TripleB
Hall of Fame
I've had these four demos on the court for about 6 hours of tennis (over 2 days): Wilson BLX Six-One 95 16x18, Dunlop Biomimetic Max 200G, Babolat Pure Drive Roddick '12, and Tecnifibre TFight 320 VO2 Max.
Specs for each with 1 overgrip, a rubber band, and polyester string:
Wilson Six-One 95 16x18: 355g, 9 pts HL
Dunlop Biomimetic Max 200G: 336g, 4 pts HL
Babolat Pure Drive Roddick '12: 337g, 5 pts HL
Tecnifibre TFight 320 VO2 Max: 344g, 9 pts HL
My thoughts:
Wilson Six-One 95: very solid, great amount of power (probably the most from any 6.1 racquet I've ever tried), slice is just amazing…so low and powerful, heavy topspin was above average if I had time to prepare…really couldn't whip the head of this racquet even though it is 9 points headlight…really missed the ability of whipping my crosscourt forehand at a sharp angle like I can with my Dunlop, enjoyed the pop I got from this racquet on serves which led to some free points, didn't like it as much on second serves because I couldn't get the spin I was hoping for on spin serves, so solid at net but a little slow and I couldn't ever get the touch dialed in with this racquet (at least with this string set-up), control is outstanding, even though there is only 6 grams difference between this racquet and my 200 Tour…I'm too much of a weakling to use this racquet.
Dunlop Biomimetic Max 200G: to be honest I really didn't care much for this racquet the first 30 or so minutes I played with it - I think it was because I was hoping for a lighter AG 4D 200 Tour but because of it being only 4 points headlight, my timing was way off…ie: the transition from the 200 Tour wasn't as easy as I was expecting, also the feeling of the 200G is a bit more muted than my 200 Tour, today however was a new day, groundstrokes felt very solid with low/powerful/well biting slice, topspin was very good but not as good at my 200 Tour (but my Tour has Solinco Tour Bite 17g strings), control was excellent from baseline and during serves, and after some time today I was able to pull off every shot that I'm used to hitting with my 200 Tour with a bit more pace, playing net was a dream with this racquet because of an excellent combination of touch and power, would have liked more spin but I think that would be available with the right string set-up. overall I found more pace with this racquet but with less spin than I get with my 200 Tour; one note…the 3 extra inches come from lengthening the head, not from widening it (hoping for a little more racquet face width)
Babolat Pure Drive Roddick '12: the Roddick heritage is definitely there…power and good spin (didn't like the Hurricane string in it), control seems to be stepped up with this version over my Cortex version, the feel also seems to be a little better compared to my Cortex version, still loving this racquet on serves, slice is powerful and above average (probably better with Tour Bite 17 string), struggled with the maneuverability (especially my weaker forehand side), couldn't not whip this racquet, touch at net was non-existence…seemed like a bit too much power at net…angle and touch volleys were a problem for me, overall I think this is a great update to my Cortex version but I struggled with shots that needed feel (touch volleys and drop shots were what caused me the most problems), as with all the Pure Drives I've tried in the past I had problems executing heavy topspin shots that barely dipped over the net at the feet of my opponents...a lot of those shots I tried to execute tend to end up in the net, overall a great update and the power is addictive, several times I was way out of position and the power of this racquet really put me back onto offense
Tecnifibre TFight 320 VO2 Max: after the first day I was really liking this racquet, the open string pattern on this racquet puts some incredible spins on the ball…slice, topspin, kick, etc., the feel is a bit on the crisp side and I don't particularly care for the string in it (Black Code I believe), after the first day I thought with my standard string set-up I might be able to get more feel out of the racquet and even increase the spin more, today was a bit of a different story as I had the chance to concentrate more on the outcome of my shots: the one area I struggled from the first ball was depth control, with the heavy spin I was getting I found the balls a bit shorter than I was expecting but then when I try to flatten it out the ball tended to fly a bit, for such an open string pattern I found some great control with this racquet, I think this racquet would play better if it wasn't quite so headlight…maybe 6 or 6.5 points headlight instead of 9, loved this racquets ability to hit dippers at my opponents feet when he was at net, the power level of this racquet wasn't as good as I was hoping (again, less headlight might have helped with the plowthrough, which for a 344g racquet wasn't that good) and I struggled to put balls away
As of right now I'm really liking the Max 200G but I'm not sure that there is a large enough difference between it and my 200 Tour to warrant a purchase…really love the solid feel, control, and touch with this racquet. The Roddick's power is addictive and I appreciated it on the serve and when I was in trouble on the backhand side. The 320 VO2 Max impresses me with it's spin potential and kick on second serves. Love the solid feel and power of the Six-One but just a bit too heavy for me.
Again, these are just my opinions and after only 6 hours of singles.
TripleB
Specs for each with 1 overgrip, a rubber band, and polyester string:
Wilson Six-One 95 16x18: 355g, 9 pts HL
Dunlop Biomimetic Max 200G: 336g, 4 pts HL
Babolat Pure Drive Roddick '12: 337g, 5 pts HL
Tecnifibre TFight 320 VO2 Max: 344g, 9 pts HL
My thoughts:
Wilson Six-One 95: very solid, great amount of power (probably the most from any 6.1 racquet I've ever tried), slice is just amazing…so low and powerful, heavy topspin was above average if I had time to prepare…really couldn't whip the head of this racquet even though it is 9 points headlight…really missed the ability of whipping my crosscourt forehand at a sharp angle like I can with my Dunlop, enjoyed the pop I got from this racquet on serves which led to some free points, didn't like it as much on second serves because I couldn't get the spin I was hoping for on spin serves, so solid at net but a little slow and I couldn't ever get the touch dialed in with this racquet (at least with this string set-up), control is outstanding, even though there is only 6 grams difference between this racquet and my 200 Tour…I'm too much of a weakling to use this racquet.
Dunlop Biomimetic Max 200G: to be honest I really didn't care much for this racquet the first 30 or so minutes I played with it - I think it was because I was hoping for a lighter AG 4D 200 Tour but because of it being only 4 points headlight, my timing was way off…ie: the transition from the 200 Tour wasn't as easy as I was expecting, also the feeling of the 200G is a bit more muted than my 200 Tour, today however was a new day, groundstrokes felt very solid with low/powerful/well biting slice, topspin was very good but not as good at my 200 Tour (but my Tour has Solinco Tour Bite 17g strings), control was excellent from baseline and during serves, and after some time today I was able to pull off every shot that I'm used to hitting with my 200 Tour with a bit more pace, playing net was a dream with this racquet because of an excellent combination of touch and power, would have liked more spin but I think that would be available with the right string set-up. overall I found more pace with this racquet but with less spin than I get with my 200 Tour; one note…the 3 extra inches come from lengthening the head, not from widening it (hoping for a little more racquet face width)
Babolat Pure Drive Roddick '12: the Roddick heritage is definitely there…power and good spin (didn't like the Hurricane string in it), control seems to be stepped up with this version over my Cortex version, the feel also seems to be a little better compared to my Cortex version, still loving this racquet on serves, slice is powerful and above average (probably better with Tour Bite 17 string), struggled with the maneuverability (especially my weaker forehand side), couldn't not whip this racquet, touch at net was non-existence…seemed like a bit too much power at net…angle and touch volleys were a problem for me, overall I think this is a great update to my Cortex version but I struggled with shots that needed feel (touch volleys and drop shots were what caused me the most problems), as with all the Pure Drives I've tried in the past I had problems executing heavy topspin shots that barely dipped over the net at the feet of my opponents...a lot of those shots I tried to execute tend to end up in the net, overall a great update and the power is addictive, several times I was way out of position and the power of this racquet really put me back onto offense
Tecnifibre TFight 320 VO2 Max: after the first day I was really liking this racquet, the open string pattern on this racquet puts some incredible spins on the ball…slice, topspin, kick, etc., the feel is a bit on the crisp side and I don't particularly care for the string in it (Black Code I believe), after the first day I thought with my standard string set-up I might be able to get more feel out of the racquet and even increase the spin more, today was a bit of a different story as I had the chance to concentrate more on the outcome of my shots: the one area I struggled from the first ball was depth control, with the heavy spin I was getting I found the balls a bit shorter than I was expecting but then when I try to flatten it out the ball tended to fly a bit, for such an open string pattern I found some great control with this racquet, I think this racquet would play better if it wasn't quite so headlight…maybe 6 or 6.5 points headlight instead of 9, loved this racquets ability to hit dippers at my opponents feet when he was at net, the power level of this racquet wasn't as good as I was hoping (again, less headlight might have helped with the plowthrough, which for a 344g racquet wasn't that good) and I struggled to put balls away
As of right now I'm really liking the Max 200G but I'm not sure that there is a large enough difference between it and my 200 Tour to warrant a purchase…really love the solid feel, control, and touch with this racquet. The Roddick's power is addictive and I appreciated it on the serve and when I was in trouble on the backhand side. The 320 VO2 Max impresses me with it's spin potential and kick on second serves. Love the solid feel and power of the Six-One but just a bit too heavy for me.
Again, these are just my opinions and after only 6 hours of singles.
TripleB
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