I'll start this review saying a little bit about me. I am currently three months into a comeback from about a 4 year layoff from tennis. I self rated at 3.5 to be conservative, but have won all my matches (5 and 0 in league) as well as all the 4.0 matches ive played as well (though i have not played any top ranked 4.0s yet). So I estimate my ability as an average 4.0 player and was usta rated a 4.0 before my layoff. Basically an average league player. Im also a competitive powerlifter, so I'm a fairly big guy.
Previously I had been playing with a Babolat PDGT which I was having some good success with. I did start to get some severe arm pain from the frame, and decided that I needed to go with something more arm friendly.
I decided to try the Aero Storm with cortex (not the tour version). I wanted something with a similar static weight to my pure drive, but slightly less powerful and more arm friendly.
Manueverability
This is an area where i believed the aero storm and the pure drive would be almost identical due to the equal static weight and balance. However, the pure drive feels significantly lighter than the aero storm. The aero storm is more headlight however. It takes more effort to gain good rackethead speed compared to the pure drive. That said, it still swings failry light. It is also much more solid than the pure drive, though i didnt think the pure drive felt that unstable.
Groundstrokes
Less power than the pure drive by a good margin. Still more power than a prestige, so somewhere in between the two. The control is excellent. Passing shots are a dream with this racket. The frame produces a good amouit of spin, though it is very different than the pure drive. Where the pure drive hits a "fast" ball, the aero storm allows me to hit a very heavy ball with good spin. This has produced weaker replies and more errors from my opponent. IF you have the ability to produce the swingspeed, you can hit a more effective ball than with the pure drive.
Volleys
Excellent. Touch volleys are easy, and the frame is quick at net, and is rock solid. I have had some very nice success at net so far with this frame. Better than the pure drive and allows you to really stick the ball with solid contact.
Serves
Really surprising here for me, as i thought that this was going to be a big weakness considering the big serving ability of the pure drive. However, the aero storm allowed me to increase the power and spin of my serve. Hitting some bombs with this frame, and the second serve has some really nasty spin on it. I'd say its an excellent serving frame. Same concept as the groundstrokes, just produces a really heavy ball.
Overall
I really enjoy this frame. Its been very easy on my arm, and really improved my consistency which is a staple in my game. Ive been able to amp up my shots and improve my consistency which is surprising. I have more confidence to swing at closer to a 90 percent clip when i get aggressive, and around 80 percent for my rally groundstrokes.
In terms of results, I have played two matches so far. One against a top rated 3.5, which i won 6-1.
The second match was against a low-mid rated 4.0, who i have played about 9 times and have not lost yet. Typical score is around 6-3, 6-3 or so. My first match against him with the aero storm i won 6-1, 6-0 this morning.
So im playing better, feeling more confident, and my arm is healthy. So far its been nothing but good things for me and the Aero Storm.
Hope this helps anyone to get a feel for what to expect from this frame.
Previously I had been playing with a Babolat PDGT which I was having some good success with. I did start to get some severe arm pain from the frame, and decided that I needed to go with something more arm friendly.
I decided to try the Aero Storm with cortex (not the tour version). I wanted something with a similar static weight to my pure drive, but slightly less powerful and more arm friendly.
Manueverability
This is an area where i believed the aero storm and the pure drive would be almost identical due to the equal static weight and balance. However, the pure drive feels significantly lighter than the aero storm. The aero storm is more headlight however. It takes more effort to gain good rackethead speed compared to the pure drive. That said, it still swings failry light. It is also much more solid than the pure drive, though i didnt think the pure drive felt that unstable.
Groundstrokes
Less power than the pure drive by a good margin. Still more power than a prestige, so somewhere in between the two. The control is excellent. Passing shots are a dream with this racket. The frame produces a good amouit of spin, though it is very different than the pure drive. Where the pure drive hits a "fast" ball, the aero storm allows me to hit a very heavy ball with good spin. This has produced weaker replies and more errors from my opponent. IF you have the ability to produce the swingspeed, you can hit a more effective ball than with the pure drive.
Volleys
Excellent. Touch volleys are easy, and the frame is quick at net, and is rock solid. I have had some very nice success at net so far with this frame. Better than the pure drive and allows you to really stick the ball with solid contact.
Serves
Really surprising here for me, as i thought that this was going to be a big weakness considering the big serving ability of the pure drive. However, the aero storm allowed me to increase the power and spin of my serve. Hitting some bombs with this frame, and the second serve has some really nasty spin on it. I'd say its an excellent serving frame. Same concept as the groundstrokes, just produces a really heavy ball.
Overall
I really enjoy this frame. Its been very easy on my arm, and really improved my consistency which is a staple in my game. Ive been able to amp up my shots and improve my consistency which is surprising. I have more confidence to swing at closer to a 90 percent clip when i get aggressive, and around 80 percent for my rally groundstrokes.
In terms of results, I have played two matches so far. One against a top rated 3.5, which i won 6-1.
The second match was against a low-mid rated 4.0, who i have played about 9 times and have not lost yet. Typical score is around 6-3, 6-3 or so. My first match against him with the aero storm i won 6-1, 6-0 this morning.
So im playing better, feeling more confident, and my arm is healthy. So far its been nothing but good things for me and the Aero Storm.
Hope this helps anyone to get a feel for what to expect from this frame.
