Diary of a Racketaholic

[Fuji]

Originally Posted by JackB1

"20 grams of headroom"? I think that's a lot of lead. Personally, I never liked any racquet that had more than 10-14 grams of added lead. Not sure why, but when adding over 15gs of lead, no matter where it is, I always can "feel" that extra lead more than the overall frame feel and I don't like that. I prefer to get racquets closer to my perfect specs and then "tweak" with lead. I usually never go more than 4" ea. at 3/9 + 6-8 grams in the handle if needed for balance. I agree the Steam really NEEDS lead at 3/9...no question, but like I told Ross, the Steam 99 (reg or S) is so superior to the Juice, I would go for that instead.

I know you keep pushing the Team, but I think the regular Pure Storm is a better platform. It's already 11 oz and almost even balance stock, so just add some weight in the handle and you're good to go.

Have you demo'd the Pure Storm lately? It's a really fun hit!

-Fuji

[JackB1]

Originally Posted by Fuji

Have you demo'd the Pure Storm lately? It's a really fun hit!

-Fuji

when I first started playing about 4 years ago, I used the PST for quite a while and really liked it. Great combo of power/control with a nice plush feeling stringbed. The I later realized it was too heavy for me

yes, the regular PS IS a great hit as well. It feels a little awkward stock because it feels so tip heavy, but add some weight to the handle and you have a real nice stick!

[Power Player]

Originally Posted by JackB1

"20 grams of headroom"? I think that's a lot of lead. Personally, I never liked any racquet that had more than 10-14 grams of added lead. Not sure why, but when adding over 15gs of lead, no matter where it is, I always can "feel" that extra lead more than the overall frame feel and I don't like that. I prefer to get racquets closer to my perfect specs and then "tweak" with lead. I usually never go more than 4" ea. at 3/9 + 6-8 grams in the handle if needed for balance. I agree the Steam really NEEDS lead at 3/9...no question, but like I told Ross, the Steam 99 (reg or S) is so superior to the Juice, I would go for that instead.

I know you keep pushing the Team, but I think the regular Pure Storm is a better platform. It's already 11 oz and almost even balance stock, so just add some weight in the handle and you're good to go.

Im not pushing anything honestly. This is a thread where we talk about sticks we are using or demoing..etc.

The Team is a softer stick than the regular Storm and it has a bigger head. It is not the same racquet.

Also I said 20 grams of headroom because I use an over grip and dampener too. I have only put 6 grams of lead in the hoop and 8 grams of putty in the handle. It's definitley not a lot, and the mod is super easy.

Considering most pro racquets are bathed in lead, I think your preferences are a little different than most people who would buy a platform stick.

The regular storm is nice, but the SW is already 328, so in no way would anyone consider that a platform racquet. It is pretty much good to go with nothing on it like a Blade. A platform racquet is light and has a ton of room for mods. That is why pros use sticks that weigh less than 300 grams before being modded. That is what a plaform racquet actually is.

[TimothyO]

Sounds like you are getting hooked on a plow feeling from a heavy SW racquet from hitting with lower level players who give you low pace, and then when you play someone who does hit with pace, you are late and your timing is off. You have to get past that if you want to find a racquet that works and get better as well.

This is excellent advice!

I've had to "bracket" the mods to my PSGTs. Too heavy and I was indeed late vs heavy hitters...but too light and the frame got knocked around enough that my accuracy suffered.

Against weaker hitters a lighter frame is seductively maneuverable but then you lose stability blocking back heavy returns.

A good testing ground for this sort of thing is mid-level mixed doubles! You run into some guys who can serve a really hard shot (sometimes consistently!) or who can t-off on weak ones. Meanwhile you're also facing no-pace floaters and quick shots at net so need to maneuver fast for topspin and put-aways.

I practiced with my wife's mixed doubles team this past season (ALTA B1) and the shot variety was a tremendous help in fine tuning my PSGTs.

[mikeler]

The PST was fine for me until I developed shoulder problems with it. Just a little too heavy for me.

[JackB1]

Originally Posted by Power Player

Im not pushing anything honestly. This is a thread where we talk about sticks we are using or demoing..etc.

The Team is a softer stick than the regular Storm and it has a bigger head. It is not the same racquet.

Also I said 20 grams of headroom because I use an over grip and dampener too. I have only put 6 grams of lead in the hoop and 8 grams of putty in the handle. It's definitley not a lot, and the mod is super easy.

Considering most pro racquets are bathed in lead, I think your preferences are a little different than most people who would buy a platform stick.

The regular storm is nice, but the SW is already 328, so in no way would anyone consider that a platform racquet. It is pretty much good to go with nothing on it like a Blade. A platform racquet is light and has a ton of room for mods. That is why pros use sticks that weigh less than 300 grams before being modded. That is what a plaform racquet actually is.

I wasn't debating the definition of "platform racquet"...you are most likely correct there. I was talking personal pref's...i prefer to get something SLIGHTLY under my preferred specs and add a little to bring it up. Actualy, my preference is no lead at all, but it's better to come in under rather than over for obvious reasons.

I didn't realize the regular PS and Team were slightly different headsizes and stiffness ratings. Enough to consider I guess. The entire PS line through the Tour are all excellent racquets and offer 3 great choices.
And yes, 6 & 8 grams is not too much lead...but personally I wouldn't go more than that for reasons I stated earlier. Good points though PP!

[Timbo's hopeless slice]

Originally Posted by MikeHitsHard93

How do you all feel about yonex rackets?

well, they are beautifully made and do what it says on the box.

I couldn't control the V-Core 95Ds myself, but others have had success and the word on the 89 Tour is good..

[Ross K]

Originally Posted by Power Player

Ross, definitley sounds like the Blade will work for you in matches on your level, but you are not moving your feet well against those big hitters.

A lot of this stuff boils down to technique, and I also think you have yet to figure out an exact spec that works for you. For example, the Juice 100 is a low SW of 311 and doesnt allow a lot of headroom. It obviously screams for 4 grams of lead at 12, and if you did that it would rebalance it a little better to ~4 pts HL and a Sw in the 320s, but the stick would be over 330 grams.

Getting the Team stick is a revelation because it allows so much room to customize. I think if you are looking for a tweener that feels like a players stick you need to look at light Team sticks that have a lower flex and a light weight. You want around 20 grams of headroom from your ideal specs.

You are going from a 350 SW Pure Control, to 335 with the Blade to 311 with the Juice..its all over the place. You have to figure out what SW you want to be at before you will ever figure out any of this stuff. That is why I was leading up my Blades for a while..I wanted to see what works best for my stroke.

What Im finding is that with the Team, I am guessing my SW is around 325 and while I could add a little more lead, I really like what I am able to do to the ball.

The second thing is I don't even consider if a racquet will work for me just from hitting around. My main criteria is serving. So make sure with these sticks you are demoing that you go up to the courts with all 3 and just serve for 30 minutes or so. It will help you get the SW sorted out.

SW is the magic # that you have to figure out before you really can settle in.

The final huge tip of advice is to NOT get addiced to the "plow"of a raqcuet. When I got the Team, I was playing sets against a junk baller and I barely ever hit hard to beat him. I was placing shots, moving the ball, getting it back deep..etc. Basically, even modded, my Team did not feel like it plowed the ball because the incoming shot was no-pace. That's ok because when I played with guys who hit big..guess what - it felt fantastic and the plow was there because of my TIMING and the incoming pace along with my headpseed.

Sounds like you are getting hooked on a plow feeling from a heavy SW racquet from hitting with lower level players who give you low pace, and then when you play someone who does hit with pace, you are late and your timing is off. You have to get past that if you want to find a racquet that works and get better as well.

Lots of sound advice and spot on observations, PP. FWIW, I have kind of concluded that PC Swirly definitely too hefty; PC Team seems okayish; 99s is fine; Blade maybe (say maybe as I still need more time here and like it a lot generally) a tad heftyish (though this is surely more balance related issue?); Juice too low as I said in OP and indeed requires lead.

Ross.....just had a nice hitting session with the Blade 98 16x19 and the Steam 99s. The weird thing is, even though it felt to me more difficult to play with the Blade, my hitting partner was quite impressed with how I played with it. The Blade is a racquet where you definitely "notice" the heft of it while swinging and especially when serving. You cannot arm the ball too often or you will tire qucikly. I definitely needed to use more of my lower body and shoulders to serve effectively. Also needed to set up quicker and try and get in proper position. With the 99S you can definitely "cheat" more. The Blade has so much plow for a 11oz stick, it's crazy. I can see how you love the way it feels on contact. The problem I can foresee with the Blade is that you could get one over spec and it will feel way too heavy. IN this case, I would pay the extra $$ and ask TW for one that is 1 or 2 pts more HL than specs say.

Big regret for me (others have made this point too I believe) is that I didn't get smaller grip size on blade. Aside from finding it a bit slowish re reaction stuff or when jammed a bit though, my impressions are all A+... hits huge and pounding, direct and authoritative, consistent, and superb impact feel.

I thought I had settled down with a ton of Head Pro-stocks (TGK238.1 XL) but after, what is it now, 3 months, i´m back to the normal gear*****-me again.. Played a (really really bad) match in the German League this weekend. Used a siliconed and leaded PD2010, but i just feels so un-secure with this frame. Dont dare to go for "winners".. Went back to the 340 grams unstrung TGK and they are really solid, but very very heavy.

My next project will be a run with IG Radical MP and also test the new Graphene Speed Pro intensively for a magazine-article/playtest about this (speed pro) frame.

My mind is all set that i will like the light, soft IG Radical with about 10-15 grams silicone and lead. Will try to make it 315 or 320 grams unstrung and keep the balance at around 32 - 32,5 cm unstrung. It will have a nice heavy feel and same swingweight as the pro-stocks, but a light weight making it easier to swing and it will be a bit faster and also more comfy for my old body

Ah, Hank, and there I was rueing my cursed racketaholic ways, and then your good self, the creme da la creme of European racketaholicing chips in, and suddenly I feel like I'm in good company - LOL! Keep the posts coming (and please keep me away from that "other" forum! )

[Power Player]

Originally Posted by JackB1

I wasn't debating the definition of "platform racquet"...you are most likely correct there. I was talking personal pref's...i prefer to get something SLIGHTLY under my preferred specs and add a little to bring it up. Actualy, my preference is no lead at all, but it's better to come in under rather than over for obvious reasons.

I didn't realize the regular PS and Team were slightly different headsizes and stiffness ratings. Enough to consider I guess. The entire PS line through the Tour are all excellent racquets and offer 3 great choices.
And yes, 6 & 8 grams is not too much lead...but personally I wouldn't go more than that for reasons I stated earlier. Good points though PP!

Thanks! Im just trying to save you guys some time and frustration that I have been through already .It gets pretty annoying when you are trying to figure SWs, sticks..etc. Gotta have a starting point or madness ensues.

[JackB1]

Originally Posted by Power Player

Thanks! Im just trying to save you guys some time and frustration that I have been through already .It gets pretty annoying when you are trying to figure SWs, sticks..etc. Gotta have a starting point or madness ensues.

I agree. I have come to know my sweetzone for swingweight and it's
right around 330.

[JackB1]

Ross...question for ya. What tension did u string your Blade at and what u recommend? Did u do full poly or hybrid?

[Fuji]

Originally Posted by mikeler

The PST was fine for me until I developed shoulder problems with it. Just a little too heavy for me.

That's unfortunate! The thing for me is, it feels GREAT on my shoulder which is why I'm using it.

Different strokes, eh?

-Fuji

[Hi I'm Ray]

Question for those who hit with the Steam 99s and didn't like it or struggled with it: How were you hitting your strokes with it, did you make any adjustments?

I was starting to lean toward not demoing the Steam 99s at all because it seems like everyone has either dumped it or is about to. After realizing I had not cut out my previous experimental string job, I decided to replace the crosses w/a better low friction pattern which cost me only 75cents to try.

I named my wanna-be Steam the "Hot Air" and expected it to suck but was surprised at the stable stringbed response. At first I had trouble adjusting my strokes to produce a shot I liked. I tried hitting up more to put more spin on it but still didn't like the quality of the ball, which bounced too high and sat up too much. Then I tried consciously closing the racket face more on contact & hitting through the ball more with a low finish instead of trying to brush it more and got a much better result. The ball traveled at a much lower trajectory, stayed more consistent. The problem was more balls were coming back than usual, rallies were longer, and I was running more, just like everyone else said about using the 99s. I switched back to my normal racket, rallied, did drills, & played a game. At the end of the day I decided to take a risk of losing badly playing w/the "Hot Air" in order to see what playing something like a 99s would be like in a game.

The result was great. lol. It was similar to how I use a low powered string set up (4G, Pro Line X) or a dense pattern to give me more confidence and more room for error when going for bigger shots during a game, except I was relying on the spin to keep the ball in when going for big shots. The best part was against really low balls that I would normally return flat or brush up more on, I was still able to keep the racket face more closed than usual and hit a noticeably faster ball. I was playing more aggressively through out the game, but the key for me was to consciously keep the racket face more closed, especially when going for bigger shots.

Btw serves, slices, & volleys where all surpringly good with the set up, which sounds a lot like what other experienced with the 99s. Steam back on the demo list.

More info on the set up here: http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showp...3&postcount=28

[Ross K]

Originally Posted by JackB1

Ross...question for ya. What tension did u string your Blade at and what u recommend? Did u do full poly or hybrid?

Firestorm @ 48 lbs is the only set up I've tried thus far. Seems like the frame can handle lowish tensions to me. I also want to assist in softening feel. Am playing with it next on Friday with TB 16L @ same tension again.

TBN: poly/syn gut hybrid has been recommended to me by PP for crisping up the feel.

Compared to 99s though, I love that there seems more options here. 99s and stringing is so limiting and generally a PITA!

[Ross K]

Originally Posted by Hi I'm Ray

Question for those who hit with the Steam 99s and didn't like it or struggled with it: How were you hitting your strokes with it, did you make any adjustments?

I was starting to lean toward not demoing the Steam 99s at all because it seems like everyone has either dumped it or is about to. After realizing I had not cut out my previous experimental string job, I decided to replace the crosses w/a better low friction pattern which cost me only 75cents to try.

I named my wanna-be Steam the "Hot Air" and expected it to suck but was surprised at the stable stringbed response. At first I had trouble adjusting my strokes to produce a shot I liked. I tried hitting up more to put more spin on it but still didn't like the quality of the ball, which bounced too high and sat up too much. Then I tried consciously closing the racket face more on contact & hitting through the ball more with a low finish instead of trying to brush it more and got a much better result. The ball traveled at a much lower trajectory, stayed more consistent. The problem was more balls were coming back than usual, rallies were longer, and I was running more, just like everyone else said about using the 99s. I switched back to my normal racket, rallied, did drills, & played a game. At the end of the day I decided to take a risk of losing badly playing w/the "Hot Air" in order to see what playing something like a 99s would be like in a game.

The result was great. lol. It was similar to how I use a low powered string set up (4G, Pro Line X) or a dense pattern to give me more confidence and more room for error when going for bigger shots during a game, except I was relying on the spin to keep the ball in when going for big shots. The best part was against really low balls that I would normally return flat or brush up more on, I was still able to keep the racket face more closed than usual and hit a noticeably faster ball. I was playing more aggressively through out the game, but the key for me was to consciously keep the racket face more closed, especially when going for bigger shots.

Btw serves, slices, & volleys where all surpringly good with the set up, which sounds a lot like what other experienced with the Steam. 99s back on the demo list.

Ray, my general adjustment is simply not hitting too Western, too overtly brushing, as I do tend to favour this. My experience is this improves things but sometimes your shots do seem to waft right up on you every now and then.

Note what you say though, as I love this frame when the groundstrokes have that zipping bite and you just let rip, as opposed to sitting up Exo 100-style. Just haven't figured out how to do this consistently.BTW, my bh (which is actually my normal gauge for how I like a frame) also isn't quite there. Definitely not up to Blade standard in this dept anyhow.

[Hi I'm Ray]

Originally Posted by Ross K

Ray, my general adjustment is simply not hitting too Western, too overtly brushing, as I do tend to favour this. My experience is this improves things but sometimes your shots do seem to waft right up on you every now and then.

Note what you say though, as I love this frame when the groundstrokes have that zipping bite and you just let rip, as opposed to sitting up Exo 100-style. Just haven't figured out how to do this consistently.BTW, my bh (which is actually my normal gauge for how I like a frame) also isn't quite there. Definitely not up to Blade standard in this dept anyhow.

I used to play with a Western FH too back in the day. Try closing the racket face a bit and hitting through more with a low finish, like I mentioned in my first bolded part. Its a lot like how you would attack a high ball on the FH side when going for a forcing shot, except you can do it for mid & waist height balls too. Give that a try next time and tell me if it works out for you. Actually I felt like I was keeping the racket face more closed than usual for just about every topspin shot.

I did experience too many balls coming back when rallying and keeping it in the middle, but it was a different story in a game where I am able to hit the ball out of the opponents reach faster than usual. Going for bigger shots on balls that I would normally play back safer also caught my opponent off guard a lot. Hopefully its not just a first day thing. My strings look beat up though, felt like it was starting to go dead already...

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by Fuji

That's unfortunate! The thing for me is, it feels GREAT on my shoulder which is why I'm using it.

Different strokes, eh?

-Fuji

I was using the PST Plus version. Perhaps the extended length was what my shoulder did not like but I did not have the problem with the PK 7G which is also extended.

[Ross K]

Ray, PP, other Bladesters,

How in your opinions precisely do the older black/gold/closed Blade compare with new black Blade/open pattern? I'll be hitting with the former soon and I'm rather curious what differences I may find.

[JackB1]

Originally Posted by Ross K

Firestorm @ 48 lbs is the only set up I've tried thus far. Seems like the frame can handle lowish tensions to me. I also want to assist in softening feel. Am playing with it next on Friday with TB 16L @ same tension again.

TBN: poly/syn gut hybrid has been recommended to me by PP for crisping up the feel.

Compared to 99s though, I love that there seems more options here. 99s and stringing is so limiting and generally a PITA!

I hear ya Ross. But every time I am ready to give up on the 99s, I try it again and it plays lights out I just restrung mine with Beast 16g at 58lbs and will monitor the tension this time with my RacquetTune App. Unfortunately the lowest setting on the app for crosses is 16, so the readings might be a little off. My other new Steam that was strung a week ago and has not yet been hit measured 47 tension (was strung at 57). My current Steam that has 3 weeks and about 20 hours on it measures 38. Funny thing is it's still very playable, even at 38. You can play poly's at low tension as long as here is still life left in the string.

I can't wait to try some more with the Blade 98. Like I said, you definitely "notice" the weight and I want to see how it fares over a long and tiring match. Funny thing is that the demo I hit with yesterday for an hour was the 18x20 and not the 16x19. I didn't even realize it until I was done
Seemed like I got my normal spin and power was sufficient. My partner did remark how my slices were more effective than usual. Maybe that was due to the 18x20? Either way, I still am going with the open pattern as I like the added comfort, spin and pop. Getting one strung up today and should be able to try it out soon.

In the meantime, I'll be steaming and slicing with the Blade and 99s
Like you, I will take my time until a victor emerges!

[JackB1]

Originally Posted by Ross K

Ray, PP, other Bladesters,

How in your opinions precisely do the older black/gold/closed Blade compare with new black Blade/open pattern? I'll be hitting with the former soon and I'm rather curious what differences I may find.

Ross...I hit with the newer closed pattern and also tried the black/gold one briefly yesterday to compare. The new model had much nicer overall feel about it and also felt more "solid". Nothing wrong with the black/gold one, but the new one just felt much nicer overall to me. Would make a good, cheap backup though