My Head YTPMP TK82 to TK82S Pallet Swap

R

Red Baron

New User
I'm in the process of swapping grip pallets on my Head Youtek Prestige MP racquets. Since I have not seen anyone post pictures of the differences between the pallets, I decided to share with everyone. Hopefully this will help clarify the differences. I'm waiting for leather grips and 1/2 butt caps to arrive before I finish the change. The TK82S pallets feel noticeably rounder (less rectangular) to me. Since I learned to play with Price racquets, which are even more square than the TK82S pallets, this will be far more comfortable for me.

Note that I'm also increasing the grip size from 3/8 to 1/2.

The album (with higher resolution pictures) is available here.

New TK82S 1/2 left, original TK82 3/8 right
PICT0060.JPG


new TK82S 1/2 left, original TK82 3/8 right
PICT0061.JPG
 
Finished!

My order consisting of leather grips and 4 1/2 butt caps arrived today, enabling me to finish my pallet swap conversion.

I'm very happy with the results, but wish that the Prestige handle allowed the pallets to extend farther up. Because it doesn't allow the new pallets to be placed slightly higher up the handle for better feel on two-handed backhands, I had to settle for simply wrapping the leather grips higher up. This can be seen in the pictures below.

Since I never compared the TK82 versus TK82S pallets in person, I was afraid that the difference would not be worth the expense or effort. After holding the finished product now, I am very satisfied with the change. It really does feel much more square, as opposed to the stock Prestige TK82 rectangular profile. For me, the slight bump up in size to 1/2 from 3/8 feels more comfortable as well. I can't wait to hit some (SW) forehand now that the grip feels more natural for it.

For those people who like Head racquets, but prefer a more Wilson like grip shape, I highly recommended this modification. :mrgreen:

The leather grips look much nicer than the stock white synthetic grips.
PICT0091.JPG


View from the bottom.
PICT0093.JPG
 
Carl Roude said:
Are the squarer pallets (TK82S) the YouTek Speed pallets? Did you get them from TW Europe? Thanks
Click to expand...

Yes. Just like dr325i said. You can get the TK82S pallets from TW Europe for 8.40 E each plus 17 E total for shipping. TW Europe also has the traditional (more rectangular) TK82 Head pallets, but their current stock of these seems to be running low. Volkl replacement pallets are available at TW Europe too. IMO, it's stupid that these items are so hard to come by in the US, especially considering that the actual work in making the pallet swap is quite simple.

If anyone is going to order from TW Europe, some of the European string brands are available at a lower price than in the USA. MSV, Weiscannon and Volkl are three examples. Saving money on strings helps to offset the higher shipping cost.
 
dadozen said:
Nice work! Did you have to change buttcaps or you used the same?
Click to expand...

Thanks. I did change the butt caps. However, this was not absolutely necessary. The 4 3/8 butt caps fit snugly on the 4 1/2 pallets. However, I did not find this out until after the order for the new butt caps was placed. The more squarish shape of the TK82S pallet does not make a difference to the butt cap since the relatively soft plastic bends slightly to accommodate the pallet. For a swap with the same size pallets (e.g. 3/8 TK82 to 3/8 TK82S), there is no reason to order new butt caps.
 
OP, is there a particular reason why you decided to go a size up on the more square pallets? because from personal experience, the rectangular ones feel smaller.
 
snoflewis said:
OP, is there a particular reason why you decided to go a size up on the more square pallets? because from personal experience, the rectangular ones feel smaller.
Click to expand...

The short answer is that the larger grip size brings me back to my comfort level. The complete answer requires some background and explanation.

Growing up, I played Prince racquets with large (4 1/2 & 4 5/8 ) grip sizes. I found tennis again about a year and a half ago after a few years off. Naturally, I decided that I needed some new racquets (toys) and decided to follow the trend (fad?) of smaller grip sizes. After all, if it works for both Federer and Nadal, why not me as well? I gave this a try with 4 3/8 Head Prestige racquets: first MGPP, then YTPMP. The smaller grip size was OK. But, after picking up one of my old Prince TT Warriors with the larger grip size (4 5/8 ), it clicked to me that it was a mistake to follow the smaller grip size trend. The larger grip size allows me to more naturally hold the racquet with a loose grip and not muscle my strokes. This is more so on SW forhands and serves, whereas two handed backhands are not affected. With the larger grip size it is more comfortable/natural for me to take a bigger swing.

The second issue was the grip shape. With the rectangular Head pallet shape, my SW forehand would be erratic on occasion. At times, my grip would drift toward full western while, at other times, eastern. Even when I had the desired SW grip, the angle was not the same as in days gone bye, resulting in a racquet angle that diverged from preference. The end result was a lower racquet angle and thus less spin/margin. On serves, I also observed slightly less spin.

The notion that the rectangular shape makes the grip feel smaller never occurred to me. I have not compared different grip sizes with the rectangular Head pallets. While I could have put heat shrink sleeves on instead of swapping pallets to achieve a larger grip size, this would have increased the weight to a point that I'm not quite good enough to consistently prepare on time with.

I wonder how many others have jumped on the smaller grip size bandwagon, only to realize that it's not for them and return to the familiar and buck the trend also?
 
haha. that's fair enough. how are the tk82s pallets compared to the prince frames? are the tk82s slightly more rectangular compared to prince gripshapes?

i've tried hitting with smaller grip size rackets, but found them to be strangely less stable, although they were more maneuverable.
 
pyrokid said:
Wow, not as much difference as I expected at all.
Click to expand...

Funny. That was my initial reaction after just looking at them side by side. After holding them though, the difference was as clear as night and day. In other words, significant and immediately obvious.
 
snoflewis said:
haha. that's fair enough. how are the tk82s pallets compared to the prince frames? are the tk82s slightly more rectangular compared to prince gripshapes?

i've tried hitting with smaller grip size rackets, but found them to be strangely less stable, although they were more maneuverable.
Click to expand...

The Prince pallets are more square than the TK82S Head pallets. The major distinction is on the diagonal (45 degree) edges. With the Prince pallets, the length of these diagonal sides is considerably shorter. However, the difference feels smaller than that between the Head TK82 and TK82S.

Some pictures for clarity:

From left to right: Prince L5, Head TK82S L4, Prince L4
PICT0094.JPG


Head TK82S L4 & Prince L4
PICT0098.JPG


Prince L5 & Head TK82S L4
PICT0100.JPG
 
Torres said:
The TK82S pallets seem be longer - is that correct? Do they still fit?
Click to expand...

They are considerably longer. But so are any head pallets bought loose. They need to be cut to length when fitting. The foam is light and cuts easily.

I just fitted TK82S pallets on a IG Prestige Pro yesterday. I had a Head 4 1/2 butt cap and a Wilson 4 1/2 butt cap and played around with both. Ended up going for the Wilson butt cap, it is a slightly steeper slope and a little larger at the big end. Makes my service grip feel more natural.

I´ve always liked Head rackets but have always served better with Wilsons. I suspect that it´s the grip shape that has made the difference.

On a related note; I went down in grip size (to an L3) a couple of years ago when I started playing the Babolat Aeropro Drive. I had a bout with the Donnay XP Dual Tour last fall, loved the frame but it ended up killing my forearm. The L3 Donnay felt smaller than the Babolat. I suspect that the small grip is partly to blame for my arm problems.

As a result, I have opted for an L4 TK82S.

I have yet to play with the IG PP with the TK82S, but I am eager to see how it goes.
 
Fredrik said:
They are considerably longer. But so are any head pallets bought loose. They need to be cut to length when fitting. The foam is light and cuts easily.
Click to expand...

Presumably you're cutting the big end rather than the slopey end of the pallet?

Is it not possible to use the full length of the pallet or is it the case that the slight 'ridge' (where the painted part of the handle meets the unpainted handle) prevent that?
 
Torres said:
Presumably you're cutting the big end rather than the slopey end of the pallet?

Is it not possible to use the full length of the pallet or is it the case that the slight 'ridge' (where the painted part of the handle meets the unpainted handle) prevent that?
Click to expand...

Yes, I cut the big end.

The ridge will prevent using the full length (or close to full) since the pallet is very thin up top. Thus, cutting out material is difficult since there is little thickness to begin with. It might be possible to cut the inside of the pallet with an x-acto knife to accommodate the ridge, but I think that buying a new grip and wrapping that further up would do pretty much the same.
 
They´re very light, about the same as normal Head pallets. I have a set in L3, will try to remember to weigh them tomorrow and post the result.
 
Getting back to the subject of pallet swap, what's the best way of removing the stock pallet?

The only thing I've seen is the YouTube video of the guy with the hairdryer and sharp knife. Is that the best method?
 
bcart1991 said:
Pretty much. It's easy, but you have to be careful and BE PATIENT.
Click to expand...

Your timing is uncanny....

I had a go at removing the pallets last night. The problem was that I wasn't particularly patient, ending up stabbing my hand and creating a 1" gash (due to the knife slipping), and slicing through the pallet in various places by using brute force too much

It took about 5 mins in total, when in reality you're 100% right, you do need to be VERY patient. I'd allow about 20 mins or longer.

The key seems to be gradually, bit by bit, softening the glue with the hairdryer before gently prising the pallet away from the handle, then heating is some more, gently prising, and so on and so. Best to use a thin knife without too much of a point as the pallet becomes soft with heat making it very easy to cut through accidentally if the knife slips, and make sure the heat is directed in the area which you're trying to loosen.

Don't think the stock pallets are going to be reusable but at least they're off!
 
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Torres said:
Your timing is uncanny....

I had a go at removing the pallets last night. The problem was that I wasn't particularly patient, ending up stabbing my hand and creating a 1" gash (due to the knife slipping), and slicing through the pallet in various places by using brute force too much

It took about 5 mins in total, when in reality you're 100% right, you do need to be VERY patient. I'd allow about 20 mins or longer.

The key seems to be gradually, bit by bit, softening the glue with the hairdryer before gently prising the pallet away from the handle, then heating is some more, gently prising, and so on and so. Best to use a thin knife without too much of a point as the pallet becomes soft with heat making it very easy to cut through accidentally if the knife slips, and make sure the heat is directed in the area which you're trying to loosen.

Don't think the stock pallets are going to be reusable but at least they're off!
Click to expand...

I prefer using a large pot of hot water (it never manages to get up to boiling before the pallets are ready to be pulled off). I usually leave it for 10 minutes or so. After that, they peel right off with no problems, often leaving them reusable.
 
^ Thanks, I think I'll try that with the second racquet.

The hairdryer / knife method isn't difficult - just unduly fiddly and time consuming.
 
Torres said:
^ Thanks, I think I'll try that with the second racquet.

The hairdryer / knife method isn't difficult - just unduly fiddly and time consuming.
Click to expand...

Just make sure to wear something like rubber kitchen gloves when it comes time to pull off the pallet. After 10 minutes or so in hot water, the frame gets quite hot.
 
Well, I finally fitted the pallet. In fact, cutting to size (small hacksaw) and fitting is easy. It was removing the old one that was tedious.

Have to the say that the TK82S is still not that square - certainly not as square as say Wilson handles. That said, its still a noticeable improvement on the original rectangular shaped pallet.
 
What I do, to avoid handling the knife for a long time and risking getting hurt, is using the knife just to separate the pallet from the handle, and then use a scredriver to remove it after that.

Tuesday I removed one pallet and wasn't patiente enough, result: the glue came off with the handle....
 
Hoons54 said:
Im having hard time with removing the staples, with micro flat head and mallet. Any tips?
Click to expand...

When I have had trouble I would open the trap door, use a larger flat head screwdriver and try to push the staple out a bit. The staple penetrates the hairpin so if you manage to push it out a bit, you can then get under it enough to pull it out
 
Which line?

?????

TK82S = Speed, Instinct
TK82 = Prestige, Radical, Extreme
not sure if i forget another line:confused:
 
niktub said:
?????

TK82S = Speed, Instinct
TK82 = Prestige, Radical, Extreme
not sure if i forget another line:confused:
Click to expand...

TK82S = Speed
TK82 = Prestige, Radical, Extreme, Instinct

Fixed it for ya
TK82S, where "S" means "Speed" series (not square or whatever...)
 
I did the same to my four Prestige Youtek Mids (2 are Youtek IG) 4 1/2 grip size and now looking to sell them if anyone is interested. Pics upon request. They are 8 out of 10. I put black Pacific Leather on all of them. They look good :)
 
If I like a more rectangular grip shape, can I put the TK82 pallets on my Speed racquet? Or is the underlying hairpin just a different shape that will make the TK82 pallets not fit or feel square regardless of the pallets used on it?
 
TNT34 said:
If I like a more rectangular grip shape, can I put the TK82 pallets on my Speed racquet? Or is the underlying hairpin just a different shape that will make the TK82 pallets not fit or feel square regardless of the pallets used on it?
Click to expand...

The hairpin is the same so if you want the traditional head flat feel, you can just put a tk82 on it.
 
Red Baron said:
Thanks. I did change the butt caps. However, this was not absolutely necessary. The 4 3/8 butt caps fit snugly on the 4 1/2 pallets. However, I did not find this out until after the order for the new butt caps was placed. The more squarish shape of the TK82S pallet does not make a difference to the butt cap since the relatively soft plastic bends slightly to accommodate the pallet. For a swap with the same size pallets (e.g. 3/8 TK82 to 3/8 TK82S), there is no reason to order new butt caps.
Click to expand...
I want to attempt the same pallet swap, but was also going to go down in size from L4 to L3. I was not fully clear on if I needed to order new butt caps if I was going down in size - any inputs on that ?
 
tennisnoob1949 said:
I want to attempt the same pallet swap, but was also going to go down in size from L4 to L3. I was not fully clear on if I needed to order new butt caps if I was going down in size - any inputs on that ?
Click to expand...

In my home country Head pallets come as a set with the buttcap, 10 euros each set.
So, you may ask the dealer about that....
 
Anyone can compare the inside dimensions (where it touch the graphite) between the TK82 & TK82s ?

Some photos show that the 82s is more square from inside, higher than the 82?

The two in the center are: 82s left center. 82 right center.
px1z4.jpg
 
Pistol10 said:
Anyone can compare the inside dimensions (where it touch the graphite) between the TK82 & TK82s ?

Some photos show that the 82s is more square from inside, higher than the 82?

The two in the center are: 82s left center. 82 right center.
Click to expand...

Dont think that photo is right. Refer to first photo in this thread. TK82S and TK82 are same dimensions on the inside so they can be swapped easily.
 
Pistol10 said:
Anyone can compare the inside dimensions (where it touch the graphite) between the TK82 & TK82s ?

Some photos show that the 82s is more square from inside, higher than the 82?

The two in the center are: 82s left center. 82 right center.
px1z4.jpg
Click to expand...
Where is this photo from?
 
I was looking for a rectangle shape (the inside), head didn't fit my racket, Dunlop biomimetic 100, volkl looks wider and less hight, it looks like the same dimensions of the handle of the racket.
 
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