Head Ti.Radical vs. Wilson nBlade

[jelle v]

I play-tested the wilson nBlade yesterday, because I only have one Ti.Radical left, so I'm looking for a similar replacement. Judging by the specs I thought the nNlade would be a pretty good choice.

Specs:

_____________Ti.Radical__________nBlade

Length:______ 27"/69cm........|........27"/69cm
Headsize:_______98".............|........98"
Weight:______10.8oz/306g.....|.......11.1oz/315g
Balance:_____33cm/3 pts HL...|....... 2 pts HL
Beam:_________21 mm..........|.......21 mm
Flex:___________66..............|.......58
Swingweight:___312..............|........332

specs according to:
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Reviews/TIRAD/TIRADReview.html
and
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/descpageRCWILSON-NBLD.html

Both have stringpattern: 18x20

So this should be pretty similar rackets, with the nBlade being slightly heavier.

BUT:
When I played it yesterday, the nBlade actually feels slightly lighter than the Ti.Radical. I wasn't able to generate as much pace on my forehand (my weaker side) as with my Radical. Also the Ti.Radical felt slightly heavier to swing, well at least when making contact with the ball. The Ti.Radical just hit through the ball easier.

My Ti.Radical has Kirschbaum supersmash spiky (1.25mm) strung at 27.5 Kg (sorry don't know how much that is in lbs) and the nBlade had a Kirschbaum supersmash (regular) at about the same tension.

I really like the nBlade, first Wilson ever I can appreciate. People who are seeking a replacement for their Ti.Radical should really give this one a try, it plays fairly similar. I'm just a little puzzled by the fact that it felt lighter

Is there a reason why the nBlade feels a little lighter, despite the specs saying something completely different? Does it have something to do with the low flex of the nBlade or something (as far as hitting "through" the ball is concerned)? I really liked that low flex by the way.

(I also played the Dunlop Aerogel 200 (18x20) and that felt heavier, just like it is supposed to :mrgreen

 

[fgs]

a stiff racquet deflects less on impact and recoils faster - so you will have a little bit more power. the flexier racquet deflects more and thus "loses" more energy, so you will feel it as less powerful. the flexier frame though will provide more "touch" because it gives you the illusion (i say illusion because we're talking microseconds here) that the dwelling time is longer.
i play the blades too and as for me, i think there's a long time i'm not going to be in the market for any racquet.

 

[adso1973]

I'm playing with an FXP Radical MP and wanted to change mainly because I prefer the wilson or yonex feeling of the ball.. lot of people told me to go for the nblade.. but as you said, I read the aspect of the Nblade and it looks a lot like the FXP Radical MP... I'm worried if they feel about the same..

Have you ever played with both??

 

[fgs]

adso1973,
i stated that they are quite similar, but they do not FEEL the same. they are both low powered frames, having a 18x20 strinpattern, providing good control of the ball, if you have good technique you'll be able to generate enough spin, but they do feel different due to the quite considerable difference in stiffness - 58 for the blade and 63 for the radical. they play similar when you oppose them to a pure drive for instance - a much stiffer frame, 16mains stringbed and huge power.

 

[jelle v]

I'm playing with an FXP Radical MP and wanted to change mainly because I prefer the wilson or yonex feeling of the ball.. lot of people told me to go for the nblade.. but as you said, I read the aspect of the Nblade and it looks a lot like the FXP Radical MP... I'm worried if they feel about the same..

Have you ever played with both??

Yes, I have played with the flexpoint Radical.

I didn't like the Flexpoint Radical, because in my opinion, compared to the Ti.Radical, it had to much power, with not enough control.

Comparing the nBlade with the Flexpoint, I would say that the Flexpoint has more power, but the nBlade has more "feel" and definitely more control, also the nBlade feels more stable (Imo the FXP is lacking a bit in those areas). And despite the nBlade being less powerfull than the FXP Radical, you certainly won't have to be afraid of lacking power with the nBlade.

So if you ask me "do they feel the same?", I would have to say no, the nBlade feels better.

If you can demo an nBlade, then i would advise you to try one.

 

[jelle v]

a stiff racquet deflects less on impact and recoils faster - so you will have a little bit more power. the flexier racquet deflects more and thus "loses" more energy, so you will feel it as less powerful. the flexier frame though will provide more "touch" because it gives you the illusion (i say illusion because we're talking microseconds here) that the dwelling time is longer.
i play the blades too and as for me, i think there's a long time i'm not going to be in the market for any racquet.

Hmm thanks.. so the flex does explain why I don't hit through the ball as easily (doesn't differ much), but I still am puzzled as to why the nBlade feels slightly lighter than my Ti.Radical to swing.

 

[adso1973]

Thanks for your answer, I've got one demo in my tennis bag, but the last 3 days it's been raining cats and frogs, so I couldn't test it yet!!

About feeling lighter, I think the radical is less head light than the nblade, if I remember it well the nblade is 6-7 head light

 

[fgs]

i think that you experienced a small timing problem that made you feel that the nblade swings lighter than the radical and that the radical hits through the ball easier. first, when swinging, the racquet with the higher swingweight feels somewhat easier to swing, because it has higher inertia, so once you get it moving it will move by it's mass and feels "lighter" when swinging through. the other problem with hitting through is also explained by the difference in swingweight, that is that due to the higher swingweight of the blade i think that you were impacting the ball a little bit late, while with the radical you were accustomed to you hit ontime and hence had that sweet feeling of hitting through the ball, while the slightliy mis-timed stroke with the blade felt heavier on your joints. once you get used to the higher swingweight of the blade and accordingly adjust the moment of impact, you will be "rewarded" with the same sweet plow through feeling.

 

[pow]

Yea, the LM radical feels a lot different from the nblade, the specs look very very similar but that stiffness brings a world of difference.