Blade V8 Official Thread.

[racquetlab]

as always it comes down to whether YOU like it and if it helps you improve YOUR game.
Some testers mentioned it being a bit underpowered, I experienced the opposite. But I guess it depends what you’re comparing it with. For me it’s quite an improvement over V7 to the point that I’m considering a switch.

 

[Red Bird]

as always it comes down to whether YOU like it and if it helps you improve YOUR game.
Some testers mentioned it being a bit underpowered, I experienced the opposite. But I guess it depends what you’re comparing it with. For me it’s quite an improvement over V7 to the point that I’m considering a switch.

100% true. Testers all love Babolats and I can’t stand them. I liked both V7 blades when I hit with them, with the m18 being my preference. V7 m16 was a bit light and unstable for me. Looking forward to hitting with the v8‘s soon and pulling the trigger on a new stick while the v7’s are still around as an option.

 

[4evertennis]

Ordered 3 Wilson Blade 18x20 from TWE today with the matching service. See below for the suggestions that I received. Which 3 rackets would you pick? I tend to take number 2, 5 and 6

Racket#​	Weight​	SW​	Balance​	RA​
1​	309,9​	287​	31​	63​
2​	310,5​	296​	32​	63​
3​	311,4​	286​	31​	63​
4​	308,7​	285​	31​	63​
5​	310,1​	292​	31,5​	64​
6​	310,6​	293​	31,5​	64​

Customized my 3 racquets today. Final unstrung specs including leather grip are:
Weight 319g, Balance 31.7cm, Swingweight 302

 

[Fluffy_Skye]

I really like gravity tour, but it’s almost impossible to get one on spec or below spec. So I’m looking at other soft rackets, which are very rare nowadays. The only soft rackets the big companies make are clash, blade, gravity, prestige. The design of prestige isn’t to my liking. I don’t like the flexy technology the clash has and the blade v7 SW is too high for me. My comfort SW is about 319-324. I currently use Pro Staff 100 v13 and a gravity tour that is around 330 SW. My GT would tire my arm after an hour of play, couldn’t serve properly after one hour. The Pro Staff 100 is much more maneuverable at around 323 SW, but it doesn’t have the plush and stable feel of GT. If only I can get a gravity tour with SW just above 320. The GT I tried before has 321 SW and it is my dream. Too bad couldn’t find one my own.

As that’s not happening any time soon. Would anyone recommend something similar to an on-spec GT? SW and balance wise, the blade v8 seems to be what I want. But I see people saying the v8 is firmer and not as plush as the v7. Also, 98 head size tends to feel firmer than a 100, and it definitely has smaller sweet spot compared to GT, so I’m really not sure.

 

[racquetlab]

I’d demo the blade v8. It’s still pretty plush.

 

[DJTaurus]

Some of his comments was like hearing my self on V7…. but his review was on V8….. and guess what…. both have low flex and as a result both are low powered….. at least on V7 if you could handle the SW you could crush the ball. It seems Wilson ONCE AGAIN didn’t hear all of us V5 enthusiastics. They continue following the route of arm friendliness…. the part where he comments that volleys land short reminded so of the Clash tech …. tomorrow i ll try 98S….. if power is like V7 98S you will instantly found mine on the listings.

 

[Fluffy_Skye]

Ok, so if I want a blade v8 with SW around 321-323. What’s the unstrung SW I should look for in both models? I would be looking for over-spec 16x19, or under-spec 18x20. I’m used to gravity tour’s low launch angle. Does that mean an under-spec 18x20 suits me better?

 

[nov]

I really like gravity tour, but it’s almost impossible to get one on spec or below spec. So I’m looking at other soft rackets, which are very rare nowadays. The only soft rackets the big companies make are clash, blade, gravity, prestige. The design of prestige isn’t to my liking. I don’t like the flexy technology the clash has and the blade v7 SW is too high for me. My comfort SW is about 319-324. I currently use Pro Staff 100 v13 and a gravity tour that is around 330 SW. My GT would tire my arm after an hour of play, couldn’t serve properly after one hour. The Pro Staff 100 is much more maneuverable at around 323 SW, but it doesn’t have the plush and stable feel of GT. If only I can get a gravity tour with SW just above 320. The GT I tried before has 321 SW and it is my dream. Too bad couldn’t find one my own.

As that’s not happening any time soon. Would anyone recommend something similar to an on-spec GT? SW and balance wise, the blade v8 seems to be what I want. But I see people saying the v8 is firmer and not as plush as the v7. Also, 98 head size tends to feel firmer than a 100, and it definitely has smaller sweet spot compared to GT, so I’m really not sure.

Did you tried lately find on spec Gravity Tour using TW matching service?I think you should find one. But the problem with Gravity frames are that they need to have weight to play good, because of low flex.

 

[DJTaurus]

4G in da house

Spoiler

 

[Fluffy_Skye]

Did you tried lately find on spec Gravity Tour using TW matching service?I think you should find one. But the problem with Gravity frames are that they need to have weight to play good, because of low flex.

Last time I used their matching service. They only have 4 left in stock and all of them have ridiculous SW, ranging from 294 to 300. To be on spec, the unstrung SW should be 290 based on my past experience.

 

[CosmosMpower]

I got home and measured up my V8 Blade 18x20, as usual Wilson dissapoints again. It came in at 311 grams without the placard but with plastic on the handle so probably around 309 grams. Balance unstrung was 5 pts HL, about 32.8 CM. Ridiculous, I'm sending it back to TW.

I wonder if it's even worth having them send me another one. All the new Wilson's I got were over spec on weight and about 2 points more head heavy compared to advertised spec.

 

[CosmosMpower]

Customized my 3 racquets today. Final unstrung specs including leather grip are:
Weight 319g, Balance 31.7cm, Swingweight 302

That's crazy are those weights with the plastic on the handle or without? Every single one of those is over the 305 spec. I'm curious how the balances are all 31-32 range, mine is around 32.7 and that's with the plastic on the handle!

 

[4evertennis]

That's crazy are those weights with the plastic on the handle or without? Every single one of those is over the 305 spec. I'm curious how the balances are all 31-32 range, mine is around 32.7 and that's with the plastic on the handle!

No these are the specs after I customized them!

Prior to customization they were:

Racket#	Weight	SW	Balance	RA
2	310,5	296	32	63
5	310,1	292	31,5	64
6	310,6	293	31,5	64

 

[CosmosMpower]

No these are the specs after I customized them!

Prior to customization they were:

Racket#	Weight	SW	Balance	RA
2	310,5	296	32	63
5	310,1	292	31,5	64
6	310,6	293	31,5	64

Sorry I was referring to your pre customized specs. Seems like they are all over the 305 spec unstrung by a good bit. Balance looks more head light than advertised which is good, mine is way more head heavy than advertised nearly 33 (32.8)

 

[jdx2112]

They have 1.05. I wonder if you can even see it.

Tour Bite 1.05 is the best string I’ve ever hit with and it lasted one hour.

 

[4evertennis]

Sorry I was referring to your pre customized specs. Seems like they are all over the 305 spec unstrung by a good bit. Balance looks more head light than advertised which is good, mine is way more head heavy than advertised nearly 33 (32.8)

Yes the weight was still with the plastic on the handle, so the weight pre customization was around 309. Balance was quite good on the ones that I received.
Maybe you can try to get yours exchanged or use the matching service.

 

[Richard Bob Dickinson]

4G in da house

Spoiler

Have you tried hitting with it? How does Blade 98S compare between v7 and v8?

I have v7 98S, but when I see the spec of v8, I think v8 is exactly the same as v7, just with the additional direct connect.

 

[jdx2112]

I really like gravity tour, but it’s almost impossible to get one on spec or below spec. So I’m looking at other soft rackets, which are very rare nowadays. The only soft rackets the big companies make are clash, blade, gravity, prestige. The design of prestige isn’t to my liking. I don’t like the flexy technology the clash has and the blade v7 SW is too high for me. My comfort SW is about 319-324. I currently use Pro Staff 100 v13 and a gravity tour that is around 330 SW. My GT would tire my arm after an hour of play, couldn’t serve properly after one hour. The Pro Staff 100 is much more maneuverable at around 323 SW, but it doesn’t have the plush and stable feel of GT. If only I can get a gravity tour with SW just above 320. The GT I tried before has 321 SW and it is my dream. Too bad couldn’t find one my own.

As that’s not happening any time soon. Would anyone recommend something similar to an on-spec GT? SW and balance wise, the blade v8 seems to be what I want. But I see people saying the v8 is firmer and not as plush as the v7. Also, 98 head size tends to feel firmer than a 100, and it definitely has smaller sweet spot compared to GT, so I’m really not sure.

I play with a pair of gravity yours that are matches at 321SW, using 1.20 gauge strings. If I went up to 1.30 gauge it would be closer to 325.

two options for your GTs:

-pay for matching service to find the right specs
-experiment with a thinner string to get your SW down

racquets that come close to the GT specs:

-Extreme Tour: firmer but good weight and balance…lower SW

-v8 Blade: found tobe very plush and easy on the arm…more headlight than GT and can cow in too low on SW…little less power too

Technifibre TF40 - tad firmer than G

Prince phantom 100x 305 - really close specs to GT…

 

[DJTaurus]

First impressions of Blade 98S V8….. send V7 at the trash bin.

V8 is not a comeback to V5. V8 is what V7 should be from the beginning.

For those commenting on low power on volleys and lack of heavy balls…. guys you have definitely purchased an underspeck stick. What you ve experienced happened to me also with V7 and the freeflex tech from Clash. On V8 put away power on volleys is effortless…. even on stop volleys you have easy depth…. also consider stringing your V8 with 4G…. racquet is still pretty soft don’t be afraid of it.

In terms of Power if you would rate V5 at 9/10, V6 at 10/10 and V7 at 6/10…. V8 is somewhere at 7,5/10…. still not enough for my taste but not low powered like V7. Also consider that V8 delivers power in a more direct way (no more lag on the strings WITHOUT sacrificing plushness) so you don’t loose so much time like with V7.

V8 has the most spin potential of all Blades i ve used. As a result i cannot flatten my shots with ease like i did with V5 but the more direct power and more spin gives you combined the extra juice in terms of power that V7 lacked…. finally i can play defensive shots easily again…. defensive lob at the back of the court with ease…. defensive deep slice and with the more direct delivery of power you just play faster.

V8 is all about spin, control and adequate power level. Prince take notice….. Wilson managed to produce a low flex stick without sacrificing power and without muting the feel. In the sea of all these modern muted bricks Wilson once again delivers in terms of feel….. I don’t care about their QC…. they have a free pass from me. I challenge anyone on this board to found me a better connected modern stick than V8….. i ve played with CX Tours (16x19, 18x20), prestige mid 2020, V core pro HD 2019 (also 330 version), extreme tour, Prince 100X,100P,textremes,every head,Babolat,tecnifibre (tf40,RS etc)…..bring it on. Even pro staff cannot match V8s feel….

I knew that feel would be great because V7 has also great feel. As i said V8 is not V5…. V8 is a more crispy/powerful/spinny version of V7. I don’t know if i am gonna switch but my happiness reached the sky from the first hit where i realised that this stick has power. I don’t know how the f Wilson managed to extract such power and stability from such a low flex and low SW mold.

The weird thing was that despite on groundstrokes power is not at V5s level it was serving absolutely effortless bombs.

Again…. great job Wilson. Still producing sticks with feel…. You know where the ball is gonna land….so simple and so rare these days.

 

[CosmosMpower]

Yes the weight was still with the plastic on the handle, so the weight pre customization was around 309. Balance was quite good on the ones that I received.
Maybe you can try to get yours exchanged or use the matching service.

I swung by a local store at lunch and used their RDC on a few of their in stock. I swapped it for another one, the weight was still 311 grams with the plastic on handle and no placard but the balance was a bit better 32.3 CM and SW was 4 points lower than the one I had before. Still not the balance I wanted but I don't want to mess with it any further so I'll give it a shot.

 

[CosmosMpower]

Are the stringing instructions for the V8 18x20 same as the V7 18x20?

Skip 8, 10 head

Tie off Mains at 7 throat and crosses 6 head 12 throat?

 

[Fluffy_Skye]

I play with a pair of gravity yours that are matches at 321SW, using 1.20 gauge strings. If I went up to 1.30 gauge it would be closer to 325.

two options for your GTs:

-pay for matching service to find the right specs
-experiment with a thinner string to get your SW down

racquets that come close to the GT specs:

-Extreme Tour: firmer but good weight and balance…lower SW

-v8 Blade: found tobe very plush and easy on the arm…more headlight than GT and can cow in too low on SW…little less power too

Technifibre TF40 - tad firmer than G

Prince phantom 100x 305 - really close specs to GT…

Yeah, I would like an on-spec GT. What is your GT’s unstrung SW? So I can look for that spec with matching service.

 

[jdx2112]

Yeah, I would like an on-spec GT. What is your GT’s unstrung SW? So I can look for that spec with matching service.

I never found out. I bought the first one that was on spec strung and then the second I had matched by a local customizer and ever asked for unstrung specs. My general understanding Ian the at in a 100” head a 1.30 gauge string will add about 30 points to the sw…

 

[nov]

Last time I used their matching service. They only have 4 left in stock and all of them have ridiculous SW, ranging from 294 to 300. To be on spec, the unstrung SW should be 290 based on my past experience.

I have Tour 292 SW unstrung. Strung SW with Technfibire Triax 1.28mm at 23/22kg (String weight 16.3gr) is about 323-324. With 1.25 poly weighting around 18gr, SW would be about 325.

 

[nov]

First impressions of Blade 98S V8….. send V7 at the trash bin.

V8 is not a comeback to V5. V8 is what V7 should be from the beginning.

For those commenting on low power on volleys and lack of heavy balls…. guys you have definitely purchased an underspeck stick. What you ve experienced happened to me also with V7 and the freeflex tech from Clash. On V8 put away power on volleys is effortless…. even on stop volleys you have easy depth…. also consider stringing your V8 with 4G…. racquet is still pretty soft don’t be afraid of it.

In terms of Power if you would rate V5 at 9/10, V6 at 10/10 and V7 at 6/10…. V8 is somewhere at 7,5/10…. still not enough for my taste but not low powered like V7. Also consider that V8 delivers power in a more direct way (no more lag on the strings WITHOUT sacrificing plushness) so you don’t loose so much time like with V7.

V8 has the most spin potential of all Blades i ve used. As a result i cannot flatten my shots with ease like i did with V5 but the more direct power and more spin gives you combined the extra juice in terms of power that V7 lacked…. finally i can play defensive shots easily again…. defensive lob at the back of the court with ease…. defensive deep slice and with the more direct delivery of power you just play faster.

V8 is all about spin, control and adequate power level. Prince take notice….. Wilson managed to produce a low flex stick without sacrificing power and without muting the feel. In the sea of all these modern muted bricks Wilson once again delivers in terms of feel….. I don’t care about their QC…. they have a free pass from me. I challenge anyone on this board to found me a better connected modern stick than V8….. i ve played with CX Tours (16x19, 18x20), prestige mid 2020, V core pro HD 2019 (also 330 version), extreme tour, Prince 100X,100P,textremes,every head,Babolat,tecnifibre (tf40,RS etc)…..bring it on. Even pro staff cannot match V8s feel….

I knew that feel would be great because V7 has also great feel. As i said V8 is not V5…. V8 is a more crispy/powerful/spinny version of V7. I don’t know if i am gonna switch but my happiness reached the sky from the first hit where i realised that this stick has power. I don’t know how the f Wilson managed to extract such power and stability from such a low flex and low SW mold.

The weird thing was that despite on groundstrokes power is not at V5s level it was serving absolutely effortless bombs.

Again…. great job Wilson. Still producing sticks with feel…. You know where the ball is gonna land….so simple and so rare these days.

Interesting review. Looks like different opinions about V8 Blade at the moment. Im interesting in V8 Blade, but gonna play with my Gravity's for a while and will look for more reviews.

 

[Yamin]

Some of his comments was like hearing my self on V7…. but his review was on V8….. and guess what…. both have low flex and as a result both are low powered….. at least on V7 if you could handle the SW you could crush the ball.

His comment on service returns was enough for me to not even consider this racket. Although I've moved on from the 18x20 v7, you could hit return winners all day effortlessly.

 

[jdx2112]

Interesting review. Looks like different opinions about V8 Blade at the moment. Im interesting in V8 Blade, but gonna play with my Gravity's for a while and will look for more reviews.

Same here. The biggest advantage of the Blade V8 vs the Gravity Tour is maneuverability. The small game -- the slices and drop shots and little mid-court bunts and -- are really good with the Blade. But also, DEFENSE...when behind in a point and you have to slash/slice at a wide shot to get it back in the point, the Blade is far superior. The Gravity Tour is about the same everywhere else except, maybe, on the backhand where it's just bigger and more solid than the Blade.

I'd also put the Extreme Tour in the same category as the Blade in terms of defense.

 

[Fluffy_Skye]

I have Tour 292 SW unstrung. Strung SW with Technfibire Triax 1.28mm at 23/22kg (String weight 16.3gr) is about 323-324. With 1.25 poly weighting around 18gr, SW would be about 325.

Sounds about right. I’m using Lynx tour, which I think is on the heavier side among 1.25 poly, it adds about 35 SW strung, putting my GT with 294 SW unstrung around 330 after stringing.

 

[Red Bird]

First impressions of Blade 98S V8….. send V7 at the trash bin.

V8 is not a comeback to V5. V8 is what V7 should be from the beginning.

For those commenting on low power on volleys and lack of heavy balls…. guys you have definitely purchased an underspeck stick. What you ve experienced happened to me also with V7 and the freeflex tech from Clash. On V8 put away power on volleys is effortless…. even on stop volleys you have easy depth…. also consider stringing your V8 with 4G…. racquet is still pretty soft don’t be afraid of it.

In terms of Power if you would rate V5 at 9/10, V6 at 10/10 and V7 at 6/10…. V8 is somewhere at 7,5/10…. still not enough for my taste but not low powered like V7. Also consider that V8 delivers power in a more direct way (no more lag on the strings WITHOUT sacrificing plushness) so you don’t loose so much time like with V7.

V8 has the most spin potential of all Blades i ve used. As a result i cannot flatten my shots with ease like i did with V5 but the more direct power and more spin gives you combined the extra juice in terms of power that V7 lacked…. finally i can play defensive shots easily again…. defensive lob at the back of the court with ease…. defensive deep slice and with the more direct delivery of power you just play faster.

V8 is all about spin, control and adequate power level. Prince take notice….. Wilson managed to produce a low flex stick without sacrificing power and without muting the feel. In the sea of all these modern muted bricks Wilson once again delivers in terms of feel….. I don’t care about their QC…. they have a free pass from me. I challenge anyone on this board to found me a better connected modern stick than V8….. i ve played with CX Tours (16x19, 18x20), prestige mid 2020, V core pro HD 2019 (also 330 version), extreme tour, Prince 100X,100P,textremes,every head,Babolat,tecnifibre (tf40,RS etc)…..bring it on. Even pro staff cannot match V8s feel….

I knew that feel would be great because V7 has also great feel. As i said V8 is not V5…. V8 is a more crispy/powerful/spinny version of V7. I don’t know if i am gonna switch but my happiness reached the sky from the first hit where i realised that this stick has power. I don’t know how the f Wilson managed to extract such power and stability from such a low flex and low SW mold.

The weird thing was that despite on groundstrokes power is not at V5s level it was serving absolutely effortless bombs.

Again…. great job Wilson. Still producing sticks with feel…. You know where the ball is gonna land….so simple and so rare these days.

Is the Blade 98 S a Europe only model? It‘s not on Wilson.com. How would it compare to 16x19?

 

[DJTaurus]

Same here. The biggest advantage of the Blade V8 vs the Gravity Tour is maneuverability. The small game -- the slices and drop shots and little mid-court bunts and -- are really good with the Blade. But also, DEFENSE...when behind in a point and you have to slash/slice at a wide shot to get it back in the point, the Blade is far superior. The Gravity Tour is about the same everywhere else except, maybe, on the backhand where it's just bigger and more solid than the Blade.

I'd also put the Extreme Tour in the same category as the Blade in terms of defense.

To me extreme tour has no free power. Reminded me of Ultra tour 97.

Interesting review. Looks like different opinions about V8 Blade at the moment. Im interesting in V8 Blade, but gonna play with my Gravity's for a while and will look for more reviews.

Gravity line is demanding. You need full stroke to extract power. Great feel and solid mold. Love the line.

Is the Blade 98 S a Europe only model? It‘s not on Wilson.com. How would it compare to 16x19?

I feel sorry for US players that cannot experience 98S. If you want an easier Blade you are left with 2 options….100 or 100L version….. those racquets are not Blades. Also reviewers scare people that 18x16 of 98S is sth extreme and erratic. LMAO…. i was never a fan of 16x19 blade…. you loose 18x20s solid feel / heavy punch in the exchange of minimal increased spin potential. Blade 98S has the spin of Pure Aero but with the control of a Blade, the solid feel of Blade, the feedback of a Blade in an easy to use package…..the magic of Blade 98S is that it has a SW around 320-325 and despite its low weight it punches the ball with heft, it’s quick on the net and it DOESNT FEEL anaemic….. for example pure staff 97L plays like leaf in the wind….hollow and light. Blade 98S plays like a Blade.

Wilson Blade 98S v8 Racket | Tennis Warehouse Europe

www.tenniswarehouse-europe.com

 

[Red Bird]

To me extreme tour has no free power. Reminded me of Ultra tour 97.

Gravity line is demanding. You need full stroke to extract power. Great feel and solid mold. Love the line.



I feel sorry for US players that cannot experience 98S. If you want an easier Blade you are left with 2 options….100 or 100L version….. those racquets are not Blades. Also reviewers scare people that 18x16 of 98S is sth extreme and erratic. LMAO…. i was never a fan of 16x19 blade…. you loose 18x20s solid feel / heavy punch in the exchange of minimal increased spin potential. Blade 98S has the spin of Pure Aero but with the control of a Blade, the solid feel of Blade, the feedback of a Blade in an easy to use package…..the magic of Blade 98S is that it has a SW around 320-325 and despite its low weight it punches the ball with heft, it’s quick on the net and it DOESNT FEEL anaemic….. for example pure staff 97L plays like leaf in the wind….hollow and light. Blade 98S plays like a Blade.

Wilson Blade 98S v8 Racket | Tennis Warehouse Europe

www.tenniswarehouse-europe.com

I once hit with another club member’s BLX Pro Staff v8 with the spin effect pattern and really liked it, but I wasn’t in the market for a new frame at the time. I’ve played for a long time with a tight 18x20 95in frame 364g with leather and dampener. I recall that I didn’t change my swing at all but got a similar launch angle with way more spin. Without adjusting, everything I intended to hit deep landed near the service line and really kicked. I only used it for a few serves and groundies, though, no returns or volleys. If the Blade 98S v8 is like that one, I’d sure like to try it.

 

[Slicehand]

I hope that you are being sarcastic.

Personally, I do not post often. Instead, I take the information from this board in an attempt to narrow my experimentation with equipment down to a few choices in an effort to accelerate my journey in finding an ideal setup for myself.

Over the past six months, I have been searching for a racquet to replace my 98 16x19 v7s with something better. I had demoed various versions of; radical, CX 200, CX 400, vcore 100, and the extreme.

The radical mp was the closest I had come to finding a suitable replacement, but it was never going to happen. I felt that my ball was very anemic coming off of this frame.

I had lost hope, and I was extremely frustrated with the current stagnation of my game...

So the decision to post my positive results story with the V8 was motivated by the possibility that I might give some demoralized v7 owners out there a glimmer of hope that a viable "familiar" improvement racquet now exists for them.

I liked v7 16x19 at first, i improved a lot with it, but was missing a few things, specially a little more free power when defending and a little more maneuverability on return, i have made the switch to prince textreme 100 310, it arrives tomorrow, im excited, lets see if im better at matches with it

 

[Slicehand]

What do you guys think of the prince textreme 100 310? Im switching from the blade v7 16x19

 

[racquetlab]

His comment on service returns was enough for me to not even consider this racket. Although I've moved on from the 18x20 v7, you could hit return winners all day effortlessly.

I think you have to take his reviews with a boulder of salt. He's in the business of generating clicks, so of course he'll want to be as controversial as possible. I'm really curious what he'll have to say about the 16x19...

 

[McGradey]

What do you guys think of the prince textreme 100 310? Im switching from the blade v7 16x19

The Prince is a fantastic racquet, I have two.

I used to use a V7 Blade and the Prince is a much better fit for my game

The biggest difference is the balance. The Blade has that trademark head heavy balance that makes it feel like a lollipop; all the mass at the fat end. The Prince has a much more headlight balance which I love. It's faster and much more manoeuvrable than a Blade. They also feel very different but that's totally subjective which one you prefer and how you interpret it.

You will probably find there is an adjustment period as the Prince may come through your swing more quickly, which can mess with your timing. How long the adjustment takes will depend on you.

 

[Klitz]

First impressions of Blade 98S V8….. send V7 at the trash bin.

V8 is not a comeback to V5. V8 is what V7 should be from the beginning.

For those commenting on low power on volleys and lack of heavy balls…. guys you have definitely purchased an underspeck stick. What you ve experienced happened to me also with V7 and the freeflex tech from Clash. On V8 put away power on volleys is effortless…. even on stop volleys you have easy depth…. also consider stringing your V8 with 4G…. racquet is still pretty soft don’t be afraid of it.

In terms of Power if you would rate V5 at 9/10, V6 at 10/10 and V7 at 6/10…. V8 is somewhere at 7,5/10…. still not enough for my taste but not low powered like V7. Also consider that V8 delivers power in a more direct way (no more lag on the strings WITHOUT sacrificing plushness) so you don’t loose so much time like with V7.

V8 has the most spin potential of all Blades i ve used. As a result i cannot flatten my shots with ease like i did with V5 but the more direct power and more spin gives you combined the extra juice in terms of power that V7 lacked…. finally i can play defensive shots easily again…. defensive lob at the back of the court with ease…. defensive deep slice and with the more direct delivery of power you just play faster.

V8 is all about spin, control and adequate power level. Prince take notice….. Wilson managed to produce a low flex stick without sacrificing power and without muting the feel. In the sea of all these modern muted bricks Wilson once again delivers in terms of feel….. I don’t care about their QC…. they have a free pass from me. I challenge anyone on this board to found me a better connected modern stick than V8….. i ve played with CX Tours (16x19, 18x20), prestige mid 2020, V core pro HD 2019 (also 330 version), extreme tour, Prince 100X,100P,textremes,every head,Babolat,tecnifibre (tf40,RS etc)…..bring it on. Even pro staff cannot match V8s feel….

I knew that feel would be great because V7 has also great feel. As i said V8 is not V5…. V8 is a more crispy/powerful/spinny version of V7. I don’t know if i am gonna switch but my happiness reached the sky from the first hit where i realised that this stick has power. I don’t know how the f Wilson managed to extract such power and stability from such a low flex and low SW mold.

The weird thing was that despite on groundstrokes power is not at V5s level it was serving absolutely effortless bombs.

Again…. great job Wilson. Still producing sticks with feel…. You know where the ball is gonna land….so simple and so rare these days.

This guy gets it.

 

[nov]

Same here. The biggest advantage of the Blade V8 vs the Gravity Tour is maneuverability. The small game -- the slices and drop shots and little mid-court bunts and -- are really good with the Blade. But also, DEFENSE...when behind in a point and you have to slash/slice at a wide shot to get it back in the point, the Blade is far superior. The Gravity Tour is about the same everywhere else except, maybe, on the backhand where it's just bigger and more solid than the Blade.

I'd also put the Extreme Tour in the same category as the Blade in terms of defense.

As i understand you tried V8 Blade. Stability wise is there much difference between Blade and Gravity Tour?How much SW your V8 Blade has?

 

[jdx2112]

As i understand you tried V8 Blade. Stability wise is there much difference between Blade and Gravity Tour?How much SW your V8 Blade has?

I have nonidea what the SW was for the V8. It was a demo and far lighter feeing than my gravity. However, with OG and dampener, it was the same static weight as my gravity tour at 330g.

my guess is the SW was under spec. Ideally, I’d find one that came out strung at about 320-322. This one felt well below 320 andlead to over swinging a bit.

 

[nov]

I have nonidea what the SW was for the V8. It was a demo and far lighter feeing than my gravity. However, with OG and dampener, it was the same static weight as my gravity tour at 330g.

my guess is the SW was under spec. Ideally, I’d find one that came out strung at about 320-322. This one felt well below 320 andlead to over swinging a bit.

And how you compare stability V8 vs Gravity Tour?

 

[jdx2112]

And how you compare stability V8 vs Gravity Tour?

For the most part, I didn’t notice any big difference. When serving the racquet didn’t twist in my hand, and the points I played were pretty much serve +1 aggressive and it was good. What I didn’t do was return serve, which is where I’d really test stability.

I think in terms of stability the V8 holds up. The bigger differences you might feel are in maneuverability (better with blade) and size of sweet spot (better with gravity).

 

[Slicehand]

The Prince is a fantastic racquet, I have two.

I used to use a V7 Blade and the Prince is a much better fit for my game

The biggest difference is the balance. The Blade has that trademark head heavy balance that makes it feel like a lollipop; all the mass at the fat end. The Prince has a much more headlight balance which I love. It's faster and much more manoeuvrable than a Blade. They also feel very different but that's totally subjective which one you prefer and how you interpret it.

You will probably find there is an adjustment period as the Prince may come through your swing more quickly, which can mess with your timing. How long the adjustment takes will depend on you.

When the court is slow, and im light on my feet, i can use my long swings, and the accuracy i get with the blade is so satisfying, but when i play competitive matches, in different surfaces, and with different people, i feel the blade punishes me too much, today i was playing great and almost regreted ordering the prince, wich comes in tomorrow, ive been playing a couple of years with the blade so i got used to it and can take full advantage of its properties when im on, ill take some weeks to make a judgement on the prince, as i dont have testing sites in spain i had to make an important choice and buy it, so i just hope it suits me as i think, and that the 100 head size doesnt feel weird trough the air to me

 

[nov]

For the most part, I didn’t notice any big difference. When serving the racquet didn’t twist in my hand, and the points I played were pretty much serve +1 aggressive and it was good. What I didn’t do was return serve, which is where I’d really test stability.

I think in terms of stability the V8 holds up. The bigger differences you might feel are in maneuverability (better with blade) and size of sweet spot (better with gravity).

Launch angle about the same?

 

[JonathanRF]

Are the stringing instructions for the V8 18x20 same as the V7 18x20?

Skip 8, 10 head

Tie off Mains at 7 throat and crosses 6 head 12 throat?

Yes same skips and tie offs.

 

[CosmosMpower]

I strung up my v8 18x20 last night with my usual string of choice at my usual tension and played a few sets. Specs came out to 332g and 4 pts HL with an overgrip and dampener. I've become very accustomed to 7 pts HL+ frames so it was a big difference to me.

The frame feels hefty like the V7 18x20 and I was late to the ball after using the very maneuverable 2021 Vcore 95 for the last 10 months. I got used to it after about a set of play after forcing myself to prep even earlier than normal.

The frame has good power, especially on the serve. I was getting good pop and noticed the ball was much heavier than usual. On my first serves if my playing partner did not hit the ball in the sweet spot it was twisting his Blade Pro 18x20 in his hand. The frame also had good power on ground strokes. The big difference to the V7 is feel, as the V8 has a lot more feel. I hit several drop shots, top spin lobs and I could tell where the ball was going to land when I hit it. With the V7 it felt like hitting a marshmallow, very soft but no feel.

I'll play a few more sessions but so far I think it's an improvement, however if you're expecting a more manuverable easy to swing blade, I think the "improvement" in that area is marginal at best. It's still a hefty frame with a lot of swing weight.

 

[jdx2112]

Launch angle about the same?

Yeah, pretty close. The Blade wasn't a massive lift but it did drop quite nicely...slightly better than the gravity. That said, the gravity hits a slightly deeper ball.

The two racquets are really close in terms of feel. In fact, the Blade is the only racquet that has felt similar in terms of feel.

 

[AA7]

When the court is slow, and im light on my feet, i can use my long swings, and the accuracy i get with the blade is so satisfying, but when i play competitive matches, in different surfaces, and with different people, i feel the blade punishes me too much, today i was playing great and almost regreted ordering the prince, wich comes in tomorrow, ive been playing a couple of years with the blade so i got used to it and can take full advantage of its properties when im on, ill take some weeks to make a judgement on the prince, as i dont have testing sites in spain i had to make an important choice and buy it, so i just hope it suits me as i think, and that the 100 head size doesnt feel weird trough the air to me

yes I think your point is very accurate. blade (in my case 18x20) is a completely punishing machine if you are dealing with a slower surface or an opponent that does not necessarily give you pace. If you are facing faster balls blade still is punishing (maybe even more punishing) and extremely heavy hitting weapon but you do need to prep early and get there early (legs... you can't be lazy). That is the price you pay for having a stick that has excellent control and massive power on tap.

I did play with TT100 (310) for a year before I switched to blade v7 18x20 when it came out. I think my tennis improved quite a bit over the last 2 years and so did the level that I am playing against hence these things do become noticeable more on v7 (as you said...sometimes is does not help you stay in the point). You did inspire me to dust off my TT100. I will give it a run again a year after to see how it does on the fast surface with heavy-hitting opponents.

So off topic but TT100 (310) like @McGradey said is a fantastic racket. It does everything pretty much very very well.. Control is deceptively excellent. I think I am so used to v7 18x20 (which pushed my natural stroke to come under the ball a bit more) that I may actually do better now with 100p (18x20). I also have a 290gr TT100 that is 327SW... 3pts HL (with 5gr under the buttcap).. I may throw in a leather grip to that to get it to equivalent of 320gr stick with 327sw (strung) and 4.5pts HL. Anyways...ok we can resume the v8 talk now..

 

[MattHickford]

If not mistaken V5 is 64RA…. i prefer SWs between 320-325 combined with a 32,5 balance unstrung…. i lead up my 98S at 300gr….. I mostly prefer them with lead at 3/9.

I'm new to customisation but love the idea of a slightly less head-light and therefore more stable version of 98s v8. When you say you lead up at 3 and 9, how exactly do you measure where to place the lead, how much lead do you apply and what are the racket specs post-customisation? I also typically add a leather grip, would that change what you do to the 98s?

Thanks a lot.

 

[Fluffy_Skye]

Yeah, pretty close. The Blade wasn't a massive lift but it did drop quite nicely...slightly better than the gravity. That said, the gravity hits a slightly deeper ball.

The two racquets are really close in terms of feel. In fact, the Blade is the only racquet that has felt similar in terms of feel.

You’re talking about 16x19 v8, right?

 

[jdx2112]

You’re talking about 16x19 v8, right?

Correct. Haven't tried the 18/20.

 

[ImportPer4mance]

ok, so I just demoed the v8 18x20. I demoed it alongside my v7 18x20 and the gravity pro. I think my review will be quite a contrast to the previous few on the last few pages of this thread, but nevertheless, here it is.

The V8 18x20 was a complete disappointment and was easily my least favourite racket of the session. It was strung lower than my v7 18x20 but I felt like it had LESS power, and it definitely was not as precise. In fact, it was easier for me to switch from my v7 to the gravity pro, than it was to the v8!!! The gravity pro was what surprised me the most. It's a completely different racket from the tour and mp (both of which I tried and disliked).

The gravity pro was also strung a little lower than my v7, and it had more power. Serves definitely felt more powerful, and groundstrokes too. Only thing it was missing was the precision of the V7. I was playing match tie-breaks with my friends, and I found that when I was under pressure, I needed to switch back from the gravity to the v7, because the V7 just paints those lines and gives me the amazing angles and control (however maybe this is because the gravity pro was strung lower, but then again if it was strung higher, it wouldn't have felt so nice power wise!).

I mean, I really wanted to get a 2nd V7 18x20 with a matched spec, but all in my size are sold out in Europe, so I am looking for a replacement to keep my V7 as a backup, especially as I plan on getting back into tournaments. I was hoping V8 would be an easy choice, but so far it has disappointed a lot! Gravity Pro seems to be first in line (although at this point I still like my V7 more).

Strings were Alu Power roland garros for v8 18x20, hyper-g 1.15 for v7 18x20 (23/22 kg but has loosened up since playing. I checked this with a friend who was freshly strung with 23/22 and my v7 definitely lost some tension when we compared). Not sure about the strings on the gravity pro.

Power: GPRO > v7 => v8
Precision: v7 > v8 = GPRO
Manouverability: v8 > GPRO=v7
Serve: GPRO > v7 = v8
Control: v7 > v8 = GPRO
Groundstrokes: v7 > GPRO > v8

I intend to play again a few times more this week and will update if things change! But yeah, quite disappointed