First possible racquet change in years 366G to 335G

[Standupnfall]

I've been with My Pro Kennex Ki5 and similar variants ever since I switched from a head radical in my early 20's (45 now), and before that PS85 and similar.
Just wondering if anyone can give me a quick rundown of what to expect. I got this racquet free and just strung it up with Solinco Hyper G 17 at 50lb to hit tonight (match tomorrow but i may use my normal racquet).

I would say I have a traditional all court style (sorry not up on the terms), 4.0 player, not the most topspin. Playing more doubles now which is why I want to experiment with the slightly lighter racquet with modern strings. Grew up playing PS85 and similar Price racquets like spectrum 90. These are also around 366 grams and 7-9 points headlight.

FROM: Pro Kennex Ki5 (I have 3 that are almost exactly matched) 366 Grams, 8.5 points head light. Strung with Full Multi, or Full gut at 58lb to 60lb

TO: Dunlop Revelation Tour MidPlus ISI(S) 335G, 3 points head light. Strung with Solinco Hyper G 17g 50lb (considering adding a leather grip if I like it at all)
*09/22/23 Update: I added Silicone inside the handle which brought it up to 352G and about 9pts head light. Still not switching but is a suitable backup.

 

[Hawks9451]

You have my approval. Keep me updated.

 

[NicoMK]

If someone succeeds in going down in weight, please tell me, I can't lol.

@Standupnfall good luck, I know there are plenty of rackets to demo and play good tennis with.

 

[Crocodile]

I find the easiest way to go down in static weight is to keep the swing weight up.
Pro Kennex have an interesting thing going with their Q Tour lines - the 325 frame has an 18/20 string pattern that comes in with a SW of 331. The 315 version however comes with an open 16/19 pattern yet the SW is only down a few points around 328/9 so it’s quite easy to adjust, The current pro staff 315 also has a post 330 SW ( somewhere around 333 to 336) and people coming from a 325 or 330g stick can manage this transition.
I think the problem occurs when you go from something like a C10 and go to something like a Prince Phantom 100x with a sub 320 Sw or a Dunlop CX 200 (SW 319) or Wilson Ultra Pro - these frames are no good stock for someone coming from a heavy stick. With these frames you will have to customise and probably the best frame I found in the 305g category that I could customise was the Artengo Control Tour and Tecnifibre TF 40 305.

 

[Standupnfall]

Update:
Short answer for now- No

Cons:
-Did not generate free power (Thought maybe the poly at 50 would be amazing, have not experimented with poly in years)
-not much easier to swing (lighter, but less head light)
-Scary feel on miss hits
-Less stable
-might be placebo but my shoulder and wrist didn't like it very much

Pros:
Tons of spin
Consistent for serves

 

[NicoMK]

Update:
Short answer for now- No

Cons:
-Did not generate free power (Thought maybe the poly at 50 would be amazing, have not experimented with poly in years)
-not much easier to swing (lighter, but less head light)
-Scary feel on miss hits
-Less stable
-might be placebo but my shoulder and wrist didn't like it very much

Pros:
Tons of spin
Consistent for serves

Just curious, why is it that you want to go lighter? Is it something that you want to try because it's been trendy for many years, or is it because your body tells you to do so? 45 is not old and, coming from heavy frames, I'm sure you still can handle them without any issue.

Otherwise, if you like comfy rackets, you can try Pacific, they have updated some of their rackets very recently (I'm not sure about their website just yet though). You may like to give a go to the X-Force Pro 292 or 308 or the X-Force. Great rackets overall and a lot of room for customisation. And the latest ones look really cool.

 

[Standupnfall]

Just curious, why is it that you want to go lighter? Is it something that you want to try because it's been trendy for many years, or is it because your body tells you to do so? 45 is not old and, coming from heavy frames, I'm sure you still can handle them without any issue.

Otherwise, if you like comfy rackets, you can try Pacific, they have updated some of their rackets very recently (I'm not sure about their website just yet though). You may like to give a go to the X-Force Pro 292 or 308 or the X-Force. Great rackets overall and a lot of room for customisation. And the latest ones look really cool.

I thought it might help me in doubles. And also just wanted to try the Hyper g without changing my current racquet.

 

[fuzz nation]

Update:
Short answer for now- No

Cons:
-Did not generate free power (Thought maybe the poly at 50 would be amazing, have not experimented with poly in years)
-not much easier to swing (lighter, but less head light)
-Scary feel on miss hits
-Less stable
-might be placebo but my shoulder and wrist didn't like it very much

Pros:
Tons of spin
Consistent for serves

I can weigh in on my current endeavors with this - hopefully without writing a short novel.

I've been playing the Volkl C10 and O10 for several years - both have weighted handles, the O10's also have a touch of lead at 3/9 o'clock - and these weigh in at around 12.5-12.7 oz. with a balance at around 10-11 pts. HL.

I was coming off a nasty bug in the spring of this year when I started preseason coaching with my local high school team. My fitness was much diminished and hitting with the boys made my racquets feel like they were just too much. I've always liked a heavier frame because I used wood racquets as a kid and grew up playing pure serve and volley style on grass courts (charmed existence!!).

Now I'm more of an all-court player, but I crave "enough" racquet to get that stability through the ball that's my personal normal. When I felt like I needed a leaner alternative in the spring, the racquet I've used has been the Dunlop CX-200 Tour (18x20) strung with 17 ga. syn. gut. Mine have weighted handles, tip the scales at 339g, and balance at around 8-9 pts. HL.

I thought that there would be a little less with these Dunlops overall considering that these are lighter than my old Volkls. Maybe low expectations made me easy to please - I got on with the CX-200 T's rather well. This racquet is certainly a little more nimble than my older players, but it would pretty much do (to the ball) exactly what I told it to do. Nice amounts of spin, power, comfort, and control were all there and I could also still serve pretty big with it.

Then a couple weeks ago, it happened... I dusted off a Prince Phantom 97 I picked up as a "what the heck" last year or so. Weight is 12.3 oz./349g on my postage scale - I think I have a little lead under my overgrip for more familiar HL balance - and after several outings, I'm absolutely in heaven with it. For the here and now, I have exactly the racquet fit that I need and I'm ordering one or two more Phantoms from TW to take care of me going forward.

Generally my advice to anybody thinking about a lighter frame is to go for maybe only a 0.2-0.4 oz. drop in weight. A mildly leaner package can often make a substantial difference without giving away all the benefits of that racquet mass that's your "personal normal". A small drop in weight can also protect somebody used to the inherent power of a heavier frame from injury. It's easy to over-swing too often when using a substantially lighter racquet than what's familiar to a certain player when trying to compensate for less weight and less punch. Injuries from over-swinging with lighter racquets aren't entirely rare in the realm of recreational tennis, even among serious players.

Also - no surprise that your switch to that Dunlop didn't work for you. Its balance is apples-and-oranges different from your familiar PK. I believe that having a familiar feeling balance in any racquet is at least as important as the static weight or other specs in terms of getting a decent fit with that particular frame. Even if a new racquet is lighter than an older one that you've used for a while, the lighter racquet won't pivot around your hand the same way when the balance is as different as what you're dealing with here. You may notice that when you serve with the Dunlop, you need to relocate your toss at least 4"-6" further out in front of you to get the ball down in the service box. That's because of the balance being much less HL.

You might coax a better fit with the Dunlop with some weight on the handle to get a couple points closer to the balance you have with your Ki5. Placing 1/2" lead tape under my overgrip has been an easy method for handle-weighting and it's also easy to undo that or tweak the amount if it doesn't work.

 

[NicoMK]

A small drop in weight can also protect somebody used to the inherent power of a heavier frame from injury. It's easy to over-swing too often when using a substantially lighter racquet than what's familiar to a certain player when trying to compensate for less weight and less punch. Injuries from over-swinging with lighter racquets aren't entirely rare in the realm of recreational tennis, even among serious players.

Very good post above.

Injury is what happened to me the only time I switched to a lighter frame for a significant amount of time. It ruined a year and a half of tennis. At the time, I wasn't aware that dropping weight may cause injuries. Might not be the only reason for me, but one of them for sure. Now, I know.

I'm not saying that @Standupnfall you should not try to play lighter, but you may be very careful. As @fuzz nation said, maybe try to decrease weight little by little. And be careful to avoid the lethal combination of stiff + light racket and full poly.

Good luck.

 

[Standupnfall]

Update: I added Silicone inside the handle which brought it up to 352G and about 9pts headlight (will re-weight it later since I did the measurements before it dried and was tested). Seems to be a useable backup racquet for now.

 

[Trip]

Agree with everything @fuzz nation and @NicoMK have highlighted. Reducing you strung spec, in whatever way, may yield benefits, but especially for someone more who's normalized around a higher spec for multiple years or more, it should be done gradually.

Beyond that, I'll make a comment on why you didn't necessarily enjoy that Dunlop beyond just weight and balance, and that is string setup. Even if hitting weight was close, you went from a full bed of some of the softest, most shock-absorbent, highest-power strings available (multi/nat-gut) to a full bed of firm, aggressively-shaped, semi-plasticky, fairly low-powered poly at 50 lbs, which, all other things held equal, will require almost a completely different player (or at least swing path, racquet face angle and stroke speed) to get as much out of the whole "system". So taking that into account alone (again, besides the weight and balance difference), it's not a huge surprise that you didn't fall in love with the experiment.

Anyways, best of luck in transitioning. You can do it, slowly, over time!

 

[Fintft]

Try a prostock and you won't regret it. My regular racquet feels like a toothpick, by comparision.

 

[AmericanTwist]

I play with the heaviest racquet that I can and still return well. That's my metric. If I am late too often on return swings then my static/balance is too high and needs tweaking.

The CX 200 Tour 18x20 is a great frame as long as you can hit the sweet spot. I also love how it comes in different stiffness.