disparity in head liquidmetal MP rackets

tennistomcat · 09-11-2006, 05:29 PM

I have a head liquidmetal radical MP that I bought when they 1st came out. I recently bought a 2nd one as a backup during tournament play. However, since they are discontinued, I could only buy the prestrung ones made in china. I can immediately feel the disparity in feel & weight. I've weighed them & the austrian one is 11.2 oz just like the specs say but the chinese one is 11.5 oz --- it seems like little but it's noticeable, especially when switching from one right to the other. The austrian racket has a more solid & controlled feel while the chinese one has a hollow feel & an odd sound to it. Anyone else have the same experience?

HBK · 09-11-2006, 05:33 PM

do you play with the syn gut that it was pre strung with?

i play with the lm radical mp, but not with the strings they came with.

tennis4losers · 09-11-2006, 06:14 PM

Thats a suprise. THe quality of the metal has gone down probably.

bertrevert · 09-11-2006, 08:04 PM

I had 2 LM Rad MPs and they were chalk and cheese - it was very awkward - they were just very different.

I sold the one I didn't like to a friend - diff balance, swingweight, feel, just everything - I'll see if I can determine if they came from different birthplaces...

vsbabolat · 09-12-2006, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tennistomcat

I have a head liquidmetal radical MP that I bought when they 1st came out. I recently bought a 2nd one as a backup during tournament play. However, since they are discontinued, I could only buy the prestrung ones made in china. I can immediately feel the disparity in feel & weight. I've weighed them & the austrian one is 11.2 oz just like the specs say but the chinese one is 11.5 oz --- it seems like little but it's noticeable, especially when switching from one right to the other. The austrian racket has a more solid & controlled feel while the chinese one has a hollow feel & an odd sound to it. Anyone else have the same experience?

The unfortunate situation is that HEAD is no longer making any racquets in Austria. All of the production for the consumer has been outsourced to China. The truth about the tennis industry is that you have ONE company still making it's own racquets. That company is Yonex. They make all of it's high-end racquets in Japan except the junior racquets and one low-end racquet. The rest of all the other companies DO NOT manufacture racquets. They contract a company in China for the manufacture of the racquets.

Getting back to your situation, when you have a production that changes locations you are going to have differences. The original production of LM Radical was done in Austria. In HEAD's own factory that they own with it's own employees. You now have a different company making the racquets and it is not HEAD doing the manufacturing. Wilson has made the original Pro Staff in FOUR locations now (Chicago, St. Vincent, Taiwan, and China) and people like one feel over the other.

The best thing I can tell you to do is go to your local big box sporting goods stores or tennis pro shop and look through all of the LM Radicals and try to find one that is made in Austria. At my local big box sporting good store they still have made in Austria LM Radicals on the rack intermingled with made in China LM Radicals.

bertrevert · 09-12-2006, 06:53 PM

What do you look for to tell them apart?

vsbabolat · 09-12-2006, 07:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bertrevert

What do you look for to tell them apart?

There is a sticker on the Butt-cap that reads made in Austria, Made in Czech Republic, and made in China that gives where the raqcuets are made. The racquets that says made in the Czech Republic were manufactured in Austria but were then finished in Czech Republic. The racquets were painted, Grommets put in, pallets put on, butt-cap put on, and grip put on in the Czech Republic to save costs. The important part of making the racquets and drilling the holes in the racquets was all done in Austria but due to EU labor laws could not put Made in Austria on the frame but Made in Czech Republic. I hope I did not confuse you?

onkystomper · 12-04-2006, 03:18 AM

this is all very interesting to me as i just bought 2 lm Rad OS rackets.

First off there was 6 grams difference between the 2 and one of them was noticably more head heavy than the other.

I went for a hit with them and they actually felt totally different. One seemed more solid and to have better control.

After reading this i checked and i have 1 from czech republic ( the nice one ) and one from china. (feels more hollow.)

I am sending the chinese made one back.

Very surprised at how different they felt. The shop thought i wqas just being a pain but finally agreed to change it.

vsbabolat · 12-04-2006, 07:21 AM

onkystomper, It is my strong conviction that when HEAD made it's own racquets in there own Austria and Czech Republic Factory they were the best quality out there. In terms of consistency of specs. Now HEAD has hired a OEM to make the consumer racquets for them in China. Here is link as to why the HEAD racquets were so good when made In Austria.
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=105997

10sNut · 04-01-2007, 10:13 AM

Does anyone know if all of the Flexpoint Radical MPs are made in China, or did they start off in Austria like the LM line also?

abenguyen · 04-01-2007, 10:47 AM

yea i had the same problem. i got one radical made in austria and then just recently got one of the cinese versions. they feel alot different than each other

vsbabolat · 04-01-2007, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 10sNut

Does anyone know if all of the Flexpoint Radical MPs are made in China, or did they start off in Austria like the LM line also?

When the Flexpoint Radical came out they were labeled as made in the Czech Republic. This meant that the racquet was manufactured in Austria then shipped to the Czech Republic to be painted, have the grommets, pallets, butt cap, and grip put on. HEAD has since closed the Austria and Czech Republic factories. Now all the HEAD consumer racquet production are now outsourced to China. Don't forget that HEAD still makes about 50,000 racquets (Prestige Classic 600, Pro Tour 630, and LM Instinct) in Austira for only the players on the Tour.

0d1n · 04-01-2007, 11:29 AM

I have 2 Chinese ones, so I guess I don't know the difference

. They are similar in weight and balance (at least to me...I didn't have them measured), and play similarly also.
One thing I would be curious about is the string tension recommendation written on the racquets. On the ones I have it's 57+- 5 lbs. I have downloaded the stringing instructions from the Head website, and they say 57-67 lbs. Could you people who have two different versions check to see if the Austrian made ones have higher tension recommendation?

abenguyen · 04-01-2007, 11:43 AM

i have both kinds and they both say 57+/- 5 lbs, therefore its 52-62lbs

0d1n · 04-01-2007, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abenguyen

i have both kinds and they both say 57+/- 5 lbs, therefore its 52-62lbs

Weird ! Why would they put 57-67 in the stringing instructions

ShcMad · 04-01-2007, 12:24 PM

My Czech-made LM Prestige Mid weighs around 330 grams strung without overgrip. My Czech-made LM Prestige Midplus weighs around 328 strung without overgrip. They also came with slightly head-heavier balances.

tennisbass · 04-01-2007, 12:55 PM

I have 4 Head FXP Heats for my sons and sometimes myself. All made in China. Their strung weights with the same strings are 10.5, 10.6, 10.7 & 10.8 ounces each. Talk about variations. It does not bother us that much though because we can pair them up with only 0.1 oz difference between two racquets. BTW, the FXP Heats are pretty good racquets.

09-11-2006, 05:29 PM	#1
tennistomcat Rookie Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 220	disparity in head liquidmetal MP rackets I have a head liquidmetal radical MP that I bought when they 1st came out. I recently bought a 2nd one as a backup during tournament play. However, since they are discontinued, I could only buy the prestrung ones made in china. I can immediately feel the disparity in feel & weight. I've weighed them & the austrian one is 11.2 oz just like the specs say but the chinese one is 11.5 oz --- it seems like little but it's noticeable, especially when switching from one right to the other. The austrian racket has a more solid & controlled feel while the chinese one has a hollow feel & an odd sound to it. Anyone else have the same experience?

09-11-2006, 06:14 PM	#3
tennis4losers Semi-Pro Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 661	Thats a suprise. THe quality of the metal has gone down probably. __________________ 3x - Liquidmetal Prestige MP 4 1/2

04-01-2007, 10:13 AM	#10
10sNut Rookie Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Lowcountry, SC Posts: 185	Quick question on this issue.... Does anyone know if all of the Flexpoint Radical MPs are made in China, or did they start off in Austria like the LM line also?

04-01-2007, 11:29 AM	#13
0d1n Hall Of Fame Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Cluj-Napoca, Romania Posts: 3,411	I have 2 Chinese ones, so I guess I don't know the difference . They are similar in weight and balance (at least to me...I didn't have them measured), and play similarly also. One thing I would be curious about is the string tension recommendation written on the racquets. On the ones I have it's 57+- 5 lbs. I have downloaded the stringing instructions from the Head website, and they say 57-67 lbs. Could you people who have two different versions check to see if the Austrian made ones have higher tension recommendation? __________________ Vantage 95, 63 flex : 337 g, 32.8 cm, 341 SW, Gosen Polylon Polyquest 1.24 mm @ 22/21 kg. Last edited by 0d1n : 04-01-2007 at 12:07 PM.

04-01-2007, 12:24 PM	#16
ShcMad Hall Of Fame Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 1,540	My Czech-made LM Prestige Mid weighs around 330 grams strung without overgrip. My Czech-made LM Prestige Midplus weighs around 328 strung without overgrip. They also came with slightly head-heavier balances. __________________ "The more beautiful she is, the more money she wants." -M. Safin Last edited by ShcMad : 04-01-2007 at 12:46 PM.