Konik_1982
Rookie
Looking AWESOME both
Head Auxetic Radical
- Thread starter guilhermefdc
- Start date
BDAZ
Hall of Fame
About the different shades on the Radical... yes. The inside of the hoop is a little bit more of a pinker orange than the outside and grommets. You can also see that difference on the Radical wording on the side of the throat. The big R is the orange, and the RADICAL is the pinker orange.
Shankmeister-Chubs
Rookie
I think with the discounts on the current gen of radicals, it's finally time to buy in on the 360+ radical.... maybe. I'm not sure how I feel about the amount of heat coming off of the 360+ radical and this upcoming one, but I have to admit it's smart design. Head wanted to have the whole spectrum of colors, and it does with these bright and warm paint jobs! I do miss the busy and splashy design direction the Radicals used to have, going from the Zebra and Candycanes, to some recent stunners, such as the Graphene XT. The 360 radical had subtle color patches and metallic blues, call backs to that design language even while looking clean and subdued.
Aestheticsaboveallelse
Legend
Maybe but I actually love the bright orange it stands out so much really unique... and makes sense to have a radical paintjob for a racquet named radical...
topspn
G.O.A.T.
Yeah taste is subjective. The total opposite for me
New radical looks like a racket Spider-Man would use! I kinda like the current one with the grey to offset the orange vs the blue. Also, there is something harry potterish with the big “R” on the side. R for radical, S for speed, G for gravity, just really not too creative from a design standpoint. I do like Spider-Man and Harry Potter though so it’s growing on me.
MasterSlice74
Rookie
I have seen the new radical in my local pro shop, you're on the money.... replace the current orange with coral orange, and then the silver with a dark blue that is basically the new paintjob
1HBHfanatic
Legend
-yeah, the pictures are not showing the colors properly!!
-there is better color contrast in real life lighting
-its a sick color racket!!
-as others have mentioned, just in color alone, this new one is going to get some fans
1HBHfanatic
Legend
-this was spider mans radical!!
-great stick!
-the new one is a bit more business like
-but i do know what you mean
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@guilhermefdc and company - Any more early review feedback, specifically on the flex? I'm really fighting the urge not to pull the trigger on a couple G360+ Extreme Tour's or Rad MP's... please help save a desperate man by confirming the Auxetic Rad feels perhaps 1-2RA lower in flex! TY!
That's my interest as well.
guilhermefdc
Semi-Pro
I think I have enough hours on it to post a review -- will do it ASAP.
Regarding feel/flex: I'm not sure what the numbers will say - maybe 1-2RA lower - but the ARad feels much more comfortable than the 360+. I'd say it plays roughly the same as the outgoing model (maybe with a bit more power), but with a solid feel on impact. Off-center hits aren't harsh/jarring and I haven't experienced arm pain at all while playing with FB poly @ 50-52 lbs, even playing 2+ hours daily for the past few days.
If you can wait - and afford - I think the Aux Radical is an overall improvement, specially on the comfort side.
For those that already have the 360+ and are fine with them (no arm pain, mostly hitting the sweetspot), the switch might not be worth it.
Sounds promising. Any sense of the stock SW?
Outstanding. Thank you. I know it's just one person's take, but but that's all music to my ears, indeed. If Head somehow decided to make it 5 or 6 points HL strung, instead of 4, that would be icing on the cake, but we can't have it all now, can we?
Will do my best not to trigger pull on G360+ ET's or Rad MP's... must.... resist...!!!
BDAZ
Hall of Fame
I think the pics I have do it justice quite well.-yeah, the pictures are not showing the colors properly!!
-there is better color contrast in real life lighting
-its a sick color racket!!
-as others have mentioned, just in color alone, this new one is going to get some fans
@guilhermefdc Does it feel more muted than the outgoing model?
Feel like I saw someone mention this, may have been in the combined Aux Gravity/rad thread.
More comfort is great but less feedback may not be worth it
Feel like I saw someone mention this, may have been in the combined Aux Gravity/rad thread.
More comfort is great but less feedback may not be worth it
guilhermefdc
Semi-Pro
I’d say no — it follows the other Auxetic layups: “solid”, but not muted. I can feel when I’ve missed the sweetspot (which might be a little bit bigger than the 360+) and touch shots are about just as good.
I found all the Auxetic layups to have this weird “solid without being muted” feel and the Radical is no exception.
guilhermefdc
Semi-Pro
I don’t have (easy) access to an RDC, but I think it’s close to the 360+ Radical MP.
I still plan to try and measure strung specs, but it’s not really easy around here.
If by "weird" you mean perhaps foreign but ultimately good, then I would agree. I play customized Auxetic Prestige MP-L's (spec'd up to 340g/31.7cm/328SW), and compared to G360+ Prestiges (I own the MP, Pro and Tour), it's a more solid feel on contact, but not harsh by any means. Nice and punchy without feeling like a log. Brilliant addition to the layup IMHO.
It's probably the same. I think that was reported on this site earlier. Same mold and specs.
guilhermefdc
Semi-Pro
Unique/distinctive would probably be a better wording. Definitely good
the feeling I got with the speed mp was solid but also soft at the same time. it provided dwell time, but not mushy. quite nice.
I'd like that nite edition for the upcoming auxetic radical
What could have been if they didn't have to cancel the Nite Edition...
KC!
Hall of Fame
The Liquidmetal OS Radical is 18x19I should've asked for a prototype 18x19 radical
Opportunity missed
That's pretty cool though
@AEROSPEED - I wouldn't be surprised if the top-end models are $259 or even $269 in the US.
Still waiting for comments on the auxetic radical mp. The 360+ version is good for me except the vibrations when sometimes missing hit. I wonder if the new version could make the racquet a little bit softer, reducing some vibrations and that would be great. By the way, I don't like the new color. Will stay on 360+, if there is no real improvement.
KC!
Hall of Fame
The previous Speed Pro had the same issue and the 2022 Auxetic Speed Pro it’s no longer an issue. The harsh vibration on hits outside of the sweet spot are not noticeable anymore. Hoping the same is true for the Radicals as that is what kept me from making the Radical MP my racquet of choice. The Auxetic definitely adds comfort and feel to the racquet.
D
Deleted member 746200
Guest
Look too close to a Prestige...I'd cancel it too
What could have been if they didn't have to cancel the Nite Edition...
puppybutts
Hall of Fame
true...and honestly the "nite" signage looks cooler than the actual racquet
guilhermefdc
Semi-Pro
This is my review of the 2022 Laver Cup Auxetic Radical MP.
I'm using the TW review guidelines for this… Sorry if it's too long.
At times I will refer to the racquet as ARMP.
String and tension used for test:
Alu Power 1.25mm mains @ 52-50 lbs x Ghost Wire 1.23mm crosses @52-50 lbs
Tennis experience/background:
Brazilian, 34 year-old physician, playing between 2-8 hours per week. Learned to play tennis on my early teens, but went through a 15 year hiatus, picking up the game again in late 2018.
I'd say I'm a 4.5 NTRP (self-rated, comparing with YouTube videos). I currently play in a local league with about 400 active players, currently ranked #30. As a reference, the top 5 are former ATP pros, top 10-15s are former US college players.
Please note that I'm by no means a tennis professional/coach/stringer, but someone who loves to play - as such, I do not have hundreds of hours with dozens of different frames to compared this one with, so I focused mainly on my impressions comparing it with my previous stick, the 360+ Radical MP.
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley):
Aggressive baseliner. I seek to end points quickly from the baseline either by winners or forced errors (preferably from my opponent). My approach shots are usually pretty aggressive and I try to quickly end the points with 1-2 volleys.
Current racquet/string setups:
Previously, the 360+ Radical MP with the same string setup.
How many hours did you play with the racquet?
~26 hours -- enough that I think the honeymoon period is over.
Comparison to the 360+ Radical MP
I think Head heard our criticisms of the outgoing model and addressed nearly all of them, specially the frame's comfort.
I've had golfer's elbow in the past and I'd say I have a somewhat sensitive arm overall. It's not every racquet that gives me arm pain and I can use most with FB poly @ 48-52 lbs without major issues. That was not the case for either the 360+ Radical MP or the 360+ Radical Pro. My previous setup of choice (FB Hawk Touch 1.25 mm @ 48-52 lbs) gave me elbow pain after about 25-30 mins of playing/rallying, and so I quickly gave up on it. My next choice was FB Alu Power Rough 1.25mm @ 46-48 lbs and while that was better, after playing 2-3 days in a row I'd get elbow pain again, specially on off center hits and when hitting slightly higher on the stringbed. I'd say I experienced pain specially when trying to keep up the pace with heavy hitters on my FH -- which lead to more mishits. Serving would sometimes be an issue as well, specially flat serves.
After a few weeks trying it out, I decided to try my current setup, with Alu Rough M + Ghost Wire X -- and it is great. Plays almost as good as FB Alu Rough, but it's much easier on the arm, mantains playability longer and doesn't break as fast (~8 hours rather than ~3). That's the setup I've used for most of the year: stock 360+ Radical MP, Alu Rough M and GW X (weight and balance were really close to specs). With this setup, I did not experience arm pain, but I did notice harshness on the same situations: off-center hits and on the upper part of the stringbed, specially on forehands, but also on flat serves and sometimes on volleys. This seems to echo what others have said on these forums, with one user going as far as saying he loved the way it played, but hated the way it made their arm feel.
That's no longer an issue with the Auxetic Radical MP. I've been able to play for 2+ hours for several days in a row without experiencing elbow pain. Not only mishits aren't as harsh, but they felt somewhat more stable. It's not a plush racquet, but a "solid" one, in line with other layup updates on the Auxetic frames. As I've mentioned above, it's not a muted racquet frames and "feel" is still great. I no longer feel the harshness referenced above - when I miss the sweetspot, shots
A lot of the comments bellow are common to both the 360+ and the Auxetic Radical MP, with perceived differences noted at the end of each section. For most of
Stroke Performance
- Groundstrokes:
SOLID. I'd say it's a 9/10.
My FH is my strongest stroke and I can pretty much do anything I want with this racquet - take the ball early on the rise and flatten it out (a personal favorite); hit heavy, deep and spinny balls; even deep, defensive forehand slices were great. My BH is definitely my weaker wing, both in terms of strength and variations - nevertheless, I don't think I've been this consistent before. I feel more confident playing crosscourt defensive open-stance backhands and heavy-ish deep topspin BHs than with the 360+ for some reason (quality control, maybe?).
Comparing to the outgoing 360+: I can't say if this is related to QC differences, but I found the ARMP to be more powerful, with shots going deeper and heavier. I needed some time to adjust as a lot of my balls were going long early on. Otherwise, it's about the same, just more comfortable.
- Serves:
8.5/10.
Flat bombs were (and felt) great, slices were better than average. Kicks could use a little more height, though. Comparing to previous frames (Speed Pro and Gravity Pro), I felt that with the same technique my kicks aren't as nasty.
- Volleys:
7/10. This is were I felt the racquet could use a little more weight. When I'm "in control" of the point (i.e. went to the net on a good approach and my opponent is on defense), they feel great. When my opponent has the upper hand (after dropshots, for instance) and is hitting heavy balls, I feel the racquet lacks some stability in order to simply block back.
- Serve returns:
8/10.
On most of my returns, I feel confident and am able to return as intended. I prefer to return 1st serves from a few meters behind the baseline and felt no difficulty doing so. I usually attack second serves, leaning inside the court -- and it was just fine. One shot in which I could use some stability/weight is when I'm stretched and trying to block heavy, flat serves (flat serves down the T, mostly).
Performance in each Area
Power/Control - very balanced frame, but I'd say it tends to being more controlled than powerful. It's a tweener, like the Speed MP, but this one favors control/variation and the Speed favors power/spin. I'd give it a 7/10 in power and 8.5/10 in control.
Top Spin/Slice - good access to top spin, but not a spin machine. Requires decent technique and some RHS in order to produce spin. Slices are quite a bit better than average. I'd rate spin as 7.5/10 and slices as 8/10.
Comfort - this is not a plush frame, but it's not a harsh one either. I'd give it an 8.5/10. I'd say the outgoing 360+ Rad was a 6/10. For comparisons, my gold standard would be the PT57A (10/10), followed by the Gravity Pro/Blade v7 (9.5). I found the ARMP with this hybrid more comfortable than the Auxetic Speed MP with FB Alu Rough, for what it's worth.
Feel - again, this is not a plush frame. I'd say it strikes a great balance between comfort and feel - comfortable without being overly muted and crisp without being harsh. I'd give it an 8.5/10 in feel as well and a 10/10 in a "feel-to-comfort" ratio.
Maneuverability - the racquet delivers what it specs say: this is not a 12 points HL frame with a 19 mm beam, but I had no issues with maneuverability over the course of this last month. There are easier frames to maneuver out there. I'd give it a 7.5/10
Stability - this is maybe the area where I'd like some improvement. I had no stability issues on groundstokes, serves and "usual" returns, but I did when I was stretched, trying to block the ball as best as I can just to get it back on court. I'm unsure if this can be easily fixed with lead/tungsten/copper while keeping every other good thing about it.
Overall Comments
I've made the switch to this frame.
It's an iterative update and, as such, it does not try to change the outgoing model in the way that the 360+ did with the plain 360.
It plays about the same as the 360+ Radical MP, but more comfortably. It's an update similar to the Auxetic Speeds/Prestives - and to quote @jdx2112 and @Trip above, it "feels solid, but soft", "nice and punchy without feeling like a log".
For those who liked the 360+ Radicals, but felt them to be harsh: you should definitely give this one a try.
For those who are fans of the 360+ and feel no pain/harshness/hit cleaner than I do: you might skip this one and maybe grab another 360+ while it's on sale.
For those who did not like how the 360+ played: the ARMP is probably not for you as well.
I'm using the TW review guidelines for this… Sorry if it's too long.
At times I will refer to the racquet as ARMP.
String and tension used for test:
Alu Power 1.25mm mains @ 52-50 lbs x Ghost Wire 1.23mm crosses @52-50 lbs
Tennis experience/background:
Brazilian, 34 year-old physician, playing between 2-8 hours per week. Learned to play tennis on my early teens, but went through a 15 year hiatus, picking up the game again in late 2018.
I'd say I'm a 4.5 NTRP (self-rated, comparing with YouTube videos). I currently play in a local league with about 400 active players, currently ranked #30. As a reference, the top 5 are former ATP pros, top 10-15s are former US college players.
Please note that I'm by no means a tennis professional/coach/stringer, but someone who loves to play - as such, I do not have hundreds of hours with dozens of different frames to compared this one with, so I focused mainly on my impressions comparing it with my previous stick, the 360+ Radical MP.
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley):
Aggressive baseliner. I seek to end points quickly from the baseline either by winners or forced errors (preferably from my opponent). My approach shots are usually pretty aggressive and I try to quickly end the points with 1-2 volleys.
Current racquet/string setups:
Previously, the 360+ Radical MP with the same string setup.
How many hours did you play with the racquet?
~26 hours -- enough that I think the honeymoon period is over.
Comparison to the 360+ Radical MP
I think Head heard our criticisms of the outgoing model and addressed nearly all of them, specially the frame's comfort.
I've had golfer's elbow in the past and I'd say I have a somewhat sensitive arm overall. It's not every racquet that gives me arm pain and I can use most with FB poly @ 48-52 lbs without major issues. That was not the case for either the 360+ Radical MP or the 360+ Radical Pro. My previous setup of choice (FB Hawk Touch 1.25 mm @ 48-52 lbs) gave me elbow pain after about 25-30 mins of playing/rallying, and so I quickly gave up on it. My next choice was FB Alu Power Rough 1.25mm @ 46-48 lbs and while that was better, after playing 2-3 days in a row I'd get elbow pain again, specially on off center hits and when hitting slightly higher on the stringbed. I'd say I experienced pain specially when trying to keep up the pace with heavy hitters on my FH -- which lead to more mishits. Serving would sometimes be an issue as well, specially flat serves.
After a few weeks trying it out, I decided to try my current setup, with Alu Rough M + Ghost Wire X -- and it is great. Plays almost as good as FB Alu Rough, but it's much easier on the arm, mantains playability longer and doesn't break as fast (~8 hours rather than ~3). That's the setup I've used for most of the year: stock 360+ Radical MP, Alu Rough M and GW X (weight and balance were really close to specs). With this setup, I did not experience arm pain, but I did notice harshness on the same situations: off-center hits and on the upper part of the stringbed, specially on forehands, but also on flat serves and sometimes on volleys. This seems to echo what others have said on these forums, with one user going as far as saying he loved the way it played, but hated the way it made their arm feel.
That's no longer an issue with the Auxetic Radical MP. I've been able to play for 2+ hours for several days in a row without experiencing elbow pain. Not only mishits aren't as harsh, but they felt somewhat more stable. It's not a plush racquet, but a "solid" one, in line with other layup updates on the Auxetic frames. As I've mentioned above, it's not a muted racquet frames and "feel" is still great. I no longer feel the harshness referenced above - when I miss the sweetspot, shots
A lot of the comments bellow are common to both the 360+ and the Auxetic Radical MP, with perceived differences noted at the end of each section. For most of
Stroke Performance
- Groundstrokes:
SOLID. I'd say it's a 9/10.
My FH is my strongest stroke and I can pretty much do anything I want with this racquet - take the ball early on the rise and flatten it out (a personal favorite); hit heavy, deep and spinny balls; even deep, defensive forehand slices were great. My BH is definitely my weaker wing, both in terms of strength and variations - nevertheless, I don't think I've been this consistent before. I feel more confident playing crosscourt defensive open-stance backhands and heavy-ish deep topspin BHs than with the 360+ for some reason (quality control, maybe?).
Comparing to the outgoing 360+: I can't say if this is related to QC differences, but I found the ARMP to be more powerful, with shots going deeper and heavier. I needed some time to adjust as a lot of my balls were going long early on. Otherwise, it's about the same, just more comfortable.
- Serves:
8.5/10.
Flat bombs were (and felt) great, slices were better than average. Kicks could use a little more height, though. Comparing to previous frames (Speed Pro and Gravity Pro), I felt that with the same technique my kicks aren't as nasty.
- Volleys:
7/10. This is were I felt the racquet could use a little more weight. When I'm "in control" of the point (i.e. went to the net on a good approach and my opponent is on defense), they feel great. When my opponent has the upper hand (after dropshots, for instance) and is hitting heavy balls, I feel the racquet lacks some stability in order to simply block back.
- Serve returns:
8/10.
On most of my returns, I feel confident and am able to return as intended. I prefer to return 1st serves from a few meters behind the baseline and felt no difficulty doing so. I usually attack second serves, leaning inside the court -- and it was just fine. One shot in which I could use some stability/weight is when I'm stretched and trying to block heavy, flat serves (flat serves down the T, mostly).
Performance in each Area
Power/Control - very balanced frame, but I'd say it tends to being more controlled than powerful. It's a tweener, like the Speed MP, but this one favors control/variation and the Speed favors power/spin. I'd give it a 7/10 in power and 8.5/10 in control.
Top Spin/Slice - good access to top spin, but not a spin machine. Requires decent technique and some RHS in order to produce spin. Slices are quite a bit better than average. I'd rate spin as 7.5/10 and slices as 8/10.
Comfort - this is not a plush frame, but it's not a harsh one either. I'd give it an 8.5/10. I'd say the outgoing 360+ Rad was a 6/10. For comparisons, my gold standard would be the PT57A (10/10), followed by the Gravity Pro/Blade v7 (9.5). I found the ARMP with this hybrid more comfortable than the Auxetic Speed MP with FB Alu Rough, for what it's worth.
Feel - again, this is not a plush frame. I'd say it strikes a great balance between comfort and feel - comfortable without being overly muted and crisp without being harsh. I'd give it an 8.5/10 in feel as well and a 10/10 in a "feel-to-comfort" ratio.
Maneuverability - the racquet delivers what it specs say: this is not a 12 points HL frame with a 19 mm beam, but I had no issues with maneuverability over the course of this last month. There are easier frames to maneuver out there. I'd give it a 7.5/10
Stability - this is maybe the area where I'd like some improvement. I had no stability issues on groundstokes, serves and "usual" returns, but I did when I was stretched, trying to block the ball as best as I can just to get it back on court. I'm unsure if this can be easily fixed with lead/tungsten/copper while keeping every other good thing about it.
Overall Comments
I've made the switch to this frame.
It's an iterative update and, as such, it does not try to change the outgoing model in the way that the 360+ did with the plain 360.
It plays about the same as the 360+ Radical MP, but more comfortably. It's an update similar to the Auxetic Speeds/Prestives - and to quote @jdx2112 and @Trip above, it "feels solid, but soft", "nice and punchy without feeling like a log".
For those who liked the 360+ Radicals, but felt them to be harsh: you should definitely give this one a try.
For those who are fans of the 360+ and feel no pain/harshness/hit cleaner than I do: you might skip this one and maybe grab another 360+ while it's on sale.
For those who did not like how the 360+ played: the ARMP is probably not for you as well.
@guilhermefdc - Great write-up! Thank you for your time and attention to detail!
konstantinos kalfountzos
Hall of Fame
@guilhermefdc I'm really interested in the Radical for early next year, but I'll have to wait the news for the 2023 model.
konstantinos kalfountzos
Hall of Fame
+1 or 2 or whatever, very good review
Also @guilhermefdc do you have enough experience to compare the MPs to the Pro?
The slightly thinner beam and different weight/balance make me more attracted to the Pro.
This is what I was hoping to hear. As a Blade V8 user looking for more power but without sacrificing much maneuverability, ARMP on paper has always looked attractive. But when I tested it two years ago, man was it brassy and harsh on the arm. Looking forward to the new version.
PS - at one of the clubs I play at, I saw an instructor with the new paint job. it catches the eye.
guilhermefdc
Semi-Pro
Sorry, I haven’t tried the Pro (and will do my best not to — trying to stop with the whole racketaholism thing)
Thanks for sharing. It’s a really detailed review. I am also currently using a 360+ radical mp and suffering some elbow pains. I will wait for the new one. Before that I will change the leather grip back to a synthetic one. To see if it will work for the vibration issue.
Hope they are right
Yes I've come to like 18x20 pattern, but I think the Prestige 98 is too narrow a head, and the Gravity Pro too wide. Radical 18x20 would be right in the middle.
1HBHfanatic
Legend
-i dont know about this (18/20 on a 98"!)
-its already a low power stick, the pro version im using/testing
-an 18/20 version of it would just make it more LOW powered
-IMO it would suffer the same faith as the yonex,vcore.HD,, tooo low powered and no spin
-the 16/19 98 head radical is well balanced IMO/IME
-in my mind, jamming more strings in that tight space would make the racquet more unnecessarily low powered
-would not be/seem like a good thing IMO
-its already a low power stick, the pro version im using/testing
-an 18/20 version of it would just make it more LOW powered
-IMO it would suffer the same faith as the yonex,vcore.HD,, tooo low powered and no spin
-the 16/19 98 head radical is well balanced IMO/IME
-in my mind, jamming more strings in that tight space would make the racquet more unnecessarily low powered
-would not be/seem like a good thing IMO
