pro kennex destiny

I used the Ceramic Destiny, Burgundy & White grommet strip, for three years and it rates as my favorite standard length racket. It is a 80/20 graphite layup and was the middle racket of the Line. The Composite was 60/40 and was just a tad heavier, while the 100 % Graphite was too stiff for my tastes.
I disliked the AVC model that came after it, and moved on when I could no longer get new Ceramics.
Sweet hitting easy power and the most popular model Pro Kennex has made in my playing group.
 
I've got this one:

The ProKennex Composite Destiny

pkcd01.jpg


Love it! It is on the heavy side but due to the HL balance it doesn't feel cumbersome. Wish I brought it back with me..it's back home in Sydney at the moment :(

Apparently these racquets or molds were the basis for the early Babolats..forget which ones...
 
I too love the ceramic destiny. This is the racquet I currently play with. Excellent hitting racquet. I just picked up two more.

The Ceramic Destiny AVC is the one version I do not like. There is something missing with that model.

I am always picking up the ceramic destinys when I see them listed on the cheap side. Excellent playing racquet.
 
Count me in as another former Destiny user. Great sticks. Although not completely identical to the Pure Drive, it did serve as the mold for the Pure Drive.

The Ceramic Destiny was my main racquet as a junior, although I also used the Graphite Destiny for a little bit before going back to the Ceramic as I liked it a little better. Plus, the ruby red paintjob of the Ceramic Destiny was sweet. The Graphite was PK's top of the line stick at the time, and a few PK sponsored pros used it -- I believe Robert Seguso, Tommy Ho, Hu Na, but I could be wrong (although I'm 100% sure Seguso used it at one point).

I never tried the AVC version. PK put those rubber dampeners on a number of their sticks, including their Presence line which had the same mold as the Destiny, but were more power oriented with a thicker Prince CTS-like tapered beam in the head.
 
I've had the exact same racket before, even with the same blue Yonex overgrip, :)

The racket generates enormous topspin, significantly more than any other racket that I had. However it is too much head light and does not have enough plow through. I eventually sold it.

I believe it was the prototype of Babolat Pure Drive.

Spin-A-Lot said:
I've got this one:

The ProKennex Composite Destiny

pkcd01.jpg


Love it! It is on the heavy side but due to the HL balance it doesn't feel cumbersome. Wish I brought it back with me..it's back home in Sydney at the moment :(

Apparently these racquets or molds were the basis for the early Babolats..forget which ones...
Click to expand...
 
I used a Composite Destiny AVC, the dingly thing didn't much bother me. For a widebody, it's okay. Had some feel to it.
 
PK's later Laver Heritage Type S racquets were made with the same mold. As with the Destinys, they had flexy throats with very solid, stable hoops.

My fave Destiny is the Composite -- just the right flex and control for me. Excellent pop.
 
Keifers said:
PK's later Laver Heritage Type S racquets were made with the same mold. As with the Destinys, they had flexy throats with very solid, stable hoops.

My fave Destiny is the Composite -- just the right flex and control for me. Excellent pop.
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Yeah, I remember that stable top of the racquet. It was pretty handy once you got used to knowing it was there.
 
These were great frames! I played with all three frames during high school but most of the time the Ceramic was my favorite as I was more a baseliner then. I still have one decent conditioned Graphite Destiny - still plays nice.

I actually have 3 or 4 full new unused grommet sets from the Ceramic Destiny. They're white, of course... Anyone interested, email me and we can work something out.

EDIT: I was mistaken; I found out that I only had one Destiny grommet set. The 3-4 sets of grommets were for another classic, the Wilson Stars and Stripes 6.6 Pro Staff 95. Sorry for those that inquired - I sent Keifers my Destiny grommet set. Thanks Keifers.
 
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I'm in a honeymoon phase with my latest Goodwill shop discovery, a PK Asymmetric - the black and dark red version. I don't have any measuring scales and there are no specs printed on the frame; does anyone know the weight of this racket? The swingweight is very manageable and the gripshape thankfully is a bit squarer than the slightly flatter shapes of the Destiny range from the late 80's. Thanks
 
I also rate the Destiny Ceramic as my favourite frame ever and I only changed because I couldn't find bumpers and grommets for them.
Absolutely superb !!!
 
Joe, I, too, played with the Ceramic Destiny back in the 80s. I used one in league play a couple of years ago also, along with a Composite Destiny. Both my Composite Destiny and Ceramic Destiny weighed the same, and they played pretty similarly. I had an AVC model too, which I actually liked. But again, I like a "dead" feel. I have a couple of 10g PSE, which look a lot like the Destiny mold, but I can't get as much spin out them as I can the Destiny. Don't know why as they have the same string pattern.
 
MAXXply said:
I'm in a honeymoon phase with my latest Goodwill shop discovery, a PK Asymmetric - the black and dark red version. I don't have any measuring scales and there are no specs printed on the frame; does anyone know the weight of this racket? The swingweight is very manageable and the gripshape thankfully is a bit squarer than the slightly flatter shapes of the Destiny range from the late 80's. Thanks
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Laver played the Asymmetric for a while, loaded up with lead tape. I've no idea what the specs are, though.
 
I have a few Asymmetrics too. The maroon one is stiffer than the black/gold model. The black/gold Asymmetric is probably the easiest on the arm racket ever made (by any manufacturer).
 
I have two legendary destiny's - heavy as hell but hit a big controlled ball. Might have to pull them out for a test drive. Has been 12 years since they have seen the light of day
 
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Checkout TW's Vintage section for their latest offerings - the sexy dark grey Graphite Destinies. Even the leather grips look uber-cool in grey. Pity they're 5/8
 
If anyone's interested in a good condition PK Composite Destiny AVC, grip 4.5, just let me know. Best,
 
I've just seen someone advertising something called a Destiny Lite - looks like all the others in the Destiny mould, dark burgundy & midnight blueish pj - anyone ever played with one of these and can comment on how it plays?
 
this is the Mother of Babolat pure drive , its like head prestige , and prince garaphite origianl a longer time model in the present
 
Donquixote2u said:
I've just seen someone advertising something called a Destiny Lite - looks like all the others in the Destiny mould, dark burgundy & midnight blueish pj - anyone ever played with one of these and can comment on how it plays?
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Resurrecting thread to elaborate on this. Been picking up original destinys off fleabay and some kind posters here thanks to @zalive who recommended the FCS line but i thought i would try the originals first. So far have found...
graphite destiny (tour?)
ceramic destiny
composite destiny
copper destiny
boron destiny
destiny lite

I havent yet found a pearl destiny - if anyone has one that needs a good home let me know! Have only hit with the copper, composite, boron and lite so far. Talking about the lite, here it is for the sake of posterity......

IMG_0721.jpg
IMG_0722.jpg


Really nice PJ that makes you think Babolat stole it for the swirly line. Not sure exactly when it was made but its made in Thailand which surprised me? The standard destinys are all 345g plus strung but the lite is truly lite at 285g and about 2pts HH.
 
Nice zoolander!
What do you think about these older Destiny's, how do they feel to hit with?
Yeah, Lite's weight is similar to FCS...
 
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zalive said:
Nice zoolander!
What do you think about these older Destiny's, how do they feel to hit with?
Yeah, Lite's weight is similar to FCS...
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The copper and composite are very similar, solid and very comfy, great to hit with. The lite is solid and comfy for its weight, more so than any modern lite racquets i have tried. The boron is very different, feels more like a modern pure drive with the hollower feel and not as comfy. Cant wait to hit with the tour and ceramic which look almost new. They are all a tad heavier than i like but theres always some metal or lead in the handle somewhere in these older racquets so i used a magnet to find it and dug it out, then patched it with some expanding foam (i dont mind hacking into my racquets in the name of experimentation). Now they are 330g odd which is good.
 
Zoolander said:
The copper and composite are very similar, solid and very comfy, great to hit with. The lite is solid and comfy for its weight, more so than any modern lite racquets i have tried. The boron is very different, feels more like a modern pure drive with the hollower feel and not as comfy. Cant wait to hit with the tour and ceramic which look almost new. They are all a tad heavier than i like but theres always some metal or lead in the handle somewhere in these older racquets so i used a magnet to find it and dug it out, then patched it with some expanding foam (i dont mind hacking into my racquets in the name of experimentation). Now they are 330g odd which is good.
Click to expand...

Yeah, for what I understood, Boron (or at least this word lol) was used in the past to make layup stiffer than usual...so no wonder 'Boron' racquets are stiffer and feel hollower...

Anyway, I'm glad you like the design (and Pro Kennex) as I do :) I'm never sure is it me or is it more universal, but when I hit groundstrokes with Destiny everything is so right. I like the launch angle, I like the trajectory produced, I like how racquet reacts on off centres (ok it has something to do with the way I customize them, but nevetheless design has its role there). It's how I imagine open pattern racquet of a tweenerish type should play.

I found data PK used 20% of kevlar in KI 10 and Destiny racquets made in 2005. Destiny FCS produced today use fiberglass with graphite in composite, while KI 10 (Destiny mould) is said to be made of different type of graphite + carbon. Anyway, whatever they use even today (one of my FCS is from 2011, the other one from 2014-2015), it doesn't feel the same way how a modern 100% graphite closer to 70 RA flex feels, so I guess they still make a composite layup, in a way. And even today it feels and plays better than what most manufacturers do, and actually feels surprising for its RA.
 
zalive said:
Anyway, I'm glad you like the design (and Pro Kennex) as I do
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Its funny but the last PK i owned was an aluminium one in high school. But i have always preferred the feel of a thinner rounder throat with a wider stiff hoop (not a box beam sort of guy) and the shape of these is just right. And these days i like using stiffer tighter strings for the extra control you get and modern racquets feel generally awful with them, these older racquets make them more bearable!
 
I think I recall that when Babolat frames were first brought out, there was some talk that the company used Pro Kennex destiny molds.
 
max said:
I think I recall that when Babolat frames were first brought out, there was some talk that the company used Pro Kennex destiny molds.
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First gen PD and Swirly were directly from Destiny mold. I believe Pro Kennex even manufactured those two directly for Babolat. Drillings and grommets were different though, it seems. Babolat made string spacing even more open in the middle of the string bed. Destiny is denser in the middle, open in the upper hoop.
 
zalive said:
First gen PD and Swirly were directly from Destiny mold. I believe Pro Kennex even manufactured those two directly for Babolat. Drillings and grommets were different though, it seems. Babolat made string spacing even more open in the middle of the string bed. Destiny is denser in the middle, open in the upper hoop.
Click to expand...

I have a 1st gen PD and compared it to them. The throat tapers thinner in the destiny but not in the PD, but that seems to be the only difference in the mold. And your right, the PD has slightly more open cross string spacing than the destiny, unless my eyes deceive me.
 
Zoolander said:
I have a 1st gen PD and compared it to them. The throat tapers thinner in the destiny but not in the PD, but that seems to be the only difference in the mold. And your right, the PD has slightly more open cross string spacing than the destiny, unless my eyes deceive me.
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So there is a difference in mold between PD first gen and Destiny in the throat? Thought they were completely the same...anyway, that's a nice info, thanks.
What's the thickness of the thinnest part of the throat on first PD? For Destiny it's specified at 18 mm thought I never checked that.
 
zalive said:
So there is a difference in mold between PD first gen and Destiny in the throat? Thought they were completely the same...anyway, that's a nice info, thanks.
What's the thickness of the thinnest part of the throat on first PD? For Destiny it's specified at 18 mm thought I never checked that.
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IMG_0726.jpg


PD is straight beam thru the throat. And another small detail i noticed, grommet channel on the PD goes the whole way but on the destiny it ends early and the grommet strip sits outside the frame for the last few holes.
 
PBODY99 said:
There is also a Destiny 265 from the late 1990's, which is the weight in grams.
Seems they have re-released this model in Europe
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Aah i wondered if that referred to weight, thought it was a bit light! Didnt i read you saying in other threads you used to play the red ceramic destiny? Managed to find one in really good condition recently and took it out for a hit today. Felt quite crisp though comfy and fairly powerful too. I noticed it has a solid bumper and the other models have a lightweight perforated bumper, it def felt like it had a higher swingweight than them.
 
Yes, for 3 seasons. I disliked the AVC release after selling my frames to a guy I strung for.
He got 8 more years out of them as I had 3 bumpers /frame & the 1st gen solids held up really well.
 
Played with the composite destiny (green one) because it was the most flexible version of the 3 available (Ceramic:red, graphite:black) and I enjoyed it very much.
 
One of the Destiny rackets I had needed new grommets. I used the PK Type S grommets, and they fit. The maroon Ceramic Destiny looked great with the gray bumperguard/grommets.
 
Steve Huff said:
One of the Destiny rackets I had needed new grommets. I used the PK Type S grommets, and they fit. The maroon Ceramic Destiny looked great with the gray bumperguard/grommets.
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I remember reading you did that. Didnt hit with a type s did you?

Does anybody know if the current destiny advance ones that are available are still same string pattern and would fit?
 
The grommets for the Destiny Advance/STD racquets fit my Destiny Ceramic 95 (cherry red) perfectly - took a chance and switched one of them out last year since it seemed to match up by eyeing it,
and by using the formula for an ellipse, my Destiny Ceramic 95 came out to approx. 97.6". The destiny Advance were advertised as 98", so my Ceramic 95's are probably closer to 98's. The new black grommet look great
although I don't mind the original white grommets on my second Ceramic).
 
All I know is that PK specifies current Destiny racquets at 98.6''.
Nice that they kept the pattern/grommets the same, though.
 
SkeeterSCU said:
The grommets for the Destiny Advance/STD racquets fit my Destiny Ceramic 95 (cherry red) perfectly - took a chance and switched one of them out last year since it seemed to match up by eyeing it,
and by using the formula for an ellipse, my Destiny Ceramic 95 came out to approx. 97.6". The destiny Advance were advertised as 98", so my Ceramic 95's are probably closer to 98's. The new black grommet look great
although I don't mind the original white grommets on my second Ceramic).
Click to expand...

Awesome! Thats what i wanted to hear thanks!
 
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