Pk 7g
 

I'm sure this racquet has been covered many times over, but I thought I'd add my thoughts. Plus, I can't search for 7G, so here is a new thread. It is just too good to be overlooked because it isn't from one of the big three. Anyway, it's my first review (adapted from the TW APD review format), so here goes.

Tennis experience/background: I played for about a year in high school, then stopped. I finally picked up the racquet again 22 years later, and have been playing for about 6 months now. I've always been good at ball & stick sports, though, so I've kind of picked up where I left off. Really wish I would've started earlier and stuck with it.

Describe your playing style: I started as a baseliner, but have been playing in a 3.5 league where a lot of shots land short. The blocked back shots have me moving forward constantly and being aggressive, so now I am pretty much an all court player. I still prefer the baseline though. I hit a heavy forehand with significant spin, hit both a 1 & 2 HBH, and have flat and spin serves.

Current racquet/string: PK 7G; go to set up is Isospeed Baseline Spin w/OGSM crosses. Came from an OG APD with the same strings.

How long have you had the racquet: 2 months and just bought a second

Comments on racquet performance:

-groundstrokes: The 7G kills it here. Like many have said in other reviews, it just does everything well--it has no weaknesses. It has ample power with easy access to spin. With the poly/syn hybrid, I can hit hard, low shots off both wings, or hit heavy topspin shots that clear the net by 8ft and land at the baseline, bouncing up to my opponent's shoulders/head. While it isn't going to turn you into Rafa, the racquet does exactly what you ask of it. It rewards good form.

What really surprised me is the control. I'm able to put the ball most anywhere I want, and I'm no longer hitting long. I think this is a combination of the 16 x 20 string pattern as well as the Kinetic system. I honestly cannot think of a time when the racquet twisted in my hand. This has really improved my accuracy. I also think this is the sweet spot for string patterns.

I think the Kinetic system has also improved my slices. I get far less floaters than I did with my OG APD and far more hard, low drives. It almost isn't fair for the other guys. The racquet just soaks up the ball and sends it on its way in solid, cotrolled manner. I've never had a racquet so solid off the ground.

-serves: It took me a bit to find my serve, but now they are back with a vengeance. My normal spin serve (second serve that isn't a slice or a kicker, somewhere in between) has good pace, depth and consistency. With the 7G, I can place this thing anywhere in the box and do it time and time again. I've also added a flat, slice and kick serve. The flat serve has ample power even though I was getting more with the APD. The slice is where this really shines. It curves wildly to the left, drops as soon as its over the net and keeps on moving out wide. Not sure if its the Kinetic stuff helping out again, but it really keeps guys guessing. The racquet just allows me to take everything but the spin off while maintaining a normal toss and motion.

-volleys: This is another area that surprised me. Since I've been moving in more, I've found that the 7G is a great volleying stick. Again, I think the Kinetic system soaks up the ball and gives you great control. It is supremely stable, even on off-center hits. It is like the ball is hitting a bag of sand. Touch is great, and you can really get good angles, putting the ball where you want to. A nice thing about the racquet is you just have to get it in position. It will take care of the rest.

-serve returns: I'm a little disappointed here. It isn't so much about how well the 7G handles serve returns, but more about losing a step over my APD. I think the power level is lower and the racquet is heavier, so I'm not getting it into position as quickly or getting the hard returns I was accustomed to with the Babolat. The 7G actually handles returns well, it's just that I've hit them much more aggressively with the APD. I'm still returning well, just not like before.

General reaction/comments on overall performance: All told, this is one awesome stick! So much so that I felt the need to write about it. What's kind of funny is that once I took it out of the box, it was very underwhelming. The PJ looked plain, almost box store like. The feel was ok, nothing special. And this was further exacerbated by the fact that it is $120 new vs $190 for the big names. Once I got on the court, though, I realized that this unassuming, inexpensive racquet from a poorly marketed company is just right--perfect!

One thing I didn't mention is the arm friendliness of the racquet. Most people, including me, find out about this stick due to arm issues. I wasn't buying the hype, but my arm would hurt so bad that I'd have trouble shifting on my way home from the court. I loved my APD, but something had to give. I only bought a new racquet because of my arm. This thing works! I've played with full poly and routinely play the hybrid, and I have zero issues. Even after 4 hrs of rallying, etc, my arm is pain free.

While this is a great reason to get this racquet in and of itself, don't pass this thing off as some kind of orthopedic device. The 7G delivers the goods as a player's stick. It just also happens to help out with arm problems. On a related note, you can hear the micro beads if you shake the racquet near your ear and are trying to hear them. During play, you will not hear them. That really is a non-issue. Only bats are going to hear this on court.

There you go. The best kept secret in the racquet world. :)

It may be a big secret everywhere else, but apparently it's not such a big secret on this forum:

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=372601

Your opinion is definitely shared by a lot of people here. I haven't gotten around to trying it myself. My experience was similar to yours because I had arm problems with the APDGT. The difference is I switched to the PK Ki 5x, which is the update to the 7G. There are mixed opinions about whether or not it was an improvement. That's probably why they still sell 5G's and 7G's.

Thanks for the link, Ramon. Whenever I tried searching for 7G specifically, it would say the string is too short. I think they require at least three letters. Of course, then I realized that my title is 2 words of 2 letters each.

I have seen a lot of comments about the 7G in PK and arm friendly threads which is what ultimately led me to it, but specific threads seemed hard to come by. I originally looked at the Ki5 and found your thoughts on the Ki5x, but the older racquets got great reviews and were a bit cheaper. I was meant to demo, but my arm just couldn't wait, so I jumped in. I just really felt like sharing my experience, too, in case there is someone out there in a similar circumstance wondering if they should give it a shot. In a way, I suppose I should say thanks to you, scotus, mikeler and others who posted their comments on PK and helped me decide...so thank you!

You can search for 7G on the forums with Google:

7g site:tt.tennis-warehouse.com

It really is a great racket. I'm missing the putaway potential now that I've sold mine.

I'm keeping an eye on the 7G as my current frames are aging.

7g
 

I have 3 of them , I bought 5g first though,5g is even better on arm and has better control then 7g but has a very small sweet spot,it also lacks in power so after reading numerous threads in this forum I went for 7g and couldn't be happier.My arm is very sensitive, 5g and 7g have completely healed it.

Tour
 

Mikler,I noticed about a month back that you switched to Exo3 tour,would like to know how it fares in comparison to 7g

I'm somewhat interested in this, too. I demo'd a 16x18 Exo3 a while ago, and it was hard to get used to at first. When I changed my style, though, and hit out with tons of spin, it was actually a lot of fun. I just couldn't see playing a match with it because I felt like to be competitive, I would have to keep my foot on the gas. I'd love to pick one up along with this new 99S just for those days you want to kill the ball with tons of spin. It was great fun, but I didn't think I'd be able to sustain that over 3 sets.

I couldn't get over the springiness of the EXO3 Tour 100. I tried the 18x20 with poly and the 16x18 with syngut. I liked the 18x20 with poly better because it wasn't as springy. The trampoline effect on the 16x18 with syngut was too much for me to control. The trajectory on my shots was high and I needed to use excessive topspin to keep the ball in, and luckily, it's the most spinny frame I ever tested. My groundstrokes were launching and my volleys were going into the net. My serves were going into the net because of all the topspin I was getting, so I adjusted for it and ended up hitting kickers.

The thing I liked most about the EXO3 Tour 100 was the comfort. It's easily the most comfortable racquet I ever tested, even with full poly (it was a fresh bed of RPM Blast). The problem was I had a hard time adjusting to it. I gave it every opportunity to impress me because I wanted to like it, but I kept losing every game I played with it, and I needed to switch to my demo Ki 5 to be able to give my friends a good match.

I'm in a slump right now, so take my comments with that in mind. It did not take me long to adjust to the Exo 16x18. I played very well with it until recently. My game did change into more of a defensive retrieving style though. With the 7G, I could hit the flatter putaway shots much better. I'm still not confident enough with the Exo to attempt those type shots consistently. Many seem to go into the net when I do. So like others have mentioned, I end up putting a bunch of spin on the ball to make sure I can get it over the net. I also tend to hit more serves in the net but maybe that has something to do with going back to a regular length racket. The bottom line is that the Exo is easier on my arm and that is all I care about right now.

On my Ki 5x (updated 7G) I'm using Pacific Classic and the Wilson Shock Shield replacement grip. This is the most comfortable setup I've used in a long time. I can't really compare it to the EXO3 Tour because it's been so long since I tried it, but the crisp feeling I like is still there, and I'm swinging harder than I ever have. I'm guessing it would work similarly with the 7G.

I kinda felt the same way when I demo'd it a couple months ago. It seemed like it created a very lively ball, but you would have to kill it every time in order to stay competitive. By contrast, the 7G seems to have a lot more options. I just finished a test of a BHBR hybrid, and although I didn't care for the feel of it, it had the Exo3 spin coupled with the 7G's options. Very addicting. Now I'm on to a Cyclone Tour hybrid and can't wait to try it. An added bonus, it only comes in red so it looks great on the 7G!

I put a Shock Shield on my old Silver Ace that needed a grip, and now it is on all my racquets. That really is a great grip.