Head Rad Pro 360+ vs Blade V8 16X19

[SteelCurtain]

Hello,
I just demoed a Blade V8 16x19 and it was good but noticed the stability issues everyone has mentioned and the slices were not the best. Adding weight helps but I hit some serves with the latest Rad pro and was wondering what everyone’s thoughts were on it? The racket was strung with a poly and it felt good and the swing weight felt great for a slightly heavier racket but the prior versions were stiff so I am a little hesitant to try it. I am moving on from my RF97 and looking for a less demanding racket.

 

[Lorenn]

Radical Pro is a great racquet. the 360+ tech was a great improvement over 360. If I had not recently switch from the LM Radical to the Gravity Pro I likely would've switched to the Radical Pro.

 

[Chairman3]

Only negative I've heard about the Radical Pro was it can be stiff and also unfriendly outside the sweetspot.
I never experienced this when demoing, and I am sure with the right string and tension you'd never have an issue with the stiffness.
Hitting outside the sweetspot is a technique issue

 

[puppybutts]

If you like the blade but just want more stability and better slices, you could just try the 18x20 version as that would be more stable and offer better slices

I'm confused about your rad pro statements - did you demo it or not? just hit serves? if it didn't feel problematically stiff to you, i wouldn't worry about it. it's a great all around racquet and would be a great transition from the prostaff since IMO the strings are a little tighter in the center and it plays more like a 97. most off center shots felt fine to me, but occasionally one would come through that was a just mildly painful. and of course hitting center felt totally comfortable, no issues there. 93% of the time it was a comfortable racquet, though nothing super plush either. going along with the tight string pattern, the sweetspot is small and the response off center is more unforgiving and has a more different response than most racquets i've tried...I think the strings are quite loose away from the center, even compared to other 16x19s.

alternatively if you just want something less demanding, you could try a lighter version of the prostaff?

 

[puppybutts]

Hitting outside the sweetspot is a technique issue

I never really understood the point of saying this. the point of tennis is to be playing competitive matches against people good enough to push you, no? which means you're not always gonna get a clean contact on the ball. even pros don't always hit dead center because they're playing against other pros....andy murray talked about moving to a bigger head size because he wanted something more forgiving. it's all preference. of course your technique can always improve but in matches you don't always get to hit with perfect technique, so there's no reason why you shouldn't evaluate a racquet in part based on how forgiving or unforgiving it plays.

 

[Chairman3]

@puppybutts i think my point was to be objective about the racquet. The OP knows their skill level and how good their technique Is, so they can evaluate how crucial forgiveness outside the sweetspot is to them

I wasn't implying the OP was a bad tennis player or that I never shank a ball.
More that no matter what racquet you use, if you consistently miss the sweetspot you'll probably hurt your arm, especially if you swing hard

 

[SteelCurtain]

If you like the blade but just want more stability and better slices, you could just try the 18x20 version as that would be more stable and offer better slices

I'm confused about your rad pro statements - did you demo it or not? just hit serves? if it didn't feel problematically stiff to you, i wouldn't worry about it. it's a great all around racquet and would be a great transition from the prostaff since IMO the strings are a little tighter in the center and it plays more like a 97. most off center shots felt fine to me, but occasionally one would come through that was a just mildly painful. and of course hitting center felt totally comfortable, no issues there. 93% of the time it was a comfortable racquet, though nothing super plush either. going along with the tight string pattern, the sweetspot is small and the response off center is more unforgiving and has a more different response than most racquets i've tried...I think the strings are quite loose away from the center, even compared to other 16x19s.

alternatively if you just want something less demanding, you could try a lighter version of the prostaff?

If you like the blade but just want more stability and better slices, you could just try the 18x20 version as that would be more stable and offer better slices

I'm confused about your rad pro statements - did you demo it or not? just hit serves? if it didn't feel problematically stiff to you, i wouldn't worry about it. it's a great all around racquet and would be a great transition from the prostaff since IMO the strings are a little tighter in the center and it plays more like a 97. most off center shots felt fine to me, but occasionally one would come through that was a just mildly painful. and of course hitting center felt totally comfortable, no issues there. 93% of the time it was a comfortable racquet, though nothing super plush either. going along with the tight string pattern, the sweetspot is small and the response off center is more unforgiving and has a more different response than most racquets i've tried...I think the strings are quite loose away from the center, even compared to other 16x19s.

alternatively if you just want something less demanding, you could try a lighter version of the prostaff?

Yeah its a tennis store that has a court inside and I hit with a couple of rackets and grabbed those to demo. I saw the rad pro sitting there and hit about 10 or 15 serves and I was surprised but I had to get going so I didn’t think to grab a demo at the time.

 

[SteelCurtain]

@puppybutts i think my point was to be objective about the racquet. The OP knows their skill level and how good their technique Is, so they can evaluate how crucial forgiveness outside the sweetspot is to them

I wasn't implying the OP was a bad tennis player or that I never shank a ball.
More that no matter what racquet you use, if you consistently miss the sweetspot you'll probably hurt your arm, especially if you swing hard

Hello everyone thank you all for the feedback. I totally understand what you are saying about the feedback outside the sweet spot. I’m sure we all have our moments when we look away or just get stretched out and don’t meet the ball in the center. I just wanted to see if this version of the pro is as jarring as the first graphene version, that was awful. I actually played with the IG version back in the day and it was awesome.

 

[SteelCurtain]

The 18X20 sounds like a good version to try and I will grab a rad pro to try as well.

 

[Chairman3]

I think the new Radical feels more "modern" than the IG version, but not harsh.
Now if you string it super tight with a super stiff string, sure you'd probably aggravate some tendons
The Radical Pro definitely has some "pop" to it.

Edit: Blade will definitely have a different feel, so it's really just what you are into/prefer.

 

[SteelCurtain]

Just finished with the head rad pro demo and it was a great play test even with the demo strings, looked like velocity on the crosses with head lynx in the mains. The strings were good but they were old they seemed like they had fused together . I can only imagine how much better this frame will be with a fresh set of poly at 52 or 53 lbs. I will probably pick one up when I return the demo.

 

[Tranqville]

@SteelCurtain Check out my thread about some great attacking alternatives to RF 97 https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...-pst-vs-prestige-tour-vs-tf40-vs-ps97.720381/