Diary of a Racketaholic

[JGads]

Originally Posted by Meaghan

Its amazing how we all have a slightly different feel for a racket and I think it can all boil down to fed's stick. There is a lot of love for the point and shoot, stiffer hoop of the k90. Personally I love the pro staff 90 and its softer hoop/feel. I think the majority of us would find ourselves in one bracket or the other.

I've also been looking at shoes again, on court mobility my ability lies in my lateral movement and wingspan, my weakness lies in my forward and back due to my lumbering size and big feet! I'm wearing head radical pro II and they are heavy, much heavier than stated in the tw stats, but they are very stable and comfortable. Ideally id wear them laterally and a pair of vapor tours front to back

FYI, if you like Head shoes (I've worn the Head Mojos in the past, which are nice), you might be interested in the Head Speed Pro II Lite shoes Head just released. Looks like a slightly trimmed-down version of what I think is there flagship shoe, and it looks pretty good. I'm keeping these in the back of my mind as I've got wide feet and it's apparently a nice wide fit.

[Meaghan]

Originally Posted by JGads

FYI, if you like Head shoes (I've worn the Head Mojos in the past, which are nice), you might be interested in the Head Speed Pro II Lite shoes Head just released. Looks like a slightly trimmed-down version of what I think is there flagship shoe, and it looks pretty good. I'm keeping these in the back of my mind as I've got wide feet and it's apparently a nice wide fit.

Sounds great, thanks, I couldn't get the speeds at the time, tbh they are a little sturdier and heavier than mine, but both are barricade 5's in all but name. A slightly lighter version sounds about right to me.

[JGads]

Originally Posted by Meaghan

Sounds great, thanks, I couldn't get the speeds at the time, tbh they are a little sturdier and heavier than mine, but both are barricade 5's in all but name. A slightly lighter version sounds about right to me.

Felt the same way about the Speeds when I tried them, just too much. If you end up getting these, let me know how you find them as I'll be curious.

[Meaghan]

Originally Posted by JGads

Felt the same way about the Speeds when I tried them, just too much. If you end up getting these, let me know how you find them as I'll be curious.

I've just had a look on tw, they look great, the only downside is they haven't got the pinched mid sole, like the barricades this made me feel on my toes, slightly higher. These new lites look flatter motte courtballistic.....hmmm will have to see if they are available over here.

[Power Player]

Originally Posted by ryushen21

. I have never hit with an MSVstring that I liked. They all felt cheap and plasticky to me.

The way to think about it is that TW made a list of most spin friendly setups. this is one of the best (gut/cofocus). The reason is because it is a very slick string. What that means is it will not cut into your mains and will slide against them instead. You will get more spin and a longer string life out of your gut this way.

Originally Posted by Ross K

More re the touch stuff and APD and how this isn't a great match up...


Thankfully I found (and always have done actually) the APD very good for powerful block back volleys and the like.

Anyhow, the more all court game isn't what I play the frame for, but, yes...

Hey Ross, what strings did you have in the APD? I get a lot more touch with the RIP. Also, you just have to practice those shots..do you practice them a lot? If not, of course you will miss lobs for a while..it takes a lot of time to dial in touch, but you can have touch with any stick setup if you practice.

[Ross K]

Originally Posted by Meaghan

Its amazing how we all have a slightly different feel for a racket and I think it can all boil down to fed's stick. There is a lot of love for the point and shoot, stiffer hoop of the k90. Personally I love the pro staff 90 and its softer hoop/feel. I think the majority of us would find ourselves in one bracket or the other.

I've also been looking at shoes again, on court mobility my ability lies in my lateral movement and wingspan, my weakness lies in my forward and back due to my lumbering size and big feet! I'm wearing head radical pro II and they are heavy, much heavier than stated in the tw stats, but they are very stable and comfortable. Ideally id wear them laterally and a pair of vapor tours front to back

I like the sound of that. Would love this 'hybrid' tennis shoe!



PP,

Presently getting through my Hexaspin Twist which I have in a few frames as a full job and one with Bab Ny... No, I don't practice them a lot (not much playing/practice time last 3 weeks) - know I should. From past experience though, I do find certain frames (especially Prestiges and 6.1s) instantly deliver in this respect for me.

[Ross K]

Originally Posted by Fed Kennedy

Strange days for a racaholic...pretty settled on a frame. Still want rdis 100, 200 maybe a 100s...curious about ti80,, rd7, kind of want the new fed frame...but the urge is milder...why go backwards? I look at my k90 sometimes and feel something...
No, best to stay the course

Strange days indeed... what happened? Did we all grow up?

[Power Player]

Yes of course the prestige is easier for lobs/touch because it is low powered. But if you spend the time you will get it on your APD AND have massive power. That is why I love these Babs..you can hit any shot in the book with practice and they are forgiving under heavy fire.

It is harder to have touch with full poly though..it will take a lot of practice.


Really loving my PD+..I have grown so fast with this thing. I believe I have found my favorite spec setup - 325 grams, SW (getting measured - guessing 328ish), 3.5 pts HL..27.5 length.

As for shoes, I am planning on getting the Asics Solutions. I love the look, and the reviews are incredible.light fast shoes are the best.

[Power Player]

Forgot to add this little gear wildcard.

Seriously considering getting some oakley shades - polarized iridium black lense for playing in the summer. I am a blond/blue eyes guy and the sun can be brutal. I can also wear them when I cycle.

But yeah..have any of you guys gotten Tipsy with it? I know Bad Call uses Bolles and they are pretty sweet.

[PED]

Originally Posted by Power Player

Seriously considering getting some oakley shades - polarized iridium black lense for playing in the summer.

I sometimes have an issue with the curve of the sunglasses lens and picking up the flight of the ball by a millisecond.

However, I've had to wear shades the last week or so because of the pollen and they've worked well. I wear Smith's but the Iridium Oakley would work well-I used to race bicycles and that was the go to set up.


Pretty pumped around here today, my son got in to Harvard

[Power Player]

wow..damn from USC to Harvard..thats amazing...congrats. I am a lowly FSU grad..haha.

the pollen is brutal..for me, serving into the sun is just crushingly bad some days here..I also mountainbike and cycle so I feel the Flak Jackets are a good investment.

Funny how you can buy more cool stuff when you stop buying frames every month

[PED]

Originally Posted by Power Player

Funny how you can buy more cool stuff when you stop buying frames every month

I just had to stock up on grommet sets, this long term racquet ownership isn't all it's cracked up to be.....lol

Tour bite trashes grommets but at least it's easy to replace them in the Tec.
Mine were smoked after six months.

Trying to sort out my summer time tension with the temps in the mid 80's. I've used 54/52 all winter and am going with 56/53 and see how that goes.
I used some worn out TB yesterday and it kept flying long.

[ryushen21]

I need to pick up grommets as well. Must remind myself to do that as soon as money becomes available again.

I was thinking back to polys that I have used previously as possible crosses for my gut to prolong the lifespan. This is the list that I came up with:

SP Poly Plasma Pure
Kirsch PLII
Tecni Pro Red Code

The first two I don't think would be an issue at all. I remember PRC being a stiffer string but I think that using it with gut would improve the feel. I actually think that it may be in the same stiffness range as Tornado.

PP...thanks for the input. Right now I'm not wanting to gamble on something that is completely untested because I want to officially be done with gear and really focus on technique. Looking forward to the summer tournament season means I really have to sharpen my game if I want to be competitive.

I've also decided that instead of ordering the half sets of gut, I'm going to order the full set since I can get it in 16g. I'l pretty much always be stringing two frames at a time so no need to worry about that half set going bad.

[SlapShot]

Originally Posted by SlapShot

Yo, PP - I ordered a few sets of RIP 17 to try in the PSTGT. Haven't yet found a string setup that does everything well for long enough. The frame itself is perfect though - slap a leather on it, it's 355g strung with a dampener, and puts a good licking on the ball. At least when I'm playing enough to get good racquet head speed.

I see you're playing it at 58# - how is the feel at that tension? I've tried full poly at 54# (too dead), poly/multi at 54/58 (just right, but didn't play at peak form for long enough to justify the cost) and gut/poly at 59/54 (which was OK, but a little dead for my tastes).

I feel like I just need something a bit more crisp that has just enough pop, but puts a bite on the ball (hence my attraction to RIP). If RIP doesn't work, I'm going to take a shot with PSGD - that's my default "need a crisp string that has some pop" string.

Haaaaaay Power Player - want to lend some guidance on tension for the RIP?

[Power Player]

In that stick..I'd go around 56#s..prestretch the string first. If you prestretch, it holds tension real well and will drop about 7 pounds until breakage.

[Ross K]

PED,

Pretty pumped around here today, my son got in to Harvard

Huge congratulations, H. What a special day.

I just had to stock up on grommet sets, this long term racquet ownership isn't all it's cracked up to be.....lol
Tour bite trashes grommets but at least it's easy to replace them in the Tec.
Mine were smoked after six months.

Yes, I'll need to restock on some for my APDs. Funny, being a racketaholic for so long, this isn't something I'm used to - LOL!


All,

Talking of shoes (as some have been recently), is it just me or anyone else not a fan of the Propulse 3s? With that shiney green plastic looking wrap around the foot design feature, I always think it's like a teenage mutant ninja turtle is attached to your foot!

[JGads]

^^
Propulses are pretty bad looking. Didn't mind the originals but they keep looking more and more like weird space shoes. The red ones were just awful, I thought. But then again, there are a lot of ugly tennis shoes out there and unfortunately, it's the ugly ones that always end up fitting my foot well. The best looking ones like Nike and Adidas usually never work - the current Vapors being the lone exception. Wilson shoes often feel great on my wide feet, but they never look good and their current line is laughable.


PED: CONGRATS, PROUD PAPA! Harvard. That's friggin incredible.

[PED]

Originally Posted by JGads

^^

PED: CONGRATS, PROUD PAPA! Harvard. That's friggin incredible.

Thanks, we're all excited around here the last few days

Since you and Ross has both insulted my Propulse 3's.....lol

I'm diggin' them actually. I've been hard court Cage/Ballistec user for the last 4 years and was surprised to move to these but they are excellent. Great traction and really nice padding for banging around on HC.

The green is a bit more muted in person and I slapped in some white laces to make the white on the show POP!! The red ones were a bit too much for me but black/green is $$

[Meaghan]

I remember why I don't play social tennis......yet I did today. I always get paired with the weak one in the quartet so you do a lot of running, there's no intensity, lollipop tennis, had the token women at the start, still won tho ha, then i had a newcomer, lost the tiebreaker, then someone who is maybe a 3.0 at best, won, then an old guy, lost tie break....knackered !! So much running to cover, getting battered at the net, no focus cos everyone is messing about, quite a few jokers at club.

Never again, its a good laugh I suppose but I feel like I've done ten rounds with tyson.

[Meaghan]

On the topic of shoes I thought I'd wear my vapors, the AO yellow version, whilst really slipper-like and comfortable and my feet felt fast, I had problems serving (there's something about sturdy shoes that makes me serve well ??).