Need new racquet, some help needed

FiReFTW

Legend
The racquet I had before got messed up, don't ask me how, anyway I need a new racquet now.
This guy that I take my racquet to string it gave me 2 racquets to test out a bit, so on monday I will try them out, he said they are really good used racquets for a very good price.
One is Dunlop biomimetric 500
2nd is Wilson pro staff 95 BLX
The racquet I had before was from HEAD, its weight was around 300g which is similar as these two racquets, the only thing it had was a 105 head, while these racquets have a 100 and 95 heads, which might be too small for me, since im not really a good player yet, and need alot of practice, ive head smaller heads might be bad in that case.
Was wondering what you guys think, and also what you would suggest for me.
 

elkabras

Rookie
Head radical mp or pure drive in open pattern, suitable for intermediate players, blade 98 with some lead tape in the handle...

Enviado desde mi Redmi Note 3 mediante Tapatalk
 

Servivor

New User
I highly recommend the Wilson pro staff blx 100 for a developing player who is transitioning to a smaller head size. 304 grams strung with good topspin.

However its not easy to find this racquet since its already phased out.
 

robbo1970

Hall of Fame
What about the wilson? I kind of like wilson as a brand.

If he is giving you the option to test them both out, then by all means see how you get on with the Wilson.

Don't be put off by the headsize. It's all about hitting the sweetspot and sometimes the size of the sweetspot on a 100 is not always hugely different from that on a 95.

What you might find with the Wilson, is that it gives you more control on the ball, which, as someone who is looking to improve (as we all are) might be a good thing.
 

kingcheetah

Hall of Fame
The racquet I had before got messed up, don't ask me how, anyway I need a new racquet now.
This guy that I take my racquet to string it gave me 2 racquets to test out a bit, so on monday I will try them out, he said they are really good used racquets for a very good price.
One is Dunlop biomimetric 500
2nd is Wilson pro staff 95 BLX
The racquet I had before was from HEAD, its weight was around 300g which is similar as these two racquets, the only thing it had was a 105 head, while these racquets have a 100 and 95 heads, which might be too small for me, since im not really a good player yet, and need alot of practice, ive head smaller heads might be bad in that case.
Was wondering what you guys think, and also what you would suggest for me.

Don't know the Dunlop, but I've hit the pro staff 95. It's an old school racquet, pretty low powered in stock form, most people I know added lead to both the head and the handle. It's a flexible and headlight racquet though, so it's going to be easier on your arm. It might be demanding for you, but I'd give it a shot, and see if you can be consistent with it.
What about the wilson? I kind of like wilson as a brand.
You could try the Blade 104 (the regular one, the Serena autograph is an absolute monster of a racquet and very difficult to use according to the specs and TW folks) Maybe try the ultra as well. I'd stay away from the Burn or the FST as they are rocket launchers and very stiff feeling IMO.
 

FiReFTW

Legend
You could try the Blade 104 (the regular one, the Serena autograph is an absolute monster of a racquet and very difficult to use according to the specs and TW folks) Maybe try the ultra as well. I'd stay away from the Burn or the FST as they are rocket launchers and very stiff feeling IMO.

The only other used cheap alternatives that are being sold atm in my country are:

Wilson Pro Staff 97S
Wilson K Factor Six One 95

Rest id need to buy brand new which is too expensive.
 

FiReFTW

Legend
I highly recommend the Wilson pro staff blx 100 for a developing player who is transitioning to a smaller head size. 304 grams strung with good topspin.

However its not easy to find this racquet since its already phased out.

Yea you are not joking, can't find it anywhere..
 

Anton

Legend
The only other used cheap alternatives that are being sold atm in my country are:

Wilson Pro Staff 97S
Wilson K Factor Six One 95

Rest id need to buy brand new which is too expensive.


I think best bet from the ones you mentioned is Wilson K Factor Six One 95...if you have somewhat flat game.

97S if you have a powerful, aggressive game you want to get under control.

BIO 500 if you like to spin, would need to add weight to the handle though to make the most out of it.
 
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FiReFTW

Legend
Specs from the racquet I had now:

Weight unstrung: 300g
Head : 105in
beam: 23mm
Balance unstrung: 330mm
Length:698mm
 

elkabras

Rookie
Dunlop 500 bio is a good option....wilson blade 98 could be too much....pure drive is good too but its another kind of racquet xD

Enviado desde mi Redmi Note 3 mediante Tapatalk
 

FiReFTW

Legend
Upon some inspection, the Dunlop 500 bio is almost identical to my previous racquet, almost identical in everything apart 100 vs 105 head size, so it seems like a great replacement.
Its just that my wilson fanboyism is holding me back, since I decided my next racquet will be Wilson for sure, and I want a Wilson one, but I think im gonna pick dunlop, it seems like it would be perfect to build my game up some more.
Im still excited to try out both of them tho, will see first hand for the first time exactly how different such head sizes and all feel.
 

Anton

Legend
Upon some inspection, the Dunlop 500 bio is almost identical to my previous racquet, almost identical in everything apart 100 vs 105 head size, so it seems like a great replacement.
Its just that my wilson fanboyism is holding me back, since I decided my next racquet will be Wilson for sure, and I want a Wilson one, but I think im gonna pick dunlop, it seems like it would be perfect to build my game up some more.
Im still excited to try out both of them tho, will see first hand for the first time exactly how different such head sizes and all feel.

Go for it. But trying other rackets is always good, even if you don't switch it gives you some ideas on how to modify your racket.

500 is only 2pts head light while K6.1 is something like 8 points, so this will give you some idea if adding weight to 500's handle is something that you may want to do.
 

Daniel_K

Semi-Pro
I highly recommend the Wilson pro staff blx 100 for a developing player who is transitioning to a smaller head size. 304 grams strung with good topspin.

However its not easy to find this racquet since its already phased out.

impossible to find in any good condition.

you could try wilson ultra 100. very easy racquet to use.

also look at yonex. unless you are stuck with a brand in particular yonex frames are very nice.
 

elkabras

Rookie
Dunlop did awesome racquets in the past....since the biomimetic line I demo the F3 Tour....but the shape of the frame has changed...great lost, made them singular with great history behind

Enviado desde mi Redmi Note 3 mediante Tapatalk
 

rockbox

Semi-Pro
There are some really good deals in the buy, sell, trade forum. I would go there and look for a blade 104 or microgel OS. I've bought racquets in good condition for less than 50 bucks shipped from other members of the board. The popular Babolat PD and APD are good also if your elbow can handle the stiffness.
 

CopolyX

Hall of Fame
head size means squat....it the girth/width that matters..
also naturally the overall specs of the stick..is key...
first and foremost....you need to know and understand your overall wheelhouse specs..
or you are just pissing in the wind...
 

FiReFTW

Legend
head size means squat....it the girth/width that matters..
also naturally the overall specs of the stick..is key...
first and foremost....you need to know and understand your overall wheelhouse specs..
or you are just pissing in the wind...

Which specs are the most important to know?
 

sma1001

Hall of Fame
Which specs are the most important to know?

None at this stage. How could you? Take up the offer of hitting both of these rackets. You'll know whether one or other works well for you through the direct experience of hitting. If neither works, think again. If one clearly does, go for it.
 

FiReFTW

Legend
None at this stage. How could you? Take up the offer of hitting both of these rackets. You'll know whether one or other works well for you through the direct experience of hitting. If neither works, think again. If one clearly does, go for it.

Yea I guess this is the best advice, for an inexperienced player like me, specs shouldn't matter that much, its what I feel on my hits and the results, good advice, thanks!
 

CopolyX

Hall of Fame
Yea I guess this is the best advice, for an inexperienced player like me, specs shouldn't matter that much, its what I feel on my hits and the results, good advice, thanks!
disagree to a point, once you find a frame that you play well with .....understand what the specs are...gives you a better understanding of a starting point and what fits you...
The only source of knowledge is experience.-A.E.
 

FiReFTW

Legend
disagree to a point, once you find a frame that you play well with .....understand what the specs are...gives you a better understanding of a starting point and what fits you...
The only source of knowledge is experience.-A.E.

Thats true I agree with that, however as a fairly inexperienced player so far, searching for the perfect racquet now is just not worth it imo, its just important to find a good enough one that fits me and I feel comfortable with, then I can focus on developing as a player.
 
One Word: Pure aero. THe most popular racquet for a reason. Try it and be happy. The brand is called babolat and rafael Nadal plays with it. it weighs 300 gram and has 100in head. Forgiving racquet that has no upper limit really.
 

CopolyX

Hall of Fame
Thats true I agree with that, however as a fairly inexperienced player so far, searching for the perfect racquet now is just not worth it imo, its just important to find a good enough one that fits me and I feel comfortable with, then I can focus on developing as a player.
True,,,great and don't forgot about safe....also highly consider lessons....
 

FiReFTW

Legend
I wanted to update this thread to let you guys know what ive decided.
I tried the Dunlop and the Wilson, and I must say to my suprize, I find the Wilson better.
I was worried that since the headsize is 95 compared to the 105 I had before, I will frame the ball much more, but theres actually no difference in that regard.

However the Dunlop racquet played fairly similar to my old racquet, but the Wilson played quite a bit different, in a good way.

Comparing my old 105 Head raquet to the 95 Wilson one, Wilson seems better in almost every regard.

With the old 105, the racquet gave me too much easy power and the ball went flying too far out of bounds alot of times when I hit the ball hard, with Wilson I have much better control, I can rip the ball hard and it goes deep but not out of bounds, and hitting angled shots is also easyer because you can swing hard still and hit nice angles, as before the ball went too far so you really had to loop the ball easy to hit a short angle.
As far as serves and volleys and everything else goes its much of the same story, the 105 racquet I had before gave me alot of easy power, but my control and placement was much worse as a result, with the Wilson I can rip the ball hard and yet have much better control and placement of shots.
The old 105 did have much easier and better spin production, with Wilson you need to really create much more of ur own spin, but its kind of better, because before when I wanted to hit from a downward to upward angle on my groundstrokes, the ball often times went too long, now with the Wilson I can really hit from down to up motion to create more spin and yet the ball still goes well into the court, so I have a much better feel and control and I feel that actually this racquet promotes a much better technique as the one before, because if my technique sucks the shot will suck, but before if my technique sucks my shot didn't suck, because the racquet just created the power or spin or whatever by its own much easier.

So since I like the racquet much more than the one I have used now for the past half a year, im not going to complicate things and search for the perfect racquet, im just gonna use this one and work my game with it.

Too bad i didnt use a similar racquet from a while ago, because i think id probably have a better technique by now.

Thanks for all the helpful advice guys.
 
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