This could be my last racquet qustion...

[LAW2]

OK I have made up my mind I am going to buy a racquet this week. Of course I am going to ask you guys which one?

I am an honest 3.0-3.5 player w/an eastern FH and 2HBH. I hit w/moderate topspin and my serves are well placed but no pop. I play with a Chang Original Graphite Oversize that I cut down to 27.5” and added weight in the handle. If memory serves me correctly it weighs 11.2 oz. Strings are LF Supreme 17ga @ 61#s and Ashaway Dynamite in the crosses. My back swing is a little short, but my follow through is complete.

I prefer an all court game, but I am impatient and go to net or go for too much too soon. I really enjoy being at net even if my volleys aren’t any good. I like the fast reaction time required and being in the line of fire.

The racquets I am considering are the Volkl Cat 8 VE, Fisher GDS Rally, maybe an old Wilson H-Tour and what ever you guys suggest. I prefer thinner straight-beamed racquets, balanced HL, no stiffer than 65, medium power, appropriate for my skill level and greater than 27 inches. Any racquet I chose must be spin friendly. I tried a dense string pattern once and all my shots went long. I just couldn’t put spin on the ball. I tried a friend’s H-Tour, 95 head with weight in the handle to make it head light and hit really well with it. He thought I was hitting harder and playing better.

I appreciate your help.

I just saw the PK Heritage Type SX. It looks pretty good too except for maybe the static weight.

[LAW2]

Back to the top.

[b-dizzle]

You sound similar to me, skill level and play style wise, but you use more spin and probably volley a little more. Do you have a price range for us? Any brands you favor over others?

[LAW2]

Preferably no more than $200 including string, but that is somewhat flexible. I am not too crazy about Head or Dunlop, but I wouldn't rule them out. Prince I have always liked. Wilson has won me over now that they don't advertise Hammer's as the holy grail. Volkl and Fischer have a cult following that has caused me some interest. When I input my specs into the racquet finder I get quite a few low powered player's choices, which I don't think I would benefit from. Work and kids eat up my exercise time so I am as fit as I am ever going to be and need a little more help from my racquet. The racquets mentioned above are some of my early choices. Looking for reaffirmation or alternate ideas.

[Kevo]

Have you looked at the Yonex MP Tour 5. It sounds like something that might work well for you. Are you going to be able to pick a few to demo from TW, or what is your plan for deciding?

[LAW2]

This will be a purchase and hope for the best. $14 to demo for 7-days and it doesn't go towards the purchase seems steep to me. There isn't a place to demo racquets other than Prince and Wilson where I live either.

[badmice2]

Also put the nPro Surge X on that list to demo (if you can). I think that racket might fit your game pretty week.

[LAW2]

I like the specs on the Pro Surge X, except for the 26mm beam. I have pondered this one before.

[oldguysrule]

I prefer thinner straight-beamed racquets, balanced HL, no stiffer than 65, medium power, appropriate for my skill level and greater than 27 inches.....

A thin, straight beam, HL, flexy racquet will have a tough time providing a power level of medium.

Before you buy a new a racquet I seriously urge you to hit with a number of different racquets. At your level, a lot of the guys you play with will have extra racquets. Ask if you can try one. I have done this and I am happy for others to try my racquets. Also, go ahead and demo the prince and wilson racquets in your area. The O3 red and O3 White are getting a lot of attention.

Do not just spend $200 dollars on a racquet without knowing for sure that you want to play with it.

[NoBadMojo]

OK I have made up my mind I am going to buy a racquet this week. Of course I am going to ask you guys which one?

I am an honest 3.0-3.5 player w/an eastern FH and 2HBH. I hit w/moderate topspin and my serves are well placed but no pop. I play with a Chang Original Graphite Oversize that I cut down to 27.5” and added weight in the handle. If memory serves me correctly it weighs 11.2 oz. Strings are LF Supreme 17ga @ 61#s and Ashaway Dynamite in the crosses. My back swing is a little short, but my follow through is complete.

I prefer an all court game, but I am impatient and go to net or go for too much too soon. I really enjoy being at net even if my volleys aren’t any good. I like the fast reaction time required and being in the line of fire.

The racquets I am considering are the Volkl Cat 8 VE, Fisher GDS Rally, maybe an old Wilson H-Tour and what ever you guys suggest. I prefer thinner straight-beamed racquets, balanced HL, no stiffer than 65, medium power, appropriate for my skill level and greater than 27 inches. Any racquet I chose must be spin friendly. I tried a dense string pattern once and all my shots went long. I just couldn’t put spin on the ball. I tried a friend’s H-Tour, 95 head with weight in the handle to make it head light and hit really well with it. He thought I was hitting harder and playing better.

I appreciate your help.

I just saw the PK Heritage Type SX. It looks pretty good too except for maybe the static weight.

Since you seem to have a clear notion of what specs your new frame should be, have you stuck those specs into the TW racquet finder?

You should get a bump from any reasonable frame you choose compared to what you are using.
I wouldnt recommend the hTour. Thats a very demanding low powered frame. The Cat8VE would be a good choice i think. Havent hit the Fischer Ralley frame but never met a Fischer farme which wasnt well made and solid and i assume the Ralley is a more forgivng one? From the bargain pile, if TW has any Volkl Cat7's around, that one suits your specs from what I recall and is a real sleeper. godd luck

[safin_protege]

I would recommend you try the O3 Tour, or if you need more power, the O3 White or O3 Red.

[b-dizzle]

I use the Surge X and love it, and given your game is more spin and volley based than mine, I think it would do you even better. The O3s would be good, my friend recently got the Shark Hybrid and likes it.

[ohplease]

OK I have made up my mind I am going to buy a racquet this week. Of course I am going to ask you guys which one?

I am an honest 3.0-3.5 player w/an eastern FH and 2HBH. I hit w/moderate topspin and my serves are well placed but no pop. I play with a Chang Original Graphite Oversize that I cut down to 27.5” and added weight in the handle. If memory serves me correctly it weighs 11.2 oz. Strings are LF Supreme 17ga @ 61#s and Ashaway Dynamite in the crosses. My back swing is a little short, but my follow through is complete.

I prefer an all court game, but I am impatient and go to net or go for too much too soon. I really enjoy being at net even if my volleys aren’t any good. I like the fast reaction time required and being in the line of fire.

The racquets I am considering are the Volkl Cat 8 VE, Fisher GDS Rally, maybe an old Wilson H-Tour and what ever you guys suggest. I prefer thinner straight-beamed racquets, balanced HL, no stiffer than 65, medium power, appropriate for my skill level and greater than 27 inches. Any racquet I chose must be spin friendly. I tried a dense string pattern once and all my shots went long. I just couldn’t put spin on the ball. I tried a friend’s H-Tour, 95 head with weight in the handle to make it head light and hit really well with it. He thought I was hitting harder and playing better.

I appreciate your help.

I just saw the PK Heritage Type SX. It looks pretty good too except for maybe the static weight.

The Cat 8 VE looks to have a relatively low sweetspot for rackets in that class. The Type SX is stiffer than your parameters. Either might be ok.

Also check out: Yonex MP-Tour 5 and Nano Speed RQ-7 MP, Prince Shark LB, Fischer Pro Number One FT, and Volkl Catapult V1 OS,

[LAW2]

After reviwing everyone's advise and researching prevoius posts I am down to the following:
Volkl Cat 8 VE
Volkl DNX 8 (will the extended version ever be available?)
Prince Shark Longbody MP
Wilson nPro Surge X

As you can see I prefer extended length racquets. The closest shop that carries Volkl is 50 miles from me and no one carried the Prince or Wilsons in a demo. Seems like all the racquets I am looking at (except for the DNX 8 ) are in the process of being phased out. How would the afore mentioned racquets compare to each other?
I really appreciate the time and thought people put into their responses.

[LAW2]

Back to the top. I broke a string last night so a new racquet is looking even better now.

[Freedom]

Try the racquet finder up at the top of the page, like Mojo reccomended.

[LAW2]

Using the Racquet Finder feature and obtaining personal opinions is how I have come up with these racquets. What I am looking for now is information that can not be determined from specs alone. As we all know three racquets with very similiar specs can play very differently.