Got a BLX 95 18X20 - Swings LIGHT

[Bottle Rocket]

Hello,

So, the K95 was/is the best frame I ever found for myself. I played with the K's for about 2 years, but my entire body slowly being ripped to shreds because of its stiffness caught up to me. I've been playing with Prestige Mid's since (next best thing I could find). I finally got my hands on a BLX 95, and it is still very stiff, but seems slightly more comfortable. I'm going to give it a go.

What I am curious about is the weight, swingweight, and balance. I only have one, but it swings LIGHT. Feels toy'ish compared to my old K95's, no way this thing has a swingweight near 340. This thing swings very easy and is lacking some of that swingweight/mass associated with the previous K95 or even the N95.

I am curious about experiences with this frame and if Wilson's qaulity control issues have gotten even worse with this new series?? I will restring it with a full polyester and hopefully that will bring the swingweight up slightly compared with the current string setup, but this thing does not swing like a PJ'd K95.

Anyone gotten these things on an RDC machine, a scale, or compared with some old K95's?

Comments?

Edit: In post #33 I've posted measured specs of my frames!

 

[JackB1]

Hello,

So, the K95 was/is the best frame I ever found for myself. I played with the K's for about 2 years, but my entire body slowly being ripped to shreds because of its stiffness caught up to me. I've been playing with Prestige Mid's since (next best thing I could find). I finally got my hands on a BLX 95, and it is still very stiff, but seems slightly more comfortable. I'm going to give it a go.

What I am curious about is the weight, swingweight, and balance. I only have one, but it swings LIGHT. Feels toy'ish compared to my old K95's, no way this thing has a swingweight near 340. This thing swings very easy and is lacking some of that swingweight/mass associated with the previous K's.

Just curious about experiences with this frame and if Wilson's qaulity control issues have gotten even worse with this new series?? I will restring it with a full polyester and hopefully that will bring the swingweight up slightly compared with the current string setup.

Anyone gotten these things on an RDC machine, a scale, or compared with some old K95's?

Comments?

I have been playing with the BLX95 18x20 for 2 weeks now and no way would call it "very stiff". It has a smooth feel and gives no bad vibes to my elbow.
Aout the weight...I bought 2 and they were 7 grams apart. How much do yours weigh? Mine are 347 & 354 grams with overgrips. It's definitely not "light" but it swings pretty light. The racquet never feels sluggish or heavy to me, even near the end of a long match.

If it still feels too light to you, you can start adding weight at 12 oclock until it feels right. The racquet is extremely headlite (10-11pts) so there is plently of room to add weight in the hoop to make it swing heavier.

 

[JT Corona]

This BLX also swung light for me esp when compared to the K95. I also found the BLX less harsh than the K. The weight and balance of a stick is rather important to me and I'm a little surprised the BLX can feel so different imo.

You may want to give the Volkl PB10 MP a demo. I find it similar to a K95 in many ways but without the stiffness. It also has a more opened string pattern for an 18x20 in a 98 sq in head. I think a poly or poly hybrid would work great in it. Mine's currently strung with X1 with head protection tape,small dampener,and overgrip. Static wt approx 12.5 oz.

 

[JackB1]

This BLX also swung light for me esp when compared to the K95. I also found the BLX less harsh than the K. The weight and balance of a stick is rather important to me and I'm a little surprised the BLX can feel so different imo.

You may want to give the Volkl PB10 MP a demo. I find it similar to a K95 in many ways but without the stiffness. It also has a more opened string pattern for an 18x20 in a 98 sq in head. I think a poly or poly hybrid would work great in it. Mine's currently strung with X1 with head protection tape,small dampener,and overgrip. Static wt approx 12.5 oz.

Quit pushing that PB10 JT!!!

Seriously. I find the BLX so NOT stiff and I have an elbow that's touchier than most. I love it.

Edit: One thing I don't understand is the O.P. talking about wanting less "harshness" and yet he talks of stringing with full poly.???

 

[JT Corona]

Quit pushing that PB10 JT!!!

Seriously. I find the BLX so NOT stiff and I have an elbow that's touchier than most. I love it.

Edit: One thing I don't understand is the O.P. talking about wanting less "harshness" and yet he talks of stringing with full poly.???

Ha. Its the GREATEST stick in the whole universe, if Fed used it he'd win 16 more slams easily! :twisted:

Ya... I wouldn't string too tight with a full poly but that all depends on the player to experiment with.

 

[JackB1]

Ha. Its the GREATEST stick in the whole universe, if Fed used it he'd win 16 more slams easily! :twisted:

Ya... I wouldn't string too tight with a full poly but that all depends on the player to experiment with.

I have to admit, it's one I have never tried and would love to. The 19mm beam's a little thinner than what I'm used to, but the rest of the specs are good.

We should swap one BLX for one PB10 for a couple weeks so I can try it out!

 

[MAX PLY]

I got 4 matched frames from TW (16 x 18) and agree that they definitely feel lighter to swing but I have double checked the specs and they are right on. I played with the K and the nCode before that. In fact, a friend who still plays with the K-version, said exactly the same thing the other day when he was swinging one of mine--I cannot explain it either except to say it just feels lighter. For me, I much prefer the softer flex and feel of the BLX--by a significant margin.

 

[JT Corona]

It actually looks a little thicker than 19mm. compared to my 19mm POG mid.

I admit the PB10m+ isnt for everyone but if something like a K95 fits your fancy, I feel obliged to propose at least a demo cuz I dont think many sticks are like it.

Atm moment I only have one so that would be a no no

 

[Bottle Rocket]

I have been playing with the BLX95 18x20 for 2 weeks now and no way would call it "very stiff". It has a smooth feel and gives no bad vibes to my elbow.
Aout the weight...I bought 2 and they were 7 grams apart. How much do yours weigh? Mine are 347 & 354 grams with overgrips. It's definitely not "light" but it swings pretty light. The racquet never feels sluggish or heavy to me, even near the end of a long match.

If it still feels too light to you, you can start adding weight at 12 oclock until it feels right. The racquet is extremely headlite (10-11pts) so there is plently of room to add weight in the hoop to make it swing heavier.

Tennis Warehouse apparently came up with an average stiffness on this frames of 67. To me, that is stiff. I suspect many of them are closer to 70, just as there was variance with the K's so far as construction is concerned.

Whether you think it is stiff or not does correspond to what I think. I think it is a stiff frame, though it feels more comfortable than the K95's. K95's were about as stiff-playing as anything I've ever experienced.

Anyway, I am not saying the frame is necessarily light, or below the specified static weight. I am specifically referring to its swingweight, and the swingweight for my frame is very low - not even close to any of the 4 K95's I owned. So far as my brain is concerened, it swings significantly lighter than my Prestige Mid's as well.

This BLX also swung light for me esp when compared to the K95. I also found the BLX less harsh than the K. The weight and balance of a stick is rather important to me and I'm a little surprised the BLX can feel so different imo.

You may want to give the Volkl PB10 MP a demo. I find it similar to a K95 in many ways but without the stiffness. It also has a more opened string pattern for an 18x20 in a 98 sq in head. I think a poly or poly hybrid would work great in it. Mine's currently strung with X1 with head protection tape,small dampener,and overgrip. Static wt approx 12.5 oz.

Yep, I agree completely.

So far as the Volkl is concerned, I haven't tried that one, but I wouldn't mind giving it a shot. I played with the PB10 mid for short while right when it came out and it was nice, but not quite what I was looking for. Unfortunately for me, I enjoy the stiff feel and the response of a stiff racket, I am limited by what my body can handle. If a used PB10 MP pops up, I may snatch it up.

Quit pushing that PB10 JT!!!
Seriously. I find the BLX so NOT stiff and I have an elbow that's touchier than most. I love it.

Edit: One thing I don't understand is the O.P. talking about wanting less "harshness" and yet he talks of stringing with full poly.???

I think that to go around this board stating that this frame or any frame is "NOT stiff" isn't real helpful. I am not sure who you're trying to convince with these comments, but for your own sake, I really do hope that you don't run into any arm/elbow issues in the future.

Not sure where you're quoting me on harshness from, but, I sure wouldn't mind a slightly more comfortable hit. So far as my tennis and my enjoyment of tennis is concerned, to play with a certain string is often more important to me than the frame. If I cannot play these frames with the string I want, I cannot play with these rackets.

I got 4 matched frames from TW (16 x 18) and agree that they definitely feel lighter to swing but I have double checked the specs and they are right on. I played with the K and the nCode before that. In fact, a friend who still plays with the K-version, said exactly the same thing the other day when he was swinging one of mine--I cannot explain it either except to say it just feels lighter. For me, I much prefer the softer flex and feel of the BLX--by a significant margin.

Yep, it is odd. This seems to be another case of the initial measurements taken by TW not quite being in touch with the specs of the sticks being sold and distributed currently. Speaking of Volkl's, the PB10 Mid specs are a good example of this.

Until I get to play with this frame with my usual string, I can't say for sure if I am a fan of this new feel or not. However, if it does turn out to be a more comfortable and forgiving hit, I'll stick with it regardless.

It actually looks a little thicker than 19mm. compared to my 19mm POG mid.

I admit the PB10m+ isnt for everyone but if something like a K95 fits your fancy, I feel obliged to propose at least a demo cuz I dont think many sticks are like it.

Atm moment I only have one so that would be a no no

Yep, I appreciate it. If I cross paths with a Volkl, you can bet I'll give it a try.

 

[JackB1]

BR...my point is that you can't just go by a number and say it's too stiff. Yes, stiffness is a personal thing, but there have been a lot of people scared away (myself included) by the BLX's 67 stiffness rating. What's more important to me, is the amount of vibrations that transmit to your arm and I have to say the BLX is great in that regard. Also, when swinging/hitting I can feel some flex/give in the frame which I can't with other frames like the Pure Drive.

If you like the BLX, but your only issue is the (light) weight of it, that's easily fixed with leadtape.

 

[Chezbeeno]

I have two (will be three this friday) and it seemed to me like they have a kind of weighty swingweight, however, this is coming from the K90, I've never actually used the K95 but for a few minutes a couple years ago so I can't really compare the two but compared to the K90 the BLX has some decent heft

 

[MayDay]

What string tension do you prefer/use on the BLX?

Maybe it feels softer due to strings strung at lower tension?

10 to 11 pt head light will definitely make the racket feel lighter. (I prefer 6pt head light on any racket so that there are a little more weight to throw around.)

 

[Bottle Rocket]

Also, when swinging/hitting I can feel some flex/give in the frame which I can't with other frames like the Pure Drive.

If you like the BLX, but your only issue is the (light) weight of it, that's easily fixed with leadtape.

Uhhh... Yes, this thing does feel more flexy than a Pure Drive.

I am not much of a fan of lead tape, epsecially in this case, as I think the specs published by Wilson and measured by TW are almost exactly what I want (damn near identicla to the K's)... I've got a "thing" against lead tape and like to avoid it.

I have two (will be three this friday) and it seemed to me like they have a kind of weighty swingweight, however, this is coming from the K90, I've never actually used the K95 but for a few minutes a couple years ago so I can't really compare the two but compared to the K90 the BLX has some decent heft

I am surprised to hear this. I had a few K90's, one of them came out around 13 ounces strung. It was a beast. The other one was significantly more headlight, significantly lighter overall, but still over the published weight/swingweight. I wish I had been able to get my hands on a K90 with the right specs... All I ever got to use felt much heavier than my K95's.

What string tension do you prefer/use on the BLX?

Maybe it feels softer due to strings strung at lower tension?

10 to 11 pt head light will definitely make the racket feel lighter. (I prefer 6pt head light on any racket so that there are a little more weight to throw around.)

Published balance specs for the BLX are identical to those for the K95 (8pts), and other than the stiffness, everything should be extremely close.

I would also be interested in hearing string combinations and preferences for anyone using this frame.

I always used Cyber Flash between 56 and 58 in my K95's for the few years that I played with them, just went for 56 lbs in this BLX. If I stick with them, I'll probably up the the tension a few lbs as the weather improves, assuming my arm doesn't get torn apart again.

 

[ahile02]

Funny, I got a BLX 95 16 x 18 demo yesterday, and that's what I was surprised about too, because it was incredibly light.

 

[Bottle Rocket]

Maybe we can talk TW into measuring the specs on a few more frames...

 

[JackB1]

Its weird, because usually my frames end up being about 10g's heavier than TW's specs. But I think most companies have a QC of 5grams, which could go either way, so in theory, you could by 2 identical frames and they end up being 10g's apart from each other.

 

[JackB1]

Funny, I got a BLX 95 16 x 18 demo yesterday, and that's what I was surprised about too, because it was incredibly light.

I almost dismissed the BLX95 when I dry swung it in the store because I thought it felt "too light".

 

[Bottle Rocket]

...so in theory, you could by 2 identical frames and they end up being 10g's apart from each other.

It gets A LOT worse than that.

 

[JackB1]

It gets A LOT worse than that.

Thank God for lead tape!

 

[FuriousYellow]

When I demoed the BLX 95, it balanced out to about 12pts HL compared to the established 10pts of my nCode 95. The static weights were about the same, but my digital scale is far less accurate than TWs.

 

[JackB1]

I have 3 BLX's....(2) are 350 ea. and (1) is 352 grams, all with overgrips and dampener. But one is 10pts HL, one is 10.5 and one is 11. Not too bad I guess.

 

[corners]

The answer to the mystery might be found in a theory proposed by the poster Travlerajm, in this post (and explained more fully in the thread):

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showpost.php?p=4208049&postcount=12

In brief, he says that if two racquets have the same weight and swingweight the one with the longer balance (less headlight) will swing faster. In the above thread it's noted that this is counterintuitive, as we associate headlight raquets with being easier to swing.

But the BLX95 vs. K95 might provide some evidence for the theory. According to TW specs MgR/I of the BLX95 is much higher than the K version, owing to the K95 being more headlight at approximately the same static weight and swingweight. (See thread above for explanation of "MgR/I")

According to this theory, a racquet with a higher MgR/I will "come around" faster than a racquet with a lower MgR/I. Therefore, this theory predicts that the BLX95 will swing "easier" or "faster" than the K95, owing to its less headlight balance (8 HL vs. 10 HL).

 

[Bottle Rocket]

The answer to the mystery might be found in a theory proposed by the poster Travlerajm, in this post (and explained more fully in the thread):

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showpost.php?p=4208049&postcount=12

In brief, he says that if two racquets have the same weight and swingweight the one with the longer balance (less headlight) will swing faster. In the above thread it's noted that this is counterintuitive, as we associate headlight raquets with being easier to swing.

But the BLX95 vs. K95 might provide some evidence for the theory. According to TW specs MgR/I of the BLX95 is much higher than the K version, owing to the K95 being more headlight at approximately the same static weight and swingweight. (See thread above for explanation of "MgR/I")

According to this theory, a racquet with a higher MgR/I will "come around" faster than a racquet with a lower MgR/I. Therefore, this theory predicts that the BLX95 will swing "easier" or "faster" than the K95, owing to its less headlight balance (8 HL vs. 10 HL).

Yep, I actually had thought about this a little bit. However, I am not so convinced that my stick is anywhere close to the TW measured specs. Anyway, this is very interesting and I always appreciate your input corners. You haven't had a hit with one of these, have you?

I can say for sure that the weight distribution seems very different from the K95 and so far, none of this appears to be an accident. This is a significant change from the K's - you'll note the maneuverability comments in the TW review. These don't apppear to be anywhere near as demanding as the K95, or even the N95 for that matter, while still being a very effective stick for a higher level player.

I played a few sets today with some guys on my 4.5 team and I was still having a difficult time adjusting. I was framing a good deal of returns because I was making contact so early, something I've never had trouble adjusting to in the past. Something is going on with this frame.

I will keep at it, as I've hit some incredible shots with this frame, same goes for volleys and serves. Seems there is some potential here if I can figure this thing out.

I'm also finding it significantly more arm-friendly than the K's, even with the full polyester, as other posters in this thread have noted. This seems to be a more comfortable stick and it's more than just the impression it gives because it's such a smooth hit. It is still, however, not a "soft" frame.

 

[corners]

Yep, I actually had thought about this a little bit. However, I am not so convinced that my stick is anywhere close to the TW measured specs. Anyway, this is very interesting and I always appreciate your input corners. You haven't had a hit with one of these, have you?

I can say for sure that the weight distribution seems very different from the K95 and so far, none of this appears to be an accident. This is a significant change from the K's - you'll note the maneuverability comments in the TW review. These don't apppear to be anywhere near as demanding as the K95, or even the N95 for that matter, while still being a very effective stick for a higher level player.

I played a few sets today with some guys on my 4.5 team and I was still having a difficult time adjusting. I was framing a good deal of returns because I was making contact so early, something I've never had trouble adjusting to in the past. Something is going on with this frame.

I will keep at it, as I've hit some incredible shots with this frame, same goes for volleys and serves. Seems there is some potential here if I can figure this thing out.

I'm also finding it significantly more arm-friendly than the K's, even with the full polyester, as other posters in this thread have noted. This seems to be a more comfortable stick and it's more than just the impression it gives because it's such a smooth hit. It is still, however, not a "soft" frame.

Well, I guess you could get the specs on your specimen, that would be a start.

I have hit with a BLX 95 and liked it. However, I've never hit with a K95 so I can't contribute anything experiential to the idea that the longer balance of the BLX95 results in the head coming around quicker than the K95.

I can say that the BLX95 swung pretty easy, but this is only compared to a BLX90 which I was swinging in the same session. In that particular case I was surprised, as the swingweight is higher for the BLX95 and MgR/I is lower - both would have suggested to me that the BLX90 would swing "easier" for me, based on my experience with other sticks. I can only guess that in this case the lower static weight (and resulting lower swingweight about the elbow and shoulder axes) made swinging the 95 easier. But again, this doesn't help you.

I can also add that Travlerajm's "MgR/I" theory really jives with my experience and unless your BLX95 is vastly different than spec I would think that this is the explanation.

I personally think his theory adds to our ability to compare sticks and predict the performance of sticks tremendously. I'm surprised more people on the boards haven't picked up on this.

 

[Bottle Rocket]

Thinking I need to unload this thing...

 

[JackB1]

Thinking I need to unload this thing...

What is your complaint? That it's too light?

What are the specs of your stick? Mine are all around 350-352 with overgrip and dampener and range from 10-11 pts HL.
I gotta think the SW is near 340. I will measure it on the machine this week and let you know.

If you can get us some exact measurements, everythign else is just speculation.

 

[corners]

Yeah Bottle Rocket, a 350g, 340 swingweight stick that feels light wouldn't be something I would be in a hurry to unload.

 

[textbook strokes]

I had the same experience with the blx 95 16x18. Being a long time user of the k95, the blx completely messed my timming. The paradox is that the numbers tell you that it should be very similar, and because it is allready a heavy racquet, you don't have much room for customizing.

 

[Bottle Rocket]

Yeah Bottle Rocket, a 350g, 340 swingweight stick that feels light wouldn't be something I would be in a hurry to unload.

Well well well...

Shortly after making my last post, I "came down with" mono. With that and a few other things going on, I did not play for 6 weeks.

When I made my return to the game, I decided to make another go at this frame. I also decided it would be a good time to fix a few of my bad habits, but that's another story.

Anyway, I'm absolutely confident with this frame now. I've hit some of the heaviest and most effective shots I've ever hit, at least since using the K95. I find this frame much less demanding as well as significantly more comfortable.

It does swing light, but with a good swing, and you MUST take a swing with it, you can get some ridiculous spin and pop. I've been hitting some of the best serves of my life since coming back with this frame, at least, one of my usual oppponents thought so. It sure feels like it. I hit a good deal of shots and then stand there thinking "wow, I just hit that?".

I've played with it now for the last few weeks and I wanted to get enough time on it to be sure it wasn't just a delusion in my head before coming back here and leaving these comments. The frame takes some serious getting used to because of its odd weight distribution, but I feel like I've really found something special here.

I've sold off all of my other frames. I just bought another BLX 18X20 and it arrived today. I've got my fingers crossed that the specs on this new one are just as screwed up as the first one. ;-)

Ah, for anyone wondering, I'm finding Cyber Flash at 56 lbs to be just about right.

 

[Bottle Rocket]

What is your complaint? That it's too light?

What are the specs of your stick? Mine are all around 350-352 with overgrip and dampener and range from 10-11 pts HL.
I gotta think the SW is near 340. I will measure it on the machine this week and let you know.

Did you ever get your BLX measured?

 

[tarkowski]

I noticed the published twist weights of the new BLX 95's are significantly lower than their K-counterparts. (11.5 vs 12.5 on average). I wonder if that has anything to do with them swinging lighter as well? Is there a bit less mass at 3 and 9 with these new sticks? Unlike one user's experience, TW takes an average of a sampling of sticks, so these lower twist weight numbers seem like a fundamental difference between the two lines. Thoughts?

 

[Bottle Rocket]

Seems there has to be less weight at 3 and 9 O'clock to get the measured specs. Seems the weight has been pushed outwards.

Can't wait to get this new one strung up and see how it compares...

 

[Bottle Rocket]

Well well well... The new one did not play the same. I tried it 15-20 times since my last post. It was not the same. It felt very sluggish in comparison to my original BLX. Still a fantastic frame, but felt significantly slower, heavier, and more taxing over a long hitting session. I always went back to the first BLX, and never touch the second one during tournaments. Never found confidence in the new frame.

I got a chance to have the frames measured today, here's what we found:

My original BLX 95 (the one that plays better than anything else on the
planet), strung:

Weight: 357.5 grams
Balance: 10 pts headlight
Swingweight: 333

The second BLX I acquired, strung specs:

Weight: 352.5 grams
Balance: Almost 7 pts headlight
Swingweight: 335

For anyone interested, here are unstrung specs of my original BLX, to be compared with Wilsons published specs:

Weight: 334 grams
Balance: 13 pts headlight
Swingweight: 295

Note: The above numbers, for my original BLX unstrung, are with a "worn" bumper guard. Replacing the bumper guard did at 3 pots to the swingweight later on.

We measured a few frames off the shelf. We found that I did, indeed, end up with a special frame. The difference in balance point is significant and noticeable and my weight distribution theory seems to have held up... I'm lucky enough to have Wilsons best screw-up?

So.... More information to come!!! Stay tuned.

 

[corners]

Interesting Bottle Rocket. The more headlight one swings easier, which is expected if we look at swingweight from the wrist axis, where balance comes into play. This would be looking more or less only from the perspective of the physical effort required to swing fast.

But as I understand the MgR/I theory, the less headlight one should "come around" quicker, or the head should come around quicker in relation to your hand. It sounds as though, in your case, this isn't so.

The bad news is that 5 grams in the buttcap of your new one would match the static weights, but would leave it only a little more than 8 HL, so a perfect match to your BLX Grail isn't in the cards. Maybe unload the new one and ask for TW if they have another that's 13 HL unstrung?

 

[namui]

My original BLX 95 (the one that plays better than anything else on the
planet), strung:

Weight: 357.5 grams
Balance: 10 pts headlight
Swingweight: 333

For anyone interested, here are unstrung specs of my original BLX, to be compared with Wilsons published specs:

Weight: 334 grams
Balance: 13 pts headlight
Swingweight: 295

Note: The above numbers, for my original BLX unstrung, are with a "worn" bumper guard. Replacing the bumper guard did at 3 pots to the swingweight later on.

We measured a few frames off the shelf. We found that I did, indeed, end up with a special frame. The difference in balance point is significant and noticeable and my weight distribution theory seems to have held up... I'm lucky enough to have Wilsons best screw-up?

So.... More information to come!!! Stay tuned.

I'm asking TW about my BLX 95 18x20 too (as I bought it "used" from someone who claimed that he bought it from TW). My strung weight is 354 grams. Balance is 8 pt HL. But this is without the overgrip! With an overgrip, my racket weight shoots too 360, and balance a little more than 8 pt HL.

Your 357.5 grams, 10 pt HL racket, I guess, is with an overgrip, right?

My head bumper is a smooth one, which looks like the one in TW's description page of BLX Six-One Team (no sequence of shallow grooves like the photos on TW page). So I can't resist doubting that mine is not a genuine one. But like yours, to me, my racket really plays phenomenal. If it's fake, it's a good faking.

The feel of contact is unique though (damped but solid), similar to the BLX Pro Tour of a friend of mine. This is unlike any other model I've hit before.

 

[Bottle Rocket]

Interesting Bottle Rocket. The more headlight one swings easier, which is expected if we look at swingweight from the wrist axis, where balance comes into play. This would be looking more or less only from the perspective of the physical effort required to swing fast.

But as I understand the MgR/I theory, the less headlight one should "come around" quicker, or the head should come around quicker in relation to your hand. It sounds as though, in your case, this isn't so.

The bad news is that 5 grams in the buttcap of your new one would match the static weights, but would leave it only a little more than 8 HL, so a perfect match to your BLX Grail isn't in the cards. Maybe unload the new one and ask for TW if they have another that's 13 HL unstrung?

The more headlight one does, indeed swing easier. But I can also produce an extremely heavy ball with it, with significantly less effort.

What the specs prove is that my original BLX is a more polarized frame, with significantly more weight concetrated at the tips as opposed to closer to the balance point. The specs cannot be reproduced well on another BLX without having a frame which is too headlight.

With that said, I did buy a new BLX 95 yesterday. Its specs are much closer to my original, the swingweight is actually lower, and its even more headlight, which is crazy... It doesn't have the same weight distribution though, not from the way it feels.

I'm asking TW about my BLX 95 18x20 too (as I bought it "used" from someone who claimed that he bought it from TW). My strung weight is 354 grams. Balance is 8 pt HL. But this is without the overgrip! With an overgrip, my racket weight shoots too 360, and balance a little more than 8 pt HL.

Your 357.5 grams, 10 pt HL racket, I guess, is with an overgrip, right?

My head bumper is a smooth one, which looks like the one in TW's description page of BLX Six-One Team (no sequence of shallow grooves like the photos on TW page). So I can't resist doubting that mine is not a genuine one. But like yours, to me, my racket really plays phenomenal. If it's fake, it's a good faking.

The feel of contact is unique though (damped but solid), similar to the BLX Pro Tour of a friend of mine. This is unlike any other model I've hit before.

Interesting. All of my specs are, indeed, without an overgrip.

The damped, but extremely solid feel, is fantastic. I used the K95's for a few years and think these are a flawlessly executed update, aside from Wilson's absolutely terrible quality control and consistency...

I'd be curious to see what your swingweight is... Guess you don't have access to a machine that will measure?

 

[Necroblood]

Oh guys your scaring me now. I just upgraded to this raquet from the kbt, and man I just ordered one. What if the specs come completely messed up?

 

[corners]

Just for reference, Wilson's official spec for the BLX 95 (both patterns) is:

348 grams (strung); 333 grams (unstrung)

9HL strung

Of course, they don't publish their target swingweight spec.

 

[namui]

Interesting. All of my specs are, indeed, without an overgrip.

Well, that helped my case. Your racquet is, in fact, heavier but more head-light than mine. I can feel a little safe that my racquet's specs are within tolerance ranges, and it's probably is not a fake.

I'd be curious to see what your swingweight is... Guess you don't have access to a machine that will measure?

Sorry that I have no access to a machine that can measure swing-weight. May be I'll try the estimation method (time the 10 swings). If I do, I'll let you know the result.

However, I think it might be useful for you to know that everyone who swings my racquet including my 13yo daughter, a 3.5, two 4.0, a 4.5, and a 5.0, is surprised at how easy my racquet swings! It should be noted first that this model is not available in my country (we only have 16x18 asian version that is 20 grams lighter). So when they knew that I got a US version, they had presumed that it will be too heavy for them. And surely, most of them feel that the frame is heavy when holding it up for the first time, but all looked amazed while swinging. They all said "it's not swinging heavy at all!".

 

[namui]

I'd be curious to see what your swingweight is... Guess you don't have access to a machine that will measure?

I'm curious to measure mine, so I went with the "time for 10 swings" estimation. I got the swing weight value of 334 from this process.

 

[corners]

Hey namui,

Good on you for trying the 10 swings method. But this isn't an estimation method. It's dead-on accurate if you can time it accurately. In fact, TW uses this method to calibrate their RDC. The best way I know of to increase timing accuracy is to do 20 swings instead of 10, then divide by two. Then do 6 rounds of that and average your results. You should be able to get within 1 unit of machine accuracy with this method.

 

[kabrac]

What is this 10 swings method? How does it work?

 

[namui]

What is this 10 swings method? How does it work?

In fact, it can be 20 swings or whatever number of swings. What we want is the average period of one cycle of the racket naturally swinging about a pivot point. Then, the period, mass and distance from center of mass to the pivot point are used for calculating the swing weight. An article in TW University describes this method in details.

 

[Xenakis]

My 18x20s weigh 352 and 357 respectively, both with one overgrip, 1.24 poly strings and a Wilson logo dampener. The slight weight difference might be partly due to the different grips (Wilson on one, a Babolat on the other).

I don't think it swings that light really, seems about right for the static weight imo.

 

[Bottle Rocket]

Well well well... The new one did not play the same. I tried it 15-20 times since my last post. It was not the same. It felt very sluggish in comparison to my original BLX. Still a fantastic frame, but felt significantly slower, heavier, and more taxing over a long hitting session. I always went back to the first BLX, and never touch the second one during tournaments. Never found confidence in the new frame.

I got a chance to have the frames measured today, here's what we found:

My original BLX 95 (the one that plays better than anything else on the
planet), strung:

Weight: 357.5 grams
Balance: 10 pts headlight
Swingweight: 333

The second BLX I acquired, strung specs:

Weight: 352.5 grams
Balance: Almost 7 pts headlight
Swingweight: 335

For anyone interested, here are unstrung specs of my original BLX, to be compared with Wilsons published specs:

Weight: 334 grams
Balance: 13 pts headlight
Swingweight: 295

Note: The above numbers, for my original BLX unstrung, are with a "worn" bumper guard. Replacing the bumper guard did at 3 pots to the swingweight later on.

We measured a few frames off the shelf. We found that I did, indeed, end up with a special frame. The difference in balance point is significant and noticeable and my weight distribution theory seems to have held up... I'm lucky enough to have Wilsons best screw-up?

So.... More information to come!!! Stay tuned.

Though this thread is 10 years old, I must make a correction. As I've recently started playing a bit more, I've ended up once again unable to find a racket that I like more than what I spoke about here all those years ago.

However, after re-measuring the balance and weight of the same two BLX 95's referenced in the 2010 post, it became clear that, uh, I had the two reversed.

A few posters realized the inconsistency in my account of the playing/swinging characterstics and the posted specs, and I probably should have done some double-checking. Apologies to anyone that may have been influenced by all of the craziness in this thread. I guess I was young then?

Here are the correct specs for my holy grail:

Weight: 352.5 grams
Balance: Almost 7 pts headlight
Swingweight: 335

After all these years, I still favor this frame, and am still searching for a replacement. Hopefully one softwer and more arm/wrist friendly, and with a similarly tight string pattern.