Diary of a Racketaholic

Boricua

Hall of Fame
I do love me a good 16/20 pattern. Those new VCores do look interesting but that 89 might be too demanding. We'll see. Needs to be perfect stock because the Prestige MP was an educational experience: 11.9 stock but needed some lead in the hoop, but at that point when I added lead the the scales were tipped too far for me.

By the way, these new Mantis frames. Have to admit I'm vaguely intrigued by the Tour 315. 95in, thin beam, tight pattern, nice paintjob, and at 11.6 stock a few grams at 12 would bring it up to near 12 oz with a great swingweight in the 320s. Some of their other frames look like decent lead platforms, too, but if it's TOO much of a platform and I have to transform the racket then I end up going crazy.

Meanwhile, I feel like the only racaholic who hasn't been able to make the VCore frames work for me. It's beginning to feel like a lonely place. VCores are all the rage suddenly, a year (?) after they came out.

PP didnt buy into them either.
 

JGads

G.O.A.T.
PP didnt buy into them either.

Yeah, there's just something in the feel department that leaves me wanting more. I think it probably largely comes down to the fact that that enhanced V throat is so stiff, there's no bend at all in it, and something about that just doesn't match so well with what I like and how I hit. I will, however, remember fondly how I was able to just crush serves at will with the V98.
 

Boricua

Hall of Fame
Yeah, there's just something in the feel department that leaves me wanting more. I think it probably largely comes down to the fact that that enhanced V throat is so stiff, there's no bend at all in it, and something about that just doesn't match so well with what I like and how I hit. I will, however, remember fondly how I was able to just crush serves at will with the V98.

That stiffness and stable feel combines well with that huge sweet spot of the VCore line. But, in my case, I go into a unidimensional mode with no variety in my shots; this could be temporary, who knows,.

With the APD I can generate more topspin and get more creative withy my shots.
 

Fed Kennedy

Legend
That stiffness and stable feel combines well with that huge sweet spot of the VCore line. But, in my case, I go into a unidimensional mode with no variety in my shots; this could be temporary, who knows,.

With the APD I can generate more topspin and get more creative withy my shots.

Can you compare the apd to the 100s?
 

Fed Kennedy

Legend
Oh nooooo Im looking at Yonex bags, sweet jesus!

Same thing happened to me. Black and red ones look good. Also contemplating yy shoes and apparel. Basically full sponsorship (lol)

Right now just cageing a little bit with an ll bean bag and throwback fed apparel and mesh hat
 

Meaghan

Hall of Fame
Same thing happened to me. Black and red ones look good. Also contemplating yy shoes and apparel. Basically full sponsorship (lol)

Right now just cageing a little bit with an ll bean bag and throwback fed apparel and mesh hat

Don't like the bags tbh, really happy with the volkl bag anyway, it has a proper drink pocket and that can be a deal breaker :)
 

JGads

G.O.A.T.
Fed: ain't no bag like the trader joe's bag.

by the way, anyone know much about Delpo's coach? Saw him hitting with Delpo last year in LA and couldn't believe how clean and solid of a hitter he was. The guy was in his 40s, couldn't have been much over five feet, but couldn't miss. Watched them for 30 minutes and the guy missed like one ball. See him in the stands during delpo matches on TV but know nothing about the guy.
 

Fed Kennedy

Legend
Fed: ain't no bag like the trader joe's bag.

by the way, anyone know much about Delpo's coach? Saw him hitting with Delpo last year in LA and couldn't believe how clean and solid of a hitter he was. The guy was in his 40s, couldn't have been much over five feet, but couldn't miss. Watched them for 30 minutes and the guy missed like one ball. See him in the stands during delpo matches on TV but know nothing about the guy.

He is one of the biggest ghoaters worldwide...Franco Davin
 

Boricua

Hall of Fame
Can you compare the apd to the 100s?

APD lets you hit topspin better than the VCORE 100. Its superior weight and swingweight is a factor to consider. The VCORE in its stock form feels too light. But, for such a light racket it is surprisingly stable.

In terms of power, I would say that the 100 has more, but is easily controlled with topspin.

The most significant difference for me is the design, the way the rackets feels through the air. As I say, the APD feels "natural" for my strokes.
 

Boricua

Hall of Fame
Same thing happened to me. Black and red ones look good. Also contemplating yy shoes and apparel. Basically full sponsorship (lol)

Right now just cageing a little bit with an ll bean bag and throwback fed apparel and mesh hat

Yonex shoes are very good, maybe the best I tried. Cushioned and stable and, durability is quite good eventhough some people may say otherwise.
 

Meaghan

Hall of Fame
Meaghan what is your take on firestorm vs hyperion. I think firestorm plus vcore could be the 49er setup.

As a cross with tour bite main in my legend it wasn't spectacular, wasn't poor neither. Hyperion that I have in the vc95 creates a livelier stringed with tb mains. Just more feel and feedback, also bit more funk on the ball but that is probably down to it being thinner in this set up.

I don't know what its like in a full bed, or as a main. Tb/hyperion feels as good as tb/timo...
 

corners

Legend
At times i play with pretty high level players including a former ATP pro and though i can hang with them to an extent with the 1hbh, its pretty tough when their strokes have alot more pace and kick like a mule off the ground and are consistently deep. Its just eye opening when you experience that sort of ball.

Ahh...How does your forehand handle balls of that quality? Your forehand is looking very Goaty, BTW. Congrats on your efforts with that stroke!!
 

aimr75

Hall of Fame
Ahh...How does your forehand handle balls of that quality? Your forehand is looking very Goaty, BTW. Congrats on your efforts with that stroke!!

Thanks :) yeah the fh holds up well. The 1hbh isn't so bad at that level but when I start grooving the 2hbh I feel like my overall level is better. The 2hbh for me though still needs a fair bit of work but at times I can hit better with it than the 1hbh which makes me want to pursue it
 

JGads

G.O.A.T.
Thanks :) yeah the fh holds up well. The 1hbh isn't so bad at that level but when I start grooving the 2hbh I feel like my overall level is better. The 2hbh for me though still needs a fair bit of work but at times I can hit better with it than the 1hbh which makes me want to pursue it

The talk of your strokes made me look up the aforementioned vid. A) That is so sweet that you can hit on those Melbourne courts, though those sloppy conditions were making me nervous. I wonder if any of the USO Courts are available to hackers during the offseason, or if you have to show your goat card. B) Your forehand looks like what I've been trying to get to, nice and controlled, simple take-back with hands out to the side before coming in/racquet face dropping back. Very nice.

I'm here..watching the madness while snuggling with my PDs.

Cool, just checking.
 

JGads

G.O.A.T.
:shock: snuggling??? i'm worried about you! :lol:

Speaking of romancing, did you guys know MadDog's new No. 1 frame is a Black Ace? Caveat is that it's a version from the mid 90s, black and blue, 95 sq inches, 12-plus oz., stellar feel and beastly pace. A true "They don't make 'em like they used to" kind of frame when you hit it.

MD, still going strong with the Tour Bite/NVy setup in the 7G. It's gotten to that point where it's a little jumpy and not as controlled as the initial few hours, but still very good. Just love the TB/NVy combo. And the tennis elbow is completely gone thanks to the break and the 7G.
 
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aimr75

Hall of Fame
The talk of your strokes made me look up the aforementioned vid. A) That is so sweet that you can hit on those Melbourne courts, though those sloppy conditions were making me nervous. I wonder if any of the USO Courts are available to hackers during the offseason, or if you have to show your goat card. B) Your forehand looks like what I've been trying to get to, nice and controlled, simple take-back with hands out to the side before coming in/racquet face dropping back. Very nice.

Thanks. yeah i slipped more than once that day so had to be careful. We are fortunate to have access to such great facilities and anyone can hire the courts out. There is a redevelopment going on at the moment (adding new courts) so half the indoor courts are gone for now, but usually can also get indoor courts too if the weather is no good. That day the indoor courts were booked out

My main focus with the FH is what you mentioned.. simple compact takeback, turn with the shoulders, hands to the right side.. it helps to keep it simple when hitting with the high level guys especially. Hoping my 2hbh start to take shape soon too.
 

mad dog1

G.O.A.T.
Speaking of romancing, did you guys know MadDog's new No. 1 frame is a Black Ace? Caveat is that it's a version from the mid 90s, black and blue, 95 sq inches, 12-plus oz., stellar feel and beastly pace. A true "They don't make 'em like they used to" kind of frame when you hit it.
yeah, my new #1 is an old Black Ace 95 from the mid 90s that i came to own by sheer chance. :shock: i was interested in the Black Ace 90 (grey box beam frame w/ light blue pinstripe w/ the external PWS system that consists of lead weights that go between the string and frame when you string up the racquet). this was a local transaction and when the seller discovered i was interested in PK sticks, he brought out this unstrung Black Ace that i decided to pick up because i had never seen a Black Ace quite like it before. this is one strange PK stick. in fact i began to regret ever buying it because i thought i'd hate the way it felt because it had an aero profile beam around the hoop and round Y beams at the throat and my favorite sticks all have box beams. after it sat around for over a year, i finally decided to string it up for a hit fully expecting that i'd hit with it for a few minutes and relegate it to the For Sale pile. i hit with it and haven't been able to put it down since. :cool: what a lucky find, indeed!

MD, still going strong with the Tour Bite/NVy setup in the 7G. It's gotten to that point where it's a little jumpy and not as controlled as the initial few hours, but still very good. Just love the TB/NVy combo.

Awesome! how many hrs on the TB/N.Vy bed now?
 
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Power Player

Bionic Poster
I wish..but no I have been on business trips and dealing with some music festival stuff so I have not been hitting much lately. Hopefully soon.
 

aimr75

Hall of Fame
My racqueteering ways have come to the fore again.. IG Radical Pro and IG Prestige Mid on the way.. cant be stopped.

Had a YT Radical Pro come in the other day, hit with it for 1/2 an hr and surprisingly swung pretty easy. Must have gotten one with a low SW. Curious to see how the IG compares

and i had this come in too

h22y.jpg


h221b.jpg


16x18 h22
 

JGads

G.O.A.T.
My racqueteering ways have come to the fore again.. IG Radical Pro and IG Prestige Mid on the way.. cant be stopped.

Had a YT Radical Pro come in the other day, hit with it for 1/2 an hr and surprisingly swung pretty easy. Must have gotten one with a low SW. Curious to see how the IG compares

and i had this come in too

h22y.jpg


h221b.jpg


16x18 h22

Wow, beautiful. What are the specs on that bad boy?
 

aimr75

Hall of Fame
Wow, beautiful. What are the specs on that bad boy?

Have recently sold our house and my balance board has been packed away, but strung weight is 345g. Has a healthy swing weight. Will give it a bash in the next few days
 

Power Player

Bionic Poster
Aimr is that an h22? You beast.

I must admit that my eye has wandered..well kind of.

I really love the plus length a lot..I just don't know if I like standard or plus better sometimes..it is maddening in a way, as I have a tendency to hit close to the throat sometimes.

Basically I'm thinking about trying a Roddick version out in standard length.

The madness of all this is the fact that while I have found an ideal match for me in terms of racquets, I have not dialed in the specs just yet. I like the PD+ at 325 grams a lot, but the only way to really know if I like the heavier Roddick would be have 1 in the bag as well.

I also remember demoing the last roddick in the plus and I believe in this thread I described the demo and how wowwed I was by the experience. The plus just was a little tougher to wield at that weight. I had matches with the 6.1 where I was so dominant and just crushing the ball so hard that I do miss that lovely weight sometimes...well not all of the weight, just a little.

The roddick just seems the potential game changer if I am good with the weight. Still half an ounce lighter than the 6.1 95, easier to use and got some of the most rave reviews I have ever seen.

Regardless, these new PDs are so sick...dear lord.

I figure a light XL PD at 325 and a Roddick standard is actually a collection I could keep in my bag.
 
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PED

Legend
^^You may want to try and take a bit of lead off the tip before taking the plunge into the PDR. That's a good deal of lead to have considering the plus length as well.

I know it's a tough balance: the intersection between mass and stick speed.
 

PED

Legend
My racqueteering ways have come to the fore again.. IG Radical Pro and IG Prestige Mid on the way.. cant be stopped.

Had a YT Radical Pro come in the other day, hit with it for 1/2 an hr and surprisingly swung pretty easy. Must have gotten one with a low SW. Curious to see how the IG compares

IG RP swings MUCH easier and better all around stick over the YTRP.

YT is nice on clay but against hard flat hitters who take it early, it can get a bit unwieldy. If you have a compact swing though, it's doable but prefer the versatility of the IG so far.

Dgoran summed up the IG version well: the power of a PD with the feel of a PT630. Really nice frame.

I went 55/52 the first string job and it was good but I dropped to 52/50 to account for the lower mass and it def played better. The tighter stringbed of the IG leads naturally to a lower trajectory ball so the looser setup helps with that.
 

falc02

New User
I recently purchased 3xIG radical pro's I did not find them to my liking, I have been playing these racquets for a while now since start of YT version, however I feel I need more control and a little less power. I don't feel comfortable going after the ball with this beast.

I am going to try some Donnay Platinum 99's. Seem exactly what I want, and being in Australia cannot get Babolat, Head, or Wilson here now. :S Well i can, but not without having to remove body limbs to pay for the sticks. :)
 

Power Player

Bionic Poster
^^You may want to try and take a bit of lead off the tip before taking the plunge into the PDR. That's a good deal of lead to have considering the plus length as well.

I know it's a tough balance: the intersection between mass and stick speed.

Yeah, I am keeping the lead at 12 and just removing 2-3 grams. I went a little heavy with it.

Definitely a tough balance. I am a strong guy, so the Roddick will not be an issue. I think the plus roddick would possibly be too much though.
 

Dave M

Hall of Fame
and i had this come in too

h22y.jpg




16x18 h22
Nice, 16/18 who'd you tempt that off of?
I have an 18/20 that looks a lot like that, i was set on a frame and very happy with it then a fellow UKRTB tempted this into my lap during a swap process, I think i like the H22, only thing making me think of selling it is i imagine grommets aren't easy to come by!
 

Pneumated1

Hall of Fame
The IG Midplus experiment is officially dead. Could never get back to my Honeymoon-with-Megan-Fox-like demo dalliance. The 7G, meanwhile, has been crushing of late. Will try some Yonexing in the coming week.

I noticed that it was for sale. If it had a bigger grip, I'd most likely take it. However, I can't say for sure, as I'll hit my new IG Prestige MP for the first time later today, strung with V-Pro 17 mains at 48 and NRG2 17 crosses at 52. We'll see how it goes, but a lot of early "ravers" over this new Prestige are throwing it to the curb, it would appear. I really feel like it needs a leather grip, but I don't want the added weight. So for now, I'm going with the stock grip and overgrip. Also, I wrapped head tape over the grommets from just above 3 to just above 9, and it pretty well swings itself with this fraction of added weight there.

Interestingly, after over a year of tinkering, I've gone back to my "tried-and-true" mods on my Londons, and they are really feeling like the proverbial "extension of the arm"--and might I add at the most inopportune time. The difference in the two sticks, as I see it, is that with the London, success comes by attrition, whereas with the Prestige I'm hoping for something a little more straight forward and laser-like. Should be fun either way!
 

Ross K

Legend
IG RP swings MUCH easier and better all around stick over the YTRP.

YT is nice on clay but against hard flat hitters who take it early, it can get a bit unwieldy. If you have a compact swing though, it's doable but prefer the versatility of the IG so far.

Dgoran summed up the IG version well: the power of a PD with the feel of a PT630. Really nice frame.

I went 55/52 the first string job and it was good but I dropped to 52/50 to account for the lower mass and it def played better. The tighter stringbed of the IG leads naturally to a lower trajectory ball so the looser setup helps with that.

Now that's my kind of a quote! :cool: ... grrrr, stop tempting me out of my racketaholic retirement PED!... Meags and Fed too! :)
 
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