TonyB
09-08-2006, 10:03 AM
I played with a friend's i.X3 MP today.
Wow.
I've been demo-ing the Flexpoint Radical MP for about a week now and found it to be a little hard on the arm. I have a very open western swing on my forehand side and my timing is just a little bit off. The extra weight in the racquet seems to be applying a good amount of torque to my arm and my shots just aren't going where they're supposed to.
Now, I switched racquets with him and played a few games with his Intelligence i.X3 MP. My game did a complete 180 turnaround. Every single shot was going in, exactly where I wanted, the swing speed was amazing and the topspin I was able to achieve was exactly just the right amount. My backhands suddenly picked up both spin and speed and the "feel" was just about perfect.
Now, I've done a little research into the racquet and found that it's very light (it actually did feel quite light, but still very solid) and apparently very stiff (flex rating of 70!!). But in all honesty, my arm felt almost instantly better and the balls were coming off the racquet so quick and solidly that I hardly ever felt that I hit anything off-center.
My question is: has anyone else tried this racquet and if so, what did you think of it?
Yes, it's light. Yes, you need to really provide your own swing speed to generate some power, but it also felt very solid at net and allowed a good amount of "punch" on volleys without feeling underpowered. I guess when compared with the Flexpoint Radical, you could say that the FP Radical generates a bit more power with less swing effort, but I really didn't find the i.X3 to be underpowered anyways. It just felt like a very comfortable, very solid racquet.
I'm really curious why Head has discontinued that racquet. It seems like a winner to me. And if the swingweight is a concern, a little bit of added lead could always bring it up to the "players racquet" category.
Anyways, I'd be interested in hearing opinions on this racquet. I believe it's been out of circulation for a little while, but there must be SOMEONE out there that still plays with it. For my money, it seems like it's at least TWICE the racquet that the Flexpoint Radical is, at least in terms of control and spin. Maybe not power, but I didn't find that my game suffered in any respect with the i.X3 as compared with the FP Radical; in fact, I'd say it was 90% better all around.
Thanks for reading my ramblings. And please offer your opinion if possible.
Wow.
I've been demo-ing the Flexpoint Radical MP for about a week now and found it to be a little hard on the arm. I have a very open western swing on my forehand side and my timing is just a little bit off. The extra weight in the racquet seems to be applying a good amount of torque to my arm and my shots just aren't going where they're supposed to.
Now, I switched racquets with him and played a few games with his Intelligence i.X3 MP. My game did a complete 180 turnaround. Every single shot was going in, exactly where I wanted, the swing speed was amazing and the topspin I was able to achieve was exactly just the right amount. My backhands suddenly picked up both spin and speed and the "feel" was just about perfect.
Now, I've done a little research into the racquet and found that it's very light (it actually did feel quite light, but still very solid) and apparently very stiff (flex rating of 70!!). But in all honesty, my arm felt almost instantly better and the balls were coming off the racquet so quick and solidly that I hardly ever felt that I hit anything off-center.
My question is: has anyone else tried this racquet and if so, what did you think of it?
Yes, it's light. Yes, you need to really provide your own swing speed to generate some power, but it also felt very solid at net and allowed a good amount of "punch" on volleys without feeling underpowered. I guess when compared with the Flexpoint Radical, you could say that the FP Radical generates a bit more power with less swing effort, but I really didn't find the i.X3 to be underpowered anyways. It just felt like a very comfortable, very solid racquet.
I'm really curious why Head has discontinued that racquet. It seems like a winner to me. And if the swingweight is a concern, a little bit of added lead could always bring it up to the "players racquet" category.
Anyways, I'd be interested in hearing opinions on this racquet. I believe it's been out of circulation for a little while, but there must be SOMEONE out there that still plays with it. For my money, it seems like it's at least TWICE the racquet that the Flexpoint Radical is, at least in terms of control and spin. Maybe not power, but I didn't find that my game suffered in any respect with the i.X3 as compared with the FP Radical; in fact, I'd say it was 90% better all around.
Thanks for reading my ramblings. And please offer your opinion if possible.