HEAD vs Babolat frames

[martini1]

The general public only cares about what the #1 player uses and who wins more majors playing with what stick.

So at the moment Babo is doing very well. And with even more juniors coming up and with Babo sticks I'd say Babo will grow larger and more powerful in the next generation.

[tvp900]

Originally Posted by martini1

The general public only cares about what the #1 player uses and who wins more majors playing with what stick.

So at the moment Babo is doing very well. And with even more juniors coming up and with Babo sticks I'd say Babo will grow larger and more powerful in the next generation.

That's exactly right. I remember in 2003 and 2004 our club sold so many Pure Drives because that's what the number 1 American was using. Then when Federer came to power, all the same kids that bought Drives were switching to the 95 version of Fed's stick. Now that Rafa is assuming power, his sticks are becoming popular.

[Live Wire VS]

Originally Posted by tvp900

all the same kids that bought Drives were switching to the 95 version of Fed's stick.

I wonder how that turned out considering how different the 2 racquets are in terms of sweetspot placements and sizes.

[tvp900]

Originally Posted by Live Wire VS

I wonder how that turned out considering how different the 2 racquets are in terms of sweetspot placements and sizes.

hit and miss. the younger and less experienced ones kinda fell apart, while the older ones wound up playing better. Now, most of them are switching to the Nadal frame against my wishes

[Live Wire VS]

Originally Posted by tvp900

hit and miss. the younger and less experienced ones kinda fell apart, while the older ones wound up playing better. Now, most of them are switching to the Nadal frame against my wishes

It must've been something to do with the sweetspot because when I started, I used a Prince Graphite Comp 90 racquet and had used it for many years until my friends pressured me to get a new racquet. But then I learned that my cousin has a Wilson Pro Staff 6.1 Classic 95, so I switched to that and my game fell apart. I seriously thought that it was because of the sweetspot placement; Wilson have them in the bottom half of the racquet, while Prince have them towards the upper half of the racquet. Right now, I'm using the 2nd Generation Aeropro Drive because that's the only racquet that has a comparable sweetspot placement as my old Prince.

[tvp900]

Originally Posted by Live Wire VS

It must've been something to do with the sweetspot because when I started, I used a Prince Graphite Comp 90 racquet and had used it for many years until my friends pressured me to get a new racquet. But then I learned that my cousin has a Wilson Pro Staff 6.1 Classic 95, so I switched to that and my game fell apart. I seriously thought that it was because of the sweetspot placement; Wilson have them in the bottom half of the racquet, while Prince have them towards the upper half of the racquet. Right now, I'm using the 2nd Generation Aeropro Drive because that's the only racquet that has a comparable sweetspot placement as my old Prince.

That could be. But my thinking, as well as my colleagues at my club, was that the fact that everything about the Pure Drive and the six-one 95 was different. The weight, the balance, the headsize, the stiffness, the sweetspot, are totally different, and the rapid change, whether ready for it or not, was too much to try to adapt to. And their games suffered.

[Live Wire VS]

Originally Posted by tvp900

That could be. But my thinking, as well as my colleagues at my club, was that the fact that everything about the Pure Drive and the six-one 95 was different. The weight, the balance, the headsize, the stiffness, the sweetspot, are totally different, and the rapid change, whether ready for it or not, was too much to try to adapt to. And their games suffered.

I also looked at the Pure Drive for a while since the two racquets have the same sweetspots, but felt that it was a little light-weighted. As much as people claim that the Aeropro Drive is head-light, I think it's actually head-heavy at least with my racquet. Maybe it's just a flaw on my particular racquet, but it works to my advantage!

[Pioneer]

27 - Head
26- Wilson

Babolat was around 18 if I'm not mistaken

Originally Posted by JW10S

Someone here not too long ago did a very detailed breakdown and more top 100 ATP pros used HEAD racquets than any other brand.

[Pioneer]

Babolat blows them away because Head's only successful models are the Prestige and the Radical at the moment. The extreme is successful too but it's stolen from Babolat just like the K Blade is stolen from Head. Babolat doesn't systematically come up with new paintjobs, unlike Head and Wilson.

Also Babolat has very charismatic frontrunners like Nadal and Roddick and Moya in the past. Head has.... ummmmm... Djokovic?

[Live Wire VS]

Originally Posted by Pioneer

Babolat blows them away because Head's only successful models are the Prestige and the Radical at the moment. The extreme is successful too but it's stolen from Babolat just like the K Blade is stolen from Head. Babolat doesn't systematically come up with new paintjobs, unlike Head and Wilson.

Also Babolat has very charismatic frontrunners like Nadal and Roddick and Moya in the past. Head has.... ummmmm... Djokovic?

The Microgel Extreme is one of the worst racquets I've ever tried and it doesn't feel like the Aeropro Drive as much as everyone thinks it does. It just sells well because there are a lot of kids who wanted a midplus racquet with a lot of power and a large sweetspot. The other reason was that the paintjob was very attractive at the time. I honestly think that it feels more like an oversized racquet with that much power esp. when strung at 61 lbs. It also has a shaft vibration problem and is one of the few racquets in which I actually need to insert shock dampener in order to feel less flimsier.

[Ambivalent]

I just switched to the Pure Storm LTD from the prestige mid. I have to say that I like the Pure Storm LTD more because it's a little easier to swing.

That being said, I still refuse to play with those thick beamed pure drives.

[PED]

In the stakes that really matter, Babolat's market share is 34% of the entire racquet market.

They actually increased it during the recession of the last two years. I'm sure Rafa's dominance over that time frame helped.

Personally, they're both great makers, I used the mg and yt PP before moving to the apd plus this year. I'd gladly use either brand.

[Pioneer]

Although the Prestige, and especially a pro stock one with tons of visible lead, leather and silicone, DOES get you more chicks, as ryushen stated previously

[darklore009]

i see as the companies in general as:
Wilson:Control
Babolat: Power
Prince: Forgiving
Head: 18x20s
Dunlop: Unique feel

[DownTheLineWith90]

Originally Posted by darklore009

i see as the companies in general as:
Wilson:Control
Babolat: Power
Prince: Forgiving
Head: 18x20s
Dunlop: Unique feel

I would agree
but

Wilson: Control
Babolat: Too much power
Prince: Forgiving, yet powerful
Head: 18x20, Prestige and Radical.
Dunlop: Different, yet closer to Wilson in feel than closer to Head

[Wilander]

Wilson: roger
Babolat: kids toy
Prince: finnished
Head: austria
Dunlop: tires

[Rulo]

Originally Posted by mbstriker

there is no edge, each racquet is suited for each person's style of play. so in reality there is no better company

I totally agree with that. I own rackets of both brands and they're both excellent sticks.

[sureshs]

It is difficult to do a Head to Head comparison

[Bhagi Katbamna]

Originally Posted by Wilander

Wilson: roger
Babolat: kids toy
Prince: finnished
Head: austria
Dunlop: tires

Prince is not a Finnish company.

[Down_the_line]

Head specializes more in the player's racquet category. Babolat makes almost exclusively tweener racquets, save for the Pure Storm line, if those are even categorized as player's racquets.

So yeah, it depends on your preferences. Player's racquet or tweener?