Babolat Pure Drive GT vs. Pure Drive 2012

[bandanas_maniac]

Hi, I'm an all court player and I play with the Pure Drive GT model which I bought in 2010 but as the new Pure Drive came out last year I was wondering if it's worth the change. How does the new Pure Drive compare to the previous in terms of playability, spin, power, feel, etc.?

 

[brokenRPM]

personally, i prefer the GT. I bought a 2012 and got rid of it. i know my friends did the same too. YMMV.

 

[Roberto_spin]

I got Tenniselbow with the PD GT..
There we're more factors like technique and polysetup... but it's in the head...

Right now I'm playing with the PDR2012 with hybrid and it plays fantastic! It is more friendly for your arm/elbow...
I also played with the PD2012 std... I find the looks better and somehow it plays better for me: more hits on the sweet pot and a bit more feel...

 

[bandanas_maniac]

So it's one on one. Roberto, do you mean more feel as in hitting finesse shots like drop shots, angled volleys? I like to use them occasionally so it'd be good if there's an improvement.

 

[TW Staff]

I also prefer the GT version over the newest update.

I play with both, but something about the GT is just perfect! I'm kind of bummed they've sold through and are gone.

Michelle, TW

 

[mirceam]

i have a PDR GT and a PDR 2012. i think that the PDR 2012 feels just a little more dampened, less feel

 

[brokenRPM]

i have a PDR GT and a PDR 2012. i think that the PDR 2012 feels just a little more dampened, less feel

Totally agree!

 

[Roberto_spin]

So it's one on one. Roberto, do you mean more feel as in hitting finesse shots like drop shots, angled volleys? I like to use them occasionally so it'd be good if there's an improvement.

Mmm that leaves me on my own with preference of the 2012 version...
To me the GT felt stiffer... less feel/control and a bit brutal...

Like I said I owned 2 GT's and they were my first racquets with full poly and hybrids.. (probably to0 high tensioned) and I also had not a very good technique... So I sold them and went on a racquet journey...

Now I'm back to the PDR2012... fantastic stick... I play for more than a year with this racquet... it gives me much confidence and thus more feel. Also on volleys, angle-shots and lobs...
But as I said: it's not a very honest comparison because I use now natural gut (mains) and poly's cross and also low tensioned poly setups...

I really like the newer version and am sure that a subjective experience is part of the comparison.. also fron people who won tournaments with the GT version and now have a different feeling racquet.

On the other hand.. you can get secondhand a PD GT for little money, so if it doesn't matter you can have a nice deal!