Ordered a PSBLX 95 from TW and asked for the lightest static and lowest SW they had

TaihtDuhShaat · Feb 27, 2012

...For my brother; the goal was to get the lightest hoop and handle, so I can wrap long strips of lead across the top 1/2 or 1/3 of the hoop, and 1" lead wrapped around under the grip at 7", and some in the butt. His specs are 354g, 32.15cm, and 341SW. The goal is to create a very even string bed response from bottom to top, side to side and get a little more flex than the 6.1 95 16x18 he uses. It'll be strung with tonic/B5E at 53/45 lbs., fed string savers and stencil, and leather grip and overgrip. I'll take some pics once it's done.

TaihtDuhShaat · Feb 27, 2012

Haters gonna hate

dmcb101 · Feb 27, 2012

Wow, sounds like a lot of work!

rallyguy · Feb 27, 2012

I'd be very interested how low they can find one. Wonder how the Wilson will vary, I've heard they don't have the best QA so could be more than slight. Looking forward to your posting of the static weight before you customize as I was thinking of doing something vaguely similar. How many racquets do you think they'll go thru before they say that this is the lightest? I would imagine at least 20 and I'd think they haven't already determined the weights in advance so they'd have to go thru them individually.

TaihtDuhShaat · Feb 27, 2012

I'll let you know on thursday when it arrives...I don't know how thorough they'll be, but I do remember seeing only 5 or so SW measurements on a customer's receipt who asked to match 2 frames. It may have only taken 5 frames to match 2 SW's for that customer. Since I am looking for the lightest of all, maybe they will look through many.

esgee48 · Feb 27, 2012

BLX Pro Staff Six.One 95? Could be as low as 310-315 grams? I'm also curious how low it could go.

TaihtDuhShaat · Mar 1, 2012

Well the frame arrived this afternoon, and I was disappointed that the lightest frame they could find was 315g, 31.5cm balance, 283sw UNSTRUNG. Factoring in 15+g for string, and that's heavier than the TW averaged specs!? and heavier than Wilsons 313g printed on the throat! But, it's 2g above Wilson's target specs, and has a low SW, and .5cm more HH, meaning less weight in the lower handle and extra weight in the throat region. On top of that, this one feels stiffer when I bend the throat against my knee than others I've tested in a shop. So I got a stiffer stock version with 2g extra in the throat. Not that bad since the ones in the shop seems to give too much on the bend test.

Anyway, the SW is still low which was the most important thing I was looking for. I'll post back after its strung up and leaded.

cork_screw · Mar 1, 2012

After you made all these royal demands, did you give them a 20% tip? Honestly, if someone called up and asked me to rummage through the inventory and weigh each racquet for your ideal spec from a *stock frame* you just indicated, I would have just hung up.

TaihtDuhShaat said:
...For my brother; the goal was to get the lightest hoop and handle, so I can wrap long strips of lead across the top 1/2 or 1/3 of the hoop, and 1" lead wrapped around under the grip at 7", and some in the butt. His specs are 354g, 32.15cm, and 341SW. The goal is to create a very even string bed response from bottom to top, side to side and get a little more flex than the 6.1 95 16x18 he uses. It'll be strung with tonic/B5E at 53/45 lbs., fed string savers and stencil, and leather grip and overgrip. I'll take some pics once it's done.

TimothyO · Mar 1, 2012

TaihtDuhShaat said:
Well the frame arrived this afternoon, and I was disappointed that the lightest frame they could find was 315g, 31.5cm balance, 283sw UNSTRUNG. Factoring in 15+g for string, and that's heavier than the TW averaged specs!? and heavier than Wilsons 313g printed on the throat! But, it's 2g above Wilson's target specs, and has a low SW, and .5cm more HH, meaning less weight in the lower handle and extra weight in the throat region. On top of that, this one feels stiffer when I bend the throat against my knee than others I've tested in a shop. So I got a stiffer stock version with 2g extra in the throat. Not that bad since the ones in the shop seems to give too much on the bend test.

Anyway, the SW is still low which was the most important thing I was looking for. I'll post back after its strung up and leaded.

I only buy new frames locally for this reason. You can actually get what you want.

TimothyO · Mar 1, 2012

cork_screw said:
After you made all these royal demands, did you give them a 20% tip? Honestly, if someone called up and asked me to rummage through the inventory and weigh each racquet for your ideal spec from a *stock frame* you just indicated, I would have just hung up.

Last I checked TW charges for the service. It's very hit or miss in spite of the fee. Not worth it.

TaihtDuhShaat · Mar 1, 2012

I should have known better TimO.

Racquet's all strung and tuned up. She's a beaut. Man the thin beam makes the sweet spot feel like the whole string bed. 354g, 32.15cm, 341sw. I'll take a photo.

dmcb101 · Mar 1, 2012

TaihtDuhShaat said:
I should have known better TimO.

Racquet's all strung and tuned up. She's a beaut. Man the thin beam makes the sweet spot feel like the whole string bed. 354g, 32.15cm, 341sw. I'll take a photo.

how did you measure SW so fast? Do you have an RDC machine?

TaihtDuhShaat · Mar 1, 2012

I wish I had one of those. I used the old fashioned pendulum method. I use 40 swings; it's pretty accurate.

dmcb101 · Mar 1, 2012

how does that work exactly? just count how long it takes for 40 swings? where do you put the pivot point?

TaihtDuhShaat · Mar 1, 2012

measure static, and balance in cm. measure distance from butt end to hang string. Hang from hang string, push lightly, stopwatch 40 oscillations. Divide by 4. Enter all info into http://twu.tennis-warehouse.com/learning_center/swingweight_calc.php Pivot point can be any string as long as the distance between it and the butt end is used.

dmcb101 · Mar 1, 2012

TaihtDuhShaat said:
measure static, and balance in cm. measure distance from butt end to hang string. Hang from hang string, push lightly, stopwatch 40 oscillations. Divide by 4. Enter all info into http://twu.tennis-warehouse.com/learning_center/swingweight_calc.php Pivot point can be any string as long as the distance between it and the butt end is used.

IC. the twu tool is awesome. just thought it was interesting to use 40 instead of 10 oscillations

TennisCJC · Mar 2, 2012

How does this customized beast play? I tried 2 stock blx ps 95 rackets. One had the buzz in the handle and the other did not. I think the amplifeel sometimes rattles in the handle if not installed properly. Others have reported the handle buzz too. It was not a loose butt trap door as I checked for this.

It is still an interesting racket. I may get one one day but I am liking my customized volkl 010 295s for now. The volkl o10 295 is similar to the blx ps 95 but the volkl has a slightly oval beam and a much more solid feel.

TaihtDuhShaat · Mar 3, 2012

We went out for a hit last night, and in customized form with lead at 12, in the buttcap, and top of the grip, this thing has one of the best feels of any racquet I've ever played.

This is including pt57a, tgk pro stock frames, the babolat psl, the pro staff 85.

It's just the best feeling response, I can't even describe it.

My brother played the best I've ever seen him with it. Just so much feel for the court. He said he has a new lease on tennis from the angles and variety he was getting. Great success.

dmcb101 · Mar 4, 2012

Thats awesome! I actually just played with it (stock) for the first time today! It has all that feel just like you said but it lacked a little pop, which I was anticipating. What I was really surprised with was how accurate my shots were on the run. I got pulled numerous times out wide to my forehand and I just sent back a lazer down the line. I seriously surprised myself at how often I was hitting these winners!

My next line of action is to customize a bit. I have been reading about the whole pendulum theory and I would like to give that a bit of a test by putting some lead at 3/9 and then some at 7'' from the butt cap. Would anyone happen to have any suggestions? I am thinking 4 grams total at 3 and 9 and then maybe another 4 at 7''. What do you guys think? All I know is I really liked the racquet and with a bit of lead I can only imagine how it will play.

As a side note, the 3/8 grip was like huge! I usually use a 3/8 and I can tell you right now if I decide to get one of these I will be getting a 1/4. I wonder why they made the grips so big. Not a huge fan of the grip either, might put something a bit more soft on it. anywho, very excited and would love to hear your guys/gals thoughts.

corners · Mar 4, 2012

dmcb101 said:
My next line of action is to customize a bit. I have been reading about the whole pendulum theory and I would like to give that a bit of a test by putting some lead at 3/9 and then some at 7'' from the butt cap. Would anyone happen to have any suggestions? I am thinking 4 grams total at 3 and 9 and then maybe another 4 at 7''. What do you guys think? All I know is I really liked the racquet and with a bit of lead I can only imagine how it will play.

If you like the way it swings now, your plan of adding 4 grams at 3&9 and 4 grams at 7" is about right to maintain the current MgR/I ratio. It should swing with about the same timing after customization.

However, are you sure 3&9 is where you want to add mass? TW University's testing revealed that this model has quite high twistweight in stock form. Since lead at 3&9 is normally done to increase twistweight, you might not need it here. I would consider adding mass at 12 instead. Flexible frames typically have a power drop off on shots hit above the center of the stringbed. Adding lead at 12 will fix this. If you want to try it, add 2.5 grams total at 12, instead of at 3&9, and then add the same 4 grams at 7". The only downside to lead at 12 is that it may deaden the feel of the hoop. You might like this or you might not. If you don't like it, an alternative placement that will also "energize" the upper hoop would be 3 grams total at 10:30 and 1:30 and 4 grams again at 7". Let us know how it goes.

dmcb101 · Mar 4, 2012

corners said:
If you like the way it swings now, your plan of adding 4 grams at 3&9 and 4 grams at 7" is about right to maintain the current MgR/I ratio. It should swing with about the same timing after customization.

However, are you sure 3&9 is where you want to add mass? TW University's testing revealed that this model has quite high twistweight in stock form. Since lead at 3&9 is normally done to increase twistweight, you might not need it here. I would consider adding mass at 12 instead. Flexible frames typically have a power drop off on shots hit above the center of the stringbed. Adding lead at 12 will fix this. If you want to try it, add 2.5 grams total at 12, instead of at 3&9, and then add the same 4 grams at 7". The only downside to lead at 12 is that it may deaden the feel of the hoop. You might like this or you might not. If you don't like it, an alternative placement that will also "energize" the upper hoop would be 3 grams total at 10:30 and 1:30 and 4 grams again at 7". Let us know how it goes.

Wow, thanks corners! I just finished doing some customizing (6 grams at 3/9) and just by swinging it I can tell it feels better. Unfortunately I ran out of lead tape so I wont be able to add some at 7''. I have done 3 and 9 on previous frames and preferred it over the 12 placement. But I have never done the 12 placement alongside the 7'' so that is something I will try (once i get more lead). Thanks a lot for your advice and I will let you guys know how this feels tomorrow when I hit with it. By the way I figured out that the racquet is now about 318 in SW which Is close to what I was looking for (around 320's). Thanks for all the support.

TaihtDuhShaat · Mar 4, 2012

Corners, I experimented with lead all the way from 3 on one side, to 9 on the other, And the twistweight felt very high indeed.

Lead at 12, 7', and butt was all this frame needed. The lab results spoke the truth.

dmcb101 · Mar 4, 2012

TaihtDuhShaat said:
Corners, I experimented with lead all the way from 3 on one side, to 9 on the other, And the twistweight felt very high indeed.

Lead at 12, 7', and butt was all this frame needed. The lab results spoke the truth.

When you say 'high twistweight' does that mean that it does not twist much on contact? If so I understand why putting lead at 3&9 might be pointless.

I saw that you really beefed yours up. I am only looking for the minimal amount of weight added and a SW of about 320's.

TaihtDuhShaat · Mar 4, 2012

dmcb101 said:
When you say 'high twistweight' does that mean that it does not twist much on contact? If so I understand why putting lead at 3&9 might be pointless.

I saw that you really beefed yours up. I am only looking for the minimal amount of weight added and a SW of about 320's.

Yep, high twistweight means more resistance to twisting on off center hits. This frame is great because it is available to create a variety of specs. Since you know yours, lead at 12 is all you need for the hoop. Handle weighting can be complicated, but you can go well with the lead at 7".

dmcb101 · Mar 4, 2012

TaihtDuhShaat said:
Yep, high twistweight means more resistance to twisting on off center hits. This frame is great because it is available to create a variety of specs. Since you know yours, lead at 12 is all you need for the hoop. Handle weighting can be complicated, but you can go well with the lead at 7".

yeah. Thats good to know. I am going to try this frame with the set up I just did but I will also try it at 12 and 7. I am excited to see what works for me.

dmcb101 · Mar 5, 2012

Well I had my hit today and it was great! The plow through was like night and day compared to the stock form. I had about 6g of lead at 3&9 total along with about 2 g at 7''. It was a great hit but I think I may try and shed off 4 grams; 2 at the 3&9 position and the two at 7''. I know everyone is big on the pendulum thing but to me the most important aspect is the plowthrough/twistweight on ground strokes and volleys. I can usually tell if a racquet has enough plowthrough if my slice stays low and tight. When a frame is a bit flimsy up top my backhand slice tends to pop up and float. Today my slices were rock solid and my forehand had a ton of pace. My goal is to keep that plowthrough while keeping the lowest weight possible. I think I am a depolarized guy!

corners · Mar 5, 2012

dmcb101 said:
Well I had my hit today and it was great! The plow through was like night and day compared to the stock form. I had about 6g of lead at 3&9 total along with about 2 g at 7''. It was a great hit but I think I may try and shed off 4 grams; 2 at the 3&9 position and the two at 7''. I know everyone is big on the pendulum thing but to me the most important aspect is the plowthrough/twistweight on ground strokes and volleys. I can usually tell if a racquet has enough plowthrough if my slice stays low and tight. When a frame is a bit flimsy up top my backhand slice tends to pop up and float. Today my slices were rock solid and my forehand had a ton of pace. My goal is to keep that plowthrough while keeping the lowest weight possible. I think I am a depolarized guy!

As far as the pendulum thing goes, you are coming from a stick with a very low MgR/I ratio, so that lead in the head is pushing your PS95 in the direction of what you are used to.

dmcb101 · Mar 5, 2012

corners said:
As far as the pendulum thing goes, you are coming from a stick with a very low MgR/I ratio, so that lead in the head is pushing your PS95 in the direction of what you are used to.

So your saying that when I am putting the lead at 3&9 I am getting specs closer to my N tours? I guess I could see that when I think of the solid feel of my BH slice for instance but I can tell this stick is much more hefty and also has much better touch.

I was looking at the TW customizing tool and they suggested 4 grams at 12. I have never tried this but I think I might for my next hit. How much less maneuverable will the stick be with the lead here?

corners · Mar 5, 2012

dmcb101 said:
So your saying that when I am putting the lead at 3&9 I am getting specs closer to my N tours? I guess I could see that when I think of the solid feel of my BH slice for instance but I can tell this stick is much more hefty and also has much better touch.

I was looking at the TW customizing tool and they suggested 4 grams at 12. I have never tried this but I think I might for my next hit. How much less maneuverable will the stick be with the lead here?

Less maneuverable for sure, but the swingweight will be similar to your old NTours, so it probably won't be too much trouble. And lead at 12 will be more similar to you NTour than lead at 3&9. But you might not like how it deadens the hoop. In which case, try 11&1.

dmcb101 · Mar 6, 2012

corners said:
Less maneuverable for sure, but the swingweight will be similar to your old NTours, so it probably won't be too much trouble. And lead at 12 will be more similar to you NTour than lead at 3&9. But you might not like how it deadens the hoop. In which case, try 11&1.

I see. I appreciate you input. Its always nice to get lots of opinions on here. I have always been a fan of lead at 3&9 on head light sticks just to make it feel more solid on contact but I am open to trying 12 too.

dmcb101 · Mar 7, 2012

Hello TW readers. Just thought I would update you on my customizing. I decided after hitting with the set up above that I would try something a little lighter as my goal is to keep the weight as low as possible while also having enough plow through to be sufficient when hitting against big hitters. I took off the 2 grams at 7'' as well as another 2 at the 3&9 position. I played with it a bit today and noticed that it felt a bit lighter and easier to maneuver when needing to react quickly. The plow through was a tiny bit less as you might imagine but still easily sufficient. My BH slice felt solid and my volley's were easy to control. I think this just may be my set up. Balance comes out at 9 pts HL and It swings great. I would assume the SW to be around 318-320. Let me know what you guys think.

corners · Mar 8, 2012

dmcb101 said:
Hello TW readers. Just thought I would update you on my customizing. I decided after hitting with the set up above that I would try something a little lighter as my goal is to keep the weight as low as possible while also having enough plow through to be sufficient when hitting against big hitters. I took off the 2 grams at 7'' as well as another 2 at the 3&9 position. I played with it a bit today and noticed that it felt a bit lighter and easier to maneuver when needing to react quickly. The plow through was a tiny bit less as you might imagine but still easily sufficient. My BH slice felt solid and my volley's were easy to control. I think this just may be my set up. Balance comes out at 9 pts HL and It swings great. I would assume the SW to be around 318-320. Let me know what you guys think.

I think you ended up with specs very similar to the mid-weight players' sticks popular over the past ten years. These are usually right around 12 ounces, 6-9 points headlight and 315-325 swingweight. Very popular today too, with Yonex 95D, X10 325, etc., etc. Sticks with those specs do everything well, IMHO, especially for all-court play.

dmcb101 · Mar 8, 2012

corners said:
I think you ended up with specs very similar to the mid-weight players' sticks popular over the past ten years. These are usually right around 12 ounces, 6-9 points headlight and 315-325 swingweight. Very popular today too, with Yonex 95D, X10 325, etc., etc. Sticks with those specs do everything well, IMHO, especially for all-court play.

Oh ok. That's a great thing to point out. I just so happen to be an all court player so I think that may be the reason I like it like this. I also really like the BLX six.one 16X18 which is a little different in specs but also feels really nice. Oh the decisions!

dmcb101 · Mar 10, 2012

After a couple more days of hitting I have to say that I am getting a little less impressed with this racquet. I have found that it has been hard to get the racquet through when needing to swing fast. Also, volleys where I need to stretch feel kinda wimpy and I usually dont get a good stick on it. I also have just started having some wrist problems today which I am thinking could be from the frame. I am going to keep playing with it to see what I think, but as of now it is still up in the air.

Question for you all...Has anyone here played with the six.one Team? I was watching a review by stringers world and they were very very impressed with it. They said that they felt that the racquet had the same "solidness" as the regular six.one 95's at a much lower weight (thus better maneuverability).

I currently play with the N tour and I was getting to think that maybe this new Team might be something to look at.

Here is the link to the review by stringers world: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=g__uMWx8dic

dmcb101 · Mar 12, 2012

Well its official. Will not be getting the PS 95. Just not for me. Looks like my next racquet of choice will be the six.one team as it is maybe closer to my current racquet of choice. Thanks all!

cknobman · Mar 12, 2012

dmcb101 said:
Well its official. Will not be getting the PS 95. Just not for me. Looks like my next racquet of choice will be the six.one team as it is maybe closer to my current racquet of choice. Thanks all!

Try the Dunlop Biomimetic 200 Lite, similar specs to the PS 95 but it hits like a dream!!!

dmcb101 · Mar 12, 2012

I'd probably try that but I am going to be endorsing Wilson as a tennis pro starting in June and I dont think that they would appreciate me having a Dunlop frame, ha ha. But thanks for the advice as I thought this racquet looked good!

Hooked · Mar 13, 2012

dmcb101 said:
After a couple more days of hitting I have to say that I am getting a little less impressed with this racquet. I have found that it has been hard to get the racquet through when needing to swing fast. Also, volleys where I need to stretch feel kinda wimpy and I usually dont get a good stick on it. I also have just started having some wrist problems today which I am thinking could be from the frame. I am going to keep playing with it to see what I think, but as of now it is still up in the air.

Question for you all...Has anyone here played with the six.one Team? I was watching a review by stringers world and they were very very impressed with it. They said that they felt that the racquet had the same "solidness" as the regular six.one 95's at a much lower weight (thus better maneuverability).

I currently play with the N tour and I was getting to think that maybe this new Team might be something to look at.

Here is the link to the review by stringers world: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=g__uMWx8dic

I have a K95 16x18 and my partner has a K95 Team. He liked the weight and balance of my 16x18 so I modified his Team by adding 32 grams to the handle. It was originally 11.0 ounces stock and with overgrip, rubber band dampener and extra weight in handle it is now 12.2 ounces, 9 points HL and swingweight of 330. The 16x18 is 12.8 ounces, 10 points HL and SW of 336. We both prefer the modified Team over the 16x18. The Team is lighter with a lower swingweight so if you like to take big cuts it is easier to keep the ball in than the 16x18. The stock Team is way too light though. It NEEDS to be weighted up. I liked it so much that I plan on grabbing one too before they are gone. Wish they made a 16x18 Team, but it's a great stick to customize.

TaihtDuhShaat · Mar 13, 2012

Isn't the new blx95 teams 16x18?

dmcb101 · Mar 13, 2012

Yes it is. Hooked, I think it is your lucky day!

Hooked · Mar 14, 2012

dmcb101 said:
Yes it is. Hooked, I think it is your lucky day!

Thanks for the heads up. I try not to buy racquets at their "current model" prices instead waiting until the price drops after they introduce the "new and improved" successor.

Hooked · Mar 26, 2012

corners said:
I think you ended up with specs very similar to the mid-weight players' sticks popular over the past ten years. These are usually right around 12 ounces, 6-9 points headlight and 315-325 swingweight. Very popular today too, with Yonex 95D, X10 325, etc., etc. Sticks with those specs do everything well, IMHO, especially for all-court play.

Bingo. When I look at all of my sticks, my favorites fall in this range:

Weight: 12.0-12.5
Balance: 8-11 points HL
Swing Weight: 315-325

Those that don't - usually end up getting there after I modify them.

The biggest problem I find is that the manufacturer specs aren't usually on target and can't be relied on.

Ordered a PSBLX 95 from TW and asked for the lightest static and lowest SW they had

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