Babolat Pure Aero Tour vs Yonex Ezone DR 98 general thoughts
- Thread starter prb3512
- Start date
Lucky for me they had it strung with cyclone. Which is what I normally play with. So it'll be a pretty good test I think.
I switched from DR98 (lite) to PA (lite), both with lead that gets them to standard weight DR and PA specs/balance/SW, just with more mass at 3/9 and with a heavy shock absorber (babolat RVS). the difference is the PA takes your strengths and makes them weapons (serve and forehand for me). I fought the urge for years, doing everything I could to avoid babolats, but theres a reason so many people use them. the yonex has a tight 16x19, I was disappointed in its spin (even before I played with PA), and although I loved the ai/dr feel and used them for a year, I was constantly demoing rackets looking for something more (I hit with at least 30 frames this last year). Especially if you're a topspin player, the PA will augment your game more. Does the DR feel more connected when you hit the ball...sure it does. When you hit it right, can you hit just as hard as the PA? yep. bit better plaement? yep. But when you don't hit it quite as well (for me that would be on returns) it still hits an effective shot. They are both good volleying sticks actually, the DR more so for finesse and placement, but the PA is rock solid and more stable. For rallying groundstrokes (everything but serve returns) I'm actually pretty neutral, I think they're both fine, bit different ball flight but you adjust pretty quickly. those bowling ball motion topspin shots off your toes, the PA is better and the DR has trouble getting the spin to lift it up and then back down again. Slice, PA wins hands down, much more stable and effective. On serves, I give the edge to the PA hands down as well. Kick serves are easily 1 foot higher, and much heavier. Everything except pure flat serves are much much much more effective with the PA. For pure flat serves the DR was my preferred as the control is a bit better and I was able to eek out an extra 2 mph with a radar gun (125 vs 123) (I think because the sweetspot is higher and the smaller head swings faster on a flat motion for me), but this is not nearly enough to overcome the PA benefits on kick, slice, and everything in between. Plus when you go for a flat serve and don't catch it just right, the PA delivers something much closer to your top speed than the DR does. The DR rewards greatness, I feel like the PA just rewards you no matter what. I'll admit its not as satisfying a feel as the yonex, but when you look at the scoreboard you'll be able to look past that. I string the PA 4 pounds higher with the same string than the DR/AI, you probably need to do something similar to fairly compare them.
i use a shockshield grip on the babolat, and an RVS dampener and gamma worm on both the bab and DR for comfort and I just like that muted feel. I used the lite versions, so the 15g difference in weight (270g vs 285) was canceled out by the much heavier shockshield grip. ytex square x strings (very soft for poly) for both. 5g lead at 3/9 for babolat, and 3g lead at 3/9 for DR to get similar swingweights. not sure if the grip makes that big a difference, but they're similarly comfortable for me. I tried the PA with pro hurricane strings and found it less comfortable (and less good at every other metric as well), so maybe the DR would do better with a stiffer poly than the PA would.When I tried the two, the real decision maker was that the DR was waaaaaaaay more comfortable to play with. Aero just so harsh on my arm.
as reference, I presently play with the Pure Aero Tour, and prior to that, the Rf97 and SixOne95, so am from the classic heavy racket School. The PAT and DR98 are both great rackets (i own a DR98 as well).
I'd say they are different, but not the opposite sides of the spectrum. The PAT is loaded with Power and Spin, but has very decent control (the spin assists in the control). The PAT also has a much higher swing weight, so if you can handle it,
this adds to the ball crushing ability...and certainly the plow thru. The DR98 is a lot plusher, lot less power, and fair amount less spin. The Swing weight of the DR98 is a lot lower, so nicer to move about, but you can get pushed around (in stock form). Where i found the DR98 very impressive is just th lower stiffness, so nicer on the arm, and more of a players stick. The DR98 has touch and feel, so dropshots, little touch volleys etc.
The Free Power, and quite noticeable spin off the PAT is what won me over.
I'd say they are different, but not the opposite sides of the spectrum. The PAT is loaded with Power and Spin, but has very decent control (the spin assists in the control). The PAT also has a much higher swing weight, so if you can handle it,
this adds to the ball crushing ability...and certainly the plow thru. The DR98 is a lot plusher, lot less power, and fair amount less spin. The Swing weight of the DR98 is a lot lower, so nicer to move about, but you can get pushed around (in stock form). Where i found the DR98 very impressive is just th lower stiffness, so nicer on the arm, and more of a players stick. The DR98 has touch and feel, so dropshots, little touch volleys etc.
The Free Power, and quite noticeable spin off the PAT is what won me over.
Thank you everyone for the advice so far.
I have played the last 2 days with the DR. It is like playing with a laser sight and pin point persision. It is easily one of the most comfortable rackets I've ever played with so far. My kick serve was kicking higher than usual. I'm excited to pick up the PA Tour tomorrow especially for that. The DR demo was strung up with cyclone and I was able to get a ton of topspin with it.
Any other thoughts or advice? Thanks everyone!!
I have played the last 2 days with the DR. It is like playing with a laser sight and pin point persision. It is easily one of the most comfortable rackets I've ever played with so far. My kick serve was kicking higher than usual. I'm excited to pick up the PA Tour tomorrow especially for that. The DR demo was strung up with cyclone and I was able to get a ton of topspin with it.
Any other thoughts or advice? Thanks everyone!!
You should reach your own conclusions but FWIW here are my thoughts. The PAT for me was a very powerful racket, with high launch angle and lots of spin. I could hit very fast and/or spinny serves with it, and volleying was good (not a strength for me though so don't read too much into that). However, there were control issues due to the launch and power combination: i had to stay on the gas on every shot - to generate topspin for control - or the control would go. That got into my head a bit. I've found control easier with the APD. The DR98 for me was an enigma. It had a low launch angle, and i felt i had to work hard to get the depth and pace i wanted. There is a caveat however: I think it may have had a poly at too high a tension for me - as i recall it was Cyclone around 53 (I usually play at 48) so that may have been a contributing factor. I had a buyer for it so i let it go. I should reemphasise that its your experience that counts - you may find either or both of these sticks very different, and that's just fine of course.
Ozellman
Rookie
I've got a DR98 that I bough when I was playing the PA/PAT several months ago. The Pure Aeros gave me elbow problems when serving but were alot of fun to play with so I started looking for something similar but less stiff. I found the DR98 to be very different though. Low powered and very little of the plow, spin and generally smile factor that the Pure Aero brought when I came from Prestiges. I've since sold off the Babolats and tried to make the Yonex more to my liking by adding lead, leather grip and what have you. I still don't like but nobody wants to buy it so it's still in my closet. As n8dawg6 notes, the PA is probably a better choice though. I got a more flexible platform from them where I could match them more easily using lead I also had room for the leather replacement grips that I prefer without them becoming too heavy. Babolat's specs vary significantly so watch out of for weight, balance and SW differences. Mine were matched at a SW of about 330 which gives a very heavy ball. They do eat strings though due to the open string pattern.
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The normal PA seems like it would be so lite though. I'm 6'1, 200 and do CrossFit as well. I have been drawn towards the heavier rackets in the past. Currently coming from the Aero Storm cortex tour and the RF97 autograph. Although the RF did get a bit up there though.
n8dawg6
Legend
youre gonna do what youre gonna do, but racquet choice really isnt about body size and strength. the PA also has a meaty SW for the static weight. im just saying give er a whirl ...
Ozellman
Rookie
The thing is that it's easier to add weight to a PA than to remove from a PAT. If you get an over spec PAT you'll have no room to adjust it whereas with a PA you can work with grip replacement, lead tape and even silicone in the handle to add what you feel that you need. It's a very powerful racquet, even the PA, so when it's heavy it can easily too much so.
Finally got out on the court last night with a PAT and from some recommendations here I got the PA too. For me my servers were killer with this racket. Although everything else seemed to be off. No matter how much spin I tried to add, I was sending balls all over the place.
Test complete. My new racket is the Yonex Ezone DR 98. It was like playing with a magic wand and laser sight accuracy. I can't wait to push it a little more now and crush that little yellow fuzzy ball.
Test complete. My new racket is the Yonex Ezone DR 98. It was like playing with a magic wand and laser sight accuracy. I can't wait to push it a little more now and crush that little yellow fuzzy ball.
JonnyAbs
Semi-Pro
Was control with the pat better than pa?
I've been using pure aero lites, leaded up. I hit the normal pure aeros, they're much less comfortable. I don't think the pure aero lites are quite the same makeup as the regular pure aeros. so if the regular PA gives you some arm pain, try a pure aero lite and add weight.
