I have been playing with the Prince Ripstick 280 for 1,5 years now, still enjoying the frame but having more arm pain lately as my frequency of playing and duration of hitting sessions have gone up. My Ripsticks are around 310g strung (with leather grip and some have lead in the hoop) and 331 swing weight. I know the flex of one (measured by TW) which is 69 RA unstrung (a lot higher than the advertised 63 on TW which is strung if I am not mistaken). As the Ripcord has an advertised RA of 61 and has the exact same aggressive profile of the Ripstick, I wonder how they compare and whether they could not be a more arm friendly version of the Ripstick. My slight worry with te Ripcord is that it is very head light and has a very low swing weight for such a light frame, so I imagine lots of lead will be needed to get it to play well. Looking forward to your input.
Prince Ripcord 280 compared to Ripstick
- Thread starter andirez
- Start date
LOBALOT
Legend
OK, I'll bite. As a Ripstick 300 user I don't see how you would call them the same racquet. I am not a huge fan of the stick but I need ports for past injury and the phantoms were too thin beam for me. Meanwhile the Ripstick is too stiff so yes I can see the arm issues you note especially with added lead, etc.
Anyway to compare:
Ports vs. No ports.
16x18 open vs. 16x19 less open
As you say lower RA and lower Swing Weight.
So not sure what you are driving at. If the Ripstick is not for you and if you are not looking at ports (i.e. Ripcord) then switch to something else but not sure why I would limit your options to just to the Ripcord.
Anyway to compare:
Ports vs. No ports.
16x18 open vs. 16x19 less open
As you say lower RA and lower Swing Weight.
So not sure what you are driving at. If the Ripstick is not for you and if you are not looking at ports (i.e. Ripcord) then switch to something else but not sure why I would limit your options to just to the Ripcord.
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Thanks for biting 
Main reason why I am hoping that the Ripcord is somehow similar to the Ripstick is that I really enjoy playing with the Ripstick and like everything about it apart from the sometimes jarring flex. If I would get the Ripcord, I would bring it up to the same specs as my Ripsticks and then I would hope to have a softer Ripstick albeit without the O-ports. I have been playing with O-ports for the past 20 years or so coming from an arm injury (first O3 Tour, then O3 White, now Ripstick, also tried the O3 Beast which I really did not like). I typically hit the ball a bit higher than centre and I feel the profile of the Ripstick caters very well to that and I love the easy power and whipiness. But perhaps you are absolutely right and are the O-ports what makes the stick so unique. My Whites have 16x19 and I do not think that is a huge deal.
Main reason why I am hoping that the Ripcord is somehow similar to the Ripstick is that I really enjoy playing with the Ripstick and like everything about it apart from the sometimes jarring flex. If I would get the Ripcord, I would bring it up to the same specs as my Ripsticks and then I would hope to have a softer Ripstick albeit without the O-ports. I have been playing with O-ports for the past 20 years or so coming from an arm injury (first O3 Tour, then O3 White, now Ripstick, also tried the O3 Beast which I really did not like). I typically hit the ball a bit higher than centre and I feel the profile of the Ripstick caters very well to that and I love the easy power and whipiness. But perhaps you are absolutely right and are the O-ports what makes the stick so unique. My Whites have 16x19 and I do not think that is a huge deal.
LOBALOT
Legend
Similar to me then. I played with the O3 white for many years and I actually like that better than the Ripstick and it takes to gut/poly hybrids way better than the Ripstick too which was my favorite setup for the racquet. With the Ripstick I can can only use full poly so that doesn't help.
I fractured and tore my tfcc about 12 years ago hitting a forehand, and had 3 surgeries to repair it. I was out for 7 years total with rehab so the ports are only thing that my wrist can really take.
If they came out with a O3 white now with the same flex I would snap it up in the heart beat.
If it is the ports you like you are really limited right now. I agree with the O3 tour and the beast are too powerful and not the same stick as the white.
I liked the ported phantom but while I could place my serve on a dime it really lacked power and similarly off the ground.
I have seen some nice looking sticks in the Prince thread that are only sold in Japan so maybe we can hope for something here in the states.
I fractured and tore my tfcc about 12 years ago hitting a forehand, and had 3 surgeries to repair it. I was out for 7 years total with rehab so the ports are only thing that my wrist can really take.
If they came out with a O3 white now with the same flex I would snap it up in the heart beat.
If it is the ports you like you are really limited right now. I agree with the O3 tour and the beast are too powerful and not the same stick as the white.
I liked the ported phantom but while I could place my serve on a dime it really lacked power and similarly off the ground.
I have seen some nice looking sticks in the Prince thread that are only sold in Japan so maybe we can hope for something here in the states.
ericykchan
Rookie
I had the Ripstick 280 for a few months, and my wife is using Ripcore 260. My experience on both is, as LOBALOT said, they are two different racquets. Ripcore has X-ONE whereas Ripstick had V-square poly. They both felt the same comfort wise, i.e., harsh vibration, not much but still obvious if outside of sweet spot.
Why not change string or lower tension first before considering a new racquet? even lower a few lbs (or 1kg) on the cross just to soften the string bed first. or put a dampener, if not already used one.
Why not change string or lower tension first before considering a new racquet? even lower a few lbs (or 1kg) on the cross just to soften the string bed first. or put a dampener, if not already used one.
@LOBALOT Indeed, similar stories. Reason I went looking for something else than the Whites is that i wanted a slightly lighter package, hence the 280 Ripstick. The RA of 63 on paper looked great when I got my first frames, but I know now that seemed to have been an outlier when TW tested their first batch. Thing is, unlike you, I do really prefer the Ripstick over the White for my game. I have also tweaked one of my Whites to have the same SW as my Ripsticks and removing as much weight as possible at the same time, but I get noticeably more spin on my Ripsticks. Both are strung with Tecnifibre Multifeel 16 with the Ripstick 1kg / 2.2lbs tighter than the White. And I think I like the O ports, they were a gift from heaven when I had my arm troubles. Tried a lot of arm-friendly frames that were on Racquet Research back in the day (ProKennex 5G, Yonex RD Ti-50, Volkl C10, Fischer Pro Number One) and only when Prince came out with the O3 Tour I felt immediate relieve. Since then I have been tried to lighter as I play mostly doubles now and it suits my game better.
@erickychan Thanks for the feedback! If the Ripcord is still harsh with X-One Biphase then that is definite no-go. Changing string is not an option honestly. Multifeel is the perfect low-powered multi for me, I obviously do not want to go with a poly unless maybe it is at very low tension. I already have a setup where my crosses are tensioned 2Kg/1lbs lower than my mains and that works out great. Regarding the dampener, always play without one as I thought it only affects the sound and does nothing else. Am I wrong?
@erickychan Thanks for the feedback! If the Ripcord is still harsh with X-One Biphase then that is definite no-go. Changing string is not an option honestly. Multifeel is the perfect low-powered multi for me, I obviously do not want to go with a poly unless maybe it is at very low tension. I already have a setup where my crosses are tensioned 2Kg/1lbs lower than my mains and that works out great. Regarding the dampener, always play without one as I thought it only affects the sound and does nothing else. Am I wrong?
ericykchan
Rookie
Personally the dampener takes out some vibrations from string bed too but maybe that is the "feel" people talk about in TT. It does quiet the sound and I think just also absorbs some vibrations that will end up transferring to the handle.
I think it's fair to not change string as it is actually the exact thing makes contact to the ball so it is very important.
I think it's fair to not change string as it is actually the exact thing makes contact to the ball so it is very important.
tele
Hall of Fame
have you considered getting rid of the leather grip (which transmits more frame vibrations ime) in favor of a synthetic and some blue tac in the handle? in addition, increasing handle weight even further might give you a comfort boost.
Actually not no as I really enjoy the clear bevels with a leather grip and have been playing with leather for as long as I can remember (+15 years), but I could source a thinner / dense synthetic grip that I do not have to grip too tightly and see what that brings. I always use an overgrip as well. I do not think I want to go too head light as I feel it hurts the explosiveness of my strokes. I know SW stays the same, but I need some (relative) mass in the head to feel that the racquet does most of the work.
