Another one of these threads...

[lukaswint]

I know there are many of these threads but hey ho, can you compare the Head Graphene Speed Pro and the Babolat Pure Strike Tour? I'm a 16 year old junior who plays national tournaments with the BLX (with amplifeel) Pro Staff 90 and while I love it and has definitely been useful for me in the long run as it has improved certain areas of my game so I feel like I need a more forgiving racket with a tiny bit more free power.

I'm open to other rackets, like I saw how well the Pure Control 95+ was received which intrigues me.

 

[SpinToWin]

… Wilson 6.1 16x18 perhaps?… Or a customized Pro Staff 95(S)?

The two racquets you mentioned are too much of a jump IMHO.

 

[lukaswint]

I thought that, and the 6.1 16x18 was one of the rackets I have thought about along with the 95s, but I now want a racket about 10g grams heavier, so I thought of putting 3g on 3 and 9 along with 10g of silicone in the handle. This may also dampen the frame somewhat and remove some of the liveliness which would also be quite handy. Would this sound plausible?

 

[lukaswint]

Thanks for the help though Spin.

 

[SpinToWin]

I thought that, and the 6.1 16x18 was one of the rackets I have thought about along with the 95s, but I now want a racket about 10g grams heavier, so I thought of putting 3g on 3 and 9 along with 10g of silicone in the handle. This may also dampen the frame somewhat and remove some of the liveliness which would also be quite handy. Would this sound plausible?

wait, which of the two racquets do you want to modify that way?

It will definitely make a frame feel more solid and muted. I'm not sure if the liveliness will be decreased, but you can reign that in with string choice and tension if it doesn't.

 

[lukaswint]

It would most likely be the Graphene Speed Pro and just to get a gauge, what strings would you recommend?

 

[SpinToWin]

It would most likely be the Graphene Speed Pro and just to get a gauge, what strings would you recommend?

thinner polys (17 gauge and below) as the stringbed is quite dense. Also, the racquet is quite stiff, so I recommend trying slightly softer strings, maybe even a hybrid.

Anyways, some setups I can definitely recommend trying:

-Kirschbaum Pro Line II 17L
-Head Sonic Pro 17
-Kirschbaum Pro Line X 17
-Volkl Cyclone 18

It's hard to say really though… I need a reference point, a string you hit in the racquet and what you liked/disliked about it as well as what you felt it was lacking.

Right now I am just blindly guessing as to what you may like; I have nothing to base my recommendations on, so take them with a grain of salt.

 

[lukaswint]

I use Cyclone now which I am a large fan of, so I can vouch for that, along with Pro Line II which I use as a cross with Wilson Natural Gut, so those sound like good recommendations, cheers mate!

 

[burn1986]

Speed Pro is quite a bit different than the BLX 90. I wouldn't even consider the Strike, even though they are the coolest looking racquet made. Have you thought about the Blade 93? You might also consider customizing a Graphene Speed MP. Plus it would still retain the 16x19 pattern.

 

[lukaswint]

I thought the Pure Strike Tour was a considerable improvement to the Pure Strike 100's? I do agree with you when you say they are great looking racquets though. I tried my friend's Blade 93 and wasn't a large fan of it. Thanks for the recommendation though.

 

[SpinToWin]

I thought the Pure Strike Tour was a considerable improvement to the Pure Strike 100's? I do agree with you when you say they are great looking racquets though. I tried my friend's Blade 93 and wasn't a large fan of it. Thanks for the recommendation though.

there is a rift in opinions on the Strikes… A few find them to have hit the mark, but others find them weird and dislike them. I personally saw no real merit to the Strikes. They did nothing extremely well and they had a lot of drawbacks for me, so I generally disliked them. I could see how somebody coming from Babolats could like them, but they weren't my cup of tea.

I much prefer the Speed. I found it to have more control, an easier access to spin, better maneuverability, (subjectively) better touch and I found it more forgiving to top it off.

 

[lukaswint]

Cheers for the help, have you tried the Pure Control 95+ by any small chance, Spin?

 

[SpinToWin]

Cheers for the help, have you tried the Pure Control 95+ by any small chance, Spin?

unfortunately not… I really want to test it at some point though…