Diary of a Racketaholic

[mad dog1]

Originally Posted by PED

Last q: did MD hit with both the Blade and the Steam and what was the ball like from him.

MD did indeed set foot on the steamy court w/ both sticks. due to the balance and higher SW, the Blade was too sluggish for me. late on contact resulted in some balls sailing on me. when i hit it right, i thought it hit a heavy ball with driving spin - not looping spin. w/ my swing, i normally hit more driving spin w/ tighter patterns. also the spin wasn't the funky unpredictable type of sidespin + topspin that i can generate w/ the BC20 though - the spin action was just 2D. i liked the feel of the Blade, but just couldn't handle the SW over time.

with the Steam, a few shots kicked up surprising Gads, but for the most part, we were able to return the balls off the Steam string beds without making much adjustment. his shots off his pro stock sticks give me more trouble than the Steam shots and based on watching Gads returning my shots, i believe the Steam struck balls were easier for him than the BC20 struck balls.

[PED]

^^Excellent, thanks MD. The steam takes some time to adjust to. Here now in week 2, I've noticed I'm finally picking up on the subtleties of making it work.

[JackB1]

Originally Posted by PED

^^Excellent, thanks MD. The steam takes some time to adjust to. Here now in week 2, I've noticed I'm finally picking up on the subtleties of making it work.

Very true. I fear too many give up on it after a few minutes of hitting balls too high and long. I think the Steam will work for many, but you have to be willing to give it an adjustment period. It feels like I can aim my slide backhand about halfway up the net and it will still go over the net by a few inches and be very difficult to handle. You can hit some very nasty slices with this thing!

[mad dog1]

Originally Posted by PED

^^Excellent, thanks MD. The steam takes some time to adjust to. Here now in week 2, I've noticed I'm finally picking up on the subtleties of making it work.

No probs...Gads and I were talking about the same thing - hitting with it for an extended period to adjust to. our BIG concern was string life. after less than 60 mins of hitting, the mains on both demo sticks were all a mess. i pulled on the center mains at the throat and they were so loose that if felt like there was literally no tension on them. i'd like to restring one myself to see if the JayCee method will help to extend the string life and put even more action on the ball. i came away after 60 mins with a good impression. it's a nice feeling stick. definitely hits some nasty slices, but so does the BC20 and Gadsy w/ his TGKs. there's no way regardless of how much time i spend with it that it'll be a game changer for me. no question if i spent more time with it, i'd would be able to hit better, but the same goes with any stick. not sure i want to spend $$ and 2 months to gain a bit here but lose a bit there.

[Power Player]

I wouldn't...Id be spending way too much $$$$$$$$ on strings, but I already generate enough spin. My addiction is to laser control and accuracy, that driving spin you were talking about is what wins matches for me IMO.

If I played my buddy on clay with the steam he would get to everything. Oh wait, I did, and he did...lol.

[JGads]

Originally Posted by PED

I used to have an old skool Pure storm team back in 07. Great stick and lots of fun.

Last q: did MD hit with both the Blade and the Steam and what was the ball like from him. I remember you said he was deadly effective with the APD 2013.

Had a nice talk with the modfather out at TW today and he said ALOT of the guys who work there are steaming now, it's a big hit.

Originally Posted by mad dog1

MD did indeed set foot on the steamy court w/ both sticks. due to the balance and higher SW, the Blade was too sluggish for me. late on contact resulted in some balls sailing on me. when i hit it right, i thought it hit a heavy ball with driving spin - not looping spin. w/ my swing, i normally hit more driving spin w/ tighter patterns. also the spin wasn't the funky unpredictable type of sidespin + topspin that i can generate w/ the BC20 though - the spin action was just 2D. i liked the feel of the Blade, but just couldn't handle the SW over time.

with the Steam, a few shots kicked up surprising Gads, but for the most part, we were able to return the balls off the Steam string beds without making much adjustment. his shots off his pro stock sticks give me more trouble than the Steam shots and based on watching Gads returning my shots, i believe the Steam struck balls were easier for him than the BC20 struck balls.

Pretty much answered it there. MD and the BC20 are 'tuned' perfectly together on groundstrokes. He hits consistently better with that frame and probably the PS85. He also has leather and lead on his 20, so it's a 12-plus ounce stick and something he's far more used to than the 11.3-11.6 Steams we hit last night. The BC20 remains a shared GoatStick for both MD and I - we absolutely think the WORLD of it on groundstrokes, it's just the serve and the volley consistency that we constantly struggle with.

The Steam to me is very much a tweener version of the BC20. Spin monsters made for full poly. Do not know how the Steam would compare on serve and volleys just yet, or if the Steam would get increasingly more steamy or less steamy with added lead.

Going up against a giant hitter of the ball tonight so there's part of me that feels the need to add a touch more lead, now at 3 and 9, to the one already leaded stick to get it up to about 11.9 for this eve (only have about a 1.5 grams at 12 plus OG now), but there's also something to be said for the maneuverability of the stick - because I think the maneuverability plus the pattern opens up the best part of the stick, which is the ability to open up the court with angled dippers and such.

[JGads]

PED, so Tour Bite Soft is mush? Needless to say, that's disappointing. I was hoping for the same string in a softer form to be able to put into stiffer/crisper sticks that regular TB can get 'wiry' in. It's funny how different TB can feel depending on the stick. Thankfully, in Zeus, it feels great.

Will try out two new string setups next week in my standard length Rads: Kirschbaum Super Smash and also Head Sonic Pro Edge.

[PED]

Not mushy per say but not as crisp and biting as normal tb is. Not a bad string but not in the same league as tb.

It's like low fat foods, you take the good stuff out and it's tastes like.......well you know

[corners]

Originally Posted by JackB1

I have zero interest in any of the new TF sticks. Very strage specs.....over 11.5 oz strung with swingweight around 300??? Seems like all the weigh will be near the middle or "depolarized", which I don't really care for.

They are not meant to be played stock anymore than the Pure Storm Ltd. is, but some people make that mistake too.

[JGads]

Steamy night on the left coast.

Day 2 impressions: serves bombs. And was shocked at the accuracy, which made no sense to me. Several aces up the T, and one ball that skidded so oddly it garnered a whiff. Second serves a bit tricky. Didn't feel as 'sharp' and 'tuned' as my other frames. Sloppier. ... Groundie slices are spectacular. Forehands do this float and drop thing... My frames and the other demos drive the ball faster off the face, ball is a bit heavier, stay lower. The Steam strikes me as a grinder's dream stick though. ... Surprisingly, I did enough things well to sneak out a 6-4 set win against a 5.0-5.5er who bests me about 8 out of 10 sets we play. He uncharacteristicslly shanked the ball several times.

Second set, used a mix of the leaded Pure Storm Team and Blade. Lost 7-5 but played extremely well with both frames. Everyone knows about the Blade, big flat ball, feel on this one much improved. The sleeper for me is the much less popular Storm Team, leaded up to about 11.7. Thoroughly impressed. It's almost Pure Storm Limited weight but more forgiving and hits big and accurate serves. Always liked the Storm series. Tour was too clunky for me though and the the Limited was amazing but .. Limited. This one cracks em easily and accurately, and the soft-crisp feel is there.

Another positive night for all demos. Can see why PP and Klem love the Blade, why the Steam is a hit among some but not all. For what it's worth, my buddy hit the Steam after we finished set play and he absolutely loved rallying with it, may demo it himself as he's been wanting to get something more forgiving than his Prestige Mid, even though from my perspective, he absolutely goats with that thing, as I've received many beatings and he made it to the finals of a 5.0 league twice with it.

[Hi I'm Ray]

Originally Posted by JGads

Steamy night on the left coast.

Day 2 impressions: serves bombs. And was shocked at the accuracy, which made no sense to me. Several aces up the T, and one ball that skidded so oddly it garnered a whiff. Second serves a bit tricky. Didn't feel as 'sharp' and 'tuned' as my other frames. Sloppier. ... Groundie slices are spectacular. Forehands do this float and drop thing... My frames and the other demos drive the ball faster off the face, ball is a bit heavier, stay lower. The Steam strikes me as a grinder's dream stick though. ... Surprisingly, I did enough things well to sneak out a 6-4 set win against a 5.0-5.5er who bests me about 8 out of 10 sets we play. He uncharacteristicslly shanked the ball several times.

Second set, used a mix of the leaded Pure Storm Team and Blade. Lost 7-5 but played extremely well with both frames. Everyone knows about the Blade, big flat ball, feel on this one much improved. The sleeper for me is the much less popular Storm Team, leaded up to about 11.7. Thoroughly impressed. It's almost Pure Storm Limited weight but more forgiving and hits big and accurate serves. Always liked the Storm series. Tour was too clunky for me though and the the Limited was amazing but .. Limited. This one cracks em easily and accurately, and the soft-crisp feel is there.

Another positive night for all demos. Can see why PP and Klem love the Blade, why the Steam is a hit among some but not all. For what it's worth, my buddy hit the Steam after we finished set play and he absolutely loved rallying with it, may demo it himself as he's been wanting to get something more forgiving than his Prestige Mid, even though from my perspective, he absolutely goats with that thing, as I've received many beatings and he made it to the finals of a 5.0 league twice with it.

What would you say is the difference between the Pure Storm and the Team version in play?

[JGads]

Originally Posted by Hi I'm Ray

What would you say is the difference between the Pure Storm and the Team version, other than the .3oz?

Hit with the regular pure storm just once and it left a very neutral feeling with me. No big likes or dislikes about the ball. No real strengths or glaring weaknesses. Preferred the crisper and slightly bigger power of similar frames like the MG radical or the KBlade 98, my old frame. Went with the Steam Team because a) the pro at this Palm Springs club just hit any shot in the book with one that was leaded up, and he touted the frame after, and b) when I checked out the specs there are subtle differences that I thought might make this one 'come alive' a bit more with some lead: bigger head size (100 sq inch to the Limited's 95 and the Pure Storm's 9, and a slightly thicker beam width. Figured if I weighed this thing up, it could be nice. Happy to say my hypothesis seems correct. This thing is crisp but so pleasant, swings effortlessly at 11.7, and the serve is SO much cleaner and easier than my Pure Storm Ltd experience, when I felt like if I didn't dime it dead center, the ball just died. Even with various lead tweaks as well.

And: the team still has a very nice 16/20 pattern that offers much directional control. Just really impressed by this sleeper. And I'm even hitting a demo that has a 1/2 grip, which is much too big for my taste in the chunky Bab grip, but still digging it nonetheless.

[Hi I'm Ray]

^^ Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I went back saw the slight headsize and stiffness differences and it does look more interesting to me than the standard, the 11.7oz spec you weighted it to caught my attention as well. I've hit w/most of the rackets in the tweener range where now I'm not sure what else there is left to try that sounds interesting. Currently playing with an APDGT w/lead & leather around 11.7oz, 340 SW. On one hand I like firmer, lower powered stringbeds in the APDGT and really enjoy the older BLX Blade, and going in the other direction something about the PDR2012 made me want to swing harder and play more aggressively, w/better than usual consistency too. Have any suggestions based on that? Here's a link to the frames I've already tried, edited w/the frames I liked best on top: http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showp...4&postcount=36

[JGads]

Originally Posted by Hi I'm Ray

^^ Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I went back saw the slight headsize and stiffness differences and it does look more interesting to me than the standard, the 11.7oz spec you weighted it to caught my attention as well. I'm looking for a frame to fill the last spot in the demo box. I've hit w/most of the rackets in the tweener range where now I'm not sure what else there is left to try that sounds interesting. Currently playing with an APDGT w/lead & leather around 11.7oz, 340 SW. On one hand I like firmer, lower powered stringbeds in the APDGT and really enjoy the older BLX Blade, and going in the other direction I was swinging harder and playing more aggressively with a PDR. Have any suggestions based on that? I'm going to dig up a link the frames I've already tried.

Depends what you're looking for. The Storm Team is softer and definitely more low powered than all three of those sticks. If you really dig those frames (esp the Babs) more than others, not sure if you'd like this one. Softer feel, more control, which is a combo I dig, while I've never gotten along with the too-stiff, too-powerful for me Pure Drive and APD.

[Hi I'm Ray]

^^ Okay, thanks. I didn't think the PS Team would be lower powered than the Blade... still thinking of trying it out though.

Edit: Tried the PDR back in the summer and I just started liking firmer string beds and dense patterns recently, so I'm open to suggestions.

RH's,

I'm looking for a frame to fill the last spot in the demo box. See my post above.

Steam 99s is already in the demo,
APD2013 & VCore 100 Xi are out

[Ross K]

Steamy night on the left coast.

Day 2 impressions: serves bombs. And was shocked at the accuracy, which made no sense to me. Several aces up the T, and one ball that skidded so oddly it garnered a whiff. Second serves a bit tricky. Didn't feel as 'sharp' and 'tuned' as my other frames. Sloppier. ... Groundie slices are spectacular. Forehands do this float and drop thing... My frames and the other demos drive the ball faster off the face, ball is a bit heavier, stay lower. The Steam strikes me as a grinder's dream stick though. ... Surprisingly, I did enough things well to sneak out a 6-4 set win against a 5.0-5.5er who bests me about 8 out of 10 sets we play. He uncharacteristicslly shanked the ball several times.

It's sounding good there, JG. Agree re grinder's dream stick comment. Playing later, so look forward to better understanding this racket.

Steam 99s is already in the demo,

Post up your thoughts when you do, Ray. Curious to see what you make of it as we've liked some pretty similar sticks previously.


Boricua,

I would've thought the 99s would be your kind of thing...?

[Boricua]

Originally Posted by Ross K

It's sounding good there, JG. Agree re grinder's dream stick comment. Playing later, so look forward to better understanding this racket.



Post up your thoughts when you do, Ray. Curious to see what you make of it as we've liked some pretty similar sticks previously.


Boricua,

I would've thought the 99s would be your kind of thing...?

Im looking to get more control, drive the ball more and still get spin. The VCORE 97 310 has a thin frame, not to heavy and the 16 x 20 string pattern and 98 head will give be more control. I also like the feel and big sweetpot that Yonex provides.
If I had a chance to demo the 99 I would, but my mind is set on the 97 in order to up my game to the level it had when I used the RDIS MP.

[mikeler]

Grinder's stick huh? Interesting...

[Power Player]

Gads, awesome work on digging up a real sleeper in the Pure Storm Team. As we know in this thread, the PSTGT is one of my all time favorites, and so I have to say this is very impressive stuff.

The question is what the SW is - where did you put the lead?

Blades at 339 are a go. They still swing rather light so I do not notice much of a difference except more plow. The stick I am using has 4 grams in the handle and 2 at the tip. I will try the other with 6 grams in the handle, 2 at the tip next. SWs are close to 340.

Unfortunately my right knee has decided to twinge in pain sometimes when I land from a split step. It was really bugging me for a bit last night and I could not move that well. It seems like it is dependent on the angle of my foot when I land. Any idea what that may be, or is it just the cold weather?

Knee sleeves or brace suggestions are welcome

Also, Gads. Not sure if you ever Juiced, but the Juice Pro sounds so much like your pro stocks. XL length, close to 12 ounces, high SW close to 340. Plus it is the 16x20 pattern, which as we know is a potential Holic Goat since half of us can not make up our minds anymore on anything..lol.

All I will say is that my friend has great taste in classic sticks, and once he demoed the JP he was sold and has not looked back.

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by Power Player

Gads, awesome work on digging up a real sleeper in the Pure Storm Team. As we know in this thread, the PSTGT is one of my all time favorites, and so I have to say this is very impressive stuff.

The question is what the SW is - where did you put the lead?

Blades at 339 are a go. They still swing rather light so I do not notice much of a difference except more plow. The stick I am using has 4 grams in the handle and 2 at the tip. I will try the other with 6 grams in the handle, 2 at the tip next. SWs are close to 340.

Unfortunately my right knee has decided to twinge in pain sometimes when I land from a split step. It was really bugging me for a bit last night and I could not move that well. It seems like it is dependent on the angle of my foot when I land. Any idea what that may be, or is it just the cold weather?

Knee sleeves or brace suggestions are welcome

Also, Gads. Not sure if you ever Juiced, but the Juice Pro sounds so much like your pro stocks. XL length, close to 12 ounces, high SW close to 340. Plus it is the 16x20 pattern, which as we know is a potential Holic Goat since half of us can not make up our minds anymore on anything..lol.

All I will say is that my friend has great taste in classic sticks, and once he demoed the JP he was sold and has not looked back.

Perhaps I simply chose to look over at the wrong moments last night, but I saw you putting a lot of pressure on that right knee with your weight moving the wrong way on that 2 hander. Get your body into that sucker PP!