Had my first hit with a Clash 100 (non-tour) yesterday. It was a demo racquet at the club I play at, string with some poly mains and a syngut cross. I think
. Whatever setup it was the mains were crazy out of position every few rallies which is something I am not used to any more with my string setup. I normally hit with an unmodified Yonex ai98 with nat gut mains and soft poly crosses, or my Dunlop Biomimetic 200 lites, also unmodified with the same string setup. These both weigh in at over 12 oz with damper and overgrip. But having tried very light racquets before like the Volk Organix 10 295 I had to weight it up to feel competitive.
I am a low 4.0 player with ... evolving strokes. Used to hit quite flat both wings (yes, I am 60 now) with a slice or flat OHBH but I am hitting with much more spin and committed to getting a better and more solid topspin backhand.
I hit with the clash for about 45 minutes and here are my impressions - bear in mind it was after a doubles match so I wasn't fresh but not too pooped. I normally play with a Tennis Warehouse worm damper (best deal in tennis, IMO) to mute the feel but the demo racquet had no damper at all.
I'll cut to the chase and say I was very concerned I may have cost myself $250 or so by the demo. I really like my current racquets (I have been hitting with them exclusively for about 4 years now) but sometimes I really wish I had just a little more easy pop at my disposal. I have gotten to the point where I can hit some very powerful shots but they take a lot of concentration and effort. From the moment I picked up the clash I was playing with it like I had used it for years. My normal rally balls felt so...easy. It was light but in no way did it hit like a light racquet - at least at my level eating against a reasonably hard hitting 4.0 player but he did not have huge topspin. Everything just felt so natural and easy - it was truly a pleasure to hit with.
It was so easy on the arm - I had a bad case of TE about 5 years back with a Dunlop Biomimetic 500 tour with poly and have steered towards more arm-friendly racquets ever since. But last year, after I felt my arm was healed enough I gave an Aero Pro Drive a whirl, hoping it was the answer to easier power, but I concluded after about a month that, at least for the way I swing, it really wasn't the answer. It was light, but wow was it harsh. The clash did not feel like a soft racquet but I could tell it was, and afterwards while I was sore everywhere else my arm and elbow were both very happy.
Specifics:
Wow, did it feel light. Not in a bad way but in a way that made me feel I could do any sort of shot I wanted to try. Whipping a forehand I hit an impressive number of flat out winners where the spin pulled the ball into the court at just the right time - and the spin was very easy to apply. I could do this crosscourt, inside-in and inside-out. Defensive shots (admittedly against a lower powered hitter) were easy to either squash shot back or go for ridiculous angle with a more wrist shot...and a good number of these made it in.
Slices were absolutely not a problem - not in any way better than my current sticks but I could hit pretty much anything I wanted to again with no effort. Some were really nasty about not bouncing up after the bounce. So slices were not going to be a detriment.
Volleys I couldn't notice anything really different from my current racquets. I pretty much hit volleys I usually hit. Again, because of the real different feel of the racquet I took this for a good thing.
I did not have the chance to hit serves, but I don't have a big flat serve, relying more on placement and spin so my guess it I would find the clash right up my alley there.
I don't know what else to say. I am a cheapskate who never buys new racquets. And while I went through a period of trying many many different racquets I have really settled on my current ones - they suit me fine and I never have to worry about whether another one would be better. And they are all purchased of the bay or TT for sale. Now I find myself contemplating spending $500 on two new racquets...what has gotten into me?
One thing is for sure, I am going to demo the Clash again, and definitely try the Tour model. Hope this helps someone else.