3 demos: Pro One, Radical Pro, PS95Blx

[Top Jimmy]

Not going to go extremely in depth and detailed but got to play with these sticks last night(some in match, some post match hitting.)

Current racket is a Dunlop 4d 200 Tour. Love it, but sooooo heavy. After a 4 or 5 match tournament over the weekend i was developing a dead arm days and weeks after. Looking for same type of racket, just more head light.

Donnay Pro One 97 16x19 - Spent the most time with this one. The best serving racket I've ever used. I could generate incredible racket head speed and spin. Volleys were amazing, something that was lacking with my Dunlop due to sluggishness. But I could not hit any ground strokes. I held serve effortlessly because i could end the points quick but I would get 1 out of 4 return of serves back. Possibly timing problem since much lighter feeling than Dunlop, definitely a much different feel at contact.


Head Radical Pro - Ground strokes improved greatly when I switched mid match, more like my Dunlop. Felt more forgiving on off-center hits compared to the Pro One. Serves lost a few MPH due to the more even balance, volleys were very solid. Still HATE the Head pallet shape. Can't find my forehand grip.

Wilson PS95 - Feels like a flimsy toy.....but it actually hits very nice. Love the Wilson pallet shape so felt comfortable. The demo had a pretty loose string job so I'd tighten it up a bit. Felt solid enough in all areas, basically feels like a Wilson to me: head light, kind of dead felling.


So after struggling to win the first set with the Donnay because i could not return serve (held most service games very easily) I switched to the Head. Returns started going in but then my serve lost a little snap and service games became more difficult but still went up 3-0. At that point i thought I need to compare my Dunlop and see if my game is off or it's the rackets.

Well, first return of serve with Dunlop, winner. Second return, winner. Rally, winner. Broke at love. Won the set 6-0.

You can really thump balls with my Dunlop, just the weight, flex, everything seems to work for my swing. I just can't see myself playing with this heavy racket forever with the way i swing. Feeling kind of screwed.

[rlau]

Any new racquet will take some adjustment time to get dialed in. And you can always mod the frame to your liking. Don't know about the Head, but the PS BLX 6.1 95 and Donnay P1 16x19 both require some modding, IMHO.

I like the Donnay best with the 10 gram buttcap and 3 grams @ 12. Also, it needs a decent poly to get to most out of the frame. It's a monster on serve, very solid on volleys and very spinny and powerful on groundstrokes. A really nice frame, in my experience. Perhaps you should give it some more time.

[Fed Kennedy]

Originally Posted by Top Jimmy

Not going to go extremely in depth and detailed but got to play with these sticks last night(some in match, some post match hitting.)

Current racket is a Dunlop 4d 200 Tour. Love it, but sooooo heavy. After a 4 or 5 match tournament over the weekend i was developing a dead arm days and weeks after. Looking for same type of racket, just more head light.

Donnay Pro One 97 16x19 - Spent the most time with this one. The best serving racket I've ever used. I could generate incredible racket head speed and spin. Volleys were amazing, something that was lacking with my Dunlop due to sluggishness. But I could not hit any ground strokes. I held serve effortlessly because i could end the points quick but I would get 1 out of 4 return of serves back. Possibly timing problem since much lighter feeling than Dunlop, definitely a much different feel at contact.


Head Radical Pro - Ground strokes improved greatly when I switched mid match, more like my Dunlop. Felt more forgiving on off-center hits compared to the Pro One. Serves lost a few MPH due to the more even balance, volleys were very solid. Still HATE the Head pallet shape. Can't find my forehand grip.

Wilson PS95 - Feels like a flimsy toy.....but it actually hits very nice. Love the Wilson pallet shape so felt comfortable. The demo had a pretty loose string job so I'd tighten it up a bit. Felt solid enough in all areas, basically feels like a Wilson to me: head light, kind of dead felling.


So after struggling to win the first set with the Donnay because i could not return serve (held most service games very easily) I switched to the Head. Returns started going in but then my serve lost a little snap and service games became more difficult but still went up 3-0. At that point i thought I need to compare my Dunlop and see if my game is off or it's the rackets.

Well, first return of serve with Dunlop, winner. Second return, winner. Rally, winner. Broke at love. Won the set 6-0.

You can really thump balls with my Dunlop, just the weight, flex, everything seems to work for my swing. I just can't see myself playing with this heavy racket forever with the way i swing. Feeling kind of screwed.

I have tried all three of these sticks and had the exact same experiece.

[BHiC]

If the 200T is a little too heavy, you could try the 200 light with some lead. The specs are almost identical, except for the weight. You could then customize the racquet to your ideal weight.

[Top Jimmy]

Originally Posted by Fed Kennedy

I have tried all three of these sticks and had the exact same experiece.

You must be a very good and intelligent player and person not to mention probably very handsome also.

[Top Jimmy]

Originally Posted by rlau

Any new racquet will take some adjustment time to get dialed in. And you can always mod the frame to your liking. Don't know about the Head, but the PS BLX 6.1 95 and Donnay P1 16x19 both require some modding, IMHO.

I like the Donnay best with the 10 gram buttcap and 3 grams @ 12. Also, it needs a decent poly to get to most out of the frame. It's a monster on serve, very solid on volleys and very spinny and powerful on groundstrokes. A really nice frame, in my experience. Perhaps you should give it some more time.

Oh, I completely forgot about the customization kits and weighted butt caps. I almost just need to buy one and go for it, see if it works out.

The only other rackets that interested me were the Technifibre TFlight 320 and Volkl Powerbridge 10 mid.

[KarmaKorps]

Please keep us posted. I've been playing with the 4D 200 Tour on and off for well over a year, and have recently tried the 2012 PDR+ with a mix of success.

I've been reading up on the Donnay Pro 1, and have been meaning to demo it along with the IG Rad Pro.

[JGads]

Really similar to my experiences with those three sticks as well. Donnay served bombs but trajectory on groundies seemed so fluffy and high unless I hit the ball absolutely square (and I rarely do). I love the IG Rad Pro but after an extensive tryout, honeymoon faded and frame got to be a bit sluggish the more I played with it. Still, great frame.

PS95, I have to say, I still carry in my bag as a project stick for several weeks now and I've grown to really dig it for what it is: a pure feel stick that bombs serves easily (not sure why: PWS+box beam+high twistweight?) but does not bomb groundies easily. There's an element of the latter I've grown to appreciate, as I get that Pure Storm Limited-type confidence where I absolutely let go and hit out like a madman, and I'm just about positive the ball is going to stay in the court. The game can get pretty fun when you're able to do that, and have actually been having some very good results on court with this frame, being in that mode. Mine's weighted up to 12.4 but doesn't feel like that at all. Not saying the PS95 is my end-all stick, but after initially being disappointed in it because I was hoping it was more of an all-around thumper, I've now grown to actually appreciate it once I accepted what it can and can't do.

The 200 Tour, never tried it, specs just seem far too beastly for me.

[Cfidave]

If you add a TW leather grip you will end up with a very nice setup on the pro one. Mine came in at 12 1/4 oz and 6 pts. HL with overgrip and damper. No additional lead tape was needed IMO. The racquet plays so much better in all regards. Check the for sale section.

[Fed Kennedy]

Originally Posted by Top Jimmy

You must be a very good and intelligent player and person not to mention probably very handsome also.

Thats high praise.

[Top Jimmy]

Hit again with a group of: Pro One, Radical Pro, PS95BLX, and the BB Melbourne.

IG Radical Pro: Most like my Dunlop 4d 200 Tour due to more even weighting. Great on ground strokes, nice on serves, but still felt a little sluggish since I'm trying to find a racket more headlight and less tiring on my arm. As I always say, Head grip shape sucks. I normally use a 4 1/4 size with an overgrip so i figure a 4 3/8 with no overgrip would be the same on demo's but this 3/8's felt big. No fun when you can't find your forehand grip.

Pro One: I know they are not close to the same racket but i get the same feeling with the P1 as i did with my PS85 when serving and volleying. Spinning serves to the corners, then carving volley's were ever I want them. My buddy was laughing at some of the volleys I hit.

The odd thing is the specs between the Radical Pro and Pro One are not that different but one feels light and manuverable the other slower and heavy.

Wilson PS95 blx: Easiest for me to get used to. Nice Wilson headlight balance, but almost to light that I get whippy with it. Feels cheap and flimsy but it's not like it was twisting in my hand or anything either, feels cheap but doesn't play cheap if that makes sense.. The demo from TW was strung at something like 37 pounds so how the hell am I supposed to get a realistic meassure of the racket.

BB Melbourne is on sale so I had one of these shipped too. Grip was too square and the string bed felt a little too trampoliney. But it felt very solid, good all court racket, with a nice balance and weight. Basically if you could combine the PS and this, I'd be a happy camper: 95 sq, 12oz, 16x19, 7 pt hl, box beam, wilson grip pallet, and wilson feel.

Ideally I'd like to try a Pro One with one of the weighted butt caps or a leaded-up PS95.

[Sreeram]

I demoed Rad pro and pro one together. I hit well with pro one but felt it swing slugish compared to Rad pro. Rad pro, though has a different balance it swings light, especially on Windshield FH. I think flat hit is little tough to swing though. There was a tight competition between the two and I know which ever I choose i will miss the other. I ended up choosing Rad pro because I played the MG rad pro a year back and had good success with it and also rad pro is promoted by my fav player! Also I had a gold 99 that had similar feel to Pro one so feel wise I was used to pro one but IG rad pro had a unique feel that I wanted to experience more to see what it adds to my game.

[ka1m1ng]

i love my IG radical pro, the more i hit with it. takes a little transition time.

[Top Jimmy]

Man, just realized what the Donnay P1 reminded me of. I was going through my bags and forgot i had used a Blade 93 for a little while. They feel somewhat similar to me, looks somewhat similar, and played somwhat similar.

The P1 has a more open string pattern obviously and is more forgiving.