Dunlop AG 300 4d (16x19) and BB London? Differences? By the reviews it seems BB London to be as comfortable as the dunlop (soft feel). Does the London offer more spin than the dunlop? More power? Would you say it's a better racket in defensive situations? I have played with the dunlops, I think it has very good directional control, but lacks some power is you don't have full swing or hit in the sweetspot regularly (leaded at 3 and 9). I would love to find something with the nice feel of the dunlops but more forgiving, with some more free power and spin. Do you think the London could be what I'm looking for? Yonex RDiS 300? Thanks
Dunlop AG 300 4d ( 16x19) vs BB London
- Thread starter panta77
- Start date
The 4D300 were my main sticks for a while and the London was one of the sticks I tried before recently switching to a RDiS 200. I bought the London (that's how I demo) but haven't played much with it after deciding it wasn't the new stick.
The London wasn't a bad frame by any means but the string bed feels a little denser than 16x19, and I prefer open string patterns. Comfort & power are in the same general range. I'd say the 4D300 probably has more spin but I'd have to string up the two frames with the same string for a side by side comparison. Can't comment on defensive shots, depends on how you defend
I don't think so. They are similar in all the things you've mentioned, just with a different "feel".
The London wasn't a bad frame by any means but the string bed feels a little denser than 16x19, and I prefer open string patterns. Comfort & power are in the same general range. I'd say the 4D300 probably has more spin but I'd have to string up the two frames with the same string for a side by side comparison. Can't comment on defensive shots, depends on how you defend
I don't think so. They are similar in all the things you've mentioned, just with a different "feel".
dParis
Hall of Fame
London - more comfortable.
Yes. Much easier to spin, imo.
Finding the small sweetspot of the Dunlop will yield a little more power than the London, but the London has more power over a greater area of the stringbed. Overall edge to the BBL.
Yes. The BBL is the better defender for the same reason I give it the power edge.
I don't know about the Yonex, but the racquet you say you are looking for sounds a lot like the BBL. Give it a try.
Thanks dParis!
I have played 2 years with a tflash 310, I liked how solid the racket was, easy power and spin, very good in defensive situation and pretty nice feel for a 70 rating stiffness. I guess depends a lot on the materials used in each racket. I wanted to move to something with better feel and less power, and tried the AG 300 4D. At the begining it felt great, much more sharper, better directional control and easier flat agressive shots. But as time passed I found it more challenging, asking me to hit and swing harder than the tflash, and be more precise on the sweetspot. The racket feels great, but as I said lacks that free power, and specially spin. I will be demoing the BB Delta Core Pro, the yonex RDiS 300, aerostorm and youtec radical. I am not expecting anything exceptional from the radical (18x20) (for what I am looking for), but want to really see how the yonex 300 and the BB DC Pro feel. TW didn't have the London or Volkl PB 8 available right now, that's why I choose those extra 2 right now, but I will demo the other 2 later.
Sumarizing, how do you think these rackets would fit in what I am looking for (something between tflash 310 and AG 300 4D)?:
BB Delta Core Pro
Yonex RDiS 300
Bab Aerostorm
BB London
Volkl PB 8
Thanks
I have played 2 years with a tflash 310, I liked how solid the racket was, easy power and spin, very good in defensive situation and pretty nice feel for a 70 rating stiffness. I guess depends a lot on the materials used in each racket. I wanted to move to something with better feel and less power, and tried the AG 300 4D. At the begining it felt great, much more sharper, better directional control and easier flat agressive shots. But as time passed I found it more challenging, asking me to hit and swing harder than the tflash, and be more precise on the sweetspot. The racket feels great, but as I said lacks that free power, and specially spin. I will be demoing the BB Delta Core Pro, the yonex RDiS 300, aerostorm and youtec radical. I am not expecting anything exceptional from the radical (18x20) (for what I am looking for), but want to really see how the yonex 300 and the BB DC Pro feel. TW didn't have the London or Volkl PB 8 available right now, that's why I choose those extra 2 right now, but I will demo the other 2 later.
Sumarizing, how do you think these rackets would fit in what I am looking for (something between tflash 310 and AG 300 4D)?:
BB Delta Core Pro
Yonex RDiS 300
Bab Aerostorm
BB London
Volkl PB 8
Thanks
dParis
Hall of Fame
No prob.
I'm not familiar with any of the TF frames but your experience with the AG 300 4D is similar to mine. One racket that reminded me of the AG300D was the Volkl PB9. I'd prefer to play a stock racquet, but as little as 5-6g of lead at 12 o'clock on the PB9 improves this racquet a lot. It's maneuverable, like the AG300D, it has perhaps a bit more power but with a larger sweetspot and amazing accuracy and control. Given how nimble both racquets are, I was impressed with the stability of both. The PB9 isn't a quantum leap, but an incremental improvement over the Dunlop.
I've hit with all the racquets in your list except the Yonex. The AeroStorm I hit with was the red and white one, not the new GT. I thought it was a nice racquet but I wasn't overly impressed with it in any particular area. One of my regular hitting partners switched to the AS from one of the older Prince O-port racquets and I noticed an improvement in control and consistency in his game. Feel was decent for a Bobolat, I don't care for their grip shape and I struggled a bit with depth on my shot but to be honest, I didn't give it much of a chance.
The BBDC Pro is a fun racquet to play with. Light, crisp, comfortable and gobs of power and spin. The head feels bigger than 100sq. in. which makes it hard to miss with this racquet, but it lacks the touch and refinement of a smaller mid-plus. It's what I consider to be one of the best, if not the best defensive racquet I've ever used. You just better have great topspin technique or adjust your stroke if you're playing from inside the court.
The BB London is a nice all around racquet. Big sweetspot, comfortable and easy to spin - so, some of the attributes of the Pro in a slightly smaller headsize but much softer, more refined and not as much juice.
I prefer the PB8 295g to the 315g version. Groundstrokes were much easier with the PB8 than the Dunlop and it is a very good defensive racquet. I was playing with both the AG300D and the PB8295g around the same time and everyone said my groundies were much better with the Volkl. One of the problems with the PB8 is that it makes an awful pinging sound, but a vibe damp solves this and the feel and feed back is actually pretty good for the type of racquet that it is. Another problem I had with the PB8 is that I couldn't seem to translate good play off of the ground to my serving game.
Looks like a good demo list to me, panta77. Good luck.
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Thanks dparis!
I hit a couple of days with the BB pro, and yes very good defensive racket, it has lots of free power, and like you say, you better use spin. It was nice to have that free power, but I think it I would like a bit less, and a bit more control. My tflash 310 is similar to the pure drive, a bit more stable, more solid but similar power and spin. Hopefully I will enjoy the BB London. Does it have pretty closed 16x19 pattern like someone said? How did you feel about the flexibility comparing to the 4D 300?
I hit a couple of days with the BB pro, and yes very good defensive racket, it has lots of free power, and like you say, you better use spin. It was nice to have that free power, but I think it I would like a bit less, and a bit more control. My tflash 310 is similar to the pure drive, a bit more stable, more solid but similar power and spin. Hopefully I will enjoy the BB London. Does it have pretty closed 16x19 pattern like someone said? How did you feel about the flexibility comparing to the 4D 300?
dParis
Hall of Fame
panta77,
I didn't notice the stringbed of the BBL dense in particular, and spin production was as easy or easier than other 16x19 racquets. A couple of dense 16x19 patterns that I can think of off the top of my head are the Prestige Pro and the AeroGel 200 4D. The London's pattern is less dense than those two and seems neither more dense nor open compared to other 16x19 patterns.
The BBL feels slightly flexier than the AG 300. The London is a more comfortable hit so that may enhance the feeling that it is slightly flexier.
I didn't notice the stringbed of the BBL dense in particular, and spin production was as easy or easier than other 16x19 racquets. A couple of dense 16x19 patterns that I can think of off the top of my head are the Prestige Pro and the AeroGel 200 4D. The London's pattern is less dense than those two and seems neither more dense nor open compared to other 16x19 patterns.
The BBL feels slightly flexier than the AG 300. The London is a more comfortable hit so that may enhance the feeling that it is slightly flexier.
To Add...
The dwell time on the string bed is very long so it feels flexier.
It's not a dense string pattern. It's very easy to generate spin.
prjacobs
Hall of Fame
Last year I demoed the BB pro and for what it's worth, I ended up with the dunlop 4D500 tour. If defense is a priority, I love the 4D500 tour. Similar power to the BB pro, if not more, but for me, much more control. 16 X 18 and lots of spin. Some people on the forum have said that this year's BB pro is a lot better and a lot more like the 4D500 tour.
Best,
Paul
