock weight is rare to find. I plan to buy another Warrior (nice and cheap too) and make these my main racquets.
A listing of some of the mods that led to this masterpiece:
Length Optimization: After experimenting with various lengths ranging from 27-1/4” to 27-3/4”, ultimately found that 27-3/8” feels optimum for this frame. I had it feeling terrific and solid on volleys and blocked returns at 27-1/4”, but the 2hbs were a little flatter than I like, and the serves needed a little extra leverage. I stuck 3 layers of octagonal corrugated cardboard spacers under the buttcap to lengthen it back to 27-3/8”, and it gave the frame just enough flex to add the right amount of spin to my 2hb, and the serve pop felt great without giving up the solid crisp feel on volleys.
Throat Bridge Modification: Extra weight in the throat bridge always seems like a wasted place to put the mass. I removed the 6-g slab of transparent silicone rubber in the double bridge. I trimmed it down to 0.3” x 0.4” piece weighing only 0.25-g, leaving half of the string hole on each side of it to keep it lodged securely between the 2 center mains. I used this small piece to bear the compressive load of the main strings, because without it I would be worried that the thin lower bridge would not be strong enough by itself.
Lead under the bumper: Stock, my frame had a low swingweight of about 312. This allowed my to stash 3 layers of lead under the bumper spanning the entire length of the bumper guard. Each lead layer is ~14 inches long, with a total of about 21g added under the bumper.
Leaded up the handle: I have about 50g of lead wrapped around the handle. The majority of it located 7-8 inches from the butt, where I used the lead to build up the shape of the frame beyond the end of the handle so that my handle is now almost 9” long.
Extra Long replacement grip: I threw on a black Wilson Cushion-Aire replacement grip, which is extra long. Until now, I never realized that most racquet handles are a tad short to allow my entire left hand including index finger to fir comfortably. The Warrior OS handle is normally only a little over 7” long, but mine is over 8.5”.
String: The Warrior OS is a unique frame. Although 16x19 like most OS frames, it has a denser pattern in the center than any other 107” racquet I have seen. Once leaded up, the dense pattern Warrior feels very control oriented like a smaller headed player’s frame, but in a much wider more forgiving round-shaped head. I found that this racquet plays best with a max-spin, max control string setup like the Kevlar/poly setup I have in out presently. With syn gut crosses, the dense pattern made it insufficiently spin-friendly. And with full syn gut, it was extremely powerful and great for serving.
Summary: The Warrior OS is a great customization platform. The combination of dense pattern, large head size, round head shape, medium stiffness, and low stock weight is rare to find. I plan to buy another Warrior (nice and cheap too) and make these my main racquets.