anhtuanngo
Semi-Pro
so much hate for the 16x19's here lmao
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Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk
Live by the Blade...Die by the Blade...
- Thread starter danbrenner
- Start date
Fxanimator1
Hall of Fame
Power Player
Bionic Poster
v7 16x19 honestly is not that bad at all. Personally, I just love the 18x20 when it comes to the Blade. I hit both when they came out, and I believe the 16x19 was strung with Max power, so it felt good to me. I can see why people like it.
The 18x20 to me plays with more plow but also is a little more challenging to use. For whatever reason, I play my best tennis with it though, so it's best to demo them all.
The 18x20 to me plays with more plow but also is a little more challenging to use. For whatever reason, I play my best tennis with it though, so it's best to demo them all.
McGradey
Hall of Fame
18x20
LaZeR
Professional
Don't quite get this coz never ever in my entire life heard of tennis racquets with such a LOW 55 Softness Rating... seems like a 16 year old to 96 year old could bend them with their bare hands... isn't the entire Clash series WAY TOO SOFT??
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Clash doesn't play soft if you hit the ball. Try it out it's pretty unique
LaZeR
Professional
Perhaps, but can't imagine it lasting more than 2 seasons, or 2 years...
JOSHL
Hall of Fame
Yep I would say just hit one. The clash becomes stiffer the faster you swing. It’s weird.
I much prefer the Blade V 98 18/16 I purchased from Europe a while back, spin/control/comfort, best Blade spin or regular I have yet played with
JOSHL
Hall of Fame
I’m enjoying the 1st gen 98S now. You’re making me wanna splurge and get the V7. I have the V7 18x20 and really like it also but I’m into spin effect frames right now hard.
LaZeR
Professional
FYI Wilson is no longer producing racquets with 16 cross strings, and the same applies to most other brands... STOCK UP WHILE YOU STILL CAN!!
DJTaurus
Hall of Fame
Low flex on Blade 98S V7. It’s really low powered compared to V6 and V5 which is king imo.
danbrenner
Legend
here's an interesting question
which pros are actually using a stock form blade 98 doesnt matter wether its 16m or 18m
lets get a real list together.
@dr325i @vsbabolat can you guys shed some light on this matter. thank you in advance
which pros are actually using a stock form blade 98 doesnt matter wether its 16m or 18m
lets get a real list together.
@dr325i @vsbabolat can you guys shed some light on this matter. thank you in advance
danbrenner
Legend
and of course it doesnt matter if they are adding lead. i just mean they are using a retail frame
n8dawg6
Legend
my boy goffin purportedly uses a stock 18x20. not sure who else. seeing a lot of blade paint at these WTA matches, but that doesnt necessarily mean a blade, much less a stock one
danbrenner
Legend
Good to know. So Goffin is one.
anhtuanngo
Semi-Pro
Here's a more exhaustive list:
Pro player racquets - the tennis racquets actually used by the tennis pros
People often wonder about pro player racquets, meaning what racquets pro tennis players use, are they the same as you and I can buy in the store? The answer is often no, pro players endorse the latest racquet models but use something different. Often called a pro stock racquet with a paint job.
tennisnerd.net
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Power Player
Bionic Poster
I personally dont care what model of blade the pros use. More of interest to me is their specs if anything. For example I see more pros using specs that are very close to an off the shelf v7 18x20 blade. Tells me that the divide between pro and rec player spec preference is narrowing rather fast due to these young guys having higher stamina and wanting faster swing speeds.
anhtuanngo
Semi-Pro
Power Player
Bionic Poster
look at Wawrinka's specs
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Yeah but hes over 30. Im talking about the younger guys coming up.
danbrenner
Legend
I agree. The specs are most important.
I want knocking the retail blades. When asking that. Just legitimately curious
danbrenner
Legend
All my sticks are retail. I’ll never change that. Unless I was being endorsed. Which is not happening. Lol
Power Player
Bionic Poster
oh yeah i get that. I just am not sure it matters that much anymore. Look what Top college players can do to the ball with off the shelf frames.
JOSHL
Hall of Fame
Does that mean that the V7 blade only available in Europe won’t be make the V8 cut also?
dr325i
G.O.A.T.
Goffin is one of them, Tsitsi Is another with slight mods. Raonic uses weighted stock blade. I am sure there is more...
danbrenner
Legend
I hear taitsi is using the 2013. Blx black silver. Which I find hard to believe. It’s so low powered.
LaZeR
Professional
FYI Wilson is no longer producing racquets with 16 cross strings, and the same applies to most other brands... STOCK UP WHILE YOU STILL CAN!!
Dunno... got an email from Tennis Warehouse stating that Wilson deleted from its production lines all racquets with 16 cross strings, and the same applies to other brands. Prince however will continue producing racquets with 18 cross strings.
PS >>> right now, except for USED racquets, Blade 98s is pretty rare, but ya can still get 98S BOLD for around $150.
LaZeR
Professional
COMMENTS REQUESTED... as posted above, Wilson discontinued the 98s, and in fact will no longer produce ANY racquets with 16 cross strings, including the Burn 100s.
Given that, thinking about wasting some moola $$$ on a 98S BOLD for around $150, JUST FOR THE HELL OF IT. Is this worth it? Anyone have a WIlson Bold?
Given that, thinking about wasting some moola $$$ on a 98S BOLD for around $150, JUST FOR THE HELL OF IT. Is this worth it? Anyone have a WIlson Bold?
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JOSHL
Hall of Fame
I’d also like to know about the bold, is it CV? And how are the CV 98S?
LaZeR
Professional
If you're referring to pros ranked in the Top 1000, and/or sponsored, absolutely 110% of course not, nowhere even remotely close to stock &/or retail, different grommet patterns, etc. Their racquets are all custom made, not even in usual factories. Their racquets might look like retail ONLY due to paint jobs, logos plastered on, etc.
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n8dawg6
Legend
i have it. havent liked the feel so far. its tough to beat the 2015 98S. that frame is special
JOSHL
Hall of Fame
Yea I keep seeing mixed stats on the Bold. Some sites say it has CV but others say it’s braided graphite/basalt. Anyway I just snagged a brand new 2015 98S for $100 in my grip size so the 2013 in 3/8 is going up for sale.
LaZeR
Professional
Store / Website ??
JOSHL
Hall of Fame
Big auction site unfortunately
LaZeR
Professional
Is your Bold paint job flat/matt, or glossy/shiny? Thx
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n8dawg6
Legend
fwiw, the bold feels much more like a CV to me. glad you snagged one of those auctions, i saw those.
LaZeR
Professional
RE-VISITING CLASH reading a lot of mixed reviews, and TW reviews say that stabilty ain't all that, so think that this is definitely a DEMO racquet... Just some more questions:
For how many months did you guys play with Clash? How does it hold up against really hard hitters / shots / serves?
Also, returning to a previous comment on longevity, in being so soft, as well as a $250 racquet, do you think it will last more than 3 seasons? Thanks!!
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JOSHL
Hall of Fame
Played with the 100 for about 3 months straight. The only reason I returned it was because Wilson was giving a money back guarantee and the new Blade was about to be released so I wanted to essentially trade the clash in for the V7 blade. In my opinion the 100 needs some lead. I had 4g at 3 and 9 to help with stability. It’s easy to mod for me because it’s so HL and low weight.
PhxRacket
Hall of Fame
Go with the 98 and you will be surprised.
LaZeR
Professional
Care to elaborate? And what about the other questions...
PhxRacket
Hall of Fame
Yeah, other matters took over for the moment. I have been playing on and off with a Clash 98 for the past 5 months. I drill, hit and play with a range of players between 4.0 and 5.0. My Clashes are strung with ALU Power at 47#. It is very stable. Big serves, powerful ground strokes have usually been handled by the racquet, not counting user error. It is potent at the net, even on blistering mid court forehands. As to he concern about its longevity, I feel like it will last three seasons. The concerns still about fragile paint are real. So if you are wondering about paint longevity, I would say no. As to the cost, it seems many new racquets, with game changing technology, are being introduced at that price point. I think it is best to buy one and give it a serious tryout. It really is a different feel and took a bit for me to adjust to it. If you don’t get on with it, you may be able to resell it with little problem as I am seeing more and more of the Clash amongst the juniors I help coach.
parasailing
Legend
Clash 98 is a great racquet but as a flatter hitter, can't control the power of the racquet. Waiting for the Clash 98 Tour with 18x20 string pattern, now that would be an interesting racquet to try.
Idk everyone keeps saying a different string pattern would be good but I don't see the point. They'd have to change everything just for it to be controllable. I'd imagine a more logical step would have been adding the flex tech into the Ultra tour if I hadn't seen the screenshots of the 18x20 from forever ago.
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LaZeR
Professional
Ya very skeptical about Clash 55 softness, especially durability, stability, & longevity, esp with Burn, Pure Aero, where you barely need to touch a hard ball on return, and even Blades are at least around 65 +/-.
Clash seems more like trendy, radical, marketing hype (need to think of better adjectives).
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Power Player
Bionic Poster
The Clash is legit, but Wilson gave it a weird name and in the past they had stuff like the Burn and the Steam so yeah, the marketing does it no favors.
That said, if you use the Blade now and are used to that control, then you will probably have a tough time making the switch to the Clash. At least that was the case for me.
That said, if you use the Blade now and are used to that control, then you will probably have a tough time making the switch to the Clash. At least that was the case for me.
Agree with above.
Only played with the tour as an arm healing racket for a month, and took out the 98 and 100 for a demo. I didn't love the tour against hard hitters because control and the bed were a bit erratic for me. The 100 and 98 were much more predictable (as much as I told myself this can't be possible based on numerous other replies.) The 100 was way too light and I didn't mess around with it because I was enjoying the 98.
The 98 is a great frame. My issue with the 98 was that it was playing more like a high RA racket since I was hitting harder consistently (I need low RA). Depth control was still a bit of an issue as you need enough spin to keep it in, but it's also creates a lot of spin. It was pretty easy to give too much or too little and overcompensate. Additionally you can swing at the ball lazily from the baseline with no power and can hit the other baseline. This soft launch creates some confusion and some volley issues. All these things I'm sure wouldn't be an issue for someone who's committed to the racket.
How long will it last? I don't smash my rackets and take care of them but the 100 and 100 tour chip just by existing. My 100 tour picked up some chips from being in a racket bag. The 98's I've seen all looked better paint wise, but I haven't seen many in the wild. Not sure where you live, but used ones are about 150.
You really seem to want to hate the clash but it's honestly the only revolutionary racket that has come out in forever and it's worth a try just for that. There's a reason it's the top seller for pretty much any store that carries Wilson.
I stuck with my blade 18x20 though. Considering a clash 98 to keep around for some fun.
Only played with the tour as an arm healing racket for a month, and took out the 98 and 100 for a demo. I didn't love the tour against hard hitters because control and the bed were a bit erratic for me. The 100 and 98 were much more predictable (as much as I told myself this can't be possible based on numerous other replies.) The 100 was way too light and I didn't mess around with it because I was enjoying the 98.
The 98 is a great frame. My issue with the 98 was that it was playing more like a high RA racket since I was hitting harder consistently (I need low RA). Depth control was still a bit of an issue as you need enough spin to keep it in, but it's also creates a lot of spin. It was pretty easy to give too much or too little and overcompensate. Additionally you can swing at the ball lazily from the baseline with no power and can hit the other baseline. This soft launch creates some confusion and some volley issues. All these things I'm sure wouldn't be an issue for someone who's committed to the racket.
How long will it last? I don't smash my rackets and take care of them but the 100 and 100 tour chip just by existing. My 100 tour picked up some chips from being in a racket bag. The 98's I've seen all looked better paint wise, but I haven't seen many in the wild. Not sure where you live, but used ones are about 150.
You really seem to want to hate the clash but it's honestly the only revolutionary racket that has come out in forever and it's worth a try just for that. There's a reason it's the top seller for pretty much any store that carries Wilson.
I stuck with my blade 18x20 though. Considering a clash 98 to keep around for some fun.
LaZeR
Professional
You know that racquets go dead after around MAX 5-6 years correct? Being Skeptical or making Inquiries doesn't equate to "hating" something. It's a genuine concern. With 55 softness any racquet is going to constantly bend back & forth with every soft shot, depreciating the material on a tangible scale, extremely much faster than firmer racquets. A lot of recreational players don't wanna spend $250 on a racquet every other season. If you like to spare $250 just for the helluva it, "to keep around for some fun" then that's great.
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If you're strictly concerned from a "how long will a soft racket last structurally" standpoint, no idea. If you already play with a Wilson I'm guessing you know how horrible quality is. If you're concerned hitting wise about the RA, it stiffens depending on how hard you hit. I don't know if you're in the states but 18-25 dollars to demo 4 rackets isn't horrible. If you don't even like it quality won't matter.
Edit: I definitely would not recommend this racket based on your updated concerns. Or any other Wilson.
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