My Long Day of Demoing At The Local Tennis Shop *Lots of Impressions*

[soggyramen]

Alright so this morning I took a trip up to raleigh NC so I could demo some new racquets with a friend of mine who broke his RDS 003 and was looking for another racquet to get. Well while we were hitting I decided to get my racquet restrung as the strings were about to break. I decided at that moment to try a bunch of the frames there while I was over there. My friend decided to go with the Aeropro Drive W/ Cortex. Most of the racquets I used were strung with Wilson Sensation 16, if they weren't I'll say accordingly.

First up was...

Head Microgel Radical Pro- I've messed around with the FXP radical before but newer the open patterned models and I was quite impressed. It had a hybrid of ALU Power 16L in the mains and Prince Syn. Gut Duraflex in the crosses. I started hitting with this racquet and I noticed that the online specs don't really tell the whole truth. It says 4 points head light but it felt as headlight as my Extreme Pro. I found this racquet to be a lot more powerful than expected, especially off my forehand wing. Slices were incredible. My slices have never had so much pace on them before. My backhand was very solid and I found more angles than usual. On serve it performed well. Spin was easy to access but I had trouble hitting flat serves. Volleys were ok, really nothing special here. No doubt an aggressive baseliner stick in my opinion.

Prince OZone Tour (not Pro Tour)- I wasn't very surprised by this stick. Just like the O3 Tour MP it had a lot of spin on the ball but not a lot of power. I really had to take a huge swing at the ball to get some big power. Reminded me of the RDS 001. It feels more solid though than the O3 Tour MP. Flat serves were good but lacked my normal punch. Spin was effortless. Topspin and slice were incredible but no power really unless I took a huge swing. Very much a counterpuncher racquet in my opinion. I was a little disappointed I didn't get to try the Pro Tour Version.

Babolat Aeropro Drive W/ Cortex- My Kryptonite...I've hated this racquet for a long time. I tried it once at a local club and it had this hollow feeling I've never experienced. I vowed never to try it again but something told me to pick it up again today and I did. I was surprised maybe there was something wrong with the one I hit with because this one was so solid. I got spin like never before but with power which the OZone was lacking. Honestly I picked it up for five minutes was satisfied but then handed it off to my friend to try it. A much better version of the Pure Drive in my opinion.

Wilson KBlade 98- The biggest surprise I've ever witnessed in a tennis racquet. The racquet, like other KFactors, swings a little heavier than indicated. The result though is a solid feeling racquet like I've never felt before. The tight string pattern didn't bother me and the control of the racquet was incredible. The power was much more abundent than that of it's predecessor, the nBlade, and it showed in my forehand and backhand. I couldn't put this racquet down to be honest. I kept hitting huge shots. When I moved into the net the racquet performed better than any other I've used. I hit drop volley after drop volley and the feel was phenominal. The serves were great as well but my only gripe was when going for a spin serve there was tons less spin and I really had to speed up the racquet head to get a lot of action on the ball. Even with that said I've was extremely impressed with this racquet. I very much will consider this racquet for a possibility when I head off to college next year. No doubt an all-court racquet. Whether you like to end your points at the net or from the baseline, this racquet is a very capable frame.

 

[slkbassist]

Nice.

Stay vary of the Babolat. I know a lot of people love them, but I've definitely felt that hollowness in them before. It is an odd feeling. My LM radical is a bit like that, but has seemed less noticible now that I added lead ( a lot).

As for the KBlade, kudos. It reminds me of a slightly stiffer Head radical. Although like the radicals would like it a little heavier and a little more headlight. Each their own though

 

[Mdubb23]

For whatever reason, I think the Aeropro Drive Cortex has less power than the non-cortex, but provides more spin.

 

[soggyramen]

I thought the very same actually. You're not alone lol

 

[Mdubb23]

I thought the very same actually. You're not alone lol

Hey, thanks, maybe I'm not crazy.

 

[Mdubb23]

Hahaha just kidding

 

[[d]ragon]

^^yea me too (although i didnt notice any diff in spin,dont hit much). the racquet finder on tennis.com seems to agree too

interesting find on the kblade tho. i was thinking of trying it cuz its pretty close to my racquet (lm rad) but i thought it would be unstable. hav you tried the lm rad? which do u think is more stable?

 

[bertrevert]

Yeah yeah the kBlade does deserve some promotion.

What a versatile blade alright.

It's a light stick and so it compares with the LM Rad. The latter has a little more finesse and a little less power. But that's what's great about the blade: a bump in power and yet you can knife slice an approach, touch up a drop volley, and feather and fake shots if needed, it really is that versatile. It's a racquet with smarts.

Just wondering in that serve department whether it really can fulfill atm??? I need a little more out of it than I'm getting.

While it's comparable to the LM Rad I don't think it's anything like the new MG Rad which is a bit of a departure. Didn't you find the MG Rad Pro a bit weighty? Still the kBlade is even-blanced like that. G'luck...

 

[cujays]

i agree about what you said about the kblade
its a great racket

 

[soggyramen]

^^yea me too (although i didnt notice any diff in spin,dont hit much). the racquet finder on tennis.com seems to agree too

interesting find on the kblade tho. i was thinking of trying it cuz its pretty close to my racquet (lm rad) but i thought it would be unstable. hav you tried the lm rad? which do u think is more stable?

i've used both in stock form only but i think the Kblade is much more stable imo. it just felt so solid. it's pretty much a more powerful/stiffer lm radical

 

[soggyramen]

Yeah yeah the kBlade does deserve some promotion.

What a versatile blade alright.

It's a light stick and so it compares with the LM Rad. The latter has a little more finesse and a little less power. But that's what's great about the blade: a bump in power and yet you can knife slice an approach, touch up a drop volley, and feather and fake shots if needed, it really is that versatile. It's a racquet with smarts.

Just wondering in that serve department whether it really can fulfill atm??? I need a little more out of it than I'm getting.

While it's comparable to the LM Rad I don't think it's anything like the new MG Rad which is a bit of a departure. Didn't you find the MG Rad Pro a bit weighty? Still the kBlade is even-blanced like that. G'luck...

actually no the MG Radical Pro was just fine. At 4 points headlight it felt fine in my hands. it reminded me of my extreme pros but more versatility.

 

[Il Mostro]

^^^^^^

Are you planning on demoing further, spending more time with each racquet? I find I get a truer impression of individual racquet characteristics by spending more time and adjusting to them rather than trying to do so much in a single, albeit quite long, session.

I agree that the KB98 is a solid all-around racquet. The biggest adjustment I had with the 18x20 pattern was on second serves.

Regarding the APDC, no question it has spin potential and I can hit a heavy ball with it. However, I have seen people hit balls that have topspin but just sort of sit up after the bounce, rather than generating a big kick, due to a slight deficiency in racquet speed.

Just my two cents worth.

 

[soggyramen]

^^^^^^

Are you planning on demoing further, spending more time with each racquet? I find I get a truer impression of individual racquet characteristics by spending more time and adjusting to them rather than trying to do so much in a single, albeit quite long, session.

I agree that the KB98 is a solid all-around racquet. The biggest adjustment I had with the 18x20 pattern was on second serves.

Regarding the APDC, no question it has spin potential and I can hit a heavy ball with it. However, I have seen people hit balls that have topspin but just sort of sit up after the bounce, rather than generating a big kick, due to a slight deficiency in racquet speed.

Just my two cents worth.

yeah that was my only gripe about the Kblade 98. I actually plan to purchase a Kblade 98 at the end of the year and customize it here and there and see where it goes. If it works out and it's not just a honeymoon then i'll switch.

 

[pabletion]

^ good review... Ive been wanting to demo the Kblade 98, currently use the Babolat Pure Storm Team (98) and really love it, but theyre discontinued. The specs of the Kblade really sound good for me, and after readin a lot of inputs about it, Im willing to give it a go... Did u ever try the Pure Storms?

 

[soggyramen]

^ good review... Ive been wanting to demo the Kblade 98, currently use the Babolat Pure Storm Team (98) and really love it, but theyre discontinued. The specs of the Kblade really sound good for me, and after readin a lot of inputs about it, Im willing to give it a go... Did u ever try the Pure Storms?

yeah I honestly didn't like the pure storms. The 18x20 was probably what made the difference in the Kblade. I think you'll love it but you'll have to get used to serving with it.

 

[reesespiecestennis]

is this racquet really stiff though? I'm worried it will hurt my arm because of the high stiffness and string pattern.

 

[soggyramen]

is this racquet really stiff though? I'm worried it will hurt my arm because of the high stiffness and string pattern.

i can't say for sure because we have different opinions on stiffness. best thing for you to do is demo. the K Factor version is a whole lot stiffer than the nCode though.

 

[PED]

I've actually hit with that particular APDC at the %$#@smith store in Raleigh. If I remember, it's strung up with some crappy syn gut and to my mind it does not give you a real indication of what the APDC can do. I owned one for a year and loved it. If you throw some full poly on the APDC, I think you would like it better

That Rad Pro is a sweet stick as well, but that stringjob in there is 4 months old (!!!). Great stick from the baseline.

You also might consider the MG Prestige Midplus, great stick with nice control and power.

 

[soggyramen]

I've actually hit with that particular APDC at the %$#@smith store in Raleigh. If I remember, it's strung up with some crappy syn gut and to my mind it does not give you a real indication of what the APDC can do. I owned one for a year and loved it. If you throw some full poly on the APDC, I think you would like it better

That Rad Pro is a sweet stick as well, but that stringjob in there is 4 months old (!!!). Great stick from the baseline.

You also might consider the MG Prestige Midplus, great stick with nice control and power.

That's the real reason I wanted to go too. I wanted to try the MG Prestige so bad but I settled for the KBlade.

 

[biggsy]

when demo-ing a racquet make sure it's been recently strung with a good string. it makes a huge difference. i've tried the APDC 3 different times from different shops and the difference has been huge. the first time it was great. the last time it was one of the worst racquets i've ever used. i just base it on the quality and tightness of the strings. before trying new rackets have a go with a better quality string and different tension in your current racquet. you will be amazed at the difference!!!