My Dunlop Bio 400 Tour review

[jonahnaturals]

Has anyone tried this frame with a full bed of synthetic gut or multi at around mid-tension? I forgot to ask for mine unstrung, so it came with Wilson synthetic gut. Curious to know if anyone has tried this or a similar setup.

I added black electrical tape and lead tape plus an overgrip as per Ray's guidelines, but haven't had a chance to hit yet because I'm nursing a hip strain.

Thanks.

[Shangri La]

Originally Posted by jonahnaturals

Has anyone tried this frame with a full bed of synthetic gut or multi at around mid-tension? I forgot to ask for mine unstrung, so it came with Wilson synthetic gut. Curious to know if anyone has tried this or a similar setup.

I added black electrical tape and lead tape plus an overgrip as per Ray's guidelines, but haven't had a chance to hit yet because I'm nursing a hip strain.

Thanks.

The demo I hit with from TW was strung with Dunlop silk 1.3 at mid +2 lbs. It hit very nicely when broken in. Comfortable, very good ball feedback, and good ball pocketing.

[jonahnaturals]

Originally Posted by Shangri La

The demo I hit with from TW was strung with Dunlop silk 1.3 at mid +2 lbs. It hit very nicely when broken in. Comfortable, very good ball feedback, and good ball pocketing.

Thanks, I appreciate the feedback.

[jonahnaturals]

In comparing the Dunlop Bio 400 Tour to my Organic 8 315, the head size of the 400 Tour is noticeably smaller.

Haven't had a chance to play a match with it yet, but in hitting some volleys with my son, I noticed right away the the 400 Tour is more comfortable and maneuverable than the Organix 8 315.

Even with lead tape at 3 and 9, I wonder if the 400 Tour can match the power of the X8 315. Should be an interesting test.

[jonahnaturals]

Had a solid two-hour match with the Dunlop 400 Tour last night. About 10 grams of lead in the hoop centered at 3 and 9, plus an overgrip and the dampener that came with the frame. Poly @ 55 on a crank machine, which some tell me is more like 51ish compared to an electronic or drop weight machine.

Even with the lead, it is not as head heavy as the Organix 8 315, so it doesn't bring the same amount of power, in my experience. But it does offer good overall power from all areas of the court.

Plenty of juice for rally balls - I didn't have to work too hard to keep the ball deep.

I typically find that a dense string pattern and a frame with more mass in the hoop are necessary for penetrating slices, but the Dunlop 400 Tour was more than adequate in producing quality slices.

Kick and slice serves have good bite off the string bed and hop off the court.

But I did notice that on flat serves, even when struck as well as I can strike them, I couldn't generate the blistering pace that's more possible with frames that have more mass in the hoop.

I am thinking that I'll try replacing the Gecko-inspired replacement grip with a leather grip - maybe this will provide more mass for plow through on flat serves?

If that doesn't give me the pace that I am looking for on my first serve, I may try a second layer of lead tape at 3 and 9.

Overall, I enjoyed the test. I won my match against a quality player, but I can't say that I was blown away. Maybe a leather grip will change my mind.

[neverstopplaying]

Good to see that it's been a good hit for you. I'm really surprised about the 1st serve.

My 1st has never been better, but I am also working on it with a great pro this year.

Also, one of our league players has a pro-speed 1st serve and when he switched to the 400T his serves quickly became unreturnable.

I hope you work it out. BTW we both play with leather grips.

[jonahnaturals]

Originally Posted by neverstopplaying

Good to see that it's been a good hit for you. I'm really surprised about the 1st serve.

My 1st has never been better, but I am also working on it with a great pro this year.

Also, one of our league players has a pro-speed 1st serve and when he switched to the 400T his serves quickly became unreturnable.

I hope you work it out. BTW we both play with leather grips.

Hey, thanks. I should have noted that a chronic shoulder injury that I've been working at overcoming has depleted some of my shoulder action, so I've been relying more on racquet head mass than great shoulder action to generate pace on my first serve.

Have already applied the leather grip and looking forward to round two.

[jonahnaturals]

So I've done some tinkering and I've found a setup that is feeling really good.

In addition to the four six-inch strips of lead tape at 3 and 9, I've added two six-inch strips centered at 12, and six of these strips on the handle. I've replaced the gecko dunlop grip with a better synthetic grip from Golden Set, and I use one overgrip on top of this.

The frame still feels really maneuverable and it provides solid easy power from all areas of the court, plus more control than frames that are 16 by 18 offer.

Plus, it's a very comfortable frame - no jarring shocks to the arm at all, and no soreness even after a heavy hit.

[jonahnaturals]

I forgot my Dunlop 400 Tour the other day so ended up playing with my Organix 8 315. The X8 315 brings noticeably more power on all strokes - just can't beat that extra mass in the head. With that said, I find that the 400 Tour offers more touch and comfort, and with lead at 3, 9, and 12 and in the handle, it definitely provides enough easy power to suit me.

[neverstopplaying]

Originally Posted by jonahnaturals

I forgot my Dunlop 400 Tour the other day so ended up playing with my Organix 8 315. The X8 315 brings noticeably more power on all strokes - just can't beat that extra mass in the head. With that said, I find that the 400 Tour offers more touch and comfort, and with lead at 3, 9, and 12 and in the handle, it definitely provides enough easy power to suit me.

Would you still consider the 400T a tweener? IMO it is, but it offers me more control than any other tweener that I've tried. I've never been able to tame the power of the others, and often found them too stiff.

[jonahnaturals]

Originally Posted by neverstopplaying

Would you still consider the 400T a tweener? IMO it is, but it offers me more control than any other tweener that I've tried. I've never been able to tame the power of the others, and often found them too stiff.

I'm not sure about the tweener classification, but I do feel that the 400T offers more control than the X8 315, PB V1, and the Prince O3 White, all frames that I have tried.

I would say that with extra mass in the head and grip, the 400T offers the same amount of control as the Youtek Prestige Pro, but with more easy power.

Serve is really dialed in now, good pace on first serves and nice hop on kickers.

Have two in my bag now.

[canadad]

I got one of these and have only hit with it once. So far it has been a pleasant surprise. Pretty powerful, comfortable and easy to swing. I have only used it in stock form with TF Blackcode mains 57 and TF NRG2 at 55 in the crosses. I have only played doubles so far.

Groundstrokes were easy. I was hittting the ball deep, consistently and with good spin. Crazy pace and pound high balls was fun. So, pretty pleased but I have not hit that many groundstrokes because it was doubles.

Serving was fairly comfortable and I was crushing the ball on flats. Slice serves were good and kickers sat up a bit, with not as much pace and directional control as I would have wanted. I paid for a few sitters.

Volleying was okay, I was not super confident. Half-volleys and pick-ups were terrible. I think I missed every pick-up, quite embarrassing. Lack of weight was very apparent for me here.

Serve returns were okay, but I lacked confidence. I dumped a few backhands into the net.

I will add weight for my next hit some time this next week. I also hope I am not forced to play doubles this time.

[un6a]

From my experience 400 Tour have sufficient torsional stability (don't need lead at 3&9), but higher hoop is dead and unstable. So lead at 12 worked best for me.

[c_naz]

I've added another replacement grip on top of the gecko grip
put (4) 4inch lead starting at 9 and 3 and (2) 4inch lead at 12

This thing swings like a dream, no more shoulder pain after playing and yet very mobile.

I'd say i'm up to 12.6 oz and about 12pts headlight...
By the way, this replaced my 2012 babolat pure drive plus....

[neverstopplaying]

Glad to see that more are liking this stick. I used to continually try out new racquets but Im not even curious any more. comfort - power - control.

[SteveI]

Hi,

Just picked up 2 of these. With one overgrip and vibration dampener, frames are 12.1 oz and 9 points HL. This frame plays like a dream. The upper loop does not provide power to be sure.. but I tend to hit lower in the stringbed. Super easy to swing... easy to get into position off the ground and at the net. I think when I get a softer set-up this less at a lower tension. The string bed will open up. The ones I have are RPM 58/ Bab Hurr 60. Pretty stiff but with great spin and control. I know my regular setup will provide a softer and open stringbed. I love these frames. Hard to miss the court. Wonderful topspin and slice and I feel the frame is quite stable enough for my level. No one has pushed me around so far. Quite happy... Have not added lead.. I will go for that after I test my frames with my own setup. I am impressed and I love the PJ.....cool!!