Diary of a Racketaholic

[el sergento]

Originally Posted by JGads

Agree. 16L is a remarkable string, but I also agree with the later post: it's powerful. I go higher tension on it. My fave string, hands down, only issue is it needs a restring semi-often.

It also eats through a multi faster than Nalbandian powering through a steak!

What's your preferred tension Gads? Does it get too harsh above 55?

[Power Player]

Originally Posted by el sergento

Hey PP, so the wrist is acting up again? That sucks dud. Don't know if this helps but the 7G gave me wrist pains for the first time in my life.

I'm pretty sure it was due to the extended length, particularly on baseline half volleys. I hug the baseline and a huge part of my game is redirecting hard shots off the bounce by flicking the wrist, I do this off both my forehand and the one hander.

The 7G is nice and soft on the joints when hitting normal gourndies, but the added length means my wrists have to work that much more when flicking a hard struck ball back into court.

So yeah, just a heads up.

The 7g on serve gives me an issue where the carpal area feels stretched out and strained..but I am not sure if is all on the 7g..may have been serve technique. I fixed that issue..but I need forgiveness on serve in case I have a bad toss or make a mistake.

I still have 2 and really like them, so I have a plan for them as well. Doubt they will go anywhere.

The wrist thing is classified as a disease because it will always be there..I can take care of it though..flexy racquets probably really help. I had zero pain with the EXO Tour..it just feels unreal on my joints. One of those sticks that I did not want to put down due to it's feel. It makes sense to me that possibly donald young uses the same stick because the pt57a is also a very flexible racquet and that feel is rather addictive. The EXO definitely has nice power to it...a surprising amount for the specs...but again...the Donnays did as well. I think the EXO beats the Donnay Black though in terms of power to be honest.

My whole apd thing started because I want a spin stick to use and see if I can win more with it..it definitely worked, but I may not be able to use stiff racquets anymore if I want to play w/out aggravating anything.

I feel like if I needed more plow..4grams at 12 would raise the SW to 335 and keep the weight at around 11.6...so the racquet will work in those terms.

My main concern is how much of a PITA it may be to string the darn thing.

[JGads]

Originally Posted by el sergento

It also eats through a multi faster than Nalbandian powering through a steak!

What's your preferred tension Gads? Does it get too harsh above 55?

Depends on the stick. I had one of my Aces at 52, the other at 56 (rec. tension range on the Ace goes all the way up to 68, oddly enough). 56 was nicer for me.

58 in my 7G is money, and I had that same tension in my BC20 when I was mostly playing with that.

I don't seem to find that it gets overly harsh at the higher tensions -- but then, I haven't tried at very low tensions, either, 52 in the Ace being my lowest, and I don't think I'll go lower since that's when my control seems to wane.

[el sergento]

Originally Posted by Power Player

My main concern is how much of a PITA it may be to string the darn thing.

As a past owner of an O3 White, I can confirm that without the special tool stringing port racquets is the biggest of pains in the ***.

Here's a thread I started on a little trick I came up with to string them:

Originally Posted by el sergento

Love your O3's but hate stringing them? Well here's my method of doing the crosses. I only just figured it out, but with all the guru's around here I'm sure someone has already thought of this.

So, as you all know, to do the crosses properly on an O3 you need a special tool or you either need to hold the racquet in place or lock the swivel. I don't have that fancy tool and my Silent Partner doesn't lock well so I came up with the following solution:

Using a flying clamp to straighten the cross string before pulling tension.


Here's what the problem is when pulling tension on the crosses of an O3:


As you can see, the cross is off to one side and pulling tension this way is not recomended. My solution is to straighten out the cross string before pulling tension by using a flying clamp. To do so, you'll need a flying clamp, obviously (although fixed clamps would probably work too), and to follow these simple steps:

1) Place an open clamp as follows using the adjacanct cross string to keep it in place:


2) Pull tension, slowly at first, and you'll notice that the tension will keep the clamp in place and that the pulled string will be straight instead of off at an angle:


3) Once you obtain your desired tension, remove your first clamp, as usual, and simply close the clamp you used to keep the cross string in the right position:


Wash, rinse, repeat!

There you go, it's quite easy, the method doesn't really take more time than a normal racquet and there's no fooling around with home made tools or strange acrobatics to hold the racquet in place while you pull tension.

Quick note:
Depending on the location of your mains, you might notice that the clamp isn't flush against the frame. If you think this can affect your tension simply increase the desired tension by 1 pound.

Hope this helps!

[Power Player]

Dude that's awesome. My stringer locks, so I may be ok..but the flying clamp makes total sense.

I just don't have any . My machine is fixed clamps...I need one though asap regardless...good tool to have.

[vkartikv]

RossK, I'm back on the bandwagon - or is it off of it?!! Been playing more regularly these days and can't help but be tempted to demo new stuff again. you can't get it out of your bloodstream once it enters!

[Devilito]

Originally Posted by Power Player

My whole apd thing started because I want a spin stick to use and see if I can win more with it..it definitely worked, but I may not be able to use stiff racquets anymore if I want to play w/out aggravating anything.

I feel like if I needed more plow..4grams at 12 would raise the SW to 335 and keep the weight at around 11.6...so the racquet will work in those terms.

Haha as much as you might not want to hear it, I changed from the PD for similar reasons. Yes with the stiff frame and wide body you can get away with a lighter weight racquet. But it slowly started tearing my arm apart. The PB10 Mid I switched for these reasons is way flexier, heavier with more plow and my arm has never felt better. So I think you’d be happy with the Exo Tour, a soft poly and maybe a little extra weight on the racquet like a leather grip. Let me know how it works out for you. PS I was having both wrist and elbow issues with the PD

[el sergento]

Originally Posted by Power Player

Dude that's awesome. My stringer locks, so I may be ok..but the flying clamp makes total sense.

I just don't have any . My machine is fixed clamps...I need one though asap regardless...good tool to have.

Yeah, that method saved me countless hours of frustration. A good flying clamp is a must, not just for this but for countless other stringing situations.

If you go with the EXO, try to get the special tool, if not, a flying clamp is really recommended because even if your stringer locks, think about the PITA of having to lock and unlock for every cross.

[Power Player]

Yeah and it looks like you are just using the unlocked flying clamp to hold the strings together and that's it. So that takes 2 seconds of time...no brainer.

Is stringing the mains the exact same as a normal stick?

Devil..yeah I went up against a massive hitter with the apdgt..probably one the biggest I ever have hit against..dude was crushing it with insane topspin and unless I timed it perfect, the apdgt was starting to feel like a tuning fork. I ended up slicing the crap out of him to set up my own screamers, but this guy was nasty...we will have to play a match, but I would estimate minimum 5.0...5.5-6.0 if he can hit like that under pressure.

Anyway, the stick did not get "pushed around" as people like to say (I believe that is poor timing and not on the racquet), but I have to have a plush stick against guys like this just to preserve my arm. I wish I had the 7g, it would have been better for this guy, but they need a string job real bad. I actually felt some vibrations make it to my elbow and for me that is a super rare experience.

Seriously, I commend companies like PK, volkl and Prince for making such amazing feeling sticks that protect the arm and allow you to still play a modern style of tennis.

[el sergento]

Originally Posted by Power Player

Seriously, I commend companies like PK, volkl and Prince for making such amazing feeling sticks that protect the arm and allow you to still play a modern style of tennis.

So do I. Mostly I commend any company that will make a soft, low powered racquet that will allow you to play with a quality poly string without blowing your arm out.

I seriously can't believe how much power tourbite gives me on my Microgels. Everyone remembers Granvilles famous "wow factor but no plow factor" quip from the TW MG Prestige review. Well, add a measly 2.5 grams at 12 and put in some tourbite and those soft, plush Microgels turn into some very plowerful (trademark pending ) sticks indeed.

[JGads]

Microgels and Tour Bite sounds like an awesome, awesome combo (always loved the microgel feel in both the Prestiges and Radicals; hated the paintjobs, though)...

In other news, Donald Young apparently popped a 124-hour serve before the rain delay today that made Pat Mac and Gilbert look at each other in the booth with a "Where did that come from?" ... So maybe that service power potential is in that stick after all, and maybe Donald's ceiling - if he can learn to hit those more often - is a little higher than we might think. Hmm...

[808]

Originally Posted by Power Player

My questions would be how much more spin/control are you EXO guys getting with a poly in the mains? The gut is so comfortable, but it moves all around and breaks in under an hour.

So far I've only tried EXO3 Glory 1.25 (splendid string with a killer look btw), Beast XP 1.25, VS Touch BT7 1.30 and VS Team 1.25, strung full bed in each case. I preferred the thinner VS Team over the Touch, and likewise Beast over the Glory. The poly strings do provide a bit more spin and a bit more control at the expense of some touch, but it's nothing earth shattering, for me at least. Since the EXO3 Tour is such a soft frame I think one can easily get away with using full poly.

Right now I'm sticking with Beast 17 strung at 22kg (~48.5lbs) as I feel it nicely crispens up the stringbed while still providing adequate touch. Slices are also a bit deadlier than with full gut. Plus I happen to play in damp, wet conditions more often than not this time of year and already had to cut out two sets of VS Team which were pretty much killed by the moisture. Maybe I'll switch back when indoor season starts in a couple of weeks.

In related news, this being the racketaholic thread and all, I managed to procure a shiny, err matte, new Tecnifibre TFlash 300 yesterday that I'm looking forward to hit with soon, time and weather permitting. On a scale from 0 to 11 I'd rate its paintjob a "very nice".

[Power Player]

Its so much about the player. I mean it is fun to try different sitcks, and you really have to figure what weight and string pattern works for your game..but after that..it's all about the player and their strokes since all racquets have weaknesses.

Just from watching how much massive top DY uses, I would not be stunned if he was using the retail version..I am sure there are pro layups..etc, but if I handed him one off the shelf, I know he could hit the same with it set up for him.

I should add that the EXO tour swings a lot faster than the APD, so adding 4 grams at 12 on the demo will be my next experiment.

Am I tempted to revisit tour bite and try it out in the EXO if I buy one? Yes..yes I am. It is so soft that the TB may be a wonderful thing..I have to tread carefully there though..dead poly is no good.

[808]

I added 2.5g at 12. I have been using these frames since last November and haven't yet felt the need to add more. But as you said, it's so much about the player. Glad you enjoy that racquet!

[Power Player]

I do..and hey 2.5 grams sounds pretty nice as well..what difference did you notice from that...and what style of game do you play?

I may just do 2 grams at first to be conservative. I'd like a little more plow and to rebalance the stick closer to 6pts HL.

[808]

The additional weight gives me more plowthrough and overall a little bit more power to my shots. Helps with serving, too. I also added a leather grip but may change back to the standard synthetic one with a touch of lead beneath, right at the buttcap to keep the little bit more HL balance I have since accustomed to.

I play an all court game, trying to keep the rallies short.

[Power Player]

Ok cool...I am the same type of player, but probably more of a baseline finisher. Do you have any issues painting lines or hitting big winners? In my mind that should come come with practice.

[808]

No issues that I'm aware of

As I said, I play on red clay basically all the time – in fact I have never played on harcourt ever, I think – so I'm relying on shot placement rather than overpowering my opponent. Keeping the rallies short with angled play and coming to the net to finish the point when necessary. Oh, and I really like returning serves with the EXO Tour.

[Power Player]

Angles....yes

My favorite thing besides cracking a winner.

[Devilito]

Originally Posted by Power Player

Ok cool...I am the same type of player, but probably more of a baseline finisher. Do you have any issues painting lines or hitting big winners? In my mind that should come come with practice.

i think Ferrero, Ferrer and Young at this years US Open gave a pretty strong endorsement to that frame and that style of play. I see a lot of potential in it especially with it's flex, weight and the 16x18 string pattern