I'll Never Buy Another Head Racquet!

dak95_00

dak95_00

Hall of Fame
First off: I really liked my Head Microgel Radicals. They were great off of the ground.

I was playing yesterday and found out that this racquet is just too fragile! I've always had trouble serving with this racquet; I think due to the low weight. I double faulted a game point and in frustration decided to swing down at the ground to hit a glancing/scraping blow to the bumper. Instead, I hit a nail that was holding the lines of the clay and the racquet made a horrible noise before it was dislodged from my hand and flew 7 feet. When I picked it up, It was cracked just above the handle; broken!

The hollow core makes these things just too fragile. I had to finish w/ a Prince CTS Approach that I've never used in competition. My serve was immediately better. My ground strokes were just as good. I have no idea about the strings or anything else about the racquet. It just had a better weight about it and the strings were good enough.

My point is:
I just can't believe how fragile those sticks are. My POGs could take a heck of a lot more abuse than that! I need a new stick. It has to be a bit more durable as I am some what of a hot head; not to be confused w/ the Head tennis company.
 
The fact that they must be strung two piece shows, in my opinion, the fragility of the frame in certain areas. Not good if you're going to give your racket a little bit of on-court "treatment".
 
I think it must be pretty model dependent. My Microgel Prestige feels extremely solid and has survived a fair bit of abuse. My brother has Microgel Rads on the other hand and has broken at least 4 without any real difficulty. I had a similar experience with Flexpoints, though the fact that they had a big hole drilled in them and were god-awful may have had a lot to do with it.
 
I couldn't believe how many smashes it took for Djokovic to break his racquet against Baghdatis.

Looked like the strongest racquet in the world !!
 
This doesnt make any sense to me. Is your racquet designed to drive nails like a hammer on the rim? A small, hard object placing alot of pressure to a very small point of a composite racquet and you're surprised it broke? Its meant to hit soft tennis balls with widespread impact zones on strings. The frames are designed to be used for tennis, not roofing repairs.

No offense, but it sounds absolutely absurd to complain about this. If it had cracked at the handle while hitting a ball as intended, there would be merit...
 
just curious.... you got any lead on the racket?

I'd think the stock is too light for you... not that it has much to do with the frame cracking.
 
If you are judging your sticks purely on the ability to take abuse, I have a Rawlings Aluminium for you.

5778399825_78f63c3296.jpg


Hit nails with it, dig post holes, whatever.

You can't expect a racquet to take that kind of abuse. Buy a couple of cheapies at Goodwill and smash them when you get angry. Or, try to have a little more fun playing, and dispense with the racquet abuse. Treat your regular sticks with the respect they deserve.
 
Did you see Djokovich hit the ground three times hard with his Head racquet a few days ago at Wimbledon - I didn't see him go over to get a new one.
 
I've got to agree with the OP. Head racquets just aren't built to take a beating. My old Austrian PT 280 only took 6 or 7 good bashes on the net post before it broke. Even back then, Head's Quality control sucked. I could beat on a net post all day with my old Prince Pros :)
 
I used a POG mid for twenty years and only broke one. I was horrified when it broke. I've gone through two Microgel Radicals recently. The POGs could take a lickin' and keep on tickin'. The Radicals couldn't. They are hollow on the inside. The POGs had a hard foam filler which gave support to the frame which equals more weight and toughness.

1) I shouldn't use my racquets to hit anything other than balls! I know this!
2) That Rawlings looks very tempting.
3) I guess I do need to go to heavier racquets! No lead on my stuff.
4) Joke's racquet broke on the first hit (I watched it) and then he really did it in. I was worried for him that it might fragment up and stab/cut him and that would've been awful.
5) My buddy informs me I should just toss my racquets lightly against the fence from here on out. He said his doesn't break that way. He uses Wilsons. Although he did tell me the funniest story ever about throwing racquets in the past. He used to toss them into the net until he missed the net once.......and hit his opponent who didn't find it funny.

I'm gonna try out my POG2 midplus for a small amount of time to see how it goes. I've been playing awful lately and that has led to my frustration. Normally, I am cool but it could also be attributed to overtraining. I've been working out really hard lately and it could be too much. I don't check my heart rate ever but just go on feel. I've been doing both Insanity and P90X for weeks now. I look good but feel like crap!

BTW, I didn't hit down like Joke. I swung like a 1 armed golfer and just happened to hit the tape/nail. Split the thing right above the handle. Unbelievable! I still say that the hollow frame led to this along w/ my uncontrolled anger.
 
dak95_00 said:
I used a POG mid for twenty years and only broke one. I was horrified when it broke. I've gone through two Microgel Radicals recently. The POGs could take a lickin' and keep on tickin'. The Radicals couldn't. They are hollow on the inside. The POGs had a hard foam filler which gave support to the frame which equals more weight and toughness.

1) I shouldn't use my racquets to hit anything other than balls! I know this!
2) That Rawlings looks very tempting.
3) I guess I do need to go to heavier racquets! No lead on my stuff.
4) Joke's racquet broke on the first hit (I watched it) and then he really did it in. I was worried for him that it might fragment up and stab/cut him and that would've been awful.
5) My buddy informs me I should just toss my racquets lightly against the fence from here on out. He said his doesn't break that way. He uses Wilsons. Although he did tell me the funniest story ever about throwing racquets in the past. He used to toss them into the net until he missed the net once.......and hit his opponent who didn't find it funny.

I'm gonna try out my POG2 midplus for a small amount of time to see how it goes. I've been playing awful lately and that has led to my frustration. Normally, I am cool but it could also be attributed to overtraining. I've been working out really hard lately and it could be too much. I don't check my heart rate ever but just go on feel. I've been doing both Insanity and P90X for weeks now. I look good but feel like crap!

BTW, I didn't hit down like Joke. I swung like a 1 armed golfer and just happened to hit the tape/nail. Split the thing right above the handle. Unbelievable! I still say that the hollow frame led to this along w/ my uncontrolled anger.
Click to expand...

The foam adds zero to support the frame. The POG is hollow and then the foam is added after to add weight and to reduce vibration. The strength has a lot to do with the thickness of the interior walls of the frame. Also the weakest part of any frame is the head. All it takes on any frame is bouncing it at the head at the right angle even very gently and it will crack.
 
It split just above the handle and not at the head where it was hit. Maybe my strength is just too much?

If the foam adds weight and reduces vibration, wouldn't it also add support? It's sort of like having two trigs separate and breaking them and then putting them together and trying to break them. Together, they would be considerably stronger than separately. Wouldn't you agree that the foam adds weight and strength?
 
By the OP's standard, the max 200g, a legendary frame, would not be worth buying. It certainly couldn't take the kind of beating we are discussing.
 
dak95_00 said:
It split just above the handle and not at the head where it was hit. Maybe my strength is just too much?

If the foam adds weight and reduces vibration, wouldn't it also add support? It's sort of like having two trigs separate and breaking them and then putting them together and trying to break them. Together, they would be considerably stronger than separately. Wouldn't you agree that the foam adds weight and strength?
Click to expand...

No, I don't agree. The foam adds no strength. It ends up being pretty chalky.
 
..I hate when i even get my first 'scuffs' on a frame (sorry...off topic),...like that first scratch on a new car,... :(
 
Well, any racket can break if you do that to it. Head rackets I will admit feel less "full" than say a bab but they have unmatched performance on groundies and serves. Plus, it could have been a weak spot in the frame, could have happened to any racket.
 
I was actually surprised to see how strong it was, yesterday I was playing with a kid that uses one, and he is really a racket abuser.
He hit it on the court numerous times and then He launched it to my side of the court because he missed the net, and when I picked it up I was expecting to see a lot of paint chips or scratches but it looked flawless.
 
The newest radicals could probably break off a drop shot. Try out the prestige. More durable than most racquets in my experience.
 
I think that as long as a tennis racket (whether it's a Head or not), does what it's supposed to do, and that's hitting a tennis ball, then it met every expectation of a what a tennis racket should do. To call a racket fragile because an act was performed with it, that it wasn't designed to do, is just placing undue blame. Think of it this way - you buy a Mercedes SLS, to go 200mph, then try tow a 747 with it. Would you call the SLS fragile when the transmission goes?
 
I was going to let this die but I have to respond again.

1) Yes. Racquets will survive forever if you only hit tennis balls w/ them.

However, some of us are idiots on the court! Some of us lose all control of common sense and do things we quickly regret. That said, I really don't regret this last one when this racquet broke. I never just throw racquets. I very rarely tap the side of the hoop onto the ground or even the net. This particular racquet had neither done to it ever! I've been a good boy! I swung to scrape the bumper to the court on a clay court. It caught the tape at a nail. The racquet broke between the handle and the throat. It cracked ALL THE WAY ACROSS. Too fragile is what I say! I suggest it is fragile due to the weight and the hollow make up of the frame. My Prince racquets have never broken like that. As a matter of fact, I've never broken a racquet before. To say that the foam doesn't add strength says that the graphite is weaker in Head racquets. I didn't know that.

Here is what I think......You won't change my mind no matter who you are or what you say.....I respect many of you for your knowledge of racquets both new and collectable......I am not a brand snob.....I am not sponsored by a company......I will not sponsor a particular company w/o compensation i.e. you won't get me to say mine is the best w/o pay and I'm not going to go around saying otherwise unless I have reason.....I feel I have reason in this case for the particular racquet.

Here is why I'll never buy another Head Radical:
They are weak structurally. It might be due to its lightweight. I might be due to its very flexible rating. It might also be due to not having a foam filler. IDK. IDC. I know they are weaker than most racquets.

By most racquets, I am comparing them to racquets that I have used in the past that are much stronger.
1) POG 90 - could survive a nuclear war!
2) POG2 midplus - very close to POG; not quite.
3) Wilson Sting 2 85 - just like POG except maybe heavier...2 nuclear wars?

Those are all of the racquets I have used. The Head Microgel Radical OS couldn't survive a battle w/ those racquets in a toughness match. NOBODY could deny this!
 
dak95_00 said:
I was going to let this die but I have to respond again.

1) Yes. Racquets will survive forever if you only hit tennis balls w/ them.

However, some of us are idiots on the court! Some of us lose all control of common sense and do things we quickly regret. That said, I really don't regret this last one when this racquet broke. I never just throw racquets. I very rarely tap the side of the hoop onto the ground or even the net. This particular racquet had neither done to it ever! I've been a good boy! I swung to scrape the bumper to the court on a clay court. It caught the tape at a nail. The racquet broke between the handle and the throat. It cracked ALL THE WAY ACROSS. Too fragile is what I say! I suggest it is fragile due to the weight and the hollow make up of the frame. My Prince racquets have never broken like that. As a matter of fact, I've never broken a racquet before. To say that the foam doesn't add strength says that the graphite is weaker in Head racquets. I didn't know that.

Here is what I think......You won't change my mind no matter who you are or what you say.....I respect many of you for your knowledge of racquets both new and collectable......I am not a brand snob.....I am not sponsored by a company......I will not sponsor a particular company w/o compensation i.e. you won't get me to say mine is the best w/o pay and I'm not going to go around saying otherwise unless I have reason.....I feel I have reason in this case for the particular racquet.

Here is why I'll never buy another Head Radical:
They are weak structurally. It might be due to its lightweight. I might be due to its very flexible rating. It might also be due to not having a foam filler. IDK. IDC. I know they are weaker than most racquets.

By most racquets, I am comparing them to racquets that I have used in the past that are much stronger.
1) POG 90 - could survive a nuclear war!
2) POG2 midplus - very close to POG; not quite.
3) Wilson Sting 2 85 - just like POG except maybe heavier...2 nuclear wars?

Those are all of the racquets I have used. The Head Microgel Radical OS couldn't survive a battle w/ those racquets in a toughness match. NOBODY could deny this!
Click to expand...

That is not true. Tennis racquets will not last for ever if you simply hit tennis balls with them. It all depends on how hard you hit and how many times you re-string them a month.
 
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