Donnay racquets, anyone used them?

[Disneos]

So I never hear anyone talk about them and never see anything about them, they seem like really good racquets and I've considered geting one since I've been going through shoulder and elbow problems and want to switch to a more arm friendly racquet ( which in donnays claim to fame ) so just wondering has anyone used donnay or still uses them, what do you think of them?

Opinions on these racquets :
Donnay formula 100
Donnay pro one 16 x 19
Donnay pro one 18 x 20

And if I were to string any of these with a soft multifilament ( tecnifibre x-one biphase 17 ) what would be a good tension range to strong them at to maintain control but also add some power as well.

[sundaypunch]

If you do a "title only" search for Donnay in this forum, you will find several very large threads discussing these. They all have a very soft, muted feel if you are into that kind of thing.

[Disneos]

Originally Posted by sundaypunch

If you do a "title only" search for Donnay in this forum, you will find several very large threads discussing these. They all have a very soft, muted feel if you are into that kind of thing.

Thanks for the heads up, still really new to the site

[Stringers]

Yup! Donnay is actually very popular on here. They make some terrific frames.

[dreamneedle]

I string poly at 25k, used to string Biphase at 27k. Played a while with 1.24 which broke pretty fast, then went for the thicker 1.30.

[Disneos]

Originally Posted by dreamneedle

I string poly at 25k, used to string Biphase at 27k. Played a while with 1.24 which broke pretty fast, then went for the thicker 1.30.

Cool what do you think would be better for me in terms of te 3 racquets I listed? I like to move my opponents around in singles and play all over the court ( eventually getting in close to to net ) and in doubles I mostly serve ad attack from the baseline or go in for serve and volley

[mrtrinh]

I'd look at the pro one. Open or closed pattern is really about preference. Though the formula 100 is suppose to be more arm friendly than babolats, its still a stiff frame.

[sundaypunch]

I have a Formula 100. It's basically a Pure Drive with slightly less power and slightly more control. I have seen a number of people say they found it to be more powerful than the PD but I don't find that to be the case (I have a 2012 PD also).

The main advantage is that it is way, way more comfortable. It is incredibly solid feeling compared to the hollow feeling PD. Much better on the arm as well. I have more confidence with the Formula than the PD, probably because of the feel.

I demo'd the Pro One 18x20. It's a bit heavier than the Formula and more control oriented.

[Hi I'm Ray]

Formula 100 plays like a clone of the APDGT, almost exactly alike except for slight weight differences and the F100 has much better comfort & feel, IMO. As an APDGT owner and user for the last 2.5yrs, between the two I'd easily pick the F100.

Pro 1 16x19 is a player's racket with a lot of pop. It feels and plays much heavier than its specs suggest, IMO. If I didn't know the specs I'd think it was a 12oz players racket.

[dreamneedle]

Originally Posted by Disneos

Cool what do you think would be better for me in terms of te 3 racquets I listed? I like to move my opponents around in singles and play all over the court ( eventually getting in close to to net ) and in doubles I mostly serve ad attack from the baseline or go in for serve and volley

I'm not familiar with Donnay sticks, sorry.
If your shoulder+elbow feel weird, just take one or two weeks off, ice + painkillers, then start doing some stregthening exercises.

[schmolke]

Switched to the P1 16x19 two months ago from the 2012 BLX95. Best decision I've made....Great sticks !

[zapvor]

anybody hit with the older x blue 99?

[Flash]

Originally Posted by zapvor

anybody hit with the older x blue 99?

Zapvor,

I have played with most of the Donnay's since last summer, and currently the X-Blue 99 is my go-to racquet for match play. I have a Silver and Gold as well, mainly using the Gold for doubles. Silver was my preferred singles before I got my hands on a used X-Blue.

Like all Donnay's, it has great stability and plow-through, very controllable, especially on depth where I have had difficulties. It serves well, although not as powerful as Pro One 16x19 or XP Dual. Very solid at net as well.

I have not tried the Platinum, which should be closest to the Blue from the X-Dual series.

[zapvor]

Originally Posted by Flash

Zapvor,

I have played with most of the Donnay's since last summer, and currently the X-Blue 99 is my go-to racquet for match play. I have a Silver and Gold as well, mainly using the Gold for doubles. Silver was my preferred singles before I got my hands on a used X-Blue.

Like all Donnay's, it has great stability and plow-through, very controllable, especially on depth where I have had difficulties. It serves well, although not as powerful as Pro One 16x19 or XP Dual. Very solid at net as well.

I have not tried the Platinum, which should be closest to the Blue from the X-Dual series.

hi-thanks for the note! wow thats awesome. i am trying to track down a blue myself. its tough
how did you find yours

[ChicagoJack]

Wow... seems like quite a few of us have pushed all of our chips in on the Pro One. I've got 9, Mrtrinh has 7, and schmolke had 6! Seems like peeps who like the P1, really like the P1 haha. Best racquet choice I ever made by a wide margin. Has really elevated my game, and my arm loves it. One thing though... I think P1's might actually be so dense due to the solid core construction that they cause a slight ripple in gravity. I know the mass and balance of all of them, and still cannot believe they are 12oz, and 7 points HL with all the trimmings. I have them all at about ~330 sw, but they swing much heavier than that. I think maybe a room full of P1's might cause a black hole in space.

Disneos, String Choice - In my humble opinion, I don't think a soft multi like TF x1 Biphase is a good choice for any of these three sticks you've mentioned. X1 is awesome, I played with it for many years, but with a decent swingspeed, all those frames have quite a bit of pop. You'll need to make the ball dive into the court with top to have it stay in the court, and access to easy spin is a big help. If your arm can stand it, and you don't come to net a bunch, a not so stiff textured poly like Dunlop Black Widow 18 or a slightly stiffer BHBR 17 would be a good choice for baseline bashing. As a doubles specialist I can tell you that textured poly is simply awful for volleys though. The ball just gets stuck in the stringbed, and when it finally slushes out, I have no effing idea where it's going. Gut mains with poly crosses will give you all the access to easy spin from the baseline, but is much easier to volley with for sure. And lastly, if you are not snapping the crosses in TF X1 Biphase 17 in about 6 hours or less, you might not have the swingspeed or topspin to tap into all the qualities of the Pro One, it's not a tweener, and is best utilized with long, fast, developed strokes. I get 20+ hours out of a good gut/poly set up, and its far less expensive in the long run (and better performing) than any of the premium multifils.

Re: X-Blue 99 - Best. Looking. Frame. Ever. And yeah, really hard to find these days. I got mine last summer, but they've been scarce ever since.

Jack

[Disneos]

Originally Posted by ChicagoJack

Wow... seems like quite a few of us have pushed all of our chips in on the Pro One. I've got 9, Mrtrinh has 7, and schmolke had 6! Seems like peeps who like the P1, really like the P1 haha. Best racquet choice I ever made by a wide margin.

Disneos - In my humble opinion, I don't think a soft multi like TF x1 Biphase is a good choice for any of these three sticks you've mentioned. X1 is awesome, I played with it for many years, but with a decent swingspeed, all those frames have quite a bit of pop. You'll need to make the ball dive into the court with top to have it stay in the court, and access to easy spin is a big help. If your arm can stand it, and you don't come to net a bunch, a not so stiff textured poly like Dunlop Black Widow 18 or BHBR 17 would be a good choice for baseline bashing. As a doubles specialist I can tell you that textured poly is simply awful for volleys though. Gut mains with poly crosses will give you all the access to easy spin from the baseline, but is much easier to volley with for sure. And lastly, if you are not snapping the crosses in X1 in about 6 hours or less, you might not have the swingspeed or topspin to tap into all the qualities of the Pro One, it's not a tweener, and is geared more for developed strokes. I get 20+ hours out of a good gut/poly set up, and its far less expensive in the long run (and better performing) than the premium multifils.

Jack

problem is i live in texas and it tends to get humid here quite a bit, i either need a good multi or a soft enough poly because i really cant take the risk or more pain or injury and cant afford anymore downtime, feel like around here a gut string wouldnt last long.

[Flash]

I found my X-Blue through stringforum classifieds

Regarding stringing, I have also settled with gut mains and poly crosses, currently TourBite 17. With tension at 24/22kg, my arm feels fine.
Like many others, I also started testing Donnays because of arm problems.

Actually, when I played for a while with ProOne, I used a multi, could have been X1, maybe I need to string one with gut/TB and give it a try.

[ChicagoJack]

Originally Posted by Disneos

problem is i live in texas and it tends to get humid here quite a bit, i either need a good multi or a soft enough poly because i really cant take the risk or more pain or injury and cant afford anymore downtime, feel like around here a gut string wouldnt last long.

Hi Disneos -

Yeah cool. I live in Chicago burbs , and I know from humid ha ha. I stayed away from Gut/Poly for a very long time, out of a fear that it wouldn't last long, or be too expensive. Turns out I was really, really wrong.

2 Frames with TF X1 Biphase = ($17.00 x 2) = $34.00
2 Frames with Babolat Tonic + Polyfibre HiTec = (33+9) = $42.00

I snap X1 at about 6 or so hours of singles. I've never snapped my gut mains, but will restring my whole bed at around 24 hours on a gut/poly setup. So for 8 bucks more, you could have something that lasts 4 times longer. And that's just looking at the cost benefits, not even mentioning how much better it plays.

Not trying talk you into something that will take you backwards in terms of arm safety, but there is quite a range in poly stiffness, anywhere from 160's - mid 300's lbs per sq. in. I'm 95% recovered from my 1st ever case of TE, and found that Gut with a soft poly works for me. I have a list of the softer polys in the string section here

Jack

[ChicagoJack]

deleted post, misread a comment.

[Mister drool]

and how about the gold 99? anyone can give some light has to what other frame its plays close too?

I'm in the market for a bigger head frame than my redondos mid, and have been looking closely to the gold 99, head youtek ig speed 16x19, and the prince tour 16x18... cant tell which one could be a better fit, i have only tried the head, and it was ok, i liked it. It was a cannon of a raqcquet compared to the redondos, plow was fine, has the swingwheight is in the 320 for both racquets, but of course i felt the stiffness of the head compared to the buttery feeling of the kennex... how does the gold99 compares?