Official Wilson Clash thread
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1HBHfanatic
Legend
everything about the same (comfort/feel/sweetspot size)
but due to the smaller head size, the control is a bit "tighter/better"
much easier to swing with a 1hbh
the power can be controlled a bit more with the gauge and the tension of the string
ductrung3993
Hall of Fame
Depth control sucks with Clash too. I will play around with strings and leather grip but so far, it's been a regretful purchase.
I now use Kirschbaum Black Shark 1.3 at 26kg/57Pounds. Any advise about gauge and tension? (For the 100 tour as wel as for a 98)
tennistomcat
Semi-Pro
good find
I really like this guy’s reviews - concise & informative.
Plus his skill level lends validity to his words for me - he swings like a beast.
I’m more interested in this frame now after his comparisons.
1HBHfanatic
Legend
I would start there. with your 1.30mm poly string
for the clash 100.tour, start at your tension 57lbs
for the clash 98, i would provably start at 55lbs or 56lbs
both racquets have a decent open pattern, and have a bit too much power from the thickness of the frame, so the tension can be mid to higher 50s and still feel good,,
I got a chance to hit with the 98, and if I were to string it for me, I would go 54/52 with FB poly Wilson revolve spin, 16g
This guy could be hitting with a frying pan and make it look good.. nothing against the racquet it's just that he hits the hell out of the ball...
toby55555
Hall of Fame
Yes I haven’t been comfortable rallying from the baseline, not enough control. I do like the racket for doubles though as I can serve big and it’s great for volleying. Not keen on having different rackets for singles and doubles though so put up for sale.
jmacdaununder2
Legend
On the surface it appears somewhat enigmatic that a player of that standard would get enough stability and plough from a racquet of that weight and balance, especially if one assumes he plays outdoors on clay regularly; I guess he's a relatively little guy with fast, whippy strokes, but still. (BTW, if his serve is a self-proclaimed weakness, he must be playing at an extremely high level indeed.)
tennistomcat
Semi-Pro
I thought the standard clash had good stability, plow, & control for a racket in that spec range - not too much different than an aeropro or pure drive.
The clash felt solid for groundies & not too shabby on serves as well.
But everyone is different - it’s so subjective.
To me, the french reviewer doesn’t look diminutive or short in stature in the video - looks like a normal guy to me but there’s no way for us to know for sure.
His form and technique look polished & although he says his serve is the weaker part of his game, I thought it looked solid.
The clash felt solid for groundies & not too shabby on serves as well.
But everyone is different - it’s so subjective.
To me, the french reviewer doesn’t look diminutive or short in stature in the video - looks like a normal guy to me but there’s no way for us to know for sure.
His form and technique look polished & although he says his serve is the weaker part of his game, I thought it looked solid.
Tennis_dude101
Professional
His NTRP ranking would be 5+ I'm guessing?
Tennis_dude101
Professional
I've just ordered a Clash 100, don't tell the wife! 25% off retail was a deal too good to refuse 
TD
TD
not_too_shabby
New User
I've just ordered a Clash 100, don't tell the wife! 25% off retail was a deal too good to refuse
TD
Where did you find that deal?
I am in doubt which clash to buy. A friend gave me his Clash Tour. Measured 335 swingweight with dampener, 340 static weight with OG und 31,5cm balance. I love that racket though. Never got this much spin out of any racket i tried. But the specs are pretty beefy. I am thinking of buying the normal clash and customise myself. But i read that the clash tour and the normal clash have different layups..
What would you guys do?
What would you guys do?
Tennis_dude101
Professional
Fleabay in Australia, over here they retail for $329AU in the shops, the store had 15% off plus an extra 10% Fleabay discount, $9 postage so it came to $261.44AU in total.
I've gone with the standard version(295g) and will add some lead if I feel its necessary. PS. I still havn't told the good wife yet...
, it can be an early birthday present! not_too_shabby
New User
Fleabay in Australia, over here they retail for $329AU in the shops, the store had 15% off plus an extra 10% Fleabay discount, $9 postage so it came to $261.44AU in total.
I've gone with the standard version(295g) and will add some lead if I feel its necessary. PS. I still havn't told the good wife yet...
Nice deal. I picked up a clash tour on **** for $167(new) shipped.
not_too_shabby
New User
That is what I ended up doing. I played with the tour for a couple weeks, but my one handed backhand was terrible. I didn't think I could handle adding more weight to the tour as it is already pretty heavy for me. I also had the standard clash so I added about 4 oz of weight around the hoop(highly recommend the TW tungsten weight) to get the racquet closer to 4-5 pts headlight instead of the 7 or so that it is out of the box. For some reason that seems to help my one-handed backhand. My modified standard clash now weighs in at 11.6oz with the tungsten weight and overgrip. I looked at all the racquets I demo'd and the ones that were less headlight worked better with my backhand. Now my forehand seems to go long, but I am thinking I can adjust to that eventually. We shall see....
Steve Williams
Rookie
I like Laserfibre Supreme 2. Ashaway Dynamite 17 might be worth a try too.
ductrung3993
Hall of Fame
To you people that lead it up, how did you do it?
pennc94
Professional
I put 6g at 12 o’clock and 10g at buttcap in a Tour. Played great.
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not_too_shabby
New User
I took two of the TW tungsten strips (8" long, 1 oz each, 1/4" wide) centered at 12 o'clock on each side of the strings. I played with that and didn't think it did much for me. Then I took two more 8" strips, cut them in half, and centered them at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock with half a strip on either side of the strings. I didn't offset at the buttcap as the overgrip had already changed the balance to be even more headlight, so I was trying to offset that plus make it less headlight.
Just remembered I added the yonex vibration dampener which adds another 4g.
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nickarnold2000
Hall of Fame
nickarnold2000
Hall of Fame
It just goes to show what racket head speed can do for ball control.
Boomersooner
New User
Just got off the court with the 98. I own 2 of the 100 tours, and have to say that the 98 blew them away. It is definitely more controllable, especially depth. Less powerful with a slightly more dense 16x19 pattern. Very solid on volleys, good racket head speed on serves. I felt MUCH more comfortable taking full swings. Return was so much better. The 100 tour has much more of a trampoline effect. Probably going to make the switch. I'm a 4.0 (4.5 if I was younger) all courter. It was strung @52 with alu power mains, nxt crosses. Still extremely arm friendly btw.
smalahove
Hall of Fame
Fyi, in a comment below one of his vids or posts, he gives it an 8 out of 10 rating (Clash 98 i.e.).
I think you have to factor in that the Clash 98 is compared to the Clash Tour 100, which is his current racket of choice afaik.
smalahove
Hall of Fame
I've tried the Clash 100 twice now, for about 3-4 hours. I've compared it to the 2019 Pure Aero, and my VCore 95s.
This is a great racket for beginners, intermediate players and for those with less than stellar footwork.
My first reaction was that, yes, it gives easy power, but in a very specific way. It gives you very easy depth with little effort. It's like a more controllable trampoline effect, whilst the string bed doesn't feel like it. But it's def not a power racket. When I really went for my shots, things got too unpredictable. With the Pure Aero, I was able to generate a lot more pace and spin.
However, my two playing partners both commented on how much better I played with the Clash 100. To me, this is a case of hitting deep, consistently on all shots. But I want to be able to rip the ball at times, so I'm hoping the Tour might give me that control and plow.
This is a great racket for beginners, intermediate players and for those with less than stellar footwork.
My first reaction was that, yes, it gives easy power, but in a very specific way. It gives you very easy depth with little effort. It's like a more controllable trampoline effect, whilst the string bed doesn't feel like it. But it's def not a power racket. When I really went for my shots, things got too unpredictable. With the Pure Aero, I was able to generate a lot more pace and spin.
However, my two playing partners both commented on how much better I played with the Clash 100. To me, this is a case of hitting deep, consistently on all shots. But I want to be able to rip the ball at times, so I'm hoping the Tour might give me that control and plow.
Tennis_dude101
Professional
ductrung3993
Hall of Fame
Ordered a TW leather grip to put on the Clash. Any other leather grip-per out there?
Holdfast44ID
Semi-Pro
I tried a Fairway grip but it killed my fingers and I had to remove it.
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Casius_Juventus
Rookie
Wow 35lbs !! ... Perhaps I should have gone even lower on my setup. Sadly though, and I'm not sure if you've had the same experience, but I was getting some heavy string bed vibrations as my setup lost tension which became extremely annoying. What's been your experience? Do you have a practical solution to the vibration issue?
Mirdad
Semi-Pro
I use my own electronic stringing machine which is a Gamma Progression II ELS. I've noticed since stringing my racquet on this machine that the string bed is a little firmer so I usually drop the tension by at least 2 lbs. Normally, RPM Blast 17 ga lasts me no more than five hours till I cut the strings for some fresh ones but so far this set up is lasting me considerably longer.......about eight hours and no soreness or dead strings. Today, I played 4.5 to 5.0 dubs and every player commented how well I played today. During back court rallies, no one out hit me, not even close. What I love about the Clash Tour is that I'm able to use a full bed of poly without any soreness. However, the Clash plays much better at low tensions. I can only recall two unforced errors: one forehand and backhand where I did not brush up on the ball and the ball launched long. I realize that ultra low tensions are not for everyone, especially those who don't brush up strongly on the ball.
I have not experienced any string vibrations at all. I suggest using a Gamma Shockbuster II which you can get from the TW:
https://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Gamma_Shockbuster_II_Vibration_Dampener/descpageGAMMA-SB2.html
If that doesn't work then I'd take the racquet in to have the place where you bought it and ask them to hit some balls with it. Obviously, the first step is to look at the frame to see if you see any materials along the hoop that may have separated. Make sure to check to see if you have a cracked grommet. Also, if you already use a vibration dampener, check to see that it is not partly broken as sometimes you may not notice it. A broken dampener can cause a buzzing sound and vibration.
Good luck and let me know how things turn out......
Mirdad
Semi-Pro
I took a leather grip off my Wilson RFA and put it on my Clash Tour and it feels fine. However, it can feel very slippery if you don't put an over grip on it. I use Kimony over grips which are one of the thinnest if not the thinnest over grips in the industry.
nickarnold2000
Hall of Fame
How many hours are you getting out of your current set up before the strings start moving around too much ?
Mirdad
Semi-Pro
I’m on about 8 hours and the strings are still sliding back into place on their own. RPM Blast is a very stiff string so perhaps that helps.
I’m going to cut them out real soon as I want to experiment on some new strings by Grapplesnake that are softer. I’ll post a review within the next two weeks.
Hit with the Clash 98 yesterday. Exact same string setup as an early demo of the Clash 100 which was syn gut at 50. Definitely has more control and predictability. The 100 felt great and easy for routine rallies, but as soon as I'd try hitting an aggressive shot on the move it was randomly wild. The 98 still has a different response when you flatten out a shot but the wildcard results are gone. With that control is also a little more of a muted feel than the 100 and it's not a racquet that provides free power. Super easy to serve with and very stable on volleys.
I'll hit again with my preferred nat-gut/poly setup and update my thoughts.
I'll hit again with my preferred nat-gut/poly setup and update my thoughts.
mad dog1
G.O.A.T.
Thanks for sharing this. Never seen this guy before. he is definitely an advanced level player.
mad dog1
G.O.A.T.
The 1.40 mains are definitely lasting longer than any other string I’ve used before. I needed to let the racquet sit for a few weeks before the stringbed settled in and started feeling good.
I’m a strong 4.0/weak 4.5.
Tennis_dude101
Professional
I currently using Solinco Barbwire 17 mains and Solinco Outlast 16L crosses in my Wilson Steam 105 (16x19) strung at 45lbs.
Should I try this combo in my new Clash?
TD
Should I try this combo in my new Clash?
TD
Holdfast44ID
Semi-Pro
The Clash Tour 100 feels good with 16g gut mains at 52 and RPM Blast Rough 17 at 47 in the crosses. This setup feels the best so far (other poly in the crosses would probably feel as good but I had 1/2 a set I wanted to get rid of). However, I still get fliers with this frame. The 98 sounds better for me. Also am looking forward to the next Blades.
mad dog1
G.O.A.T.
One of the coaches at the courts I hit at handed me his Clash Tour string with Luxilon gut 17g/Max power rough 1.25 at 57/55 today to try. Wow. Very nice, indeed. Easy power and spin. Just swing with smooth strokes and the racquet. I think I’ll need try a gut/Max power rough setup in my leaded clash.
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I couldn't find a pattern for the 98 but it was pretty obvious once I got started. I think I tried to tie off the mains in the adjacent home next to the last main but it was a struggle to feed it through there so I skipped to the next hole and it was easy. Crosses were similar. I can post a pic of my string bed if that will help.
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I asked Wilson for the PDF of the official stringing instructions. I two pieced mine. 7 and nine on both the head and throat end are the skip holes. I tied the mains off one main back up the head. If you cut the string at an angle it was pretty easy to push thru. I tied off mains at 8 top. Bottom cross I tied off at 8 bottom. Top cross I tied off at 6 top. I looked on Wilson website and the clash 98 picture there is 1 piece stringing but it shows the main knot at 8 top and cross knot at 8 bottom. So the only one you really have to decide on is the top tie off for the crosses when two piece stringing. I chose 6 top.
