Prokennex Kinetic system

Yeah, I know, sounds gimmicky but...
Is it actually there?
I've never touched a racquet with the Kinetic system and I was wondering, IF they have what they claim in it... wouldn't the racquet rattle and sound like there was drill flash or something.

It does. Sounds like it has sand in it.

The system works. The sound isn't too noticeable and it does seem to help tennis elbow suffers from all that I've seen. I have a Reach that I teach with.

it really works, I played with this racquet for couple of months while recovering from TE

I have been using Kinetic Pro 7G for last 5 years or so. It is really a wonderful racket. The best I have used so far. There are tons of comments and testimonials on 7G on TW. No elbow or wrist pains since I started using this racket, either.

As Ollinger said it sounds like sand when you shake it. I never have noticed it while playing, but a friend hit with it and claims he heard it. I bought the racquet because I had tennis elbow in the past and it it forgiving with the correct string. I current am using the Rendondo MP though and seem to like it due to a little less power and more feel.

That's right....I've never noticed the sound while playing. Shake it next to your ear and it sounds like fine sand, not intrusive at all

anyone know is that all Prhennex racquet made in CHINA?
Especially for that famous Heritage Type C Redondo ? THX!

Its a wonderful racket especially when strung with natural gut !

kuihung said:

anyone know is that all Prhennex racquet made in CHINA?
Especially for that famous Heritage Type C Redondo ? THX!

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Yes. PK's are now made in China.

And certainly the Redondo. There's a QC sticker, under the grip pallet, covering the balancing lead piece on the handle. The sticker's in Chinese and signed with Chinese names (in Chinese, of course).

As a wrist/shoulder pain sufferer, I can definitely say the PK5G works.
As others have mentioned, you can hear it as you shake the racquet around your ear, but in real world play, you'll hear yourself running and breathing and the ball bouncing more than the kinetic system. I think people who hear the kinetic mass move are imagining things

Yes it works. Yes it is great for folks who suffer from elbow and shoulder pain.

Better yet. the PK 5g is one of the best all court racquets ever made. Period.

-k-

I heard the "sandy" sound the first couple of times I hit with it, but I never do anymore. It's a great racquet (I use the Ki 5) and the system really works.

I know this is kind of an old thread, but is there any way to mimic the kinetic system in any random racquet?

I think Anirut's system of "Super Redondo" might work, but can anyone comment on the effectiveness of his mod? Or tell if his method gets the beads to the hoop or just the handle?

And is there any other way besides Anirut's "Super" system?

EDIT- Does adding lead create a similar vibration dampening feel?

netman said:

Yes it works. Yes it is great for folks who suffer from elbow and shoulder pain.

Better yet. the PK 5g is one of the best all court racquets ever made. Period.

-k-

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very tru the 5g is the best

Yeah the sand sound is kind of freaky initially. First time I picked up a 5g, I thought it was a defect. It does have a nice feel to it, too bad the company is slowly pulling out of shops, they should really fight or at least merge in with someone else to make sure their racquets stick around!

^^ its sad that they used to be dominant and make racquets for other companies and now they cant even hold there own.

With the new Ionic System the sand noise is quite unoticable compared to the preivious model. I'd like to know on a Ki5x/7g series where's located the kinetic? ONly at 3 and 9 or around the entire hoop. Thanks

Yeah, I disliked the sandy sound, but quickly realized you don't hear it playing (this is important) and you get used to it when you're holding the racquet or putting it away. I'm skeptical of so-called technologies. . . except this one.

max said:

Yeah, I disliked the sandy sound, but quickly realized you don't hear it playing (this is important) and you get used to it when you're holding the racquet or putting it away. I'm skeptical of so-called technologies. . . except this one.

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The sand noise drove me crazy and I could not get over it--

Azrael said:

I know this is kind of an old thread, but is there any way to mimic the kinetic system in any random racquet?

I think Anirut's system of "Super Redondo" might work, but can anyone comment on the effectiveness of his mod? Or tell if his method gets the beads to the hoop or just the handle?

And is there any other way besides Anirut's "Super" system?

EDIT- Does adding lead create a similar vibration dampening feel?

Click to expand...

I think it would be hard to mimic it on a normal racquet.
But adding lead does help in dampening the impact, but it does other things aswell.
The kinetic system is one of the better technologies in todays racquets I think.

I just got a Ki5 and I noticed the rattle and my hitting partner also mentioned it when tried it, so I thought it was defective. I called TW and they said that I should send it back for testing and maybe they could fix it, but now I see from this thread that it's not something that can be fixed. I have it strung up with gut at 58 lbs and I like the spin, power and control and especially the comfort so far, although I haven't really tested in in battle yet. How is it that some of the Ki5 rackets rattle and some don't? Or do they all sound like there's sand in there?

NE1for10is? said:

I just got a Ki5 and I noticed the rattle and my hitting partner also mentioned it when tried it, so I thought it was defective. I called TW and they said that I should send it back for testing and maybe they could fix it, but now I see from this thread that it's not something that can be fixed. I have it strung up with gut at 58 lbs and I like the spin, power and control and especially the comfort so far, although I haven't really tested in in battle yet. How is it that some of the Ki5 rackets rattle and some don't? Or do they all sound like there's sand in there?

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I've had a Ki5 in the past and that particular frame has the "sand" or what PK calls micro bearings in both the head and the handle. Some of the newer Q series racquets may only have the bearings in the head. I know some models seem louder than others but in all cases this is normal for any PK Kinetic frame.

You shouldn't be able to hear the "sand" during play. If you hear a rattling sound, I doubt this is the kinetic stuff and think it might be a small piece of plastic or something that came loose and is banging around. On the next stringjob you could take the grommets out and see if there is anything left inside that is moving around.

Note that sometimes with a new stringjob the strings will "rattle and buzz" and it goes away as they settle in.

KenC said:

You shouldn't be able to hear the "sand" during play. If you hear a rattling sound, I doubt this is the kinetic stuff and think it might be a small piece of plastic or something that came loose and is banging around. On the next stringjob you could take the grommets out and see if there is anything left inside that is moving around.

Note that sometimes with a new stringjob the strings will "rattle and buzz" and it goes away as they settle in.

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^^^^^
I agree,never heard it while playing.

Totally legit technology, IMHO. The fact that they've kept it for many years, while everyone else's "technology" is scrapped every two years for something new and similarly ineffective, speaks to that.

max said:

Yeah, I disliked the sandy sound, but quickly realized you don't hear it playing (this is important) and you get used to it when you're holding the racquet or putting it away. I'm skeptical of so-called technologies. . . except this one.

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I agree, I like this technology.

Azrael said:

I know this is kind of an old thread, but is there any way to mimic the kinetic system in any random racquet?

I think Anirut's system of "Super Redondo" might work, but can anyone comment on the effectiveness of his mod? Or tell if his method gets the beads to the hoop or just the handle?

And is there any other way besides Anirut's "Super" system?

EDIT- Does adding lead create a similar vibration dampening feel?

Click to expand...

I don't think you can mod this, or get anywhere close. The system is unique in that the beads or sand move at impact and actually reduce impact SHOCK. All other systems of dampening only reduce post-shock vibration. You'd have to somehow add a pocket full of sand in the head, either inside or outside the frame, to recreate this effect.

Like others have said, lead tape can also reduce shock by increasing plowthrough (the weight of the head relative to the weight of the ball) but then you're increasing swingweight and overall weight too. I think the kinetic/ionic systems reduce shock maximally with very little increase in weight. In fact, there's really no increase in weight. Most companies add extra material in the head to increase swingweight and stability. The extra material PK adds is the microbeads, which reduce shock a great deal more, gram for gram, than lead tape or extra graphite would.

corners said:

The system is unique in that the beads or sand move at impact and actually reduce impact SHOCK. All other systems of dampening only reduce post-shock vibration.

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I hadn't thought of this before but I guess this is why I wouldn't consider the PK rackets as "dampened" which is more what I'd describe as the feel of a string dampener.
You still feel the vibration normally but from less overall shock?

Quite honestly, you can't tell its there when playing. If you shake with the purpose of hearing it, you can hear what faintly sounds like sand. The benefits, like others have said, are awesome. It greatly reduces twisting on off-center hits and really ups the ante on control--both of which I think contribute to being arm friendly.

You have to shake the PK rackets right next to your ear to hear the rattle.

flume said:

I hadn't thought of this before but I guess this is why I wouldn't consider the PK rackets as "dampened" which is more what I'd describe as the feel of a string dampener.
You still feel the vibration normally but from less overall shock?

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When the ball hits the strings the impact bends the racquet frame backward and when that bending wave gets to the handle it slams into your hand, travels up your wrist to your elbow, etc. This first wave is called shock. Once that first bending wave hits the bottom of the handle it "bounces" back up to the top and then back down again at a frequency of 150-180 cycles per second. All subsequent cycles are post-impact vibration, the buzz you feel in your hand after the ball has left the strings. PK tech absorbs that first impact shock but doesn't really do much for the vibration that follows it. But minimizing the first shock will change the vibrations that follow. So the entire feel is different than a normal racquet but the tech is designed primarily to reduce impact shock.

This is the perfect tech for stiff racquets because stiff racquets ordinarily transmit lots of shock. But stiff racquets actually vibrate less after that first shockwave, so when you add kinetic/ionic tech to a stiff racquet you get less impact shock and then less vibration afterward because the frame is stiff.

Kinetic/ionic tech would be less useful for a flexible racquet because flexible racquets, because they bend more, transmit less impact shock. But after that first shockwave, flexible racquets actually vibrate more than stiff racquets because they bend so much. So the impact bends the flexible frame backwards a lot and then the frame vibrates back and forth a lot afterward. Since PK tech doesn't do much for that post impact vibration, and because flexible racquets already transmit less shock, adding PK tech to flexible racquets is kind of redundant. So adding the microbeads to a very flexible racquet like the Prince Tours won't really help because they are already so flexible and naturally good at absorbing shock.

An extreme example is wood racquets. They are so flexible, and heavy, that you hardly feel the impact shockwave at all. But after impact they vibrate back and forth a great distance. You can actually feel the tip oscillating back and forth in your hand after the shot. PK tech wouldn't do any good for a wooden racquet. But something like Volkl's skyscraper doodad added to the handle, which reduces post-impact vibration, would probably be pretty nice. Although it would mute the feel.

Wrote this fast. Hope it makes sense.

With my arm issue I have literally hit back to back with this technology and other racquets, and the pain is less or none with the PK technology. While there might be other racquets out there that do similar, I'm sold on this one and the specs are rather neutral too, IMO. Easy to lead a little here and there to your liking.

yemenmocha said:

With my arm issue I have literally hit back to back with this technology and other racquets, and the pain is less or none with the PK technology...

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Can you believe it? A racquet technology that actually works!

I had my doubts, but when my elbow was giving me problems the Ki5 315 was the only racquet that allowed me to continue playing. The TE is now gone, but I still use it because it is a great all round racquet even if one doesn't have TE.

I don't use a PK anymore, but I have a 5g that is there in case I do get TE. The technology is for real. It has cured my TGE more than once.

I do agree that the Ki 5 315 is one of the best player racquets out there that is nothing less than radical or blade in terms of playabilities.

I use and really like the ki 5 (the 5g before that). I don't notice the sand while playing, although i do notice how loud some other rackets sound when I try them out now. Some of these rackets get a buzz sound, and if you notice that while playing, it's probably not the sand. I think it's part of the handle system. I have taken the butt cap off, removed the cylinder,added some rubber cement, reapplied the butt cap and the buzz was gone.

I have a bunch of PK frames (Q5, 7G, 5G, Redondo, 15G, Ki5, probably a few others).

I think they are all quite good, but the Q5 and the 5G are my favorites. I don't have tennis elbow and never have, but I find these PK racquets to be excellent quality and very comfortable to hit with.

Has anyone tried 5g Reach.It has following specs.

Reach OS Specifications:
Head Size: 110 sq. in. / 710 sq. cm. (Oversized)
Length: 28 inches / 71 cm (Long Frame)
Strung Weight: 11.7oz / 333g
Balance: 8pts Head Light
Swingweight: 352
Stiffness: 65
Beam Width: 22mm Straight Beam
Composition: 100% Ultra High Modulus Graphite with Kinetic System Technology
Power Level: Low-Medium
Swing Speed: Moderate-Fast
Grip Type: Perforated Cushion Grip
String Pattern: 16 Mains / 20 Crosses
Mains skip: 8T,8H
One Piece
No shared holes
String Tension: 52-68 pounds