Describe the Blade V8 feel (POLL!!)

How does the Blade V8 feel?

  • Muted

    Votes: 22 21.0%

  • Plush

    Votes: 21 20.0%

  • Crisp

    Votes: 10 9.5%

  • Noodle

    Votes: 2 1.9%

  • Firm

    Votes: 7 6.7%

  • buttery like a pancake

    Votes: 10 9.5%

  • lacking feel

    Votes: 8 7.6%

  • just right

    Votes: 10 9.5%

  • clash-esque

    Votes: 1 1.0%

  • softer pro staff

    Votes: 14 13.3%
  • Total voters
    105
C

Chairman3

Hall of Fame
Hit with the Blade V8 (18x20) awhile back when it came out, struck me as a little, what I'd call, "muted."
For me that means it felt like I didn't always know where on the stringbed I was hitting the ball. I am going to demo this racquet again soon, in the mean time..

How would you describe the feel of it?
Feel free to poll and post a description
 
Received a new 16x19 the other day and hitting with it today for the first time. Will describe the feeling later today!
 
The demo I tried felt quite bad really. No connection to the string-bed. Just hard and dead. Perhaps the strings (RPM x Sensation) weren't the best, and the resultant shots were ok, but no feeling of involvement. Can't say muted as that implies an awareness of something being dampened. There was just nothing at all.
 
For those who have played with this racquet and voted, what is your string setup/tension?

I am demoing currently and it has syn-gut at probably 55lbs and I am not crazy about it. Usually I like syn-gut but this feels so tight.

Also, my goal is to get a large number of responses in the poll 50-100, right now we have 25.
 
Chairman3 said:
For those who have played with this racquet and voted, what is your string setup/tension?

I am demoing currently and it has syn-gut at probably 55lbs and I am not crazy about it. Usually I like syn-gut but this feels so tight.

Also, my goal is to get a large number of responses in the poll 50-100, right now we have 25.
Click to expand...
i use confidential 16 at 55 lbs, but i like my string bed to be pretty stiff and controlled so a lot of ppl probably wouldn’t like it.
 
Chairman3 said:
For those who have played with this racquet and voted, what is your string setup/tension?

I am demoing currently and it has syn-gut at probably 55lbs and I am not crazy about it. Usually I like syn-gut but this feels so tight.

Also, my goal is to get a large number of responses in the poll 50-100, right now we have 25.
Click to expand...
I've been using myami BS/TH at 44/42 lbs. Anything higher and I struggle to generate power. I tried syncing-gut at low 50s and it felt boardy to me
 
I think PLUSH or maybe in my case, just-right is good. I know some say it is muted, but I get more than enough feel personally. Could be dampened since it removes vibration, I suppose.

I will say, I found absolutely no difference in feel between the V7 and V8. Strung the same and played for weeks on end and I used them interchangably and just could not tell the difference, if any.

Using Lux 4G and just dropped down a few more pounds to 46lbs.
 
ChaelAZ said:
I think PLUSH or maybe in my case, just-right is good. I know some say it is muted, but I get more than enough feel personally. Could be dampened since it removes vibration, I suppose.

I will say, I found absolutely no difference in feel between the V7 and V8. Strung the same and played for weeks on end and I used them interchangably and just could not tell the difference, if any.

Using Lux 4G and just dropped down a few more pounds to 46lbs.
Click to expand...
Have you tried the V6.5 one yet? I really like this one a lot. I bought 2 of them in fact.

Wilson Blade 98 16x19 v6 Racquet | Tennis Warehouse

www.tennis-warehouse.com www.tennis-warehouse.com
 
Fxanimator1 said:
Have you tried the V6.5 one yet? I really like this one a lot. I bought 2 of them in fact.

Wilson Blade 98 16x19 v6 Racquet | Tennis Warehouse

www.tennis-warehouse.com www.tennis-warehouse.com
Click to expand...


Oh yeah, still have a few of them. I have been using the Blades since BLX, but really wasn't a firm user until the 2015. Tried the CV's and everything between since, but that V7 is my goto still. And I still prefer the 18x20 myself.

EDIT TO ADD: This thread reminds me I should sell all the old racquets I have! I have a copule dozen around still, some only used a few times even.
 
CosmosMpower said:
Aren't crisp and plush opposites? To me it feels muted but not necessarily soft or plush.
Click to expand...
It’s more muted than V7 that’s why you can’t feel it’s plushness. But for sure ball still stays long on the strings before launch….on V7 that effect was even more and even more on clash v1 98. Crispness has to do with the way string touches the ball and how it transfers that feel as a sensation to your hands. Even a harsh racquet on contact can be plush. The first thing is a sensation and the second one a string/racquet behaviour.
 
-the w.blades are:
--solid enough for old school
--lite enough for new school
-college level racquet with low power, high control
-im glad i skipped the v7 because the v8s are the bees-knees,,, 2me :giggle:
 
CosmosMpower said:
Aren't crisp and plush opposites? To me it feels muted but not necessarily soft or plush.
Click to expand...
-the blades is on the crisp side, but the dampening material makes them very quiet, in regards to arm vibration
-the v8s are so quiet/clean that you can put on some harder polys and still find it comfortable,, IMO
-one of the few racquet that i considered playing without a sound dampener
 
1HBHfanatic said:
-the blades is on the crisp side, but the dampening material makes them very quiet, in regards to arm vibration
-the v8s are so quiet/clean that you can put on some harder polys and still find it comfortable,, IMO
-one of the few racquet that i considered playing without a sound dampener
Click to expand...
do you prefer 16x19 or 18x20? i moved from the 18x20 v7 to the 16x19 v8 and i like the launch angle but it doesn’t feel as precise consequently. I know TW playtesters mostly prefer 18x20 but 16x19 is a lot more popular among most modern players.
 
rishabh said:
do you prefer 16x19 or 18x20? i moved from the 18x20 v7 to the 16x19 v8 and i like the launch angle but it doesn’t feel as precise consequently. I know TW playtesters mostly prefer 18x20 but 16x19 is a lot more popular among most modern players.
Click to expand...
-im playing with the 16/19 now, like it a lot
-the 18/20 is a bit more control, longer string life, but you need a tad bit more energy to work it
-im in my 40s now, i optied for the easier of the 2 options, little regret, but not much (y):giggle:
-i do like the option given by wilson
-if you need longer string life, get the 18/20
-if you dont break strings, much, get the 16/19
 
Chairman3 said:
For those who have played with this racquet and voted, what is your string setup/tension?

I am demoing currently and it has syn-gut at probably 55lbs and I am not crazy about it. Usually I like syn-gut but this feels so tight.

Also, my goal is to get a large number of responses in the poll 50-100, right now we have 25.
Click to expand...
between plush and pro staff feel. with softer poly or hybrid it feels plush, but with stiffer poly felt closer to pro staff.
 
I felt like v5 16x19 version had too variable launch angle compared to v5 18x20. From the sweetspot spin potential was pretty similar between the two, but the edges shot the ball unpredictability with the 16x19. Strings and basic properties were matched.
Solely based on that I would argue that any Blade 16x19 mold is average performing - String pattern isn’t just right.

IMO 98 Blades are generally speaking bendy but at the same time solid (e.g. not hollow or slushy) and clean (dampened but not numb) at the contact. I wouldn’t say they are crisp, which I understand as describing something more unfiltered and firmer feeling and drier and faster at the contact.
 
Last edited:
18x20 V8 is so stable against heavy balls, it gives me the confidence to rip it back even harder. As far as the feel goes, it does feel more metallic than the V7 but feels more connected and still plush. My son prefers the V7’s softer, more sink-in feel, but I like the feel of the V8 more,
 
mhkeuns said:
18x20 V8 is so stable against heavy balls, it gives me the confidence to rip it back even harder. As far as the feel goes, it does feel more metallic than the V7 but feels more connected and still plush. My son prefers the V7’s softer, more sink-in feel, but I like the feel of the V8 more,
Click to expand...
My V8 demo must've been really underspec or something. It felt anemic when I played with it, had to swing hard and wasn't getting the weight of shot as with some other racquets.
 
Chairman3 said:
My V8 demo must've been really underspec or something. It felt anemic when I played with it, had to swing hard and wasn't getting the weight of shot as with some other racquets.
Click to expand...

Actually, mine was 3-4 grams over spec. Maybe that had something to do with it. I love it, though.
 
A softer more comfortable pro staff is a good description I think. I am struggling to understand the metallic references, it doesn't feel remotely metallic to me. I guess it heavily depends on strings and if people are hitting with bagged out polys in demos. I am huge fan of both the V7 and the V8. For me the V8 is like a hybrid of the V4 and the V7. Before the V8 the V4 was my favourite Blade.
 
ProRadTour said:
.......................... For me the V8 is like a hybrid of the V4 and the V7. Before the V8 the V4 was my favourite Blade.
Click to expand...

-agree here
-i have both v4 and v8
-to me the v4 are faster through the air
-good sticks on their own
-but the v8s have a "new tech" feel to them!
-the v8s also have better dampening, i notice this on off center hits with the v4s
 
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