Expert Question - Pure Strike 18x20

[Sacks]

Hi All,

Excuse the length of this post. Helpful if you read it.

I just got my new PS 18x20.

I used to play with a Babolat Pure Storm GT and havent changed since 2011 as I havent been able to find a racquet that plays similar.

I demoed the PS 18x20 racquet using TW's demo program. Tried the racquet and it was the best racquet Ive ever tried. Great feel on the ball, improved power and control, and felt I couldnt miss. It was strung with black strings (no writing on them) grip was a prince resi pro in grey (most comfortable grip Ive felt).

I requested TW customer care and demo department to please check when the demo arrived back what strings they were and to find out what tension the racquet was strung with so that I can get the exact same racquet. I also requested the same over grip (no stock of grey at the time and didnt want black, it wouldnt look great and apparently feels different).

TW fed back saying the tension was 55lbs and the strings were HEAD Lynx anthracite in 1.20 gauge (18). When I got the racquet, it immediately felt different to the demo, balls flying all over with no feel and little power.

I contacted TW and they say they have no idea what the strings are. I had taken pictures of the demo strings to try assist in identifying. I am now asking you for assistance as I want to try find what the strings were - its the only things that can be different.

I attach the demo images and then my racquet that they sent. (the first two are the demo - the black strings are the 18x20, the last pic is my new racquet)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/NPwqfw3SxU8rLaFv6

Any help would be great.

Cheers,

Darren

 

[topspn]

No way the demo was 55lbs especially on an 18x20. I play my P17 16x19 @48lbs so I bet it was 45lbs.

 

[dsp9753]

Honestly I had the exact same experience!!! That tennis warehouse PS 18x20 demo is fing magical! I played sectionals with that racquet and felt like I was playing amazing and was crushing the ball. So I bought my own and its been **** ever since. Don't know whats wrong. Me? The racquet? The strings?

Unfortunately I never took the time to weight and balance the demo so those specs are lost to me forever. =(

 

[Harry_Wild]

Honestly I had the exact same experience!!! That tennis warehouse PS 18x20 demo is fing magical! I played sectionals with that racquet and felt like I was playing amazing and was crushing the ball. So I bought my own and its been **** ever since. Don't know whats wrong. Me? The racquet? The strings?

Unfortunately I never took the time to weight and balance the demo so those specs are lost to me forever. =(

I think you could buy the demo that was sent to you if you wanted it!

 

[Notirouswithag]

not sure how long the strings were restrung before you got the demo, but guarantee there was alot of tension loss.

compared to your freshly strung PS, it feels and plays way different

 

[Sacks]

Honestly I had the exact same experience!!! That tennis warehouse PS 18x20 demo is fing magical! I played sectionals with that racquet and felt like I was playing amazing and was crushing the ball. So I bought my own and its been **** ever since. Don't know whats wrong. Me? The racquet? The strings?

Unfortunately I never took the time to weight and balance the demo so those specs are lost to me forever. =(

Exactly, So what are you using now? It stopped me going for it because I was not confident with the racquet. So now not sure what to do. Good point, that demo may have had something done to it. Not sure what to do, do I push for cash back, but I know the PS can be a great racquet - Ive seen it. But how to get it there?

 

[Sacks]

Btw I asked if I could buy that racquet and they said its not for sale yet. I find it difficult to believe they dont know what strings they are - even if they didnt string it, they surely know what they look like

 

[redmini]

Btw I asked if I could buy that racquet and they said its not for sale yet. I find it difficult to believe they dont know what strings they are - even if they didnt string it, they surely know what they look like

Most likely is the tension difference between as played in the demo and what it and maybe yours were like brand new fresh strung. Most polys I have tried drop lots of tension and soon play radically different from new. The many demos I tried last year had typically been strung at 52 -54 lbs but as played were more often in the 37-43 range - and that included the Pure Strikes. I use the ‘racquet tune ‘ app and measure when freshly strung and periodically through the string jobs life. It’s pretty accurate (and a side benefit is it shows me differences between how accurately each string job was done by the stringer).

As I need at least a 4.5 and demos are normally 4.24 or 4& 3/8 I also found the variation in grip size / feel in what I end up buying relative to what I demoed can take some getting used to as well.

Failing that maybe there’s a QC issue and you could measure yours and ask TW to do theirs so you can narrow down the source of the variation?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DanS]

Btw I asked if I could buy that racquet and they said its not for sale yet. I find it difficult to believe they dont know what strings they are - even if they didnt string it, they surely know what they look like

I think you need to try harder to get them to sell it to you. If the CS rep won't do it, ask to speak with a manager. TW is usually very accommodating, especially if you talk to the right people.

 

[phanker]

I posted a similar experience in the PS thread. Mine is also 18x20.

For me, the demo from a local store played awesome and I bought one immediately. And like you, it played nothing like the demo, even with the same string and tension. Went back to the store to compare the spec difference to understand what's going on.

Turns out, the demo was under spec by 7gm or so weighing in at 298gm instead of the spec 305gm, which was what my purchased frame was at. Crappy Babolat QC is to blame for.

Store was gracious enough to allow me to exchange for a similar spec to the demo. Strung it up with the same string/tension and it plays like the demo that I loved so much. I'm so relieved TBH. Modded up with 15gm or so on the butt end with a heavier grip and OG. Love love it now. Best frame I've ever had. Dare I say this might be THE frame for me from now onward. Famous last words!

I didn't like it much at the 305gm spec. It was much more HH and played stiffer for some reason. Just didn't feel the same at all. Very weird indeed. The tighter string pattern might make the spec differences much more pronounced I suspect. Might have been much less noticeable with the 16x19 frames between the various specs due to bad QC.

 

[Tennisist]

Head lynx is an interesting string - in that it behaves very differently when fresh than when it is old. It is very livey when it is fresh (compared to other polys), and it is very dead when it is old. Maybe you need super stiff strings to feel in control.

 

[dsp9753]

I think you could buy the demo that was sent to you if you wanted it!

I tried, but they didnt know which demo I had. So it was impossible for them to find which one of the demos it was and spec it out or sell it to me! =(

 

[dsp9753]

Exactly, So what are you using now? It stopped me going for it because I was not confident with the racquet. So now not sure what to do. Good point, that demo may have had something done to it. Not sure what to do, do I push for cash back, but I know the PS can be a great racquet - Ive seen it. But how to get it there?

I mostly went back to my old racquet that I have been using. A 97ls. I sometimes break out the PS with a new string job hoping for that magical moment... but it never comes back!

 

[Sacks]

Most likely is the tension difference between as played in the demo and what it and maybe yours were like brand new fresh strung. Most polys I have tried drop lots of tension and soon play radically different from new. The many demos I tried last year had typically been strung at 52 -54 lbs but as played were more often in the 37-43 range - and that included the Pure Strikes. I use the ‘racquet tune ‘ app and measure when freshly strung and periodically through the string jobs life. It’s pretty accurate (and a side benefit is it shows me differences between how accurately each string job was done by the stringer).

As I need at least a 4.5 and demos are normally 4.24 or 4& 3/8 I also found the variation in grip size / feel in what I end up buying relative to what I demoed can take some getting used to as well.

Failing that maybe there’s a QC issue and you could measure yours and ask TW to do theirs so you can narrow down the source of the variation?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for the reply, I m hoping it is a tension thing. I just tried the racquet tune app but it doesnt give me a consistent reading across different racquets - meaning I cant tell a story from it. Maybe user error. Perhaps I need to set up the racquet profile etc. I quite irritated by this whole story as I was happy to get a new racquet and now I am sitting with a racquet that is nothing like what I demoed. They should be wanting to fix the problem. Its like the racquet feels totally different, the way it feels in hand. Difficult to explain.

 

[Sacks]

I tried, but they didnt know which demo I had. So it was impossible for them to find which one of the demos it was and spec it out or sell it to me! =(

They have the photos of the exact demo I had, which match my photos. I feel like they should just send me that demo, I am happy to pay new price for it.

 

[snoflewis]

They have the photos of the exact demo I had, which match my photos. I feel like they should just send me that demo, I am happy to pay new price for it.

Ask them to spec it out using the MRT matched racket service and ask for the new one closest to those specs

 

[danbrenner]

Probably dead old rpm blast 17 or 18

 

[Voytek Bunia]

why don't you guys just demo the racquet again lol

 

[DanS]

why don't you guys just demo the racquet again lol

Because they most likely have more than one demo of that racquet, and there is no guarantee they will get one with the same specs or even strings as the first one they demoed.

 

[snoflewis]

on a side note, it would be nice if TW only selected demo frames that were close to the factory specs. i received a racket that was 6g heavier than what's listed on the site. not a make or break factor, but if i have the possibility of receiving a racket that's 6g lighter than factory specs, then it would be a pretty different racket

 

[Sacks]

Exactly, whats the points of sending demos to customers that dont feel like the stock models (besides of course selling more racquets). Customer service although polite deny there is any difference. I am trying to resolve this. Will update.

 

[snoflewis]

i recently demoed the 16x19 version from TW and it was strung w/ RPM blast at 53lbs.

 

[Sacks]

Update: I arranged to buy the demo - it has been quite used since then, but we will see how it is..