Bonjour from Babolat: Part Trois

I have never found one that I really liked. Have you?

I imagine you have seen this thread ...


The bottle cap solution seems interesting.

I only suggested the customisation on the off chance you didn't know about it. I am not a fan of extended racquets mainly because I feel I have better control and more comfort with shorter length racquets. I think in a lot of instances a 26.75 inch racquet would be preferable to a 27 inch one.

It's a pity no racquet manufacturer can develop a technology to make the racquet handle USER customisable in terms of length and size simply by manipulating the handle itself.
 

esgee48

G.O.A.T.
It's a pity no racquet manufacturer can develop a technology to make the racquet handle USER customisable in terms of length and size simply by manipulating the handle itself.
Appendix II, Part D prohibits such tech because you can change SW during play. There was an old thread that let players change the tension on their frame by adjusting a screw and it was rejected with this same citation. Handles can be changed to whatever a player wants before play, and such a change is permanent. Dunlop had such a handle system, but it did not catch on. IIRC, it was called Idapt and you could change lenght but not grip size.
 

jaustinlin

New User
I have some first generation Babolat Play Pure Drives, and in my infinite wisdom, I decided to remove the buttcap on one of them as part of a project to lengthen the handle. But now I changed my mind, and there are wires hanging off the frame toward the sensor, and I don't remember what they are connected to. Please see the attached images. Does anyone have any insight into how those should be connected? Thanks in advance.

bf93VXH.jpg
fGGBSY9.jpg
QoK2wfv.jpg
 

Babolat Official

Hall of Fame
I have some first generation Babolat Play Pure Drives, and in my infinite wisdom, I decided to remove the buttcap on one of them as part of a project to lengthen the handle. But now I changed my mind, and there are wires hanging off the frame toward the sensor, and I don't remember what they are connected to. Please see the attached images. Does anyone have any insight into how those should be connected? Thanks in advance.

bf93VXH.jpg
fGGBSY9.jpg
QoK2wfv.jpg

Hi Jaustinlin,

Send me an email at jnewton@babolat.com and I will send you some pics. You have to remove the plastic cover that says "Battery" and "Sensor" and then you can access where the wires plug in.

Josh
 

Babolat Official

Hall of Fame
@Babolat Official - will there new new 12-pack bags in 2021? A new strike bag? TW isn't carrying the strike 12-pack anymore...
@Babolat Official Is there a scheduled release date or a time frame to look out for the Pure Aero Rafa other than Q1 2021? I know previously you said January is that still the case?

Hi yellow,

The only other 12-pack bag will be one to match the Rafa racquet. The Pure Strike 12-pack bag is still inline and will be for 2021.

Josh
 

smokeydusky

New User
@Babolat Official
Happy new year!
Thanks for all the useful info you share in this thread.
If I use half of a full gut package for custom hybrid stringing, how long should I expect the unused remaining half to still be good in the opened package? (Sometimes my local shop has no half sets.)
For a racquet strung with gut but not used, how long should I expect the string to remain good (assuming optimal climate)?
Thanks!
 

Crozzer95

Hall of Fame
@Babolat Official
Happy new year!
Thanks for all the useful info you share in this thread.
If I use half of a full gut package for custom hybrid stringing, how long should I expect the unused remaining half to still be good in the opened package? (Sometimes my local shop has no half sets.)
For a racquet strung with gut but not used, how long should I expect the string to remain good (assuming optimal climate)?
Thanks!
I wouldn’t leave it in an open package. Use a zip lock bag abs store it in a cool dark place
 

P2Rock

New User
Would you guys ever rerelease the PD Soft Drives or PD Gen 1 or 2 or the orginal APD? These racquets seemed to the most beloved of all Babolat racquets. Personally I would love to see the Pure Control team Rereleased (2002). A limited release would sell like crazy
 

widefoot

New User
Any specific plans to bring back and expand the national flag racket collection? They were terrific (and would love to see more). Thanks
 
Any specific plans to bring back and expand the national flag racket collection? They were terrific (and would love to see more). Thanks

Given so many international flags can be created from a limited number of colours, I'm surprised that Babolat - or any of the Big racquet manufs - don't offer it as a customisation option. Surely it wouldn't be to hard to set up the painting jigs and sprays to cover a large range of flags at a limited cost.
 

widefoot

New User
You raise an even better question. How about any customization option? (Certain competitor does!) I suspect a lot of folks would be all over that!
 

Babolat Official

Hall of Fame
OMG Josh , you guys really did it. You guys finally made the PERFECT racket for all players of all ages and levels. How do you keep improving your rackets every time ?

Babolat Pure Drive Plus 2021 Racquets (tennis-warehouse.com)

Wow! Sure sounds like the gang at TW love this frame! Great to hear, especially since I can't hit for the foreseeable future and have no clue how these hit. As you can imagine, it's hard to keep improving racquets that have become classics for so many people. I always say the changes are evolotionary, not necessarily revolutionary, and full credit to our design team for what they did with this version. Obviously we can't please everyone, but we try to improve the playing experience for all of our players.

Josh
 

Babolat Official

Hall of Fame
Any specific plans to bring back and expand the national flag racket collection? They were terrific (and would love to see more). Thanks

We will be bringing back some of the flag racquets in light of the Olympics hopefully being held this summer. Emphasis on hopefully. I don't know which specific models yet, or when they will be available, but I should know more in the coming month or so and will try to keep you updated.

Josh
 

Babolat Official

Hall of Fame
Not sure if it’s been asked already but is there any update on when the Pure Strike VS/VS Tour might be released?

I haven't heard much on the PUre Strike VS to be honest. The last Iheard is we're still planning to release it late this year, but with everything going on, I don't know where we stand at the moment. I will try to find out for you.

Josh
 

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster
Wow! Sure sounds like the gang at TW love this frame! Great to hear, especially since I can't hit for the foreseeable future and have no clue how these hit. As you can imagine, it's hard to keep improving racquets that have become classics for so many people. I always say the changes are evolotionary, not necessarily revolutionary, and full credit to our design team for what they did with this version. Obviously we can't please everyone, but we try to improve the playing experience for all of our players.

Josh

Oh man, i got to hit with this new Pure drive plus 2021 for 10 minutes on wednesday. I plan on hitting with it some more this weekend hopefully. It is Amazing in all aspects of the game. Serve was so easy to generate power and spin with. Great pinpoint control with easy Aces. and Groundies were so easy and smooth. so easy to take the ball on the rise and still be able to rip it due to ease of manuverability. At net, i felt like Pat Rafter, even the tough low volleys were being punched with great depth and pace. I can't wait til i try it out some more.
 

KluddKalle

Semi-Pro
I haven't heard much on the PUre Strike VS to be honest. The last Iheard is we're still planning to release it late this year, but with everything going on, I don't know where we stand at the moment. I will try to find out for you.

Josh
I’m wondering as well. Long time pure storm and pure control user (tour models) that really would like for Babolat to bring something great along the spec of this line to the market. Heavy and flexible. :)
 
Hello Babolat, do you offer special coaching packages similar to the college player packs? I would be interested in some and would appreciate a private message or some direction, thanks!!
 

Babolat Official

Hall of Fame
I’m wondering as well. Long time pure storm and pure control user (tour models) that really would like for Babolat to bring something great along the spec of this line to the market. Heavy and flexible. :)

Hi Kludd,

I found out we will get an update at our sales meeting at the end of next month. If I don't get back to everyone here on this, please follow-up with me. I'll be out the rest of the week, but will be back on here next Tuesday. Thanks!

Josh
 

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster

These guys were disappointed with power of the pure drive which was bit surprising. I thought it was still fairly powerful frame
 

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster
Hi Kludd,

I found out we will get an update at our sales meeting at the end of next month. If I don't get back to everyone here on this, please follow-up with me. I'll be out the rest of the week, but will be back on here next Tuesday. Thanks!

Josh


I got the Demo strung with RPM power string, i believe this is the default poly that the new pure drive 2021 comes with. but this string is very poor quality string, many people feel that it is one of the worst poly by babolat. What do you think i should string the new pure drive with in order to get a fair performance out of this racket ?? Thank you
 

Babolat Official

Hall of Fame
Hey Josh,
Just curious if there's any news on the release of a Strike VS or VS Tour later this year. Thank you!!!

Hi JohnnyG,

I don't have any updates yet, but I should by the end of the month after our sales meeting. I will try to circle back and let everyone know, but if you don't hear from me by the end of the month, feel free to reach back out. Thanks!

Josh
 
Hi JohnnyG,

I don't have any updates yet, but I should by the end of the month after our sales meeting. I will try to circle back and let everyone know, but if you don't hear from me by the end of the month, feel free to reach back out. Thanks!

Josh
Hey Josh, Thanks so much. I'm on the hit squad and love all the product, but have definitely been interested in the new VS sticks. I'm in love with the Pure Aero VS (2020), such a fantastic racquet. I think it's one of Babolat's best sticks, no doubt. As a side note, I'd love to see a straight beam Strike VS back in the fold, especially if it has a little weight and head light balance. Anyways, I'll wait to hear from you. All the best!
 
What is DT 36 ? and what do you think about Alu power 18 G ? Or RPM blast 17 G ? would those work well with this New pure drive 2021 ?

DT is Dynamic Tension. It works independantly of string configuration. So you can string up any racquet with any string and if you hit your DT number it will feel similar. You need to use an ERT300 or something like RacquetTune to measure DT.

Problem with using Reference tensions (ie lbs or kgs) is that using the same one with different equipment produces different feel. So you aren't comparing apples with apples.

As for your strings ... I think both would be a good choice for any PD. Would probably try the ALU Power first.
 

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster
DT is Dynamic Tension. It works independantly of string configuration. So you can string up any racquet with any string and if you hit your DT number it will feel similar. You need to use an ERT300 or something like RacquetTune to measure DT.

Problem with using Reference tensions (ie lbs or kgs) is that using the same one with different equipment produces different feel. So you aren't comparing apples with apples.

As for your strings ... I think both would be a good choice for any PD. Would probably try the ALU Power first.
What do you think about Tourbite Soft on this new 2021 pure drive plus? i found a set of old tourbite soft pack laying in the bottom of the pile ... LOL
 
What do you think about Tourbite Soft on this new 2021 pure drive plus? i found a set of old tourbite soft pack laying in the bottom of the pile ... LOL

If it is 16 gauge (1.30), it should be fine at a high tension - say 58lbs. IME, PD's work best with higher DTs meaning higher Reference tensions.

The smaller gauges will probably lose tension pretty quickly and the racquet will become a rocket launcher ... if you are playing Singles. However, should get a bit more life out of them if you just play Doubles.
 

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster
2 weeks into the playtest. for new Pure drive 2021. Definitely a great serving racket, maybe even better for serving than Pure aero. It is bit slow on the backhand groundies. one Huge difference is the feel and vibration dampening. I strung this with full bed Alu power and No vibration. My arm didn't feel any pain and my wrist felt like i had multi string in there. and spin generation on the serve was massive
 

graycrait

Legend
@Babolat Official , With the recent proliferation of low RA racquets from various manufacturers and some in rather narrow beams, I vote for an update of 16x20 Pure Storm GTish just as a side hustle. I love me some Pure Storm GT/GT Tour/GT LTD. Heck, at my age I would love to see one in 110-112 in 18x19/20.
Hj8Pz3C.jpg
 
Last edited:

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster
Can you explain what you mean by this in a bit greater detail please?

I got used to Pure aero. this pure drive just felt slower coming forward and accelerating, especially when the ball is deep in the corner with pace and i have take it on rise. but it isn't slow like sluggish slow. I probably just got used to that pure aero being able to cut thru the air faster.

But oddly though on the volleys, this new pure drive didn't feel slow at all. it felt like a good serve and volley racket as well.
 
Last edited:
Top