Blade V8 Official Thread.
- Thread starter J011yroger
- Start date
Vicious49
Legend
yup.. that's why i went out and bought two more v7 sticks this morning
Nice. I may be moving on from the Blade in general so I have a pair of used matched 18/20 sticks in L4 and a pair of never strung brand new matched sticks in L4 sitting here. Im torn between getting rid of them or holding on to them incase I decide to come back to the Blade as the V8 specs dont sound appealing to me.
smithie
Semi-Pro
It could make sense, drop the SW but increase the RA to maintain (or even increase) the power, whilst simultaneously making the racket more accessible to a larger userbase (i.e. those who can't handle rackets at SW at 330).
Think its wrong there is no way the release a racquet with 345 swingweight.
ImportPer4mance
New User
We'll find out the specs in 8 days. Nothing we can do now but wait. Specs will be released 1st Sept and some people will be super happy, others wont. It's fun to hypothesise but at the end of the day, it is what it is haha.
SinneGOAT
Hall of Fame
1.25 poly strings, which I imagine the majority use, adds about 30-33 to the swingweight. Lower gauge will be lower swingweight, but still. For reference the clash 100 is 280 swingweight unstrung.
GuilhermeG
Rookie
The head youtek radical pro (non-IG version) had a 345 swingweight, IIRC. Not a wilson, but it has been done before.
In the vid they report the 16/19 SW is 312 strung if I remember correctly. The 18M is always a couple of points higher because of the extra strings. I think the 18M also has a slightly lower RA most of the times than the 16M (2015 blade comes to mind). A blade 18M with a strung SW around 320 and a RA of 64 sounds interesting, you then basically have a more forgiving pre graphene Head radical MP that you can handle weight without becoming too heavy
Keizer
Hall of Fame
Think the poster you replied to was saying that 315 unstrung was hard to believe because that would imply basically a Blade Pro spec strung.
I don’t think we’ve seen a 340 strung swingweight on a blade since the nBlade (which had a sub 60 RA I believe). These measurements just seem odd given the market this stick has catered to all the way from the KBlade through the v7. The ~66 strung RA, however, seems plausible given the RA on the 2012-2015 versions. I just don’t understand why Wilson would release the v8 in this spec when they already have the Blade Pro on offer…
When I think 18x20 blade I think 64-66 RA, high 320s SW. I always thought that the Blade really kickstarted the trend of low strung weight but relatively HH sticks that were crisp and maneuverable enough to be used by rec players while providing precision reminiscent of more demanding lines like the Prestige. This offering seems to depart from that DNA even more than the v7 did.
Power Player
Bionic Poster
Most of the 18x20 v7s were actually in the 340s. I had TW measure a bunch for me and they were coming in over 305Sw unstrung, and more like 310+.
I wouldn't doubt that with the QC the way it is, but the advertised sw for the v7 18/20 was 333/334. Now they are advertising around 345sw. I can't imagine how high it could get now with the way QC is. Personally I would like it around 340-345. I think 340 would be good start so it still has a little room to make your own personal adjustments, but that's just me. I like the higher sw.
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Power Player
Bionic Poster
Yep, I have 2 that measure right around that and they play well.
well just in wording but I would not say "advertised".. it seemingly is the "targeted' spec by Wilson. That was the average SW they had. I do agree. I do not see Wilson targeting 345sw. this is the age of misinformation. we will see in a few.. my commonsense is telling me that... blade sw has been 330sw +/-5pts and 305gr unstrung and 32cm balance (unstrung) and 62-65 RA strung for like 10 years now... i do not see them changing drastically from those specs but we shall see... what changes the most over years is RA and also how the racket feels... They kind of alternate high and low RA every 2 year cycle... and it is not night and day.
I love the v7. That feel to me is awesome. Some hate it... this is good that some people will get higher RA which they were looking for... more like going back to 2015 version but I will be very surprised if we have an average 345sw (strung) blade in our hands. I am not planning on switching my trusty v7 unless high praise reviews from trusted sources tempt me.
Ryanblessed
Semi-Pro
Sending out for your reference.
I mean.. honestly they did listen... There were ton of people wanting higher RA and ton of people saying love the blade was just wish it was more manageable.. but what becomes of blade when you take the SW from it ? To be discovered... All of this 16m btw.. though i can't see how 18m is anything more than 5 to 7sw more than 16m...
DJTaurus
Hall of Fame
Racquet wise i grew up witch blade black/gold (raonic), v4 (tsitsipas), v5 and then stopped. I also was very competitive and maybe i had my best results with v6 but CV gave me golfers elbow. All of these racquets had in common the free power combined with direct feel/hit. All of these were gone with V7….. feel is still great and best among modern sticks but they went for such a plush feel and as a result power is not delivered instantly like previous versions.
News keep getting better and better!!!!
Power Player
Bionic Poster
Sounds like Wilson may be doing a hybrid of the v7 and 2015 models. I think that would please a lot of folks if they pull it off.
For some weird reason we got this in Europe :
www.tenniswarehouse-europe.com
Wilson Blade US Open 98 Racket | Tennis Warehouse Europe
www.tenniswarehouse-europe.com
Spin Diesel
Hall of Fame
61 RAFor some weird reason we got this in Europe :
Wilson Blade US Open 98 Racket | Tennis Warehouse Europe
Sounds like not
Oh boy. Plot thickens..For some weird reason we got this in Europe :
Wilson Blade US Open 98 Racket | Tennis Warehouse Europe
For some weird reason we got this in Europe :
Wilson Blade US Open 98 Racket | Tennis Warehouse Europe
this is great news
1990's Graphite
Hall of Fame
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Waiting until we get a full inventory before I buy into the specs…I told everyone the RA was the about the same according to numerous pro shops I spoke with, but it wasn’t worth arguing. I’m still on the fence about these specs being final because of an e-mail I received from Wilson yesterday. They sent me an official e-mail response, similar to another poster here, telling me that the unstrung RA of the v8 truly is 69. So that goes against everyone I’ve talked to that’s hit with the racquet.
Would you like a blade with 320sw and 61 Ra?Waiting until we get a full inventory before I buy into the specs…I told everyone the RA was the about the same according to numerous pro shops I spoke with, but it wasn’t worth arguing. I’m still on the fence about these specs being final because of an e-mail I received from Wilson yesterday. They sent me an official e-mail response, similar to another poster here, telling me that the unstrung RA of the v8 truly is 69. So that goes against everyone I’ve talked to that’s hit with the racquet.
NastyWinners
Hall of Fame
1990's Graphite
Hall of Fame
If only these guys posted SW and RA
whamilton318
Rookie
Just found these specs listed for the 16x19 on tennis point… quite the variance from TW Europe. I am still waiting on results from the 18x20.
- Headsize: 98 sq. in.
- Length: 27 in.
- Weight (strung): 11.3 oz.
- Stiffness (Babolat RDC): 58
- Balance: 13 in. Head Light (4pts)
- Cross Section:20.6/20.6/20.6mm
- Swingweight: 316 kg*sq. cm
- Grip: Wilson Pro Performance Pattern: 16x19
oh c'mon!!! this is like torture... not auto-translate either... those are the best...
how is it that there is not a single Japanese speaker on these boards??!!
ROFL! Maybe i ll buy one and put VS Touch at 20lbs to give that needle some power!
ImportPer4mance
New User
If it’s killing you guys that much, just place an order for it and pay $20 for their racket measuring service (they measure 6 rackets). After that you can just choose not to buy the racket. It’ll cost you $20 but atleast it will give you answers lol.
Either that or just wait till the 1st of September without getting so emotional over unverified numbers lol. It’ll come, patience.
Either that or just wait till the 1st of September without getting so emotional over unverified numbers lol. It’ll come, patience.
alexg
Rookie
Long time (2 years) user of Blade v7 here.
Received a Blade v8 16x19 today (US Open Edition).
Static weight freshly unwrapped is 303g (2 grams under spec).
I strung it up with my usual setup: Babolat VS Team 1.25 at 54 x Yonex Polytour Pro 1.20 at 52, added a Head thin overgrip and a Yonex 4g dampener.
It is now at 329g static, 5 1/2 HL balance, and 321 of swing weight. This is indeed a lighter swing weight than my 2 v7 blades which end up at about 329-330 with the same setup, and it is also slightly more headlight.
Quite happy with it, I'll play with it tonight as is, and will add a gram or two of lead to bring up the swing weight a notch if needed.
From a feel perspective (in the driveway against a net), it is definitely still a control / feel racquet with plenty of comfort. Feel is a bit different, with a bit more feedback ala prostaff. Indeed I was primed for this feeling, having read about the graphite layup of the v8. I will report with actual sensations from the court. Cheers
Received a Blade v8 16x19 today (US Open Edition).
Static weight freshly unwrapped is 303g (2 grams under spec).
I strung it up with my usual setup: Babolat VS Team 1.25 at 54 x Yonex Polytour Pro 1.20 at 52, added a Head thin overgrip and a Yonex 4g dampener.
It is now at 329g static, 5 1/2 HL balance, and 321 of swing weight. This is indeed a lighter swing weight than my 2 v7 blades which end up at about 329-330 with the same setup, and it is also slightly more headlight.
Quite happy with it, I'll play with it tonight as is, and will add a gram or two of lead to bring up the swing weight a notch if needed.
From a feel perspective (in the driveway against a net), it is definitely still a control / feel racquet with plenty of comfort. Feel is a bit different, with a bit more feedback ala prostaff. Indeed I was primed for this feeling, having read about the graphite layup of the v8. I will report with actual sensations from the court. Cheers
Thank you for the post. Was there any chance you checked the balance point before you strung the racquet? The specs say it should by 7 pts headlight unstrung, but if you’re getting 5 1/2 points strung, I’m wondering if the quality control is the culprit again with the balance off.
That’s what I think it is LOL thats pretty terrible
Christoforos Giatzakis
Rookie
It's two different releases it seems (the usopen blade and the v8).
Strikethrower25
New User
Any idea when the new Blade Pro paintjob is releasing?
