More spin, power, and consistency with a 18x20(for me).

Faker

Semi-Pro
I've been using the blade 18x20 for a year and a half now and it has served me well. About a year ago I switched from bent arm to straight arm forehand and started hitting with a lot more spin even with a 18x20. In preparation for switching to the pure aero tour, I decided to pull my 2010 aeropro back out and try it after not playing with it for 2 years. Played a match with it and had 3 hitting sessions. It sucked....a lot. I was less consistent than with my blade 18x20 and I had less spin and power. Using playsight, my first serve for the aeropro was only in the high 80s to low 90s mph range whereas with the blade 18x20 my first serve is in the high 90s to low 100s mph. Not just that, but I usually get around 60-70% first serve in with my blade with good placement but with my aeropro it was about 30% and placement was horrible. Obviously signs point to sticking with my blade 18x20(which I will do) but why is this happening? Theoretically the aeropro should give more spin and power and less consistency but for me it sucked in every department compared to the blade.

I've heard that overall the new blade 18x20 is an improvement over the previous in almost every way. How so?

I want to try to blade 16x19 too. I demoed the previous version briefly before and the control factor of the 18x20 without sacrificing too much power and spin led me to take that racquet, but with a more topspinny forehand now, I think the blade 16x19 might benefit me more. The problem is, I can't really demo this version of the blade 16x19 since TW doesn't have one with poly for demo.
 
The new Blade 98 18x20 2015 model is softer than the previous version. I actually like this more than the crisper 2013 model. It feels more dampen but still offers a lot of power and control.

I don't even bother trying the 16x19 as I pretty much got used to hitting with 18x20 and prefer being able to swing away at the ball without worrying about balls sailing on me.
 

n8dawg6

Legend
part of the difference is that you have played with the blade so long you have adapted to it. im not saying you could reproduce the results with the APD if you went back to it for a year and a half ... but ... i bet you could improve the results a lot.

FWIW I'm using the speed pro which is an 18x20 and like that better than a wide open pattern.
 

Faker

Semi-Pro
part of the difference is that you have played with the blade so long you have adapted to it. im not saying you could reproduce the results with the APD if you went back to it for a year and a half ... but ... i bet you could improve the results a lot.

FWIW I'm using the speed pro which is an 18x20 and like that better than a wide open pattern.
Thing is, when I first demoed the blade 18x20 I played perfectly with it. Like the moment I hit with it I knew it was what I wanted. Back then I only used 16x19 string patterns and my previous racquets were the APD and IGPP.

The new Blade 98 18x20 2015 model is softer than the previous version. I actually like this more than the crisper 2013 model. It feels more dampen but still offers a lot of power and control.

I don't even bother trying the 16x19 as I pretty much got used to hitting with 18x20 and prefer being able to swing away at the ball without worrying about balls sailing on me.
Do you think you lost anything in the spin, power, or control when you switched to the new version?
 
I prefer the newer one because it is more comfortable than the crisper 2013 model. Since it is more plush, there might be a little less feel compared to the crisper 2013 model. That might be the the biggest difference when switching over to the 2013 model. Too bad TW doesn't have the power map for the 2013 Blade so you can compare. I think they did a great job updating the frame but the only thing that bugs me is the poor Wilson QC so unless you get them matched, you might end up with frames that are not close to spec.
 

TennisCJC

Legend
Spin is influenced a little by string pattern but other racket attributes contribute a lot too.

I find I get more spin with higher SW. I tend to be around 333-338 SW range and think the extra mass in the head helps deliver more thump to the ball and I get better spin. I know some people say you get more spin with lighter rackets but I think that is not correct up to a point. You need decent mass in the head to handle the incoming topspin and turn it around and send it back as your topspin. I find low SW sucks for hitting spin. I think there is a point where high SW becomes too heavy and spin goes down but my experience is I get more spin with 335 SW than with 315 SW at my 4.0 level - I play mix of 3.5 to 4.5 players in local league.

Most Blades have decent SW but I don't know SW of you bab.

I would think balance and stiffness could have impact on spin too but SW is most criticial to me.
 
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