Diary of a Racketaholic

tim-ay said:
I get it. What eventually got to me was ... and this is insane... how dry it is. I love the Western US and the low humidity, but there is nothing quite like that warm blanket feeling eating dinner outside at 9:30pm. As much as it sucks for tennis & exercise in general, tropical humidity is just something I love. The ocean is warm, the air is wonderful, and girls wear bikini's. And with Graham Swamp, Santos+ others, and miles of gravel biking, riding is more acceptable than one would believe.

Even though our educated to idiot ratio is a little low, I can make the trade.
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I'll never be a fan of the humidity here in Houston. I'm miserable this time of year having to change out shirts after every set. The gravel riding here is meh even though that's my favorite type of cycling. I have to drive about an hour or more to get to any forests for decent gravel.

On a cycling note, I did do the MS150 again this year. This time I did 110 miles which is a bit more than the 100 miles I did last year. I still have no real desire to do the full 180 miles.
 
Vicious49 said:
I'll never be a fan of the humidity here in Houston. I'm miserable this time of year having to change out shirts after every set. The gravel riding here is meh even though that's my favorite type of cycling. I have to drive about an hour or more to get to any forests for decent gravel.

On a cycling note, I did do the MS150 again this year. This time I did 110 miles which is a bit more than the 100 miles I did last year. I still have no real desire to do the full 180 miles.
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I can understand that. I spent time in Houston for some biz back in the early 00's. The humidity isn't worse than Florida, maybe even slightly less, but you don't get the ocean breezes either. I'm not a huge fan of the Lake of Mexico, 'sounds of the ocean' need to sound like an ocean, lol. But yeah, it's impossible to imagine getting any wetter playing in the soupy weather. The sweat, water just doesn't go anywhere and you just become a soaked ball of human.

Bummer you're so far from decent gravel...... these days i really avoid road riding and stick to gravel and MTB. Good job on the 110 miles, that's no joke in the heat though.
 
Tried Confidential Soft 1.15 at 21kg in V13 Prostaff 97. Not a fan but maybe I just don't like full poly in a PS.
The Prince tour 95 seemed to work better with any type of string.
 
veelium said:
Tried Confidential Soft 1.15 at 21kg in V13 Prostaff 97. Not a fan but maybe I just don't like full poly in a PS.
The Prince tour 95 seemed to work better with any type of string.
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Might not be the right string for you but I’ll just add that the 1.25 gauge is as thin as I’d go, given how powerful the string is, how lively and sometimes wild it is. It calls for a thicker gauge to tame it.

But also I’ve only used it in an EZone 98 where it really shined.
 
TwinCinema said:
Might not be the right string for you but I’ll just add that the 1.25 gauge is as thin as I’d go, given how powerful the string is, how lively and sometimes wild it is. It calls for a thicker gauge to tame it.

But also I’ve only used it in an EZone 98 where it really shined.
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Well, I'm coming off gut/poly, so lively isn't that much of an issue.
Just feels a bit boardy and dead while being a bit wild at the same time.
Same gauge Mach-10 I liked more but it was also in a different racquet so might just be that.
Seems more durable than Mach-10 though.
That said, it did play quite alright overall.
 
Tried the Boom MP today, worst frame I've ever played with. I do wonder, what's the point of that racquet?
Launchy as hell and doesn't even produce heavy balls...
The Hybor version isn't even very confortable.
Why, Head? Just, why?
 
Vicious49 said:
I'll never be a fan of the humidity here in Houston. I'm miserable this time of year having to change out shirts after every set. The gravel riding here is meh even though that's my favorite type of cycling. I have to drive about an hour or more to get to any forests for decent gravel.

On a cycling note, I did do the MS150 again this year. This time I did 110 miles which is a bit more than the 100 miles I did last year. I still have no real desire to do the full 180 miles.
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I get you about the shirts, but what about the OGs. the racquet becomming sliperry? Not even rotating trhu 6 and changing wrist bands often is enough for me...
I'll try that anti perspiration hand lotion again as well.
 
Going on nearly a year now of maining the TFight 305S and it just gets better and better. Not sure how I'm playing it totally stock (with an overgrip) at 317 SW and it's stable and delivers a heavy, penetrating ball. Super whippy, fun to slice, and I even dialed in the volley so I can either punch it deep or just kill it drop dead. Only drawback is the serve but who cares about serves anyway...
 
Fintft said:
I get you about the shirts, but what about the OGs. the racquet becomming sliperry? Not even rotating trhu 6 and changing wrist bands often is enough for me...
I'll try that anti perspiration hand lotion again as well.
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I rotate racquets on every changeover. This is why I need 3 of every frame I main and I'll still keep a few other frames in the bag just in case everything gets too soaked.
TwinCinema said:
Going on nearly a year now of maining the TFight 305S and it just gets better and better. Not sure how I'm playing it totally stock (with an overgrip) at 317 SW and it's stable and delivers a heavy, penetrating ball. Super whippy, fun to slice, and I even dialed in the volley so I can either punch it deep or just kill it drop dead. Only drawback is the serve but who cares about serves anyway...
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I just got rid of 2 of mine. Still have 2 remaining. I am making the switch to the AcroStrike 305s because I can hit out a bit more with it and the touch shots are just amazing with it. I just got the email from TW today that they finally received a few more in the grip size. Should be in here in a few days but I'm currently traveling so won't get to hit with them until I return. Just got to the Smoky Mountains today. It's gorgeous out here.
 
JGads said:
I wish. It sounds better than the Defiler. Is the handle on it longer than a Blade?
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Not sure but it’s the same length as the pure aero 98.

@flyhome I think the beam is 23.5 gets thicker and tapers back down. From a power perspective it is between an ez and a pure drive.

The feel is like a Nordic dots except better. Sweet spot feel is like an h22 but the frame is not as soft. Definitely feels like a Wilson and most importantly has no technology in it. It’s comfortable though and I play mine with no dampener, as god intended.

String pattern is open. 6 throat mains. Reminds me a bit of the legads, in which it is a bit more open but the frame retains control. Very easy control depth, which is a standout feature, but also going into corners is very precise. I have hit some of my best cc running forehand winners ever with this frame.

Serve is exceptional. Tons of power but it excels at spin serves. It is hard to DF with this frame because the ball just drops in. If you like to attack the top corner of the ball, this is a goaty serve frame. Very easy to manipulate the spin to go wide on deuce and aggressive kick on ad.

Stability is the weakness in stock form but the only mod needed was lead at 3 and 9. I basically copied learners setup except I kept the weight more user friendly. It’s a pro stock so it needs some lead but it’s super easy to mod and doesn’t need lead at 12. I was able to get the frame very very stable with not much effort.

My goal was to get it close to the 23 pure aero 98 and that was easy to do. Final strung/ over grip specs - 327 grams, 323 sw. 325 balance. 14.0 twist weight (Briffidi measured).

Set that up on march and wrote everything down in case I needed to tweak it. I havent touched it since and haven’t used another frame since either. My Defiler 100 interest is mainly due to this frame being so rare that I doubt I’ll find another. So I am hoping Wilson wakes up and releases this racquet and doesn’t add any tech or change to it. If they do, I can see a ton of people making the switch.
 
I’ve been playing my Blade 18M’s with a 16g OGSM cross. If I convert back to Tourna grip my 1990s transformation will be complete. But I doubt that happens as Yonex Dry Grap is superior to Tourna in every way. But overall, I am loving this old school set up and playing the best, most natural tennis I have played in a while.
 
Power Player said:
Not sure but it’s the same length as the pure aero 98.

@flyhome I think the beam is 23.5 gets thicker and tapers back down. From a power perspective it is between an ez and a pure drive.

The feel is like a Nordic dots except better. Sweet spot feel is like an h22 but the frame is not as soft. Definitely feels like a Wilson and most importantly has no technology in it. It’s comfortable though and I play mine with no dampener, as god intended.

String pattern is open. 6 throat mains. Reminds me a bit of the legads, in which it is a bit more open but the frame retains control. Very easy control depth, which is a standout feature, but also going into corners is very precise. I have hit some of my best cc running forehand winners ever with this frame.

Serve is exceptional. Tons of power but it excels at spin serves. It is hard to DF with this frame because the ball just drops in. If you like to attack the top corner of the ball, this is a goaty serve frame. Very easy to manipulate the spin to go wide on deuce and aggressive kick on ad.

Stability is the weakness in stock form but the only mod needed was lead at 3 and 9. I basically copied learners setup except I kept the weight more user friendly. It’s a pro stock so it needs some lead but it’s super easy to mod and doesn’t need lead at 12. I was able to get the frame very very stable with not much effort.

My goal was to get it close to the 23 pure aero 98 and that was easy to do. Final strung/ over grip specs - 327 grams, 323 sw. 325 balance. 14.0 twist weight (Briffidi measured).

Set that up on march and wrote everything down in case I needed to tweak it. I havent touched it since and haven’t used another frame since either. My Defiler 100 interest is mainly due to this frame being so rare that I doubt I’ll find another. So I am hoping Wilson wakes up and releases this racquet and doesn’t add any tech or change to it. If they do, I can see a ton of people making the switch.
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Thank you, sounds interesting, saw a pair of what i think could be those ultra 98 Learner prostock for sale here in Italy, brand new, old ultra PJ, honestly I have been testing a few frames during the last weeks and cannot find anything with a better feel than my ND Model 100 I have switched to a few weeks ago
 
After having it lying around for many months I finally got around to try the Prince Tour 98 Carbon. Strung with Element many months back.

This is really the Prestige of the Prince lineup. So manoeuvrable with the really low twistweight and when you hit right you get lots of power and spin while having great control with the tighter 16x19. You can whip up forehands to wherever from wherever, just super fun to play.
 
Wilson Defiler.
Wilson Fery.
The Redline.

All better names than Defyer. Which is so weird. Awkward. Cheesy sounding. But whatever. What matters is the hit.

Abstaining for now while I keep hitting and loving old Heads. Today the Fedora and an iRadical OS combined to murder a man and his TFight in a fun practice match where I was redlining. A bagel was dealt.

On the Defiler, the red paint is kind of growing on me now that I see it in action but the prototype job was great.
 
Yeam I'm ok with the PJ on the Defiler. The name is not great but I also played frames called Q+X, Extreme (cringey name to me)..so yeah, not the end of the world. I just applaud Wilson for making feel frames that can hang with a Babo-cannon. Not an easy feat to pull off. I hope it sells like crazy and frame companies realize that people want good feeling racquets again.
 
@Power Player Did not try either prototype or retails version of the "Defiler", Just worried they will add some tech to the retails and It Will be too muted. I have a Blade Pro 100 V10 and to me, the layup doesn't seems to be the same of the old Steam; I liked the Steam 100 but the BP100 was disappointing. I think the same with the Ultra 99 Pro and Steam 99.
Btw, the 2 prostocks Wilson Ultra 98 for sale are confirmed to be Learner's mold and specs are pretty close to his specs too
 
flyhome said:
@Power Player Did not try either prototype or retails version of the "Defiler", Just worried they will add some tech to the retails and It Will be too muted. I have a Blade Pro 100 V10 and to me, the layup doesn't seems to be the same of the old Steam; I liked the Steam 100 but the BP100 was disappointing. I think the same with the Ultra 99 Pro and Steam 99.
Btw, the 2 prostocks Wilson Ultra 98 for sale are confirmed to be Learner's mold and specs are pretty close to his specs too
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What's disappointing about the Blade Pro 100? I never played with one as my steam 100 pro stocks are a new layup I've haven't seen until recently.
 
Kozzy said:
I think I like "Defiler" better - sounds like it would be a Conan the Barbarian's sword.
Click to expand...

JGads said:
Wilson Defiler.
Wilson Fery.
The Redline.

All better names than Defyer. Which is so weird. Awkward. Cheesy sounding. But whatever. What matters is the hit.
Click to expand...
Very much agree with your points.


JGads said:
Abstaining for now while I keep hitting and loving old Heads. Today the Fedora and an iRadical OS combined to murder a man and his TFight in a fun practice match where I was redlining. A bagel was dealt.

On the Defiler, the red paint is kind of growing on me now that I see it in action but the prototype job was great.
Click to expand...
I wish they had combined the red with the snake scale paintjob of some prototypes.
Love red racquets but this one, while looking good, is also quite boring.
 
I thought the black-with-the-red-line paint job was just awesome. This vivid red is a bit too much, but if it plays as promised....who cares...(the name is pretty bad....)
 
veelium said:
Very much agree with your points.



I wish they had combined the red with the snake scale paintjob of some prototypes.
Love red racquets but this one, while looking good, is also quite boring.
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I think it would have been better had they made the frame look like the bag - that kind of bronze color in gloss, white writing, and redline accents. But Wilson and other brands at the moment seem to be wanting to make loud colors pop, which I guess I understand from a marketing perspective. I'll say this: at least it doesn't look like the Chernobyl Extreme.
 
Yeaaah I guess I'm pulling out my wallet again. If I get into the blade v10 test we are gonna have a situation on our hands on deciding what to switch to.

Lmao
 
flyhome said:
@Power Player Did not try either prototype or retails version of the "Defiler", Just worried they will add some tech to the retails and It Will be too muted. I have a Blade Pro 100 V10 and to me, the layup doesn't seems to be the same of the old Steam; I liked the Steam 100 but the BP100 was disappointing. I think the same with the Ultra 99 Pro and Steam 99.
Btw, the 2 prostocks Wilson Ultra 98 for sale are confirmed to be Learner's mold and specs are pretty close to his specs too
Click to expand...
That's a valid concern. It crossed my mind as well. The Tien model is so clear and pure to the hand that it really makes tennis more enjoyable and gives me more confidence of exactly where the ball is going.

Rooting for Arthur.
 
so my $.02 on the Defyer. first of all .. the name is horrific. python .. redline. were real name to me. Defyer sounds like a wresting name that only Vince McMann would have come up with. also what seems a little strange. the 100 and 98 have the same balance at 6pt strung. i usually prefer the 100 with the slightly lighter weight to be at 4. like the babs do it. so why at 6 for the 100. strange. anyway. im looking forward to demo. maybe they or one of them makes it into my collection. maybe not. but they have a high bar to fill . i love my 23 pa's alot. especially the 100
 
danbrenner said:
so my $.02 on the Defyer. first of all .. the name is horrific. python .. redline. were real name to me. Defyer sounds like a wresting name that only Vince McMann would have come up with. also what seems a little strange. the 100 and 98 have the same balance at 6pt strung. i usually prefer the 100 with the slightly lighter weight to be at 4. like the babs do it. so why at 6 for the 100. strange. anyway. im looking forward to demo. maybe they or one of them makes it into my collection. maybe not. but they have a high bar to fill . i love my 23 pa's alot. especially the 100
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The 6 points hl for 100 is probably to minimize the drawbacks usually associated with 100. It's same thing with the Tien's frames, it's very hl too.
 
Wow the Defyer is horrible (and why not spell it correctly like Defier? Is that supposed to be more cutting edge and cute or something?!)- I’m not a big critic of racquet names either, but when I saw it yesterday I guffawed out loud and had to tell my wife who doesn’t care about tennis racquets but used to work in marketing. I thought the Percept was bad too, but at least you can call it the Percy for short. All in on calling it the defiler.
 
Kozzy said:
I think I like "Defiler" better - sounds like it would be a Conan the Barbarian's sword.
Click to expand...
I would have preferred the Violator!

81wepuuC9lL._SL1500_.jpg
 
CalciferKuma said:
The 6 points hl for 100 is probably to minimize the drawbacks usually associated with 100. It's same thing with the Tien's frames, it's very hl too.
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I wonder if that makes it a good candidate for a main stick for a OHBHer. Usually my gripe with 100s since adding weight to the handle would defeat the point of them being 300g on avg. Everyone's saying the 98's for college players, high level juniors and such...so not for me.

Anyway since my club ladder is over this year I don't really have any matches or real play ahead of me. Thinking of just doing some whacky/fun experiments with vintage frames like a POG 90 for the time being, while I find something to settle and try to play my best.

I'm thinking of stringing a POG 90 at 40lbs with a thin leather grip to see what's up with it.
 
New Ezone Colour has just been shown off. Someone here mentioned it was coffee brown and they weren’t lying. Almost looks like diadem Axis and v14 pro staff had a baby. 10 fold better than “wahu surfer blue”
 
JGads said:
Nevermind, I got one. Incredibly, I left it in the bag today because I was in a league bout against a great opponent. I lost, so my maturity, my discipline was pointless. Stupidity and regret to come.
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Defyer/Arthur? I would have dropped the first set and then picked up that racquet hoping for magic, only to lose and have to deal with me being the problem.
 
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