New Racquet Releases 2024

For those who have tried the new RF98 300g.
Is it closer to the Blade or the ProStaff?
And does it sit above or below either or both?
 
A_Instead said:
For those who have tried the new RF98 300g.
Is it closer to the Blade or the ProStaff?
And does it sit above or below either or both?
Click to expand...
Neither really. It feels in the hand like a 100 sq. in thick-beamed racket like the Shift. Honestly it feels closer to the Burn or the Shift. Shift when hitting flat, not vertical. Interestingly, the string pattern on the RF01 is opposite the Pro Staff, with the mains tight in the middle and the crosses spaced far apart. The Pro Staff has more widely spaced mains and denser crosses in the sweetspot. In that regard, it's like a Shift. Maybe more like an EZone with less power. The 2 stand-out features were a great slice and stability on the 320 and spin on the 300 but I thought it was too light for hard-hitting. My hitting partner and I both preferred the Blade and the Pro Staff or even the Shift Pro. It looked great though really like the paintjob. The 320 didn't feel too heavy, but noticeably more than the 300. If I bought one, I would go with the 320, replace the leather grip with a Pro Performance which will take off 8-10g but not change the stability much.
 
justinhaughtmd said:
Neither really. It feels in the hand like a 100 sq. in thick-beamed racket like the Shift. Honestly it feels closer to the Burn or the Shift. Shift when hitting flat, not vertical. Interestingly, the string pattern on the RF01 is opposite the Pro Staff, with the mains tight in the middle and the crosses spaced far apart. The Pro Staff has more widely spaced mains and denser crosses in the sweetspot. In that regard, it's like a Shift. Maybe more like an EZone with less power. The 2 stand-out features were a great slice and stability on the 320 and spin on the 300 but I thought it was too light for hard-hitting. My hitting partner and I both preferred the Blade and the Pro Staff or even the Shift Pro. It looked great though really like the paintjob. The 320 didn't feel too heavy, but noticeably more than the 300. If I bought one, I would go with the 320, replace the leather grip with a Pro Performance which will take off 8-10g but not change the stability much.
Click to expand...
What about putting a leather grip on the 300?
 
justinhaughtmd said:
Won’t change the plow though… maybe lead in the hoop… would rather lighten up the heavier one and not have the lead, the synthetic grip will also dampen some vibration.
Click to expand...
I agree. I also would rather take the leather off the heavier one, add a synthetic and OG and save some weight vs leather and OG since the 300 version has such an anemic SW on the sample posted so far.
 
sargeinaz said:
I agree. I also would rather take the leather off the heavier one, add a synthetic and OG and save some weight vs leather and OG since the 300 version has such an anemic SW on the sample posted so far.
Click to expand...
It must be a QC issue, no way the 300g is 270 swing weight unstrung with a 285g more head heavy model as well in the lineup.
 
jlouie said:
5g of lead at 12 would get the one that was measured just up to 320, assuming it's stable, otherwise going to take way too much.
Click to expand...
Ya, maybe I’m weird, but I always felt like a racket that was stock at 320sw plays better than a racket that just had lead added to the 12 to get it to 320. I feel like when you add lead to the 12 the rest of the hoop feels flimsier and I then have to add lead to the 3/9 and I just typically don’t like to do that.

At that point, I’ll get a different racket personally.
 
justinhaughtmd said:
Neither really. It feels in the hand like a 100 sq. in thick-beamed racket like the Shift. Honestly it feels closer to the Burn or the Shift. Shift when hitting flat, not vertical. Interestingly, the string pattern on the RF01 is opposite the Pro Staff, with the mains tight in the middle and the crosses spaced far apart. The Pro Staff has more widely spaced mains and denser crosses in the sweetspot. In that regard, it's like a Shift. Maybe more like an EZone with less power. The 2 stand-out features were a great slice and stability on the 320 and spin on the 300 but I thought it was too light for hard-hitting. My hitting partner and I both preferred the Blade and the Pro Staff or even the Shift Pro. It looked great though really like the paintjob. The 320 didn't feel too heavy, but noticeably more than the 300. If I bought one, I would go with the 320, replace the leather grip with a Pro Performance which will take off 8-10g but not change the stability much.
Click to expand...

someone described it as a shift reissue in a tuxedo and i LOL'd
 
A_Instead said:
To those who have tried it... Does it offer more free power than the current Blade?
Click to expand...
-yes and no
-the blade loses its power "abit" due to its flexability!
-the RF-01pro is not "as" flexible, or as stiff as a ultra/shift
-they traded "prostaff" stability (box frame), for speed/fast and SPIN! (like a yonex.EZONE)
-SPIN is the notable feature, in part due to the open string spacing
-imo, its a new school racquet for the modern fast and spinny game style
-only part of the racquet that is like the "old racquet" (w.PS.RF), is the throat area, somewhat!!
 
Last edited:
sargeinaz said:
Ya, maybe I’m weird, but I always felt like a racket that was stock at 320sw plays better than a racket that just had lead added to the 12 to get it to 320. I feel like when you add lead to the 12 the rest of the hoop feels flimsier and I then have to add lead to the 3/9 and I just typically don’t like to do that.

At that point, I’ll get a different racket personally.
Click to expand...
I 100% agree. I was just thinking that it needed to get close to 320, at least, to be playable considering the Pro is 330. And it would take 5g w/o having to put it at the sides and then counter balancing it. It just seems weird it would come in at 300 swing weight strung, that would be even less than the Shift 99L which is lighter and ~5 points HL, strung.
 
I personally like 98 pro more than any other current racket in this silo from wilson.


I hate the blade personally
the prostaff 97 felt kind of unwieldly and sometimes random.
Prostaff x was pretty nice though.
Shift 99 gave me arm issues.
Shift 99 pro was nice I just didn't gel with the weight / pattern as much

Ultra pro didn't have enough stability for me.
Clash 98 unpredictable

Definitely could of been released as a Shift 2.0 and I would believe it.
 
justinhaughtmd said:
Won’t change the plow though… maybe lead in the hoop… would rather lighten up the heavier one and not have the lead, the synthetic grip will also dampen some vibration.
Click to expand...
Good point. What's the difference between a synthetic leather grip vs a normal leather grip though? Is the synthetic leather grip just a regular synthetic grip but comes in brown?
 
Has anyone specified the beam thickness of the RF98 Pro? Someone said it's thicker than the RF97, but does anyone have the actual specs?
 
justinhaughtmd said:
Played the 300 and 320 today w ALU 1.25… the 320 is very stable with great plow and has a lot of spin but harder to swing… less feel than my ps97 played side by side… the 300 is easier to swing but less plow and power… all in all, played side by side, the ps97 has more control, the blade has more power… the RF has a higher launch, a ton of spin, and awesome plow on the 320… might buy 2 and put a pro performance grip on to lighten a little…
Click to expand...
What would you pick for comfort, versatility (all court player), and forgiveness from following sticks: pro staff 97, RF 01 (320), blade V9 16x19, and 2024 pure strike 98 (if you played with it)?
 
z00 said:
What would you pick for comfort, versatility (all court player), and forgiveness from following sticks: pro staff 97, RF 01 (320), blade V9 16x19, and 2024 pure strike 98 (if you played with it)?
Click to expand...
I would go Pure Strike from those, but would also consider Ezone 98 and T-Fight 305 for all-around-ness. From the Wilson lineup, you should consider the Blade 100 v9 if you want a do-it-all kind of frame. It has the benefit of having a decent stock swingweight which gives it good stability against bigger hitters.
 
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RandomAsian said:
Good point. What's the difference between a synthetic leather grip vs a normal leather grip though? Is the synthetic leather grip just a regular synthetic grip but comes in brown?
Click to expand...
I have noted on multiple rackets over the years that after gripping etc the difference between the pro performance and wilson leather grip is 8-10g. The leather has better bevels and the synthetic has vibration dampening…
 
justinhaughtmd said:
I would go Pure Strike from those, but would also consider Ezone 98 and T-Fight 305 for all-around-ness. From the Wilson lineup, you should consider the Blade 100 v9 if you want a do-it-all kind of frame. It has the benefit of having a decent stock swingweight which gives it good stability against bigger hitters.
Click to expand...
I currently play with Vcore98 tour, it's demanding (I play 2h sessions 3-4 times a week), and lacks control, handle shape is not great (index finger slides easily, wilson RF01 handle felt great BTW, I'm not set on Wilson either). I play with eastern FH.
Anything else to demo/consider aside from new pure strike & blade 100 V9 that's arm friendly & all round-er? Pure aero 98?

Do you agree with below diagram? Looking for a racket that would be in the same bracket as the vcore95/pure strike 97. Any ideas? I briefly played with Radical MP, found it a bit vague. From reviews Radical Pro will be demanding like my VCT.

EZONE+100+%283840+x+2160+px%29.png
 
z00 said:
I currently play with Vcore98 tour, it's demanding (I play 2h sessions 3-4 times a week), and lacks control, handle shape is not great (index finger slides easily, wilson RF01 handle felt great BTW, I'm not set on Wilson either). I play with eastern FH.
Anything else to demo/consider aside from new pure strike & blade 100 V9 that's arm friendly & all round-er? Pure aero 98?

Do you agree with below diagram? Looking for a racket that would be in the same bracket as the vcore95/pure strike 97. Any ideas? I briefly played with Radical MP, found it a bit vague. From reviews Radical Pro will be demanding like my VCT.

EZONE+100+%283840+x+2160+px%29.png
Click to expand...
Aero98 has way more spin then ezone98.more power then any 98 except pd98 and also more power then most 100's like the gravity n speeds .only ezone 100,fx500, and pd100 n 98 have more power then aero98
 
maksp said:
Aero98 has way more spin then ezone98.more power then any 98 except pd98 and also more power then most 100's like the gravity n speeds .only ezone 100,fx500, and pd100 n 98 have more power then aero98
Click to expand...
That's good to know. So should I consider the aero 98 based on what I mentioned previously?
 
z00 said:
I currently play with Vcore98 tour, it's demanding (I play 2h sessions 3-4 times a week), and lacks control, handle shape is not great (index finger slides easily, wilson RF01 handle felt great BTW, I'm not set on Wilson either). I play with eastern FH.
Anything else to demo/consider aside from new pure strike & blade 100 V9 that's arm friendly & all round-er? Pure aero 98?

Do you agree with below diagram? Looking for a racket that would be in the same bracket as the vcore95/pure strike 97. Any ideas? I briefly played with Radical MP, found it a bit vague. From reviews Radical Pro will be demanding like my VCT.

EZONE+100+%283840+x+2160+px%29.png
Click to expand...
I need to start watermarking this stuff jeez
 
z00 said:
I currently play with Vcore98 tour, it's demanding (I play 2h sessions 3-4 times a week), and lacks control, handle shape is not great (index finger slides easily, wilson RF01 handle felt great BTW, I'm not set on Wilson either). I play with eastern FH.
Anything else to demo/consider aside from new pure strike & blade 100 V9 that's arm friendly & all round-er? Pure aero 98?

Do you agree with below diagram? Looking for a racket that would be in the same bracket as the vcore95/pure strike 97. Any ideas? I briefly played with Radical MP, found it a bit vague. From reviews Radical Pro will be demanding like my VCT.

EZONE+100+%283840+x+2160+px%29.png
Click to expand...
I can only comment on racquets I own, PA98 was way more unforgiving than Ezone 98 with PA 98's extremely small sweet spot. Maybe even Gravity Pro is more forgiving than PA98.
 
I don’t understand why the mods keep deleting RF topics….. racquet is out in around one week from now. I already saw a commercial on a major EU retailer.
 
aus89 said:
Wilson may see new Ultra/Clash and I suppose there were some whispers of an updated RF ProStaff (kinda wonder if they might refresh the whole ProStaff line given they're on sale etc...)
Click to expand...
They should release an update for their Shift line, shouldn't they? I mean after all the hype...
 
aus89 said:
the Shift just came out last year, why would it get updated now?
Click to expand...
How long does a racket type usually get an update? I have the Shift 300. As much as I love the look, and enjoy playing with it, I feel like it has so much to improve on, especially its consistency. I also didn't see much pros using it. I've seen Sakkari using it but then recently switched back to her old stick.
 
dgf. said:
How long does a racket type usually get an update? I have the Shift 300. As much as I love the look, and enjoy playing with it, I feel like it has so much to improve on, especially its consistency. I also didn't see much pros using it. I've seen Sakkari using it but then recently switched back to her old stick.
Click to expand...
Depends on the manufacturer. Some are on 3 year cycles and some are 2 year cycles or less.
 
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