Diary of a Racketaholic

Ok weighted up the VCore to 330g 32cm balance strung with an overgrip (I’ll try to measure swingweight with racquettune on the weekend, knowing it’s not all that accurate but oh well). Took around 4 inches of 1/2” lead tape at 10/2 each and 6 inches total of the same in the handle. Also added 2g at 12 to the Ezone to give it some more plow.

Ngl I’m tempted to start the tournament tomorrow with the VCore, playing some balls against the wall I like how the ball comes off the strings of the VCore, not nearly as muted as the Ezone and a better launch angle for me.
 
SpinToWin said:
Ok weighted up the VCore to 330g 32cm balance strung with an overgrip (I’ll try to measure swingweight with racquettune on the weekend, knowing it’s not all that accurate but oh well). Took around 4 inches of 1/2” lead tape at 10/2 each and 6 inches total of the same in the handle. Also added 2g at 12 to the Ezone to give it some more plow.

Ngl I’m tempted to start the tournament tomorrow with the VCore, playing some balls against the wall I like how the ball comes off the strings of the VCore, not nearly as muted as the Ezone and a better launch angle for me.
Click to expand...
I had a feeling you’d like the vcore. It’s really impressive. Easy on the arm but generates a heavy ball for being so soft.
 
I might know someone who will let go of a pristine 293.2 in L2....It's 18/20, very controlled.

Speaking for myself, I got used to 16x19 in the .1.

Cheers
 
SupahMan5000 said:
So now with all 16g strings my lightest frame is 333 SW, and the rest are 337,338,340
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I'm the exact opposite, my lightest being 295SW, 330, 331 and the newest one at 337.

If I recall correctly, you said recently that once you get tired you can't swing as fast and prefer the higher SW (to the 333 one)?
I watched myself today against the coach and I seem to be only swinging fast the ones that go max 331SW, not the 337 one ( I mean not consistently). Or maybe I am not taking it back fast enough...

On a positive note, I am happy that the twinge I used to feel in my elbow is gone (after straight arm lifting at least each second day 20Lbs), so now poly doesn't bother me anymore (will give up on the gut/poly hybrid).
 
Now that I am done with the string test of the new Mach-10, got this re-strung with Pure Rush 18g & GW 19g.

57403d0c2bb7.jpg
 
veelium said:
Took out the Exo3 Rebel 95 in anticipation of 2 other Princes I'm gonna have to play with soon.
Strung with PTP 1.15 you wouldn't know that this is an 18x20. In typical strung-too-long-ago PTP fashion, it felt amazingly comfortable on slow easy swings but lightly jarring when hitting hard.
In some way the racquet reminded me of the microgel prestige pro, the kind of solid throughout feel but maybe a bit more comfy. Surprising amounts of power and spin for an 18x20 95.
After an hour and a bit used the Pure Rush mid again. Definitely felt better than the first time around, I guess the string just feels better after a settling period.
Still, not ideal for me personally. A plus compared to the cyclone is a bit more max power on serve, you just get a bit more with the Pure Rush.
The feel is still worse and hitting outside the sweet spot a bit harsher. Less of an issue in match play but rallying with it after I felt it more.
Maybe the thinner gauge works better? @JGads

Hit a bit with the 293.1 with Red devil 1.14 at the end, surprisingly pleasant in both comfort and playability. Contemplating getting a reel and just restringing way as much as supaman5000.
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OK, so I think Pure Rush 118 is pretty fantastic in the Marin. Was up against a guy I figured I would beat so rolled the dice tonight and used the PR bed, beat him and his Ezone 1 and 1 and quite frankly just played great tennis. No adjustment from the other bed, and I served about the best I can serve, didn’t miss a first for the first 2 1/2 games before finally faulting, and that percentage stayed crazy and I had just one double all match. Honestly I just felt like I was throwing the ball around the court, not missing, feel was there on slices and touch shots and the extra “bite” from the edges of it I think is what helped on serve so much. To me this string almost felt like a better Hyper G - muted but not too muted, controlled power, nice feel on touch shots. No surprises. I don’t know if it beats ALU 115 but it’s certainly in the game, more time will tell, but man, thin strings in this racquet strung low, just gives a person such a feeling of “I ain’t gonna miss. Good luck to you.”

All this with a slightly tweaked groin that I felt at a certain point, but I just adjusted with some more aggression to end points faster and that seemed to work tonight too.

Racquet wise right now, I have a feeling my shotmaking ceiling is definitely higher with the Fedora or the 293.1, both have this ability to hit “angrier, bigger” winners and the like, yet Marin has this feeling of giving me this really high “floor” -- the comfort of knowing I simply don’t make mistakes with it, compared to other sticks. The control is crazy, ball is between the lines, and that little head whips serves so snappily and consistently that confidence just drips from there and I find myself playing relaxed, smart, solid tennis.

Nine straight. Marin should have never left this frame for the 57A.
 
JGads said:
OK, so I think Pure Rush 118 is pretty fantastic in the Marin. Was up against a guy I figured I would beat so rolled the dice tonight and used the PR bed, beat him and his Ezone 1 and 1 and quite frankly just played great tennis. No adjustment from the other bed, and I served about the best I can serve, didn’t miss a first for the first 2 1/2 games before finally faulting, and that percentage stayed crazy and I had just one double all match. Honestly I just felt like I was throwing the ball around the court, not missing, feel was there on slices and touch shots and the extra “bite” from the edges of it I think is what helped on serve so much. To me this string almost felt like a better Hyper G - muted but not too muted, controlled power, nice feel on touch shots. No surprises. I don’t know if it beats ALU 115 but it’s certainly in the game, more time will tell, but man, thin strings in this racquet strung low, just gives a person such a feeling of “I ain’t gonna miss. Good luck to you.”

All this with a slightly tweaked groin that I felt at a certain point, but I just adjusted with some more aggression to end points faster and that seemed to work tonight too.

Racquet wise right now, I have a feeling my shotmaking ceiling is definitely higher with the Fedora or the 293.1, both have this ability to hit “angrier, bigger” winners and the like, yet Marin has this feeling of giving me this really high “floor” -- the comfort of knowing I simply don’t make mistakes with it, compared to other sticks. The control is crazy, ball is between the lines, and that little head whips serves so snappily and consistently that confidence just drips from there and I find myself playing relaxed, smart, solid tennis.

Nine straight. Marin should have never left this frame for the 57A.
Click to expand...
I like the hyper g comparison as I also felt like it reminded me of hyper g but since I havent played with Hyper G in a while so I wasn't too sure of myself.
Same issues as my hazy memory of Hyper G too, in some ways harsh, that kind of plasticy feel but good performance. Serving was pretty good with it (maybe better than with 1.30 cyclone) but I imagine it's gonna stay a one-of for me.
Peak serving racquet anyway, from last second angle adjustments to power serving to big kicks, this one does it all.

I'd try more strings in it but I got a Textreme tour 100 and a ripstick from @WYK so I'll try some Prince'ing. Cameo tour paint job is amazing.
 
Been enjoying exclusively playing PS classics for about 7 months now - that’s a long time for me on one racket :)
I’m away for the wkend, will play some tennis….picked up a racket that I’ve always wanted to try on trip - a Dunlop 300G tour - dare I put it in play???
 
Hi everyone, I hope you are doing fine and go about your tennis without major injuries.
I am back to the Shaman and really wanna try to play a few months with this one exclusively. So hard for me to do, impossible my friends would say. But let's try.
Here is a clip of some good young dudes hitting with me. One of them just beat Germany's number 400 in a tourney.
 
Richard Pioline said:
Hi everyone, I hope you are doing fine and go about your tennis without major injuries.
I am back to the Shaman and really wanna try to play a few months with this one exclusively. So hard for me to do, impossible my friends would say. But let's try.
Here is a clip of some good young dudes hitting with me. One of them just beat Germany's number 400 in a tourney.
Click to expand...
really solid tennis there!
 
Gents, I may be switching to the VC98. First time playing it in a match and my forehand feels great, slice is working, serve is bombing be it flat slice or kick, volleys feel pretty good and I won 6:0 6:2. Granted not an impressive opponent, more of a moonball runner, but you have to put those away first too, and that with an unfamiliar racquet… Very impressed. Not feeling discomfort either. Only shots I need some work on with the frame is the 2hbh and the return, I’m finding my range on both.

@Power Player Henceforth I will just let you assign me a demo list if I wanna peruse the racquet landscape lmao, you keep predicting what I like.
 
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SpinToWin said:
Ok weighted up the VCore to 330g 32cm balance strung with an overgrip (I’ll try to measure swingweight with racquettune on the weekend, knowing it’s not all that accurate but oh well). Took around 4 inches of 1/2” lead tape at 10/2 each and 6 inches total of the same in the handle. Also added 2g at 12 to the Ezone to give it some more plow.

Ngl I’m tempted to start the tournament tomorrow with the VCore, playing some balls against the wall I like how the ball comes off the strings of the VCore, not nearly as muted as the Ezone and a better launch angle for me.
Click to expand...
Just curious, how did you distribute the handle weight you added to the VC?
 
Second match done, I won 6:3 6:0. I am super tempted to just grab 2 more VCores and call it a day, I was grooving. Returns came around and the backhand too when I got pace on it, though still a bit shaky when I have to generate the pace but I’m super happy otherwise.
 
FrankyRelax said:
VC98 might be the racquet of the 2020s. Gotta use some thicker poly to tame the intermittent launchiness though

Edit: the actual answer may be the PA98 in the grand scheme of things
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For me personally I would be happy to say VCore 98 and dump the babolat down the drain for how quickly it made me feel pain lmao. Though on the thicker string front, so far 17G poly seems fine to me. Will see how it develops though, might test Pure Rush 16G.
 
Richard Pioline said:
Hi everyone, I hope you are doing fine and go about your tennis without major injuries.
I am back to the Shaman and really wanna try to play a few months with this one exclusively. So hard for me to do, impossible my friends would say. But let's try.
Here is a clip of some good young dudes hitting with me. One of them just beat Germany's number 400 in a tourney.
Click to expand...
Great 4.0 hitting man!!!
But seriously, nice flowing tennis.
Still VCore 98 the Shaman?
 
veelium said:
Aye thx. The really blue one? Evil temptations you are sending around.
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Well, he’s been all about the green buttcaps of late. But my hunch is that if the VCT beat out the prior EZT for him, then this could be a very fast catch and release. (Although he did love the EZT)… Point is, if any other holics are interested in a Maddy, stay loose. She could be single again soon.
 
The smurf probably still has the launch angle of the previous Ezone right? No idea how yall make that work haha

I may have stumbled across a good offer for 2 VCores… I’m about to be another 2 frames richer lol
 
SpinToWin said:
The smurf probably still has the launch angle of the previous Ezone right? No idea how yall make that work haha

I may have stumbled across a good offer for 2 VCores… I’m about to be another 2 frames richer lol
Click to expand...
Liking this love for the vcore 98….ive been testing and flirting with others the last few weeks, but still can’t shake this as the best fit for me - whippy, comfortable, great balance of power and control. Seeing my sand beige vcores here at Indian wells (watched Tommy Paul yesterday) gives me a sense of pride
 
Fighting phoenix said:
Liking this love for the vcore 98….ive been testing and flirting with others the last few weeks, but still can’t shake this as the best fit for me - whippy, comfortable, great balance of power and control. Seeing my sand beige vcores here at Indian wells (watched Tommy Paul yesterday) gives me a sense of pride
Click to expand...
How does the VC98 compare to some of your babolat faves? I've followed your reviews and am curious how you would compare it to other frames you've played with for a while
 
Fighting phoenix said:
Liking this love for the vcore 98….ive been testing and flirting with others the last few weeks, but still can’t shake this as the best fit for me - whippy, comfortable, great balance of power and control. Seeing my sand beige vcores here at Indian wells (watched Tommy Paul yesterday) gives me a sense of pride
Click to expand...
The sand beige does look nice, but I also really like the red (and it’s cheaper haha). But yeah I can see myself sticking to this frame for a while for the reasons you cite (famous last holic words)
 
Alcawrath said:
How does the VC98 compare to some of your babolat faves? I've followed your reviews and am curious how you would compare it to other frames you've played with for a while
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Not as thumpy as a pure strike or pure drive, but still kind a crisp despite the dampening technologies. Very whippy but still stable on returns and at the net. Comparable performance wise to the PA98, but better feel and more fun to play with. Good compliment to my leftie kick serves, great all court racquet as it performs well in transition and at the net. If I just wanted to bash from the baseline all day, pure drive is better, this is more of a higher launch angle all court version of a pure strike (similar control and power). Strings that work best for me are Lynx tour, confidential, and now Mach 10 (1.25, not thinner given the open string pattern). Only negatives are that it is sometimes launchy on forehands, and sometimes I miss the more direct feel and launch angle of a pure strike.
 
Alcawrath said:
How does the VC98 compare to some of your babolat faves? I've followed your reviews and am curious how you would compare it to other frames you've played with for a while
Click to expand...
Not sure about Babolat faves, I have a love hate relationship with them cause my body never seems to take them well haha.

Compared to the PA 98 it is significantly more comfortable. However, to hit the same kind of ball it needs modification, specifically weight in the head. And even then I feel the Babolat’s stiffness is noticeable as an asset, in that it feels more stable/rigid on contact, which is an asset on certain shots. I do think the Babolat has more top end power as a result, which is noticeable especially on serve.

In addition to comfort, I think the VCore has noticeably better feel and I think a tad more control (though it may be the feel giving me the illusion of better control, who knows). The VCore is by no means a noodle, but you do feel some flex which gives you good feedback on ball contact I find, so a quite distinct feel from the Aero. I also weirdly think it plays better at net, for some reason it comes around easier and feels more forgiving, not sure why. And on the topic of coming around easier…. even modded as mine is, this feels like a much more manageable frame. It comes around nice and fast. The Pure Aero feels proper clubby to me.

summarised:

power: PA
spin: equal? maybe slight edge to PA, but very slim margins
control: VC
stability: PA
manoeuvrability: VC
comfort: VC
feel: VC
 
Oh wait the notification sent me to the wrong message, I thought that response was for me. Oh well take my half baked thoughts for what they are haha
 
Humbi_HTX said:
Now that I am done with the string test of the new Mach-10, got this re-strung with Pure Rush 18g & GW 19g.

57403d0c2bb7.jpg
Click to expand...
I use the same string combination in the Blade v9 100 and it's plush and comfortable. I am however interested in the TFight 305s - I read that it's an amazing stick but can be uncomfortable. How does the string combination feel in the TFight - does it in any way soften the stringbed and make the racquet comfortable to use?
 
elginspur said:
I use the same string combination in the Blade v9 100 and it's plush and comfortable. I am however interested in the TFight 305s - I read that it's an amazing stick but can be uncomfortable. How does the string combination feel in the TFight - does it in any way soften the stringbed and make the racquet comfortable to use?
Click to expand...

The frame is firm but it doesn't feel like harsh vibrations on impact, it has a SW a little higher than I usually play with and can feel more oomph on the shots but I still can't get with the balance, I like a more head-light balance point.

PR x GW feels very comfortable, way softer than full bed, and quite so considering I am using 19g on the cross. I only hit with it today for like 15min and was happy with it.
 
Put some interesting setups in 2 Top Bananas :
1. Head Lynx Tour crossed with Kirschbaum Flash at 40#s.
2. Tecnifibre Razor soft crossed with Yonex Poly Tour Drive at 40#s.

Hopefully will get out there soon and will give them a run. It's kind of hard to put anything bad in the top B, it all just works. But I consistently liked and used durafluxx in it at low tension in the past. Until I get more of that, I'm just going to run through strings I already have here. I also think Lynx tour could shine, yet again.
 
Played my USTA singles match today with the GT98, haha. I could not resist. I won 6-0, 6-2, so it wasn't much of a test, but I enjoyed the experience very much. Overall, I really love this frame - it works well for me. The feel is really amazing, one of the best-feeling racquets I've ever hit wtih, for real. Can't think of one that feels better. Something special there, and it's almost enough on its own to make me want to switch to it for a while. But it also hits a really good ball without requiring too much effort. So, it's as playable as the PSVS but feels better.

I think the only thing that gives me pause is that I'm a bit more of a flat hitter, and the PSVS does a better job there. I have to work a bit harder to get big shape on the ball with the PSVS, but that also means I have more control over it. With the GT98, I wasn't always generating enough spin for the launch and that resulted in some unexpected overhitting. I really think that's probably something I would acclimate to and adjust for, however.

So, I will keep hitting it for a bit and see what happens. I think I will probably struggle a bit to return big serves, but I do have to say that the slice with the GT98 is unreal - I love the slice in general, but it really sings with the GT98.
 
6/2 vs the same opponent of the last time when I was down 0/4 swinging the Axis98, this time the Head GXT remained in the bag.
If you move well the Axis pays you back, if you don't It gets as demanding as a PA VS/98

Next week against ex 1300 atp, he Will blow me away from the court, but It Will be a good test to see how the Axis performs, then vs our Number 4 and Number 2 of the team, 3 days in a row. Today vineyard's pruning.
 
SpinToWin said:
…. Good god I forgot how bad QC can be. The first PA98 weighs in at 326g strung and the second at 320 (both strung with an overgrip). I will try to measure swingweight and balance as good as I can with my potato home setups (I’ll cave and get a briffidi at some point at this rate) but I’m worried about matching these.

Definitely feeling the forearm today, concerning. I’ll definitely tail weight up to the PS X static weight (which is only 5g for that first PA due to how overspec it is goddamn it, I hope all that extra weight isn’t in the head, but I fear it may be) and hope that helps with the impact shock.
Click to expand...

I got relatively lucky with mine but I ordered them targeting a healthy SW. Both of mine are pretty close and 298, 300 SW. I just added a leather grip and they were perfect
 
topspn said:
I got relatively lucky with mine but I ordered them targeting a healthy SW. Both of mine are pretty close and 298, 300 SW. I just added a leather grip and they were perfect
Click to expand...
considering the light one actually was modded it was even worse lmao. Had lead under the bumper and some residual silicone in the handle. Awful QC. Glad to hear you got lucky though!

But yeah, doesn’t matter that much anyhow in my case since the frame doesn’t jibe with my body. Happier with the VC98 too, so things worked out in the end!
 
Kozzy said:
Played my USTA singles match today with the GT98, haha. I could not resist. I won 6-0, 6-2, so it wasn't much of a test, but I enjoyed the experience very much. Overall, I really love this frame - it works well for me. The feel is really amazing, one of the best-feeling racquets I've ever hit wtih, for real. Can't think of one that feels better. Something special there, and it's almost enough on its own to make me want to switch to it for a while. But it also hits a really good ball without requiring too much effort. So, it's as playable as the PSVS but feels better.

I think the only thing that gives me pause is that I'm a bit more of a flat hitter, and the PSVS does a better job there. I have to work a bit harder to get big shape on the ball with the PSVS, but that also means I have more control over it. With the GT98, I wasn't always generating enough spin for the launch and that resulted in some unexpected overhitting. I really think that's probably something I would acclimate to and adjust for, however.

So, I will keep hitting it for a bit and see what happens. I think I will probably struggle a bit to return big serves, but I do have to say that the slice with the GT98 is unreal - I love the slice in general, but it really sings with the GT98.
Click to expand...
Trust me when I say a little lead at 3 and 9 has made it so much more flat capable and a monster returner

A lot of my returns were pissing my hitting partner off
 
Two more TF40s that are off spec but very close together so my colleague is in luck there

TF40 305 16M G2 #1 309g 324.9mm 299.3 14.6

TF40 305 16M G2 #2 309.3g 327.7mm 301.4 14.7
 
flyhome said:
6/2 vs the same opponent of the last time when I was down 0/4 swinging the Axis98, this time the Head GXT remained in the bag.
If you move well the Axis pays you back, if you don't It gets as demanding as a PA VS/98

Next week against ex 1300 atp, he Will blow me away from the court, but It Will be a good test to see how the Axis performs, then vs our Number 4 and Number 2 of the team, 3 days in a row. Today vineyard's pruning.
Click to expand...
Which racket helps if you don't move well and is 98 inch or smaller?
 
Richard Pioline said:
Hi everyone, I hope you are doing fine and go about your tennis without major injuries.
I am back to the Shaman and really wanna try to play a few months with this one exclusively. So hard for me to do, impossible my friends would say. But let's try.
Here is a clip of some good young dudes hitting with me. One of them just beat Germany's number 400 in a tourney.
Click to expand...
RP good to see you doing well. That court is something else. So isolated and serene. No distractions. Just beautiful sounds of good ball striking.
 
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