Blade 93 or 98?

[Double_Bagel]

Have a K Blade 98 that I love to pull out for a hit every now and then. It's a bit light for my liking, and as a result lacks plow and ultimate power, but love the pin point control.

Apparently Wilson lost the plot with the BLX Blades, but now seem to be producing a fine racquet with the new Blade.

What are people's thoughts on the 93 vs the 98? I am leaning towards the 93 as its heavier than the 98, and smaller head sizes are no problem with me as I hit relatively flat anyways. However, I'd like to choose the best racquet of the two!

 

[tennistomcat]

I don't have any experience with the new Blades (only the BLX) but from what I've read on the forums, it seems that some ppl who have played with both (18X20 version) the difference in play is minor

I read that you could save money & still get a very similar performance to the new models by buying the old BLX ones

I just bought the pink BLX blade & gotta say that it's a very solid racket. I'm a longtime Head liquidmetal radical user who was looking for something very similar but with a bit more pop - especially on the serve. I've been searching for a long time & have gone through many rackets but this one seems to be promising. Still working on getting the feel of it at the moment as I've only had 2 good hitting sessions.

What exactly did you mean by Wilson having lost the plot with the BLX? the reviews & feedback seem pretty good

 

[tennistomcat]

If the new blades 98's are an improvement to the previous, I don't think you can go wrong.

I've hit with both BLX blades - 93 & 98 & felt the 93 was too demanding for my level - good control & feel but very low powered & the weight got to be too much for me after a while. If you're a 4.5 or higher, it may be a non-issue.

Sorry DB but I don't have any feedback on the new line though.

 

[Double_Bagel]

Cheers mate. Sorry if I sounded arrogant in my first posts in regards to harshly judging the BLX Blades. I've just trawled through a lot of reviews and people mostly saying that the nblade and kblade were great, and quite similar, and that Wilson really changed the specs/feel of the BLX which in turn lost a lot of prior Blade owners.

Apparently the new ones are back similar in spec and feel to the n and k series blades...which apparently is a good thing? Never hit with an nblade nor a BLX but the kblade is a lovely stick, if a little light and lacking in sheer grunt.

The rave reviews and heavier weight of the 93 has me intrigued. Looks HOT too!

 

[Double_Bagel]

Btw, I also played with Head radicals for years. Flexpoints as they were out at the time I started tennis again. I agree that the Rads could use a bit more zip and stability (probably some lead would do this all in one) and would be an unreal racquet. I have a few back in Australia but always wondered about their durability given they have two massive holes drilled in them on each side (the flexpoint).

 

[Bartelby]

A 98 with a leather grip works well.

 

[Double_Bagel]

Demo'd a Blade 93 on the weekend. It was strung with Wilson Stamina 16 multi @ 45lbs, and had a Kimony synthetic over grip on it...I guess adding 5g or so to the handle.

It hit beautifully. Remarkably soft and supple, very whippable whilst still retaining a very solid feel and plow. Nicely balanced on serve and could bring the heat. Took a bit of adjustment on the 2HBH; having to close the face a little as the trajectory was shooting high. To a lesser extent on the FH side too. I'm wondering if that could be corrected a little by going for a 17/18 gauge (giving a touch more grip and bite) rather than the 16 that was in it? I'm also guessing that Stamina is a rather cheap and nasty string?

 

[Muppet]

It was probably the low tension that was giving the ball a higher trajectory. A higher power string at a higher tension should solve that. Before going for that racquet, try it at a tension that you would normally use.