head: from PT 280- MG prestige or radical

[Jason Sugai]

i've been playing with my head pro tour 280 for over 10 years. it's a racket i have completely grown to love and despite trying out a lot of newer rackets and different brands. i can't seem to find one that is quite compareable (to suit my game).

but chances are i will be getting sponsorship from head so i need to get on the new racket wagon. i'm trying to get a racket that is similar to my current blue beast but with a bit more pep. i love this 280 because i take cuts as big as i can from the baseline and it feels great. these newer rackets don't have the same "flex/feel" as (ol' blue).

it's probably between the MG prestige and radical. the pro version of the radical seems like a solid frame with a ton more power than my PT 280.

the prestige even feels "stiffer" than the 280 and still has about similar power/swing potential.

radical feels like it definitely has more power... i might be leaning more toward the radical MP possibly.

my question to you racket guru is, which frame is most similar to the head pro tour 280?

per tenniswarehouse specs, the Radical midplus is almost as flexible as the PT280 and the prestige is actually stiffer??? maybe that explains why i got a slightly better vibe from the radical.

last but not least, how many people have arm problems playing with microgel rackets? so far 3 people i know all have had arm problems and they have switched rackets. i only hit with it for 20 min or so, so i can't tell.

thanks for any feedback

 

[Azzurri]

sorry to break it to you, but the MG Prestige MP/Radical MP are nothing like the PT 280. I am no expert on the PT 280, but I did recently give it a ride. I play extensively with the MG P MP and also hit with the Radical for clinics and they are not at all alike compared to the PT 280. All three are very different. You may want to try the MG Prestige mid or the Prestige Pro. They are closer in weight. Best thing to do is just try anything Head will give you. But playing ONE specific racquet for 10 years will be a difficult switch. There is also a large thread that discusses the PT 280. Look it up and you may get some useful information. Good luck.

 

[furyoku_tennis]

i've been played with most of the microgels and i've never had any arm problems from the racquet. I've never hit with the pt280 so i can't really help you there. good luck.

 

[amx13]

I made exactly the same change...since it was so hard to find PT280´s in good conditions. After playing for a while with the Radical and Prestige Pros, the closest one to the 280 IMO was the Radical MP, but you must do some customizing. I got mine up to 12.6 oz and it plays great.

 

[Azzurri]

I made exactly the same change...since it was so hard to find PT280´s in good conditions. After playing for a while with the Radical and Prestige Pros, the closest one to the 280 IMO was the Radical MP, but you must do some customizing. I got mine up to 12.6 oz and it plays great.

the Radical is very light compared to the PT 280, so customizing would be needed. Maybe he could send his racquets to **** and have them customize whatever racquet he chooses to have the same SW, static weight and balance as his PT 280.

 

[Jason Sugai]

thanks guys, that's what i was kind of thinking also along the lines of the microgel radical MP was more of a comparable one for me. but you guys are right, the weight and balance is the big factor. i guess that could be solved by lead taping?

i wonder where exactly i would need to place the lead tapes to balance it close to the PT 280.

tennis warehouse says 2 point head light on the microgel radical MP. i'm not sure what the specs are of the PT 280

 

[Jason Sugai]

i actually tried the microgel prestige Pro today and i liked it a lot better than the regular prestige mid plus and the prestige MID.

my arm was starting to hurt by the end of the day though.. i hit for a long time today tho so i don't know if it was the microgel or not that caused it

 

[Arvid]

Did i understand you correct when you say chances are you will be getting sponsorship with head? In that case there shouldnt be any problems for you to get as many pt 280s as you want with a painjobs....

 

[0d1n]

Did i understand you correct when you say chances are you will be getting sponsorship with head? In that case there shouldnt be any problems for you to get as many pt 280s as you want with a painjobs....

They only offer that option to specific (top ranked) players. I'm pretty sure you have to be a top 200, 300 player at least in order to have that option. Otherwise, it's current microgels or "no soup for you".

 

[Hidious]

Jason,
I doubt you are still around but if you are, i'd love to know what you ended with and how well you play with your new sticks.

 

[sargeinaz]

the Radical is very light compared to the PT 280, so customizing would be needed. Maybe he could send his racquets to **** and have them customize whatever racquet he chooses to have the same SW, static weight and balance as his PT 280.

I think Azzurri's idea would be best. I had a PT630 and while the Rad or the Prestige are not the same. I felt the Rad MP was more similar and found it to be a nice stick. If you matched the weight, sw and balance to your PT280s, you should be in good shape. I also hit with the Prestige MP and hated it. I just didnt click with it.

 

[Deleted member 59693]

MG PP soft

 

[dgoran]

I had the same train of thought as op. But now I have managed to find few pt630's to play with. Nothing I tried comes close to that flexible feel that twaron frames have. I do wonder however if I capped and leaded youtek radical mp maybe it would be close enough. In original form youtek felt like cheap target racket...

 

[Power Player]

The youtek radical pro does not feel cheap at all to me. It actually is incredible because if you hit the sweet spot hard and flat it feels different compared to a more topspinned shot in the same area. Of course it is heavier and has a higher SW then the other Youteks, so it gives you a real stable feeling that the others do not.

 

[JT_2eighty]

I know you were asking the original questions back in March. I can only assume you have settled on something or another by now.

For what it's worth, the PT280 has 58 stiffness and is 6 pts head light. I gathered that from the original TW listing that someone linked a while back that I saved a screen shot of. I don't have time right now to link the pic but can if needed (what you don't trust me?)