I always vote on a side by side- when possible....remember to factor in the garbage( or not yours) string on the demo....
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.Looking to possibly 2 different rackets to switch to. For those that have hit with both or either, what are your general thoughts?
I play singles and doubles. 3.5 player with a decent all court game. Mostly play with heavy topspin.
Thoughts?
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.
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.try the normal pure aero. theres a reason they actually charge less for the tour model, the normal one is made to be the better weapon for the rec player masses. IMO, the normal pure aero is also a "better" choice for a 3.5 than a DR98.
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 ...seems like it would be so lite
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.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.
Was control with the pat better than pa?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.
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.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.