First Impressions of Pure Aero 98

I have no idea if it was me you were referring to. But you had a valid point, nonetheless. Speculation leads to unintended misinfomation, which clouds understanding. So I figured it was best for me to report on facts (or solid impressions) based on a playtest, so that is what I will do.
That being said, this is a discussion board, and any discussion includes opinion.
 

TennisManiac

Hall of Fame
I have no idea if it was me you were referring to. But you had a valid point, nonetheless. Speculation leads to unintended misinfomation, which clouds understanding. So I figured it was best for me to report on facts (or solid impressions) based on a playtest, so that is what I will do.
Good idea
 
My kid hit with it for about 20 minutes and then went back to the VS. Just guessing, but likely thought it was too different and didn’t want to ness with a change with the season about to start.
 

n80aoag

Professional
My kid hit with it for about 20 minutes and then went back to the VS. Just guessing, but likely thought it was too different and didn’t want to ness with a change with the season about to start.
Does he yell at you like Holger Rune does to his mom? Makes sense he'd stick with the PAVS given that the PA98 has a higher swingweight that would take some time to adjust to
 
Probably he didn’t like the strings that came with the 98.
You and I were both right. Turns out he couldn't get past the strings and he didn’t want to waste valuable practice time on a demo this close to the season. The strings were ROM Hurricane 16 and the season starts in 3 weeks. I thought he was hitting good balls with the 98 while I was watching, the difference being that the balls he was hitting with it looked heavier.
 
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Yamin

Hall of Fame
My kid hit with it for about 20 minutes and then went back to the VS. Just guessing, but likely thought it was too different and didn’t want to ness with a change with the season about to start.

Not surprising as your sample racket is basically a "different" racket. Don't think anyone who liked the previous vs is going to like a racket that is much more head heavy than the previous. Just because you may have experienced worse quality control doesn't make it acceptable to most.

I wanted to move from Wilson to babolat due to QC but.....
 
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Not surprising as your sample racket is basically a "different" racket. Don't think anyone who liked the previous vs is going to like a racket that is much more head heavy than the previous. Just because you may have experienced worse quality control doesn't make it acceptable to most.

I wanted to move from Wilson to babolat due to QC but.....
I don’t think that any player who needs to use multiple identical racquets can argue that QC is a problem across all the volume manufacturers except possibly Yonex and many smaller ones as well. Yonex us the the only one of the larger big name racquet companies (As far as I know, and I am not an industry insider) who owns and operates their own manufacturing facility, and therefore has direct control over QC.

These days, I think it is pretty much required that if you need matching frames, that it us a very good idea to use the services of a racquet technician in some capacity right from the start of a racquet switch to enable all of your frames (even Yonex) to be identical from the start. Some places, such as TW, offer racquet matching for a minimal fee (I think $20 per frame, which I know isn’t minimal to some folks) to get that peace of mind that all of your frames will play the way you need them to right from the start.

It us indeed unfortunate that the larger manufacturers other than Yonex have apparently determined that the capital investment in their own manufacturing facility doesn’t make sense to their bottom line. I’m not saying Yonex is perfect, but there is a reason a lot of people feel that their QC leads the industry. Just one man’s opinion.

This issue is one of the reasons that I had hoped that my son would choose the 2022 Ezone Tour over the VS in his latest racquet odyssey, though luckily it turned out great and he is happy. I've been less lucky in the past with these things. We did not try the Whiteouts in this odyssey, which was an oversight on my part, but now that the kid is sponsored by Solinco and is very happy with their products he uses and their service, I have a feeling that we may be testing their racquet QC about the same time we revisit the Aero 98 in May/June.
 
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A_Instead

Legend
If you are dropping $250 a frame and buying more than 1..the fee for matching service is small... certainly worth the investment and it will make you happy in the end..

Its likely cheaper than the sales taxe that you must pay.. which you get nothing in return..
 
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n80aoag

Professional
Has anyone purchased the 2 pack PA98? I know that 1 gram static weight difference can still yield different swingweights, so I’m curious how different the SW’s have been for those who bought the 2 pack
 
Has anyone purchased the 2 pack PA98? I know that 1 gram static weight difference can still yield different swingweights, so I’m curious how different the SW’s have been for those who bought the 2 pack
I haven't bought or measured PA98 two packs, but have had a great and fortunated experience with two 2-packs of PAVS frames. Over time I have built something of a trusting relationship with oone of the TW racquet techs, who I called acouple of days ago to ask about the same thing you are asking about in anticipation of needing to order a few for my son if he loved the 98. The man told me that the 98s they have measured, which sounded like a lot, were measuring out at very close to what TW has published for specs, and that he feels that Babolat is taking extra care on QC with the 98s (especially the 2 packs) given that the frame is really only going to be attractive to better players who are the most impacted if their racquets don't match. Just what I was told. Still a good idea to use their matching service at purchase if you buy through them.
 

n80aoag

Professional
I haven't bought or measured PA98 two packs, but have had a great and fortunated experience with two 2-packs of PAVS frames. Over time I have built something of a trusting relationship with oone of the TW racquet techs, who I called acouple of days ago to ask about the same thing you are asking about in anticipation of needing to order a few for my son if he loved the 98. The man told me that the 98s they have measured, which sounded like a lot, were measuring out at very close to what TW has published for specs, and that he feels that Babolat is taking extra care on QC with the 98s (especially the 2 packs) given that the frame is really only going to be attractive to better players who are the most impacted if their racquets don't match. Just what I was told. Still a good idea to use their matching service at purchase if you buy through them.
I’ve been a happy customer using the TW racquet service as well. Got a few under spec Gravity Pros that were amazing to hit with. Gotta try the PA98 soon
 

kies

New User
Tried PA98 yesterday, felt very similar to the PAVS but a tad bit softer. Spin, control, power was pretty much the same. Maybe a little less power then the PAVS, could have been the string though. I did like the softer feel of the new PA98 since the PAVS felt still at times.
 

BorgCash

Legend
I still have an old Aero Pro Control, i think it was produced the same time as the first generation of Aero Pro Drive and was made as a 98" version of APD. Is it the same story with modern Pure Aero 98?
 

nowal

New User
Hey y'all, this is my first post on talk tennis, but I wanted to share my thoughts as I'm thinking about swapping over from PAVS to PA98. I'm around a 4.5 level and am trying to really think through whether I want to drop the cash on a matched pair of these.

I'm seeing most people say that it plays really similar to PAVS but for me, they're decently different. The PAVS is a lot whippier and obviously stiffer. I think this makes it just a more aggressive racket overall and I would say that if ripping winners is what you want then stick with PAVS. The PA98 on the other hand is much better in longer rallies because it's doesn't totally throw you off on a mishit like the more hollow PAVS. The higher swing weight was also welcome for me because it made me feel like I could just redirect pace more easily especially at the net where I feel like this is much better than PAVS. When I had time to set up my shot, the weight didn't slow me down either because the aero beam really does provide that smooth feeling through the air.

That said, my biggest concern with the PA98 is the maneuverability on defense. I found that especially when defending deep, wide shots on my forehand wing, it was really difficult to get the racket around in time to put a good shot in play. This could be due the higher swing weight which I like overall, but I'm afraid it's due to the higher twist weight. I don't know if y'all looked but TWU has the twist weight on this at 15.4 which is about as high as it gets. Normally twist weight means greater "stability" at the cost of maneuverability. I definitely felt the stability because deep forehand returns were so much each with this racket than PAVS. I'm wondering if I would get used to the loss of maneuverability.

All of that said, I would love to hear more feedback from people that are trying it. I'm wondering if the TWU twist weight for this is accurate because as I said, 15.4 is really high. Even with that, I really do like this racket because after playing with the PAVS for some time, it's almost exactly what i wanted with the slightly reduced stiffness and increased swing weight.
 
My
Hey y'all, this is my first post on talk tennis, but I wanted to share my thoughts as I'm thinking about swapping over from PAVS to PA98. I'm around a 4.5 level and am trying to really think through whether I want to drop the cash on a matched pair of these.

I'm seeing most people say that it plays really similar to PAVS but for me, they're decently different. The PAVS is a lot whippier and obviously stiffer. I think this makes it just a more aggressive racket overall and I would say that if ripping winners is what you want then stick with PAVS. The PA98 on the other hand is much better in longer rallies because it's doesn't totally throw you off on a mishit like the more hollow PAVS. The higher swing weight was also welcome for me because it made me feel like I could just redirect pace more easily especially at the net where I feel like this is much better than PAVS. When I had time to set up my shot, the weight didn't slow me down either because the aero beam really does provide that smooth feeling through the air.

That said, my biggest concern with the PA98 is the maneuverability on defense. I found that especially when defending deep, wide shots on my forehand wing, it was really difficult to get the racket around in time to put a good shot in play. This could be due the higher swing weight which I like overall, but I'm afraid it's due to the higher twist weight. I don't know if y'all looked but TWU has the twist weight on this at 15.4 which is about as high as it gets. Normally twist weight means greater "stability" at the cost of maneuverability. I definitely felt the stability because deep forehand returns were so much each with this racket than PAVS. I'm wondering if I would get used to the loss of maneuverability.

All of that said, I would love to hear more feedback from people that are trying it. I'm wondering if the TWU twist weight for this is accurate because as I said, 15.4 is really high. Even with that, I really do like this racket because after playing with the PAVS for some time, it's almost exactly what i wanted with the slightly reduced stiffness and increased swing weight.

I would say that the twist weight is most likely accurate as I don't think tennis Warehouse would make a mistake. When I tried the 98 I did feel that it was a lot more stable than my auxetic extreme tour. Extreme tour has a very low twist weight so I was able to tell the difference in stability and mauverability. But it wasn't that much and I wouldn't focus too much on the number and focus on how you feel about the racquet.

What is interesting about the tennis Warehouse University numbers is that the 98 is more powerful than the pure aero 100. I felt this was the case when I was demoing so I was happy that Tennis Warehouse University confirmed what I was feeling.

I would say that this is probably the best racket that I have ever used in recent memory and this is coming from someone who owned the the Yonex Regina 98 and the extreme tour (both cult racquets). Also, I usually do not like the Babolat feel but I still ordered the 2 matched pair. The racquet really is that good.
 
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nowal

New User
My

I would say that the twist weight is most likely accurate as I don't think tennis Warehouse would make a mistake. When I tried the 98 I did feel that it was a lot more stable than my auxetic extreme tour. Extreme tour has a very low twist weight so I was able to tell the difference in stability and mauverability. But it wasn't that much and I wouldn't focus too much on the number and focus on how you feel about the racquet.

What is interesting about the tennis Warehouse University numbers is that the 98 is more powerful than the pure aero 100. I felt this was the case when I was demoing so I was happy to that Tennis Warehouse University confirmed what I was feeling.

I would say that this is probably the best racket that I have ever used in recent memory and this is coming from someone who owned the the Yonex Regina 98 and the extreme tour (both cult racquets). Also, I usually do not like the Babolat feel but I still ordered the 2 matched pair. The racquet really is that good.

That's great feedback and it's encouraging to hear others that like it. Definitely agree with you on not worrying too much about the number, I just felt it some in the defensive maneuverability as I mentioned. I was trying to decide if that reduced maneuverability is something that I would adapt to or if the racket specs just aren't well suited to it. Haha, I'm probably overthinking it though. On the third day of playing with it, I was already playing some of the best tennis I ever have.
 

KC!

Hall of Fame
Hey y'all, this is my first post on talk tennis, but I wanted to share my thoughts as I'm thinking about swapping over from PAVS to PA98. I'm around a 4.5 level and am trying to really think through whether I want to drop the cash on a matched pair of these.

I'm seeing most people say that it plays really similar to PAVS but for me, they're decently different. The PAVS is a lot whippier and obviously stiffer. I think this makes it just a more aggressive racket overall and I would say that if ripping winners is what you want then stick with PAVS. The PA98 on the other hand is much better in longer rallies because it's doesn't totally throw you off on a mishit like the more hollow PAVS. The higher swing weight was also welcome for me because it made me feel like I could just redirect pace more easily especially at the net where I feel like this is much better than PAVS. When I had time to set up my shot, the weight didn't slow me down either because the aero beam really does provide that smooth feeling through the air.

That said, my biggest concern with the PA98 is the maneuverability on defense. I found that especially when defending deep, wide shots on my forehand wing, it was really difficult to get the racket around in time to put a good shot in play. This could be due the higher swing weight which I like overall, but I'm afraid it's due to the higher twist weight. I don't know if y'all looked but TWU has the twist weight on this at 15.4 which is about as high as it gets. Normally twist weight means greater "stability" at the cost of maneuverability. I definitely felt the stability because deep forehand returns were so much each with this racket than PAVS. I'm wondering if I would get used to the loss of maneuverability.

All of that said, I would love to hear more feedback from people that are trying it. I'm wondering if the TWU twist weight for this is accurate because as I said, 15.4 is really high. Even with that, I really do like this racket because after playing with the PAVS for some time, it's almost exactly what i wanted with the slightly reduced stiffness and increased swing weight.
I felt the Pure Aero VS was almost too whippy, I found myself to early on a lot of shots. The main reason I stopped using it though was it was too harsh on my arm. I like that is has more weight in hoop and feels softer!
 
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Blade_X

Professional
My

I would say that the twist weight is most likely accurate as I don't think tennis Warehouse would make a mistake. When I tried the 98 I did feel that it was a lot more stable than my auxetic extreme tour. Extreme tour has a very low twist weight so I was able to tell the difference in stability and mauverability. But it wasn't that much and I wouldn't focus too much on the number and focus on how you feel about the racquet.

What is interesting about the tennis Warehouse University numbers is that the 98 is more powerful than the pure aero 100. I felt this was the case when I was demoing so I was happy to that Tennis Warehouse University confirmed what I was feeling.

I would say that this is probably the best racket that I have ever used in recent memory and this is coming from someone who owned the the Yonex Regina 98 and the extreme tour (both cult racquets). Also, I usually do not like the Babolat feel but I still ordered the 2 matched pair. The racquet really is that good.
What about free power ? To me both extreme tour and Regna are low and low to medium powered sticks.
 

Classic-TXP-IG MID

Hall of Fame
Hey y'all, this is my first post on talk tennis, but I wanted to share my thoughts as I'm thinking about swapping over from PAVS to PA98. I'm around a 4.5 level and am trying to really think through whether I want to drop the cash on a matched pair of these.

I'm seeing most people say that it plays really similar to PAVS but for me, they're decently different. The PAVS is a lot whippier and obviously stiffer. I think this makes it just a more aggressive racket overall and I would say that if ripping winners is what you want then stick with PAVS. The PA98 on the other hand is much better in longer rallies because it's doesn't totally throw you off on a mishit like the more hollow PAVS. The higher swing weight was also welcome for me because it made me feel like I could just redirect pace more easily especially at the net where I feel like this is much better than PAVS. When I had time to set up my shot, the weight didn't slow me down either because the aero beam really does provide that smooth feeling through the air.

That said, my biggest concern with the PA98 is the maneuverability on defense. I found that especially when defending deep, wide shots on my forehand wing, it was really difficult to get the racket around in time to put a good shot in play. This could be due the higher swing weight which I like overall, but I'm afraid it's due to the higher twist weight. I don't know if y'all looked but TWU has the twist weight on this at 15.4 which is about as high as it gets. Normally twist weight means greater "stability" at the cost of maneuverability. I definitely felt the stability because deep forehand returns were so much each with this racket than PAVS. I'm wondering if I would get used to the loss of maneuverability.

All of that said, I would love to hear more feedback from people that are trying it. I'm wondering if the TWU twist weight for this is accurate because as I said, 15.4 is really high. Even with that, I really do like this racket because after playing with the PAVS for some time, it's almost exactly what i wanted with the slightly reduced stiffness and increased swing weight.

Welcome to Talk Tennis. Hope you enjoy being part of our community.

Regarding the TW... I think that it is something that you may get used to over time, but only you will know how you feel about the racquet. I think you have to tally up the positives and negatives, give them a weighting (importance to how it affects you and your results), and then decide which is better... and then give it time for you and your body to adjust. Or just add a smidge of Tungsten tape on the PAVS... and that might do the trick.

For me, the price of the PA98 is ridiculous (it's $439 Australian dollars, and the PAVS was an already high $389), so I won't be buying it unless it's heavily discounted in the future, but I would appreciate the low stiffness (something that was just a tad too firm for me with the PAVS), and the added stability (making it maybe not necessary to modify - something I would have had to do with the PAVS).

I'm also very happy with my modified G360+ Extreme Tours and Extreme Pros... so I'm good to go for quite a while (plus I like their look better as well).
 

Classic-TXP-IG MID

Hall of Fame
What about free power ? To me both extreme tour and Regna are low and low to medium powered sticks.

It all depends on the specs you end up with. My G360+ ETs strung specs are 362g, 305mm balance, and increased SW (as I've added 6.5-7g spread around the head of the racquet). The same can be said for my G360+ Extreme Pros (even heavier spec).

The ET is not lacking any power... and the EP is just destroying the ball. In stock form... they feel a bit light and definitely need modification, but once that is done (even when they were 343g strung, they were fine for power)... the racquet has enough power to handle most things.
 

Yamin

Hall of Fame
Hey y'all, this is my first post on talk tennis, but I wanted to share my thoughts as I'm thinking about swapping over from PAVS to PA98. I'm around a 4.5 level and am trying to really think through whether I want to drop the cash on a matched pair of these.

I'm seeing most people say that it plays really similar to PAVS but for me, they're decently different. The PAVS is a lot whippier and obviously stiffer. I think this makes it just a more aggressive racket overall and I would say that if ripping winners is what you want then stick with PAVS. The PA98 on the other hand is much better in longer rallies because it's doesn't totally throw you off on a mishit like the more hollow PAVS. The higher swing weight was also welcome for me because it made me feel like I could just redirect pace more easily especially at the net where I feel like this is much better than PAVS. When I had time to set up my shot, the weight didn't slow me down either because the aero beam really does provide that smooth feeling through the air.

That said, my biggest concern with the PA98 is the maneuverability on defense. I found that especially when defending deep, wide shots on my forehand wing, it was really difficult to get the racket around in time to put a good shot in play. This could be due the higher swing weight which I like overall, but I'm afraid it's due to the higher twist weight. I don't know if y'all looked but TWU has the twist weight on this at 15.4 which is about as high as it gets. Normally twist weight means greater "stability" at the cost of maneuverability. I definitely felt the stability because deep forehand returns were so much each with this racket than PAVS. I'm wondering if I would get used to the loss of maneuverability.

All of that said, I would love to hear more feedback from people that are trying it. I'm wondering if the TWU twist weight for this is accurate because as I said, 15.4 is really high. Even with that, I really do like this racket because after playing with the PAVS for some time, it's almost exactly what i wanted with the slightly reduced stiffness and increased swing weight.

Mostly have heard that the 98 is more maneuverable than the previous. Do you know the specs on your VS compared to the PA 98? Were they the same strings? The numbers you're reading on TWU or on TW are just sample specs.

There will be many more reviews in a few weeks as the play test is just starting, but someone posted in another thread their PA 98 was like 6 grams and 2 pts more head heavy than expected. Might just be spec variance
 
What about free power ? To me both extreme tour and Regna are low and low to medium powered sticks.
It is really powerful. If Regina and extreme Tour is 2 stars out of 5 in terms of powet I would say this is a solid 4.3 stars out of 5 in terms of power. It definitely would be in the powerful category. And I did notice that it was more powerful than the Pure Aero 100 2023. According to the tennis warehouse univ their tests show that the pure aero 98 def is more powerful than the 100.
 
Just got off the phone with one of the TW racket technicians. He said most PA98s are coming at a SW 323-329 string from the batches they have measured.

seems like QC might be better improving.
Thats what I got from them too. The demo we got was 327 SW, but it was strung with RPM Hurricane 16, and ny kid couldn’t past his dislike for the string for long and switched back to the VS after about 15 to 20 minutes. In the time he was hitting with it I noticed he was hitting a heavier ball with the 98 vs the VS, and had no problem with maneuverability at net. For comparison, he plays the VS at stock weight with Solinco Revolution 17 religiously at 53.Wrong time to be evaluating a new racquet with college season starting in a couple of weeks. Will revisit after the season.
 

TomTennis495

Professional
Welcome to Babolat. That is the Babolat feel

no.I played a pure strike for 2 years. When you hit the sweet spot you felt it. Aero just feels like dead cardboard. Not the strings since I use the same strings in the PS and my current tecnifibre tf40 and ezone98 tour
 
no.I played a pure strike for 2 years. When you hit the sweet spot you felt it. Aero just feels like dead cardboard. Not the strings since I use the same strings in the PS and my current tecnifibre tf40 and ezone98 tour
Curious why you are even bothering with the PA98. The frames you listed as already owning are great frames. Gear head curiosity? Something else? Whatever your reasons, they are valid from your perspective, and I respect them.
 

ulunxtns

Professional
Curious why you are even bothering with the PA98. The frames you listed as already owning are great frames. Gear head curiosity? Something else? Whatever your reasons, they are valid from your perspective, and I respect them.
I had my second session last night with PA98. I have to kinda agree with @TomTennis495 unfortunately, the feedback was very dead. My demo came with RPM Hurricane 16, didn't like it. I restrung it with Black Knight, but the feel still didn't change. It could be the string, maybe it's a string-sensitive frame. It's not particularly stiff, that's a good thing since I have a sensitive elbow. Compare to the regular PA, I like the regular PA more. Maybe it needs a livelier sting in this frame.
 
I had my second session last night with PA98. I have to kinda agree with @TomTennis495 unfortunately, the feedback was very dead. My demo came with RPM Hurricane 16, didn't like it. I restrung it with Black Knight, but the feel still didn't change. It could be the string, maybe it's a string-sensitive frame. It's not particularly stiff, that's a good thing since I have a sensitive elbow. Compare to the regular PA, I like the regular PA more. Maybe it needs a livelier sting in this frame.
Agree that the Hurricane 16 dies nothing to sell the frame. My kid soent 15 minutes with the frame and that string and webt back to the VS no time to restring it with the Solinco Revolution 17 he normally uses so will need to revisit after current season ends.
 

ulunxtns

Professional
Agree that the Hurricane 16 dies nothing to sell the frame. My kid soent 15 minutes with the frame and that string and webt back to the VS no time to restring it with the Solinco Revolution 17 he normally uses so will need to revisit after current season ends.
I'm super intrigued by Solinco Revolution 17 btw, from all the reviews, it seems like a string I would like. I assume it played in-between Tour bite and Confidential?
 
I'm super intrigued by Solinco Revolution 17 btw, from all the reviews, it seems like a string I would like. I assume it played in-between Tour bite and Confidential?
Its my son who plays it, but from what he tells me, once it is broken in it plays between Hyper G Diamond Rough and Confidential in his opinion. It is an older string but he loves it and swears by it. Pretty stiff fresh off the machine, but broken in it becomes very responsive and playable. Broken in takes about 20 minutes of hard hitting.
 

ulunxtns

Professional
Its my son who plays it, but from what he tells me, once it is broken in it plays between Hyper G Diamond Rough and Confidential in his opinion. It is an older string but he loves it and swears by it. Pretty stiff fresh off the machine, but broken in it becomes very responsive and playable. Broken in takes about 20 minutes of hard hitting.
Cool, it's gonna be my next string job! Btw, 'Hyper G Diamond Rough'? Do you mean tour bite Diamond Rough? I've never seen Hyper G Diamond Rough before.
 
Cool, it's gonna be my next string job! Btw, 'Hyper G Diamond Rough'? Do you mean tour bite Diamond Rough? I've never seen Hyper G Diamond Rough before.
No. My son is sponsored by Solinco and got some HyperG Diamond Rough when he was evaluating which string he wanted to play with. He liked it better than normal Hyper G. He thought it offered more spin and was more playable, but it finished a close second to the Revolution.
 

ulunxtns

Professional
No. My son is sponsored by Solinco and got some HyperG Diamond Rough when he was evaluating which string he wanted to play with. He liked it better than normal Hyper G. He thought it offered more spin and was more playable, but it finished a close second to the Revolution.
That must be some special strings for sponsored players, I couldn't find this string on Solinco website. I would be interested to try it if I had a chance.
 
That must be some special strings for sponsored players, I couldn't find this string on Solinco website. I would be interested to try it if I had a chance.
Not sure if it is being tested prior to sale or what the situation is. Apparently they were handing it out like candy at some of the big name junior tournaments. My kid thought it was good stuff, but thought Revolution was better suited to his game.
 
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