Some more snaps:
It was a blast. I played like hot garbage but I got to meet a lot of nice guys and hit a bunch of dingles and test some new rackets. Here are quick hit thoughts on a few:
ProStaff 97 v14 -- this is the one I just acquired a few days ago and got strung up with my trusty ol' razor code white 18ga. It's awesome, full stop. I couldn't put it down, so much so that I barely got to try any of the other two-dozen-plus sticks on display. Its only drawbacks are a slightly small sweet spot and a lack of raw power, but in exchange you get incredible precision, good access to spin (much more with razor code than 4G) and rock-solid stability. These guys were heavy hitters and although I shanked my fair share of mishits, my racket never felt bullied by the ball. It's whippy - more so than I expected - and super easy to swing given its 315g stock static weight unstrung. I think this is going to be not just a keeper, but potentially a rival to the PSVS.
2025 Pure Drive 100 -- ugh, not for me. Still blasts rockets, but feels softer on contact than the 2021. They definitely brought the RA down this iteration. It's so springy that you can just poke at returns and the ball will go over the net, but you have no idea where the shot will go. The string pattern did me no favors and I couldn't find control. Yeah this is a no from me dawg.
Pure Aero Rafa -- The 290g little brother to the Origin. I only got about 5-10 minutes with it but holy crap it's amazing. Yes it fires missiles but you can get so much spin that it feels way more tame-able than the PD. My hitting partner said "you had crazy spin with that thing," and while I couldn't tell on the court it's nice to know that my shots presented some trouble to the opponent. Everyone at this hit was better than me but I felt like if I'd had the Rafa in my hands the whole time I'd have at least made it more challenging. I could hang with the ProStaff but with the Rafa I'd find some winners too.