Power Player
Bionic Poster
Ok..so dont pull as hard as leather basically?
Ok..so dont pull as hard as leather basically?
The GRad MP should be plenty sufficiently stable against 3.0-4.0 players.
Perhaps this 4.0 you played was forcing you to be late or misshit a lot? No racquet will help that. I found the GRad MP very solid and stable feeling, but you do need a certain level of competance to hit in the smallish sweetspot. All the lead in the world can't help you do that. I would suggest a more user friendly racquet like the Graphene Radical S.
So, everyone suddenly on the Speed MP? I am lost in the wilderness after my G. Rad Pro didn't work out. Got a G.Instinct MP (not bad actually but 70 RA). Thinking about G.Speed MP now too. Is it more solid/stable than the IG Speed 300? SW seems 15pts higher.
At the risk of repeating myself, it seems like the Speed has morphed into what the Radical was pre-Graphene...and the Graphene Radicals are becoming Babolat-y.
Which is weirder still, since Head already has a Babolat-y line in the Extreme, and the Instinct has also morphed in that direction as well.
Anyone else think they have too many product lines with too much overlap? Three of which are Bab clones in some form or fashion, particularly the Drives and Aeros.
Thanks Jack. Have you decided on Speed over Rad now or still going between them?
Yeah I agree about my lack of skill, but I started hitting better against him with the ADP and Pure Drive for some reason. Don't get me wrong he was still killing me, but I was getting more shots back at him
At the risk of repeating myself, it seems like the Speed has morphed into what the Radical was pre-Graphene...and the Graphene Radicals are becoming Babolat-y.
Which is weirder still, since Head already has a Babolat-y line in the Extreme, and the Instinct has also morphed in that direction as well.
Anyone else think they have too many product lines with too much overlap? Three of which are Bab clones in some form or fashion, particularly the Drives and Aeros.
But I do think that if you like the APD, but wish it was softer and played more like the original APD (which was softer and a little lower powered), than the MP is a must demo.
I demoed the Grapheme Prestige MP. I am a big fan of the IG Prestige Mid, and I didn't like the Grapheme MP. The weight distribution in the racket was not to my liking and I sprayed balls while having less power than the IG. The new racket lacks the IG's plow-through. The feel when I hit in the sweet spot was pretty good with the new one, but that was the only real positive I thought.
Actually, the only Babolat I've liked was the swirly Pure Control, but couldn't take the stiffness. Will try the new version and the Strike at some point, if only out of curiosity.
Truth be known, I'm one of those few, rare, odd ducks that actually likes the YTIG Prestige S. The G Speed Rev wasn't bad, with similar stiffness, but it needed a lot of weight...less demanding than the Prestige S.
Felt no love for any of the previous Speeds.
FWIW, I'm also one of the throwbacks using traditional strokes (pressuring, hitting through the ball instead of brushing). Probably why the Prestige S works for me. Modern strokes are useless with it...but I find plenty of power hitting through the ball off both wings, unlike most of its detractors.
Why have the made Prestige Pro beam wider and reduced the weight by 10g? The thing I love about this stick is that its rare in the fact that it fits a spec thats not really accounted for... 325-340g, 98cm, 16x19 etc. What are the alternates now they've made it lighter? I can never be bothered with lead tape.
Given the discounting I'd suggest too few people bought it. It is a racquet that only lasted six years in its current form.
Compared to the mp, the pro in all its iterations seemed to go on sale earlier and longer whereas the mp sometimes simply sold out.
This might be due to where I live or may depend on how many Head actually makes, but it didn't and doesn't appear to be nearly as popular as the mp.
So I was not surprised to hear that they had lowered the weight by ten grams, but yes they could have just offered the same mp spec in a different drill pattern.
They did not just lower the weight by 10g. They now use the Prestige S mold. Its a completely different racquet now. Its also wider.:shock:
Yes, I heard that too so you think there will be shared holes as well?
Very disappointing to hear about where head has gone with the prestige.
So, everyone suddenly on the Speed MP? I am lost in the wilderness after my G. Rad Pro didn't work out. Got a G.Instinct MP (not bad actually but 70 RA). Thinking about G.Speed MP now too.
I had the impression that the prestige mp went lighter and stiffer.which direction regarding prestige mp you mentioned?
I went thru most of thread regarding graphene prestige mp and not clear what changes they made.
It looks like graphene prestige mp does not change much from IG except that weight polarization? (and the flex near throat area due to polarization maybe?).
I have always been a huge Head fan. However, I think the new Graphene line is where they lose a lot of their fan base. They tried to go more user friendly, and in my opinion, is a swing and a miss
the radical line has lost its heritage. It feels WAY too stiff, tinny, and unstable. My elbow hurt just feeding balls with it. Did not care for it at all around the net. Good power from the baseline, but felt a supreme lack of feel... not worth it IMP. Do not like no 18x20 offering, and the fact you have to cap it just to get it to its normal weight.
the prestige MP plays more like a radical of the past. However, it too feels tinny in my opinion. I was hoping from what i read that this frame would be a poor man's PT57A, and they whiffed here as well. VERY small sweet spot, and the vibration on mis-hits is crazy.
Don't even get me started on the Rev Pro. It doesn't even deserve to carry the prestige name.
Actually - the radical rev was my favorite out of the entire line haha. a little too head heavy in stock form, but performed the best overall from my brief hit with it. A few of my junior players really like this frame.
my brother plays the IG limited Prestige MP, and he tried the new ones as well.... he will not be making the switch
Spot on assessment. I so wanted to like the Graphene Prestige MP too.
such a bummer. if it aint broke, don't fix it. Why make the radical wider beamed? I don't like they took their players rackets and made them lighter. Even though they claim the swingweight may be the same, it isn't.
I really wanted to like the prestige MP. I thought it may be what I was looking for. Not even close. The shock with all of the new frames on anything off center is crazy, and the sweet spot is so small. I am one of the few I think that likes the cosmetics, but that's not enough. The IG line overall I feel is better. I have thought so even with the Speed and Instinct lines as well. I was hoping for a lot more with the new line and they fell way short.
such a bummer. if it aint broke, don't fix it. Why make the radical wider beamed? I don't like they took their players rackets and made them lighter. Even though they claim the swingweight may be the same, it isn't.
I really wanted to like the prestige MP. I thought it may be what I was looking for. Not even close. The shock with all of the new frames on anything off center is crazy, and the sweet spot is so small. I am one of the few I think that likes the cosmetics, but that's not enough. The IG line overall I feel is better. I have thought so even with the Speed and Instinct lines as well. I was hoping for a lot more with the new line and they fell way short.
Babalot and Wilson are outselling Head by a wide margin and this was a desperation move by Head. Everyone is trying to get a piece of the stiff 11 oz, 100" powerful racquet pie.
I have always been a huge Head fan. However, I think the new Graphene line is where they lose a lot of their fan base. They tried to go more user friendly, and in my opinion, is a swing and a miss
the radical line has lost its heritage. It feels WAY too stiff, tinny, and unstable. My elbow hurt just feeding balls with it. Did not care for it at all around the net. Good power from the baseline, but felt a supreme lack of feel... not worth it IMP. Do not like no 18x20 offering, and the fact you have to cap it just to get it to its normal weight.
the prestige MP plays more like a radical of the past. However, it too feels tinny in my opinion. I was hoping from what i read that this frame would be a poor man's PT57A, and they whiffed here as well. VERY small sweet spot, and the vibration on mis-hits is crazy.
Don't even get me started on the Rev Pro. It doesn't even deserve to carry the prestige name.
Actually - the radical rev was my favorite out of the entire line haha. a little too head heavy in stock form, but performed the best overall from my brief hit with it. A few of my junior players really like this frame.
my brother plays the IG limited Prestige MP, and he tried the new ones as well.... he will not be making the switch
Babalot and Wilson are outselling Head by a wide margin and this was a desperation move by Head. Everyone is trying to get a piece of the stiff 11 oz, 100" powerful racquet pie.
I just played both G-Radical Pro and G-Prestige Rev Pro. I agree with you that they are not Radical and Prestige that we know for long time. No more solid thick feel. It's becoming more modern, and actually I like both of them. Part of that is because of my older age so I need something easy to play on daily basis. I strung both frames with Weisscannon Dual Reality.
The G-Radical Pro plays like AeroPro Drive or Pure Drive with much better control and feel. Power distribution in sweet spot is not like other racquets. Normally most racquets produce most power in sweet spot and drop it outside sweet spot. For G-Radical Pro, I can feel extra control in sweet spot. Outside sweet spot towards the tip of racquet, I've got extra power. This is quite strange, but I like it.
For the G-Prestige Rev Pro, I took risk in buying the racquet with weird spec but I don't regret with my decision. Actually I fell in love with this frame after 2 hours of hitting. The G-Prestige Rev Pro is actually 95-96 sq.in so it's clearly bigger than Prestige Mid (longer main strings). Even though it weighs only 300g unstrung, the G-Prestige Rev Pro offers decent power and good enough plow-thru. Stability is just ok. I'd not add any more lead tape on it. On groundstroke, it plays like mid-plus racquets but head speed acceleration can be done way easier. My one-handed backhand seems to have control issue with this racquet, but I will take some time to adjust.
I just played both G-Radical Pro and G-Prestige Rev Pro. I agree with you that they are not Radical and Prestige that we know for long time. No more solid thick feel. It's becoming more modern, and actually I like both of them. Part of that is because of my older age so I need something easy to play on daily basis. I strung both frames with Weisscannon Dual Reality.
The G-Radical Pro plays like AeroPro Drive or Pure Drive with much better control and feel. Power distribution in sweet spot is not like other racquets. Normally most racquets produce most power in sweet spot and drop it outside sweet spot. For G-Radical Pro, I can feel extra control in sweet spot. Outside sweet spot towards the tip of racquet, I've got extra power. This is quite strange, but I like it.
For the G-Prestige Rev Pro, I took risk in buying the racquet with weird spec but I don't regret with my decision. Actually I fell in love with this frame after 2 hours of hitting. The G-Prestige Rev Pro is actually 95-96 sq.in so it's clearly bigger than Prestige Mid (longer main strings). Even though it weighs only 300g unstrung, the G-Prestige Rev Pro offers decent power and good enough plow-thru. Stability is just ok. I'd not add any more lead tape on it. On groundstroke, it plays like mid-plus racquets but head speed acceleration can be done way easier. My one-handed backhand seems to have control issue with this racquet, but I will take some time to adjust.
I also playtested the Graphene Radical Pro, and I liked it too.
A super easy to play frame and the sweet spot felt just HUGE! Since I have not played the previous versions of the Radical Pro, I do not know how stiffer this version became. With multi string in it, it did not feel that stiff and I think as a players' racquet, the Radical Pro is very powerful.
What info are you basing this on? Your thinking is very flawed. None of the racquets we are talking about is 100" or were positioned as power racquets. The HEAD 100" power racquets are the Instinct and the Extreme. Those went up against the Pure Drive and AeroPro Drive. As far as Wilson goes their 100" power racquets are the Juice and the Steam. HEAD competes with those Wilson Models with the Speed, Instinct, and Extreme.
The Prestige is still not in this category and neither was the Radical.
Good point. Being a user of the Head IG PMP which I like a lot for almost a couple of years now, I am quite amazed with the new Pure Strike line from Babolat (comes from a guy that dislikes Babolats). Now that is a company which is going to the right direction and taking note of what the player (consumer) wants.
Control - Prestige
Speed in between
Strike - Radical
A/PD - Extreme
Control - Prestige
Speed in between
Strike - Radical
A/PD - Extreme
The extreme and the instinct are lessor known Head lines. The radical is a very well-known model and that is why I believe they have stiffened it up to compete with the Babalots. How else do you explain this departure from the flexy radicals of old?