Diadem Nova V3

Soundbyte said:
Good for him. Him and Ian probably help Diadem substantially, and it's probably worthwhile for them too for the affiliate pay.

But they make good tennis gear. It's easier when they have just 2 lines to focus on.
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Scott Broady aka Angry Old Man is using the Elevate Tour. So now the big 3 of real tennis are all onboard the diadem train!
 
Soundbyte said:
Good for him. Him and Ian probably help Diadem substantially, and it's probably worthwhile for them too for the affiliate pay.

But they make good tennis gear. It's easier when they have just 2 lines to focus on.
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I'm 110% aboard with making deals with youtubers. At the very least these guys endorse gear they actually use and not frames >10 years old.
 
Soundbyte said:
Also none of my Angells are that high. And I have 7 of them (all 27.5 or 27.25 too). In fact all my K7 XLs (one of each - Lime, cyan, red) all have strung SW of exactly 340
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I was just checking on these K7 XLs. Extended frames could help me on my 2-handed backhand and on serves, but these sw number are very high for me eventually.
 
Leen said:
Give him a month to complain about wrist pain and switch again lol
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Well I thought that it is very weird that he chose a 70 Ra stick (especially sind he played very very well with the supurbly comfortable Angell K7 Red). But he says the Nova is much more comfortable than his DR98 and his other Ezones.
 
So spec'd out my 2 frames that I plan on playtesting:
Nova 100 - 297g, 32.2cm, SW289 Unstrung. I added 3g of tungsten putty to the buttcap to get it to published specs of 300g, 32cm exactly
Nova + - 303g, 34cm, SW323 unstrung. Added 7g of putty to the buttcap to get it to 310g, 33.3cm.
I have plans to lead up the standard (and also potentially the Nova+) to "Tour" specs buy essentially adding 15g to the buttcap. Rackets are foam filled but I think I have enough space to get 15 of tungsten in there.

I actually really like the exterior PJ. Feels nice in the hand, but I could do with the sparkle/glitter that is on the inside of the hoop. Its not bad, but straight black would have been better IMO. But they're going for their galaxy theme, so I get it.
 
Seems like it's pretty manageable their QC.
Jouke said:
Well I thought that it is very weird that he chose a 70 Ra stick (especially sind he played very very well with the supurbly comfortable Angell K7 Red). But he says the Nova is much more comfortable than his DR98 and his other Ezones.
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Technically it's 69 RA b/c that makes him go ha-ha. But it's clear that RA is not the only factor in arm/wrist comfort. ProKennex has some racquets that have same or greater RA than the Pure Drive.
I think he strings at 50 or 52# also. Plus he's playtesting so that can mess w/ your game and joints.
 
Roforot said:
with strings, SW would be around 310... seems kind of light vs Pure Drive but let us know how it feels on the court, especially the serve!
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I tried to buy the Nova 100 FS a year ago and had several checked for specs before. They all had unstrung swingweight around 277-279. I even contacted Diadem and was told it was at the target swingweight.

I ended up not buying as I don’t like to use lead tape just to get the racquet to my preferred specs.
 
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TennisViking said:
I bought the Nova 100 FS a year ago and had several checked for specs before. They all had unstrung swingweight around 277-279. I even contacted Diadem and was told it was at the target swingweight.

I ended up not buying as I don’t like to use lead tape just to get the racquet to me preferred specs.
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Well my V3 Nova matches the SW of the current Pure Drive (320 strung).

But in general, don't be turned off by lead. Especially if you have more than 1 of any frame, you almost always need lead to get specs close due to inherent variances with manufacturing.

Not to mention sometimes just a gram or 2 to bump up the swingweight really opens up a frame
 
HypnoticLasagna said:
@konstantinos kalfountzos The paint is not like the elevate. It is much smoother, but has a velvety feel still. Not as much friction on the paint might make it easier than the elevate v3 for you.
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That actually was my gut feeling when first looking at it. I'd really like to try it / demo it somehow and make a side-to-side comparison to the 300 gram - Nova I've been using for 2+ years now.
 
I hit with a Nova V3 Tour demo today. It felt very solid and stiff (not painfully so). The stiffness and the weight give the racquet a very direct feeling - you really get the impression you are making a serious "thump" when you hit the ball. Hitting partner thought the ball was heavier than the Prestige MP-L (with a little lead) I was demoing next to it. I don't yet have any discomfort with the frame, so I'll keep an eye on it. Best analogy for ball impact was my RF 97, which probably makes sense, because it's similarly stiff with a good amount of relatively head-light mass behind the ball. Control was okay for a 100" 16x19 stick; I had a few balls fly long if I didn't hit with enough top -- but when you do, you get a great ball. My wife thought the teal spackling in the frame was "pretty." I'll use it in my singles match tomorrow and report back.
 
Roforot said:
Yeah that would be interesting to see how different this version is. Hopefully you live somewhere demos are available
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I live in Western Greece. We've got Diadem Europe here. I think it would be interesting stringing both versions up with the same string setup (something like Kirschbaum Flash orange) and hit with them side-by-side stock and then with some lead beneath the handle and at 9 and 3 and hit again. I will reach out to Diadem Europe to see if they'd be interested in sending me a V3 for 2-3 weeks.
 
konstantinos kalfountzos said:
I live in Western Greece. We've got Diadem Europe here. I think it would be interesting stringing both versions up with the same string setup (something like Kirschbaum Flash orange) and hit with them side-by-side stock and then with some lead beneath the handle and at 9 and 3 and hit again. I will reach out to Diadem Europe to see if they'd be interested in sending me a V3 for 2-3 weeks.
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Curiously, the discount codes offered by tennisnerd and mark s seem to work for the US site but not the European site. I tried messaging the diadem rep here about it but no answer so far.
 
I've asked Diadem Europe if I could get a Nova V3 300 grams for a short period to run a full review about it and compare it to the V2. I'll let you know if there's any progress. Feedback from more advanced players for the Tour is very positive so far. Ok, I don't know how unbiased the feedback is, but like I said above, I prefer sponsored YouTubers endorsing retail rackets. Look forward for Tennis Viking clip.
 
konstantinos kalfountzos said:
Mark Sansait has fully switched to the Diadem Nova V3 Tour.
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This switch makes sense to me. Now that I'm done my testing with the Nova's, the script is written and the A-Roll filmed, I'm allowing myself to watch other reviews.

I can't say I fully agree with Mark's entire experience, but from all the tennis I've seen him play online, the Nova Tour seems like a really solid fit for his game. Very versatile frame that does what you want when you want and doesn't get in the way. Rare for racquets with this level of forgiveness.
 
dr. godmode said:
This switch makes sense to me. Now that I'm done my testing with the Nova's, the script is written and the A-Roll filmed, I'm allowing myself to watch other reviews.

I can't say I fully agree with Mark's entire experience, but from all the tennis I've seen him play online, the Nova Tour seems like a really solid fit for his game. Very versatile frame that does what you want when you want and doesn't get in the way. Rare for racquets with this level of forgiveness.
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You seemed initially to favor the non-Tour over the Tour. Is that still your opinion, or did the Tour grow on you more?
 
Soundbyte said:
You seemed initially to favor the non-Tour over the Tour. Is that still your opinion, or did the Tour grow on you more?
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No I still prefer the non-Tour. Got the standard Nova up to 337g, 32.9cm, 330SW and it worked much better for my game than the Tour. I think the Tour spec works perfect for the 1HBH, which I don't have so I don't care for it. I bet Mark would play marginally better with a properly dialed in base Nova compared to the Tour, but he would rather spend his time on court than getting lead poisoning, so I get it.

My Nova Tour had a 15.1 twistweight strung which is just way out of my spec range. I struggle to control the racquet face angle on spin shots with that high of a twistweight (even the base Nova's 14.5 wasn't ideal) so I just end up hitting flat shots all day which kills the effectiveness of my game.
 
dr. godmode said:
I can't say I fully agree with Mark's entire experience, but from all the tennis I've seen him play online, the Nova Tour seems like a really solid fit for his game. Very versatile frame that does what you want when you want and doesn't get in the way. Rare for racquets with this level of forgiveness.
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Only the 22mm Pro Kennex Ki5 295 felt faster than the Nova last year for me, especially when I used to use the 1-handed backhand, before committing to the 2-handed. Faster than the Speed MP and TF-X1 300.

You seem taller than me, I'm 1.80m. Do you find the grip length long enough? It seems the Elevate's is a bit longer. Could be an issue for tall players with large palms if so. Just a thought. I thought they would "fix" this with the V3 but it seems it's the same length. If I'm not mistaken, this is also an issue with some Yonex rackets, maybe the Ezones
 
konstantinos kalfountzos said:
Only the 22mm Pro Kennex Ki5 295 felt faster than the Nova last year for me, especially when I used to use the 1-handed backhand, before committing to the 2-handed. Faster than the Speed MP and TF-X1 300.

You seem taller than me, I'm 1.80m. Do you find the grip length long enough? It seems the Elevate's is a bit longer. Could be an issue for tall players with large palms if so. Just a thought. I thought they would "fix" this with the V3 but it seems it's the same length. If I'm not mistaken, this is also an issue with some Yonex rackets, maybe the Ezones
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I have never been irritated by grip length despite my 2 hander. I don’t hold it tight enough to really notice anything with my left hand and I hold my right hand quite low. The buttcap sits in my palm and my pinky is like half on the grip.
 
Stratotanker said:
I hit with a Nova V3 Tour demo today. It felt very solid and stiff (not painfully so). The stiffness and the weight give the racquet a very direct feeling - you really get the impression you are making a serious "thump" when you hit the ball. Hitting partner thought the ball was heavier than the Prestige MP-L (with a little lead) I was demoing next to it. I don't yet have any discomfort with the frame, so I'll keep an eye on it. Best analogy for ball impact was my RF 97, which probably makes sense, because it's similarly stiff with a good amount of relatively head-light mass behind the ball. Control was okay for a 100" 16x19 stick; I had a few balls fly long if I didn't hit with enough top -- but when you do, you get a great ball. My wife thought the teal spackling in the frame was "pretty." I'll use it in my singles match tomorrow and report back.
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Okay, following up. I played a set or so with the Nova V3 Tour. No discomfort, and the racquet comes around quickly for its weight (the HL balance seemed to help). Hit the ball well, but switched over to a weighted Prestige MP-L (at 340 grams) for the rest of the morning after about 8 games. Didn't love the feel, as I thought the racquet was just too stiff for me - not painfully so, but just didn't get the dwell and flexy feeling I like when playing matches. I also thought it was less whippy that I would have liked - maybe the Twistweight, but don't have a way to measure it. For reference: 40 years old, recently bumped 5.0.
 
Gonna catch and release both the Standard 100 and XL in L2

Good frames, I can see why the the Standard is getting good reviews. Definitely a nice frame with decent dwell time for a power frame. Not nearly as stiff as most Babolats or the Pure Drive / Aero. But Im not a power frame guy. So off to someone who might want it!

If anyone is interested, feel free to message me otherwise the classified post should be up tomorrow

EDIT Feb 20 - DM me for the best deal. Trying to clear these out of my closet!!!
 
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dr. godmode said:
This switch makes sense to me. Now that I'm done my testing with the Nova's, the script is written and the A-Roll filmed, I'm allowing myself to watch other reviews.

I can't say I fully agree with Mark's entire experience, but from all the tennis I've seen him play online, the Nova Tour seems like a really solid fit for his game. Very versatile frame that does what you want when you want and doesn't get in the way. Rare for racquets with this level of forgiveness.
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After Mark ranted about how the PA98 was the worst frame ever for his bh slice, it was impossible to take anything he said seriously. Haven’t watched another one of his videos since.
 
mad dog1 said:
After Mark ranted about how the PA98 was the worst frame ever for his bh slice, it was impossible to take anything he said seriously. Haven’t watched another one of his videos since.
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Im not a fan of his either. He uses hyperbole in every video. Somewhere along the time line he decided that's what his Internet persona was going to be.

That being said, there's welcome space given that he isn't giving the "this racket is good" comment virtually every racket he reviews (like other YouTubers do)
 
Soundbyte said:
Im not a fan of his either. He uses hyperbole in every video. Somewhere along the time line he decided that's what his Internet persona was going to be.

That being said, there's welcome space given that he isn't giving the "this racket is good" comment virtually every racket he reviews (like other YouTubers do)
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Most racquets are just “good”. Very few are “really good”. And it’s once in a blue moon that you’ll find one racquet or two that is “awesome”. At least that’s been my experience.
 
mad dog1 said:
Most racquets are just “good”. Very few are “really good”. And it’s once in a blue moon that you’ll find one racquet or two that is “awesome”. At least that’s been my experience.
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Where would you put the PA23 and PA98 on that scale?
 
Soundbyte said:
Im not a fan of his either. He uses hyperbole in every video. Somewhere along the time line he decided that's what his Internet persona was going to be.

That being said, there's welcome space given that he isn't giving the "this racket is good" comment virtually every racket he reviews (like other YouTubers do)
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I think it's his real personality...
I like his reviews though some things do make me wonder, like when he says a racquet/string is really good for a slice serve but only from the deuce side.
It's also hard to know if his injuries were due to the frame/string or that he was testing/changing equipment.
 
Pneumated1 said:
Where would you put the PA23 and PA98 on that scale?
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I tried my friend’s PA98 which he had customized to his spec which is quite different from mine and I found it to be better than “good”.

I had a PA23 and it was also better than “good”.
 
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Soundbyte said:
Gonna catch and release both the Standard 100 and XL in L2

Good frames, I can see why the the Standard is getting good reviews. Definitely a nice frame with decent dwell time for a power frame. Not nearly as stiff as most Babolats or the Pure Drive / Aero. But Im not a power frame guy. So off to someone who might want it!

If anyone is interested, feel free to message me otherwise the classified post should be up tomorrow
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how does the Plus plays with such SW? I bet linear strokes are preferred
 
flyhome said:
how does the Plus plays with such SW? I bet linear strokes are preferred
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Swing weight doesn't bother me, as I usually play in the 340 range (even with other extended frames like the 7G). Its definitely not for someone with poor technique or or short punchy strokes.
If you have good prep the extra length definitely helps with torque on the serves and 2HBH.

These definitely have more flex and give to them than the Pure Drive.
 
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