djpj
New User
Looks like there’s ample room for tungsten in the but cap.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
2019 Wilson Blade
- Thread starter TennisCounrty
- Start date
Looks like there’s ample room for tungsten in the but cap.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
parasailing
Legend
It is so plush that I don't think you need gut/poly setup. I have used gut/poly in past racquets but given how soft this racquet is, I don't think you will need it.
Classic-TXP-IG MID
Hall of Fame
Yeah, that is interesting... I would have thought that if they were the same model, they would be the same but just with different drill patterns, and therefore a difference in weight in the head due to more or less material etc... but different layup makes it even more complicated/ interesting.
Will be interesting to hear what you think of the differences if you do try the v7 18x20...
dr325i
G.O.A.T.
There are other reasons to use Gut/poly hybrid than the softness of the gut added in the mix...
I tested the Blade V7 with a full poly, no issues with the stiffness, however, the feel, the power, all was very much off with this (not my usual) setup.
ChaelAZ
G.O.A.T.
I could drop 8g of lead tape in the butt cap, so I think Tungsten is something like 2x's as dense. Plenty of weight for balance change without even getting into the foam or such. Going to pick up some myself and get of the lead.
Power Player
Bionic Poster
Damn, balance of 1.5? That’s pretty head heavy. I think mine is 4 pts.
I think i confused both of you.
The strung balance is 4pts. I moved the balance by 1.5pts by adding 7gr. All this resulting in ending balance of 5.5pts.
Anyways. Another hit this morning.. really getting used and actually appreciating the SW... i am very impressed with it so far this week.
Last edited:
Power Player
Bionic Poster
Hah good question.. i wouldnt know bc i didnt even hit stock too much... i was trying to get more whip by staying south of 12oz.. so though i dont know the stock feel.. i do not want to mess with what i have bc this seems to be really good balance of SW and whip for me. I can wield it and that SW pummels the ball. I really love this stick so far.. my whole first week with this stick was wasted with 40lbs string which i thought it was 48lbs.. (courtesy of shtty string job). Currently hitting with crisp poly at 48ish... love it.
Fxanimator1
Hall of Fame
I am using NXT Power 16 mains and poly crosses, @54 lbs.
tennis347
Hall of Fame
I have to say in almost my 30 years of playing tennis and trying most of not all the players’ frames that Wilson has really made their mark with the new Blade 98 line. With the balance of power and control, the flex as well the comfort, the Blade is the racquet of the year IMO. There are not many players racquets made today that have the playability and comfort of the Blade!!
Lozannois
Rookie
3 pts HL difference ? Really ? This is very bad
Envoyé de mon ONEPLUS A5000 en utilisant Tapatalk
That first one is fine... 2nd one will be 2pts hl after stringing... i mean up to you. Its way too much head heavy balance for my taste... also first one is very much on spec.. i would send thr 2nd one back
That would be a tremendous amount of weight/balance difference for it to be 3pts difference HL. Would feel like two completely different frames just picking them up. Something isn’t right.
Lozannois
Rookie
Guys,
sorry for the question, but is there anybody here who could explain to me why the swingweight of the Blade 98 V7 18x20 (334) is higher than the SW of the Blade 98 CV 18x20 (328)?
For me it does not make any sense because when I compare them side by side they are identical except the extra 3 grams and the headlight which is respectively 3pts and 4pts. So if this is less head heavy, swingweight of Blade 18x20 V7 should even be lower than Blade 18x20 CV no?
I am missing something... Thank you for your help
Cheers.
sorry for the question, but is there anybody here who could explain to me why the swingweight of the Blade 98 V7 18x20 (334) is higher than the SW of the Blade 98 CV 18x20 (328)?
For me it does not make any sense because when I compare them side by side they are identical except the extra 3 grams and the headlight which is respectively 3pts and 4pts. So if this is less head heavy, swingweight of Blade 18x20 V7 should even be lower than Blade 18x20 CV no?
I am missing something... Thank you for your help
Cheers.
gutfeeling
Hall of Fame
Balance does not tell you everything. Swingweight is a measure of weight distribution, balance is not. So the v7 is more polarized (more weight in the head/handle, less weight in the throat) than the CV. Basically Wilson took weight out of the throat of the CV and added it to the head to increase the swing weight and also added it to the handle to make it more headlight. The precise location(s) and amount in the head will effect the swing weight, twist weight, and balance. The precise location(s) and amount in the handle will effect balance with minimal impact on swing weight.
Last edited:
Lozannois
Rookie
Ok ok now this is more clear ! Thank you very much ! And now I understand why I prefer the 16x19 over the 18x20 for this v7 version... 334 SW is too high for me m I much prefer the sw of the 16x19 pattern and the control level is quite the same IMO
Envoyé de mon ONEPLUS A5000 en utilisant Tapatalk
gutfeeling
Hall of Fame
That makes sense. The 16x19 has less weight in the head, it has lower swing weight and twist weight. The balance point is the same, so it is less polarized. This is all assuming the racquet is aligned with Wilson’s listed specs. In my experience (I have measured about 10 v7 frames) the specs are all over the board. So, keep in mind the 18x20 you tested may be higher than 334 sw. I have measured some that are 340+.
Lozannois
Rookie
Omg this is very bad from Wilson...
Thank you Again very clear !
Envoyé de mon ONEPLUS A5000 en utilisant Tapatalk
A
Academykid01
Guest
I got my Blades a couple days ago and all specs were close to spot on. This might just be because I'm apart of the "Wilson Select" program, so I get racket packages all from the Wilson factory.
On the topic.....anyone know the twist weight of the Blade v7? I want to compare to the previous generation Blades and the Yonex DR 98. Measured the balance of my v7 on a table and a ruler and it's coming in only 2 points HL.
Power Player
Bionic Poster
I think ill pay tw extra for getting a blade with the same specs as my original (luckily stock). Wilson qc is just so bad that its worth paying the extra money.
That said i had 3 2011s and had them measured on an rdc. They were 333 and 334 sw. The lighter one swung at 331. Not bad.
That said i had 3 2011s and had them measured on an rdc. They were 333 and 334 sw. The lighter one swung at 331. Not bad.
gutfeeling
Hall of Fame
14.35 for the 18x20. Based on process of elimination, since it’s not 2013, 2015, or CV.
Last edited:
As you can see in my post above it is the only way to go. QC still all over the place. 1cm difference in balance is just too much. I prefer my Swingweight a little lower as 301 unstrung also. The problem with swingweight is, it is supereasy to increase, and very difficult to decrease..
Holdfast44ID
Semi-Pro
Maybe Wilson and other companies should stop having their racquets made in CHINA? It is Chinese quality control. Make the racquets in the US!
Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk
Yeah, you have a good point there.
I feel sorry for the guy that gets the blade that I rejected. I feel that it is so far of spec that it just shouldnt be sold by wilson. Some poor guy will have to try and swing that evenly balanced stick wirh a swingweight around 340..
tribesmen
Professional
I disagree. It's not Made in China. The Chinese also do a good job, great one too if they are paid.
So the reason is just Wilson that QC is bad.
Holdfast44ID
Semi-Pro
It says "made in China" on the racquets
QC occurs at the factory where they make the products, right?
Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk
That may be why mine are correct. Elite professional high performance coach but never considered that they would make sure my frames specs were accurate.
dgoran
Hall of Fame
Yes but manufacturer has to pay for qc to be performed something clearly Wilson is not paying enough or at all
dr325i
G.O.A.T.
Half of this board is complaining the price of $230 is too much, now you want them to move the production to the US and charge $320 per racket?
One solution is to get off our butts and buy the racket in a store (like PGA superstore for example) where we can measure the spec.
Of course, not everyone has the access to a local tennis shop, however, I’d expect the majority on this board should.
dgoran
Hall of Fame
In other words Wilson bean counters don’t care for us 1% players that care about matching specs and they shifted burden of qc cost to the consumer so you have to pay $20 more to TW to match it. I am sure TW is happy to oblige as are other pro shops. So industry is happy 99% of consumers don’t care and rest of us pay (either with time or money) to match the racquets...
dgoran
Hall of Fame
Speaking of price it’s funny how few dollars here and there matter. I buy crap load of racquets for fun and I would have probably bought Yonex HD yesterday for long term demo BUT I though they were too greedy with the price and I decided to pass. If it was $220 I would have bought it but out of principle I am not going to support those kind of prices.
I suspect they will have a hard time moving any substantial quantities in USA.
I spoke with the store owner that mentioned they did not even bother ordering new 18x20 strikes because they sold almost none of the previous gen 18x20. It’s just not a popular string pattern in USA
I suspect they will have a hard time moving any substantial quantities in USA.
I spoke with the store owner that mentioned they did not even bother ordering new 18x20 strikes because they sold almost none of the previous gen 18x20. It’s just not a popular string pattern in USA
mscream
Professional
The blade demo I had (18x20) had a strung SW of 337...with basically a 1.20 string. I wouldn't mind paying $250 for a racquet that's on spec, just to avoid the hassle with matching and so on. Not talking about +- 1g here but some racquets are wildly out of spec. I'm sometimes wondering if the reason why their are "Lite", "Tour" or "Pro" models is poor QC. Yonex seems to be able to make HQ racquets without charging much more than other brands. With every matched racquet someone else is the sucker who receives a dud! 
Turbo-87
G.O.A.T.
I had a second/third match with the 18x20 strung with Wilson NXT 16ga @ 57. I am still playing without a dampener since this is the first racquet I have hit with where it feels and sounds right to my picky ear without one.
I still think this is a great racquet and it was a fantastic move from the RF97A for me. I get the plow through that I am looking for at a more manageable weight. I seem to be keeping a lot more balls in on the edges and not spraying them wide because I was late with my swing. I may have just found the correct racquet for my current playstyle and level of strength, which is admittedly less than when I first started with the RF97A in Sept 2017.
I think I am going to keep playing with this string because I don't like throwing money at restrings just to play around. If I could do it myself, that would be a different story. I do know that I will lower the tension a bit next time.
I still think this is a great racquet and it was a fantastic move from the RF97A for me. I get the plow through that I am looking for at a more manageable weight. I seem to be keeping a lot more balls in on the edges and not spraying them wide because I was late with my swing. I may have just found the correct racquet for my current playstyle and level of strength, which is admittedly less than when I first started with the RF97A in Sept 2017.
I think I am going to keep playing with this string because I don't like throwing money at restrings just to play around. If I could do it myself, that would be a different story. I do know that I will lower the tension a bit next time.
Holdfast44ID
Semi-Pro
Yonex has good QC, I understand. Are Yonex racquets made in China?
dgoran
Hall of Fame
Some
Holdfast44ID
Semi-Pro
Are any of you going with full poly in the 16x19 at lower 40's (lbs) for tension? If so, how does it feel and what string are you using? I am experimenting.
parasailing
Legend
My first blade was a bit over my spec coming in around 303 and my second was underspec at 293 but my string and dampener put 40 sw on it so it came out very close to my spec.
These new Blades gotten me to list all used racquets for sale so I can grab two more Blade v7s.
My 2015 Blades are looking for a new home now up for sale on tt forum ☺️.
These new Blades gotten me to list all used racquets for sale so I can grab two more Blade v7s.
My 2015 Blades are looking for a new home now up for sale on tt forum ☺️.
parasailing
Legend
Send me a pm if you interested in the Yonex Vcore Pro HD which I have put up for sale in tt forum. I have someone who is interested but he might not take the offer.
Comparison to 2015 blade?
