Diary of a Racketaholic

mad dog1 said:
Had an opportunity to hit with @snoflewis PD100. It’s an improvement over the previous version in every way. More comfort, more feedback and feel, a little more control. Still prefer my 2012 PD with lead. The tighter string spacing provides more control. But I could play with the new PD if I had to replace my PD12s. Hits a great quality ball. What it absolutely does better than any other stick i have used is slices. The new PD slices are full of filth, nastiness and venom. @HypnoticLasagna and @snoflewis were on the receiving end to witness the insanity of the PD slice. All in all as a loyal PD12 user, the new PD is fantastic offering. Won’t be switching but i definitely wouldn’t mind it if I had to.
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Copied the above from the PD playtest…basically if you have liked most pure drives in general, you’ll like this new one.
 
mad dog1 said:
Looks like fake AI generated pics. ;)
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hang on, generated found another pic.

c3a9442a-bb4b-4092-889d-c0c73712cae8.jpg
 
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BTW I posed this in the RNG thread but what are we calling the Rafalito? Is it the 290g (or maybe 285g) Pure Aero Rafa or is it the 270g Rafa Lite? And what’s the other one called?

P.S. Happy Holidays, holics!
 
TwinCinema said:
BTW I posed this in the RNG thread but what are we calling the Rafalito? Is it the 290g (or maybe 285g) Pure Aero Rafa or is it the 270g Rafa Lite? And what’s the other one called?

P.S. Happy Holidays, holics!
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The current 290 Rafa. The other lighter ones weren’t called Rafa they were just pure aero or aero pro drives.
 
taylor15 said:
Well, shoot. I liked the 2018 a lot although it was the tour. Now I really want to try this new one. I guess I’ll be trying for a demo on Thursday.
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the new PD is an improvement over the 2018 and 2021 both of which i found lacked the control of the prior versions. 2018 was the wild mustang. 2021 was better. slices tended to float on me with those, too. if you have solid slice technique, the new PD hits the most insane ones. both feel and comfort are quite good. pj is much nicer in person.
 
TwinCinema said:
BTW I posed this in the RNG thread but what are we calling the Rafalito? Is it the 290g (or maybe 285g) Pure Aero Rafa or is it the 270g Rafa Lite? And what’s the other one called?

P.S. Happy Holidays, holics!
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Yeah as stated, the rafito is the 290 and the origin is the big boy.

Rafalito with some weight on both ends is like a super powered blade. But a more raw ball feel than the latest blade releases.
 
gsinko1 said:
Reading your post in the playtest thread, I hope I have a different experience than you. I didn’t try the ‘21, but the Drive VS was awfully disappointing to me
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the PD98 @snoflewis and i tried yesterday was a demo from TW. the string job in the demo was trash. i didn't mention anything about the PD98 because there was no real way to even assess how good the frame was with that rubbish string job. complete mush in the middle.
 
mad dog1 said:
the PD98 @snoflewis and i tried yesterday was a demo from TW. the string job in the demo was trash. i didn't mention anything about the PD98 because there was no real way to even assess how good the frame was with that rubbish string job. complete mush in the middle.
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Yeah, the string job on mine looks pretty terrible as well. Weirdly, both of the gravity string jobs look like they were done well and tension feels decent
 
gsinko1 said:
Reading your post in the playtest thread, I hope I have a different experience than you. I didn’t try the ‘21, but the Drive VS was awfully disappointing to me
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In stock form, the VS isnt good. But it's also not really a fair comparison between a stick with more mass in the hoop vs one without. I thought the VS with some lead was pretty great. We cant all compare sticks at equal specs though, so it just depends i guess. In stock form, i'd take the new pd98 but i wouldnt be excited about it
 
gsinko1 said:
Reading your post in the playtest thread, I hope I have a different experience than you. I didn’t try the ‘21, but the Drive VS was awfully disappointing to me
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the PD VS is AWESOME, but it's an absolute string eating MONSTER. I got maybe 2-3 hours from full 1.25 poly. a little longer with 1.30 poly. in stock form, my PD VS frames had super low swing weights. I had to add like 28" of lead tape to bring them up to low 320s swing weight strung. but at that spec, the ball they could hit was excellent. the amount of action they put on the ball caused the ball to explode up and forward after the bounce. never seen any frame do that for me according to one of my hitting partners. if it wasn't so hard on strings, i'd probably be using it.
 
gsinko1 said:
https://imgur.com/a/2wQDAUc

Got some demos in hand today! Too bad I won’t be able to make it onto a court until Thursday… Can’t wait to try the new gravity pro/tour out. The Drive 98 feels massively head heavy in hand and is strung with RPM blast 1.30 so I’m not very optimistic there…
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Is the new gravity pro not gloss or is it the camera angle??? Doesn’t look gloss like the 98.
 
i bought a racket today, cuz it was on sale and a good deal. racket number 6. but to be fair, i did put up 2 rackets for sale.
 
tim-ay said:
Not to mess with your head but that word: Extended. This might be the best 27.25 mod frame ever. YMMV.
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Isn’t everything better at 27.25? Worked half the day and went straight to the club afterwards for a hour and a half Christmas Eve hit. So great to be healthy and back on the court.

LA guys got it good. How much fun would it be to get together with the guys on here. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays fellas.
 
I decided to get myself another Christmas gift. Just got another TGT 344.4. I’m in love with the one I got recently. It’s the retail Auxetic Gravity Pro mold and layup but spec’d to 310g / 31.5 / 295sw. My last measured to 300 sw on my brifidi, with the static and balance measuring the same. It’’s amazing how maneuverable this racquet is compared to my old 360+ gravity pro. And head’s finest calf skin grip, drool.

Hope y’all have a merry Christmas. Will 2025 be the year I don’t buy and try a million racquets? Maybe.
 
EggSalad said:
I decided to get myself another Christmas gift. Just got another TGT 344.4. I’m in love with the one I got recently. It’s the retail Auxetic Gravity Pro mold and layup but spec’d to 310g / 31.5 / 295sw. My last measured to 300 sw on my brifidi, with the static and balance measuring the same. It’’s amazing how maneuverable this racquet is compared to my old 360+ gravity pro. And head’s finest calf skin grip, drool.

Hope y’all have a merry Christmas. Will 2025 be the year I don’t buy and try a million racquets? Maybe.
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Congrats! Unstrung, of course?
Can you maybe compare it to the 293.1?
Merry Christmas!
 
Fintft said:
Congrats! Unstrung, of course?
Can you maybe compare it to the 293.1?
Merry Christmas!
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Yeah, those are unstrung specs.

That is a really hard comparison. I bought a 293.1 during an injury haze and never really put it through its paces.

The best way to describe the TGT344.4 is that it is basically just like a retail Gravity Pro on feel, power, string bed consistency. But by dropping 5gs in static weight and using silicone on the handle, it’s lighter yet more HL and the feel of silicone + heads finest calf skin grip is amazing.

It really just takes away my two issues with the 360+ GP, which were lack of maneuverability and it was a lot of racquet to serve with. Those issues are gone with the pro stock at those specs.
 
EggSalad said:
Yeah, those are unstrung specs.

That is a really hard comparison. I bought a 293.1 during an injury haze and never really put it through its paces.

The best way to describe the TGT344.4 is that it is basically just like a retail Gravity Pro on feel, power, string bed consistency. But by dropping 5gs in static weight and using silicone on the handle, it’s lighter yet more HL and the feel of silicone + heads finest calf skin grip is amazing.

It really just takes away my two issues with the 360+ GP, which were lack of maneuverability and it was a lot of racquet to serve with. Those issues are gone with the pro stock at those specs.
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Cool! I'll look for one, although 293.1 is very easy to swing, or maneauvrable, as you put it.
 
Seasons greetings fellow holics!

If you worried about plantar fasciitis, the best cushioning socks, Thorlos are 15% (plus usually another $10 for repeated customers). They fit even with orthodics in the narrow and tight Asics Gel Resolution 9 clay.
 
Just spent 90 minutes on court and the G98 took about 85 of those. I was more excited for the GPro but after starting with the tour, it wasn’t even a contest. The pro feels nice but it still just takes an all out cut at all times to produce a good ball. The 98 was significantly more user friendly: higher launch, more spin, more depth, more pace (no surprises there). I was shocked how crisp it felt though, the low weight and flex was my biggest question mark but man this thing was sweet. Going to have one of these in my hands asap. I enjoyed the tour so much I didn’t even try the Pure Drive 98 today
 
Finally got this one editing together. Playing a college kid 11 years my junior. How’d my bionic eyes do on those close calls I do instant replays on? Rackets -PK Boron Ace for 70% of the match until I obliterate the strings, then switch to A Wilson Hyper Pro Staff 5.0

I’m wearing shorts because i didn’t check the weather ahead of time.

 
kevin qmto said:
Finally got this one editing together. Playing a college kid 11 years my junior. How’d my bionic eyes do on those close calls I do instant replays on? Rackets -PK Boron Ace for 70% of the match until I obliterate the strings, then switch to A Wilson Hyper Pro Staff 5.0

I’m wearing shorts because i didn’t check the weather ahead of time.

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IIRC you get alot more power off your groundstrokes with the adidas stick?
 
kevin qmto said:
I know. Sometimes that results in me over hitting and missing too much. That Pro Kennex is a wonderful control orientated stick that really makes me have to craft points and have good footwork. Though I do manage to tee off on a few balls.
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i totally hear you. but from where im sitting the other stick suits your put away style.
 
gsinko1 said:
https://imgur.com/a/2wQDAUc

Got some demos in hand today! Too bad I won’t be able to make it onto a court until Thursday… Can’t wait to try the new gravity pro/tour out. The Drive 98 feels massively head heavy in hand and is strung with RPM blast 1.30 so I’m not very optimistic there…
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all three of these PJs are so so nice. what did you think of the new box beam upper hoop in the PD98?
 
gino said:
all three of these PJs are so so nice. what did you think of the new box beam upper hoop in the PD98?
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I got a hit in today and the G98 hogged basically the entire time with a few minutes going to the GPro. I will hopefully have a few more hits before my week is up for the demo period. The box beam does intrigue me because I used to love the old aero storms and the pure aero VS (the 2016 one), but I’m a little disappointed it’s strung with RPM blast 1.30 and it feels insanely head heavy in hand
 
mad dog1 said:
the new PD is an improvement over the 2018 and 2021 both of which i found lacked the control of the prior versions. 2018 was the wild mustang. 2021 was better. slices tended to float on me with those, too. if you have solid slice technique, the new PD hits the most insane ones. both feel and comfort are quite good. pj is much nicer in person.
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PD25 in hand, demo but has plastic on handle and fresh string - probably RPM blast 1.25. Excited to try this one!

Also, my backhand slice is the only shot that I can say I hit above my overall level so wanting to see if this is true for my game also.
 
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