mad dog1
G.O.A.T.
Or switching to it.
Diary of a Racketaholic
- Thread starter Ross K
- Start date
ryushen21
Legend
Not likely. At the moment, the VC95 holds a commanding lead.Or switching to it.
Vicious49
Legend
I'm still on the fence about it so not in a rush. As long as it's an L4 and the specs are relatively normal on it . . .
Some say it is the magical 8m in the throat on a 16x19.
tim-ay
Legend
I think 8m in the throat is just part of the story. Some 8m in throat rackets are still open because the crosses are spaced all the way down the frame. You can have some goofy **** happen, even with that setup.
What makes the Rad so attractive is that it has that tighter cross pattern. I’m not sold on the CTS prince look alike tapering, but its good to hear you guys are finding it awesome.
PhxRacket
Hall of Fame
That’s clever, but Ball and Chain might be more appropriate given the title, and context, of this thread.
BPlain
Semi-Pro
Or go Top Banana and truly have it all without looking like a girl.
(Diego slams that door shut in my face with the babe on his arm)
Speaking of TB, two questions:
Is there any difference – other than cosmetic – between the 2019 and 2021 model? And what's static weight and SW on TB come in at strung with an OG?
While I'm enjoying the Doppio, I hit for a brief moment last night with my Limoncello 315 and was quickly reminded of all that sweet, sweet butter. Not enough to make me want to switch back, but enough to tickle my TB fancy.
At times I miss playing with my Dunlop’s in general. The older frames were so good at moving around the court, and driving balls. The Wilson’s have lost a step in the speed department.
The ACL/MCL/Meniscus combo surgery didn’t make that happen, or the age. It’s that the biomimetic skin made me faster
mad dog1
G.O.A.T.
Wow - I remember one of these, from the mid 90’s.
JGads
G.O.A.T.
Yeah. The Pro can lag. Quite honestly, the Rad MP makes me think of an UT with more power, less butter, more than any other comparison - however it’s not a perfect comparison. The feel isn’t that close. Firmer. But it’s still a feel I like and pocketing is there as it is with the UT. It really behaves more 18/20 than 16/19 to me. In my book it’s better than a VCore 95, just a little easier and more forgiving, but I don’t know who would win between a Rad MP and Doppio battle for me. The UT is the frame that in some way doesn’t belong here - just miles ahead in feel, absolutely, but not as forgiving as the others in help. But I get why you have trouble leaving it. I get it totally. It’s a trusty pal that doesn’t hit long, which can be huge.
Ha.
Not laughing in disagreement, just funny word
JGads
G.O.A.T.
Nope, different layup in the Top Banana. More butter and potassium. And about 10 points less swingweight on the average stick and five grams less static.
The prior version in a reasonable spec is a remarkable beast - I know, I have one. But I sold two others that were too hefty, giving up.
My three TBs are mid 11oz-ish just like the Doppios, with SWs of 326 (2) and 328 (1).
BPlain
Semi-Pro
Thank you kind sir. I still can't wrap my head around how they added a half inch and kept everything else roughly the same as the Doppio. Unicorn status indeed.
Addxyz
Hall of Fame
I think everyone needed a bigger headsize, it's why it's being discontinued next year. So sad...
tim-ay
Legend
Haha. This is definitely an improvement over pill marketing. If they just can figure out tenses, conjugations, and plural object usages they may really have a breakthrough.
Draper.
Or maybe Pete.
mad dog1
G.O.A.T.
It was a great stick to just hit around with but didn’t work as well when I needed to play for reals. 97-100” is where I’m at now. Perhaps in another 10 years, I’ll be migrating to the 100”+ category.
Power Player
Bionic Poster
Yeah the MP was what I wanted when I was using the Wilson Blade and UT in Miami. It's got extra boom, fantastic control and is easy to play tennis with. Definitely more like an 18x20 or 16x20.
It's probably one of the most complete frames I have owned. I really like the feel. Sure, it is not super soft like the UT, but it has that old school Radical sweet spot in it. Only difference is that it is stiffer outside of that sweet spot, but the benefit is the extra punch you get.
Between this and the Lynx Tour/Element string setup, I have been quite happy. I am still bring the Synthwave97 with me because I really enjoy that racquet as wel. But everything else has taken a backseat for now.
That said, I am going to string up the Top Banana with the LT/Element setup and swap that in for the YY at some point so I can get a nice comparison there.
Nollid
Professional
Hit tonight with a guy who’s a solid 4.5 and a fellow Holic. He was interested in the Banana Lite so I gave him one to try one. Long story short, he loved it and couldn’t stop saying how great it felt. He was able to swing out and hit crazy heavy balls that were super accurate. He uses and extended length Babolat so I suggested he try out the Banana XL. I think we may have another PK convert soon.
Power Player
Bionic Poster
Its a nice frame. Felt a bit stiff outside the sweetspot coming from the blade v7 for me. The main thing with the new head frames is they feel fantastic and old school when you are nailing the sweetspot, but unlike the classics, they are stiffer outside it. The mid may make that tougher if you have a sw or more grip. Maybe not though. Really nice frame. Worth a demo.
Nice. Ill be interested in how the TS compares.Especially since we are using the same frames. Love LT in the vc95 and radical mp.
RF_PRO_STAFF
Professional
@Power Player How are you getting on with your VCP97?
I took it out in group training yesterday. Restrung it this week with a full bed of Ghost Wire 1.17 at 22/21kg. I strung my coach's Blade V6 18x20 recently with GW full bed who was blown away by it and it made me curious. Last two (and the only two) sessions before this one were nice but difficult at the same time. It had Hawk Touch 1.20 at the same tension. In both sessions I was not feeling well physically and both were outdoors on clay in quite low temperatures. The frame felt so sluggish and I was having a hard time getting depth and some power on my shots consistenly.
Yesterday I was blown away by how it played. Indoor carpet, so very different to outdoor clay, but it felt like a different stick. Now it finally felt like the 319 SW it has currently. Very quick to get around and very manoeuvrable. I have no clue how it could feel so different from the first two times hitting it. The GW strings also felt very 'light' and lively. Crazy comfortable for a full bed of poly, most comfortable full bed of poly that I've tried. Hats off @TierOneSportsOfficial. While being very soft, I don't feel like the stringbed it mushy at all. Great feel. It's not a setup for everyone but it's a great match for me in the VCP97. My groundstrokes were coming through very fast this time, probably due to the lower SW than usual making me able to up my RHS a bit. The balls were shooting off the strings as well. I'm pretty sure they'll get too lively as I get more hours on them so I'll string it a bit higher next time. There's a good amount of strings for easier spin generation but the spin is definitely adequate. Good for a round poly. Perfect for indoor carpet play. I'll try this setup in a few other sticks as well.
I took it out in group training yesterday. Restrung it this week with a full bed of Ghost Wire 1.17 at 22/21kg. I strung my coach's Blade V6 18x20 recently with GW full bed who was blown away by it and it made me curious. Last two (and the only two) sessions before this one were nice but difficult at the same time. It had Hawk Touch 1.20 at the same tension. In both sessions I was not feeling well physically and both were outdoors on clay in quite low temperatures. The frame felt so sluggish and I was having a hard time getting depth and some power on my shots consistenly.
Yesterday I was blown away by how it played. Indoor carpet, so very different to outdoor clay, but it felt like a different stick. Now it finally felt like the 319 SW it has currently. Very quick to get around and very manoeuvrable. I have no clue how it could feel so different from the first two times hitting it. The GW strings also felt very 'light' and lively. Crazy comfortable for a full bed of poly, most comfortable full bed of poly that I've tried. Hats off @TierOneSportsOfficial. While being very soft, I don't feel like the stringbed it mushy at all. Great feel. It's not a setup for everyone but it's a great match for me in the VCP97. My groundstrokes were coming through very fast this time, probably due to the lower SW than usual making me able to up my RHS a bit. The balls were shooting off the strings as well. I'm pretty sure they'll get too lively as I get more hours on them so I'll string it a bit higher next time. There's a good amount of strings for easier spin generation but the spin is definitely adequate. Good for a round poly. Perfect for indoor carpet play. I'll try this setup in a few other sticks as well.
Gee
Hall of Fame
Playing indoors is mostly easier than on clay courts. Especially with frames with a lower swingweight you can correct your swing quicker if needed. It also feels like you have more feel indoors because of no hinderince of weather circumstances, no surprising ball bounces, etc.
Power Player
Bionic Poster
Im keeping mine. Its a great frame.
BPlain
Semi-Pro
This was me this morning. I had been playing indoor hard courts for about a month and headed back outside to the green clay on a colder, heavier day. I circled through all my PKs - Doppio, Limoncello 315, and Limoncello 300 – over the course of three sets before landing back with my Doppio. My playing partner – and good friend – kindly pointed out I just needed to lengthen my strokes a bit and then all was right in the tennis world again.
Had a chance to try his VCP97 310. Felt comfortable, swung easy, and very muted, but sticking with my Doppio – and the two others that are on their way.
ryushen21
Legend
As I thought, I played the serve machine today. It was actually a lot of fun and I rather enjoyed myself.
I took some measure of preparation for this match and worked on my returns with some other big servers and focused on knowing when to attack and when to just block back and play the point out. I was a bit surprised during the warmup when it didn't seem like this guy was putting much into his groundstrokes. He was kind of just relaxing and hitting easy. Not a huge amount of spin but also not really going for deeper shots either. He also didn't seem too comfortable if he was off the baseline. Already, I was starting to formulate a plan of attack for the match. I managed to execute that plan quite successfully and ended up winning the match 3-6 6-4 and 10-8 in the breaker.
In the first set, I let myself be completely overwhelmed by this guy's serve. It was a beautiful and precise first that felt like you missed if you blinked. He had a pretty decent kick serve that he used as a second as well. On a lot of those first serves I was trying to attack too much and gave away a lot of points and I was too aggressive in the situations where I did get to look at a second serve by going for a faster putaway instead of grinding things out a bit. But going into the second, I just decided to relax and stick to the smarter plan. Instead of attacking his first serve, I started blocking back and forced him to play more of the points. This was where I saw that he really did not like coming off the baseline. If my return came up short, he would run up to hit it and then hustle back to the baseline instead of playing up and I used that to my advantage. I started varying shorter angled shots with deep, heavy shots to keep him off balance while also using slice and drop shots on him. I also found a way to stand in on his second serve and attack it on the rise to assert pressure and even catch a few return winners. It was a really fun match to play as I got to pull a lot of tools out and use them.
I'm just going to sit back and enjoy this one for a bit.
I took some measure of preparation for this match and worked on my returns with some other big servers and focused on knowing when to attack and when to just block back and play the point out. I was a bit surprised during the warmup when it didn't seem like this guy was putting much into his groundstrokes. He was kind of just relaxing and hitting easy. Not a huge amount of spin but also not really going for deeper shots either. He also didn't seem too comfortable if he was off the baseline. Already, I was starting to formulate a plan of attack for the match. I managed to execute that plan quite successfully and ended up winning the match 3-6 6-4 and 10-8 in the breaker.
In the first set, I let myself be completely overwhelmed by this guy's serve. It was a beautiful and precise first that felt like you missed if you blinked. He had a pretty decent kick serve that he used as a second as well. On a lot of those first serves I was trying to attack too much and gave away a lot of points and I was too aggressive in the situations where I did get to look at a second serve by going for a faster putaway instead of grinding things out a bit. But going into the second, I just decided to relax and stick to the smarter plan. Instead of attacking his first serve, I started blocking back and forced him to play more of the points. This was where I saw that he really did not like coming off the baseline. If my return came up short, he would run up to hit it and then hustle back to the baseline instead of playing up and I used that to my advantage. I started varying shorter angled shots with deep, heavy shots to keep him off balance while also using slice and drop shots on him. I also found a way to stand in on his second serve and attack it on the rise to assert pressure and even catch a few return winners. It was a really fun match to play as I got to pull a lot of tools out and use them.
I'm just going to sit back and enjoy this one for a bit.
JGads
G.O.A.T.
Atta boy!
Vicious49
Legend
Im thoroughly confused between the VC95 and the Doppio. I played 3 sets of doubles tonight and switched between the 2 racquets.
Serves - Doppio. My flat and serves just have more pop and are better overall with the Doppio
FH - Even. I feel like I hit a slightly heavier ball with the Doppio but get better net clearance with the VC95.
OHBH - VC95. Both frames are good at it but the VC95 is the best racquet Ive ever used for my OHBH
Slice - Doppio. It hit such a deep, heavy slice. Not that the VC95 is bad at it, the Doppio hits oen of the best slices of any frame Ive eve tried.
Ease of use - VC95, Its just so easy to swing. It feels effortless.
Feel -VC95. Im surprised with this one. But this could be because I have multi mains in the VC95 whereas the Doppio is full bed of Element
Serves - Doppio. My flat and serves just have more pop and are better overall with the Doppio
FH - Even. I feel like I hit a slightly heavier ball with the Doppio but get better net clearance with the VC95.
OHBH - VC95. Both frames are good at it but the VC95 is the best racquet Ive ever used for my OHBH
Slice - Doppio. It hit such a deep, heavy slice. Not that the VC95 is bad at it, the Doppio hits oen of the best slices of any frame Ive eve tried.
Ease of use - VC95, Its just so easy to swing. It feels effortless.
Feel -VC95. Im surprised with this one. But this could be because I have multi mains in the VC95 whereas the Doppio is full bed of Element
4-3 voor the VC95 it seems, although the doppio is the better stick imho ; ). Maybe you should do a gads like shakedown, VC95 - doppio 1-0 for now.
JGads
G.O.A.T.
Concur. When it's tight, the several sessions will hopefully reveal a truth.
Or sometimes just a lot of sighs, shrugs, and 'they're both just so goods.'
But just hit 'em awhile, Vic.
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JGads
G.O.A.T.
Meanwhile, if there are any European watchers here who could be interested in identically matched Grip 2 Top Bananas with a great 295sw unstrung/326strung sw, let me know. I've done all kinds of things to get the grip 2s to be better for me but I'm distinctly favoring my lone Grip 3 every time I go to it, the grip difference, however minute, now bugging me. So it must be done. I'm going to see about adding one or two Grip 3s and let go of the Grip 2s.
Hitting partner gave feedback last night saying the spin and way the ball acts off the bounce is always so difficult to handle when I'm wielding the TB vs other sticks. Said the spin so often catches him by surprise, and late.
Hitting partner gave feedback last night saying the spin and way the ball acts off the bounce is always so difficult to handle when I'm wielding the TB vs other sticks. Said the spin so often catches him by surprise, and late.
Gee
Hall of Fame
Funny how similar the specs of the Top Banana and Diadem Elevate FS 98 Tour are (see table below).
I only wasn't able to figure out the swingweights (unstrung) of these ones. From other reviews on the Diadem EFS 98 Tour they mentioned about 330 strung but my demo had a 317 SW strung (that was probably an off-spec frame).
However I guess these two frames will be very similar. So if you love the Ki Q+ 5 Pro you also should try the Diadem Elevate FS 98 Tour.
You might also like the standard EFS 98 (305 grams) with a more comfortable flex (RA 64).
I only wasn't able to figure out the swingweights (unstrung) of these ones. From other reviews on the Diadem EFS 98 Tour they mentioned about 330 strung but my demo had a 317 SW strung (that was probably an off-spec frame).
However I guess these two frames will be very similar. So if you love the Ki Q+ 5 Pro you also should try the Diadem Elevate FS 98 Tour.
You might also like the standard EFS 98 (305 grams) with a more comfortable flex (RA 64).
| Specs (unstrung) | Ki Q+ 5 Pro (2021) | Diadem Elevate FS 98 Tour |
|---|---|---|
| Head Size: | 100 sq inch | 98 sq inch |
| Length: | 27 inch | 27 inch |
| Weight: | 315 grams | 315 grams |
| Balance: | 310 mm | 315 mm |
| Swingweight: | 334 (strung TW) | ? |
| Stiffness: | 67 | 67 |
| Beam Width: | 21.5 mm | 21.5 mm |
| String Pattern: | 16x20 | 16x20 |
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Gee
Hall of Fame
Oops, I already wasn't sure about that. Corrected.
Vicious49
Legend
The Doppio is the better serving stick for me which is a big advantage in the Doppios favor. I havent experimented with various strings in the Doppio yet either. I went straight to Element based on @JGads Recommendation.
If I were to keep score per outing starting yesterday then the VC95 is in the lead 1-0.
ryushen21
Legend
You need to do a more apples to apples comparison. Put the same string setup in both and go from there. There will always be difference if you have different setups.
And, is the 1HBH so important that it gets its own category?
tim-ay
Legend
There is something about a 2 that you just can’t get it to a 3. An 1/8 shouldn’t make a difference, but it does. The closest I have come is using the white 1/2 size shrink wrap, cut it down a bit, but it still adds 7-10 grams depending on length. If the racquet needs that weight, then it becomes tolerable.
What I can’t figure out is that grip shapes don’t really bother me. Bevel feel is way down on my list of ‘care abouts’. Varying the thickness of the grip itself doesn’t bother me much either. But I just can’t gel with an L2 no matter what I do. On my side, it doesn’t make sense but I’ve come to accept it.
I’m going to have to admit, there was a time where that would have been a big decider for me.
I was hitting eastern FH and OHBH and my backhand could be my better, or at least consistent and loopier, stroke. Now that my forehand is improved (SW) and I’m 85-90% 2HBH I find that ‘ground strokes’ is more of a category for me
ryushen21
Legend
I used to be similar. More eastern forehand and a 1HBH but my forehand was always the bigger weapon and the backhand was more defensive and almost always a slice shot. But I can't recall consciously putting that much emphasis on one shot; other than the serve which is always the tiebreaker if two frames are performing crazy close.
I also categorize it into groundstrokes as well. The properly executed 2HBH was a revelation for my game and I couldn't imagine not hitting it now. I guess to a certain extent, I wonder why anyone would choose to hit the 1HBH since experience has shown me that the 2HBH is a far more potent and reliable weapon.
Vicious49
Legend
I could have just said Backhand but figured in case someone reads it later and is a OHBH player, it may help them out.
For me, my OHBH is a weapon at times. If I'm late, it's going to be defensive - most likely a slice. If I have time I can rip that BH and put some sick angles on it. I have a more Eastern FH and OHBH so not all frames work great with both strokes. The frames that hit flatter with less net clearance work well for my FH but not so well for the BH. More open frames are the opposite where it's awesome for my BH but my FH doesn't get along as well with them. So I think it does deserve 2 categories. Each is a different shot and a different type of stroke. Otherwise you could classify slices in to groundstrokes as well.
Power Player
Bionic Poster
I'd suggest to stop overthinking frames this much. I get trying out racquets and forging out your favorites of course but just play tennis with both and it will sort itself out. It's also pretty healthy for your game to settle down for a while with your favorite frame and just play tennis. Don't invest THAT much mental energy into the gear.
Also again, I have said this a lot, but you need to put real skin in the game. Enter tournaments, play ranked matches..etc. That is the ultimate way to sort out which racquet you like. From doing all that I personally leaned Vc95 over everything. Once that was sorted and I tried out the Radical MP, it only took me like 4-6 hours to figure out that this was even better for my game, and that was done.
Just make a USTA profile and search for tournaments near you and enter those. It's the ultimate way to figure out what frame you prefer and it will make you way better at. tennis. Win/win.
ryushen21
Legend
I would argue that frames don't hit flatter and that your stroke determines the trajectory of your shot more than anything else. But that's just me. I've learned through development with my coaches that I can create the shape and trajectory that I want with less dependence on a particular frame or pattern.
This is sound advice. Hard for a 'holic to follow, but sound advice, nevertheless. Like a sailor on shore leave after 6 months at sea, I went on a bit of a spree past month or so. I woke up in an alley with the VCORE Tour 89 in my hand, have been playing with it ever since (for 2 whole weeks
. Back where I started from about a year ago... Absolutely love this frame though - pancakes with a scalpel, in the words of Granville.
mad dog1
G.O.A.T.
+1
@Vicious49 until racquet manufacturers start making frames with built in AI or intelligent graphite that can recognize when you are hitting a backhand vs a forehand and automatically adjust its characteristics to achieve your desired net clearance, the only solution is to change your technique on one wing.
I have 2 categories for groundstrokes - topspin and slice - because a racquet does not generate more or less topspin or slice from one wing vs the other.
This is the best advice that can be given. And we’ve read some great stories of triumph when stepping up in this thread recently, which honestly I enjoy reading more than the racquet reviews many days.
As my coach told me, ‘I don’t care what you play with. Just pick a racquet, don’t think about it, and play matches’
