wedge
Rookie
This is going to be a super long writeup, so fair warning! Don’t nobody be giving me no guff about it
I promise to keep the shtick to a minimum.
But the long and short of it is -- and I know I'm not the first or the only person to say this -- I’m convinced Pro Kennex’s kinetic technology is so effective and important an innovation, that if they could, I wager all other racket manufacturers would be implementing it in their rackets in some form. I’m just an intermediate player but hopefully I can share some additional info and impressions that someone else might find useful.
Feel free to skip the intro/background stuff here if you’re just looking for the racket thoughts, I won’t be offended
Intro Stuff:
A couple months ago, I found an old, very used Pro Kennex 5G in a used sports equip store that begins with Play, ends with Sports, and it’s called Play it Again Sports. That scuffed racket basically changed the way I think about rackets. Until then, I had been on an extended, fru$$$trating racket hunt ever since getting back into the game, which has been complicated by an arm that complains if I look at it funny. I’ve got a long, long history of all kinds of arm ailments (multiple tendonitises, RSI, trigger finger, nerve issues, you name it) so finding a sustainable racket was a big deal.
I tried maaaaany current frames without success – there were some I really liked but couldn’t play with (VCore/EZone, Boom/Extreme/Gravity(!) MP’s, Pure Drive, CX400, ATS Textreme Tours, T-Fights, Whiteout etc), rackets which I liked but could tell were beyond my ability and fitness level (Percept/VCP, CX200, Prestige, Pure Strike etc) and rackets I actively disliked playing with (Blades, just all the Blades for some reason). I settled on a Head Boom Pro which I liked a lot, loved even (that's a truly great racket) and it worked for a while, but ultimately it and every other modern frame eventually ran afoul of my arm (and of course, my highly sus technique).
Even Clashes weren’t the answer for my arm, and while I appreciate them enormously, I couldn’t convince myself that playing with them was fun, or even “tennis” per se. And while the 2nd and 3rd gen Phantoms were really nice, only the 1st gen 100’s worked, and I didn’t have the technique to play with them.
The Boom Pro was heavier than any of the other modern frames, which clued me into weight being a good thing for a sensitive arm. So I moved onto a whole journey of heavy, flexible, older frames like Head Radical Tour OS, Dunlop 200G/400i/800i, and old Prince widebody thin-beam rackets like Graphite Comp and Power Pro. These were much better for my arm, and frankly these older frames are really rewarding to play – they all forced me to be mindful about technique and not force shots with my arm. And they were reasonably sustainable from a health perspective, even though my arm was still sore and tight for several days after playing, and I was limited to playing once a week. Still, it was better – at least I was able to play!
But the 5G I picked up on a whim from that sports place of used equipment where you play it and then do so once more, it was different. The first time I played with it, my elbow literally felt like it was getting BETTER as I played. Again, I realize I'm not a special snowflake in being bowled over by kinetic tech. But boy it was unreal -- it was like I was benefitting from motion and circulation and exercise without any of the strain. And after a 3 hour hitting session, I felt like I hadn’t played a single minute. I could have played all night.
It was kind of a profound experience and I’m not afraid to say I was close to tears when I realized that I would be able to actually play tennis the way I was dreaming of, with a racket I loved. I didn’t know that a racket could be this soft and comfortable – strung with NXT 17 it’s more comfortable than a Clash, and with pinpoint control and ridiculous stability and a solid feeling that I had never felt before. Certain rackets really are magical and the 5G certainly belongs in that club. I think in this group of Pro Kennex frames, it’s the only one that really is truly magic.
(cont'd)
But the long and short of it is -- and I know I'm not the first or the only person to say this -- I’m convinced Pro Kennex’s kinetic technology is so effective and important an innovation, that if they could, I wager all other racket manufacturers would be implementing it in their rackets in some form. I’m just an intermediate player but hopefully I can share some additional info and impressions that someone else might find useful.
Feel free to skip the intro/background stuff here if you’re just looking for the racket thoughts, I won’t be offended
Intro Stuff:
A couple months ago, I found an old, very used Pro Kennex 5G in a used sports equip store that begins with Play, ends with Sports, and it’s called Play it Again Sports. That scuffed racket basically changed the way I think about rackets. Until then, I had been on an extended, fru$$$trating racket hunt ever since getting back into the game, which has been complicated by an arm that complains if I look at it funny. I’ve got a long, long history of all kinds of arm ailments (multiple tendonitises, RSI, trigger finger, nerve issues, you name it) so finding a sustainable racket was a big deal.
I tried maaaaany current frames without success – there were some I really liked but couldn’t play with (VCore/EZone, Boom/Extreme/Gravity(!) MP’s, Pure Drive, CX400, ATS Textreme Tours, T-Fights, Whiteout etc), rackets which I liked but could tell were beyond my ability and fitness level (Percept/VCP, CX200, Prestige, Pure Strike etc) and rackets I actively disliked playing with (Blades, just all the Blades for some reason). I settled on a Head Boom Pro which I liked a lot, loved even (that's a truly great racket) and it worked for a while, but ultimately it and every other modern frame eventually ran afoul of my arm (and of course, my highly sus technique).
Even Clashes weren’t the answer for my arm, and while I appreciate them enormously, I couldn’t convince myself that playing with them was fun, or even “tennis” per se. And while the 2nd and 3rd gen Phantoms were really nice, only the 1st gen 100’s worked, and I didn’t have the technique to play with them.
The Boom Pro was heavier than any of the other modern frames, which clued me into weight being a good thing for a sensitive arm. So I moved onto a whole journey of heavy, flexible, older frames like Head Radical Tour OS, Dunlop 200G/400i/800i, and old Prince widebody thin-beam rackets like Graphite Comp and Power Pro. These were much better for my arm, and frankly these older frames are really rewarding to play – they all forced me to be mindful about technique and not force shots with my arm. And they were reasonably sustainable from a health perspective, even though my arm was still sore and tight for several days after playing, and I was limited to playing once a week. Still, it was better – at least I was able to play!
But the 5G I picked up on a whim from that sports place of used equipment where you play it and then do so once more, it was different. The first time I played with it, my elbow literally felt like it was getting BETTER as I played. Again, I realize I'm not a special snowflake in being bowled over by kinetic tech. But boy it was unreal -- it was like I was benefitting from motion and circulation and exercise without any of the strain. And after a 3 hour hitting session, I felt like I hadn’t played a single minute. I could have played all night.
It was kind of a profound experience and I’m not afraid to say I was close to tears when I realized that I would be able to actually play tennis the way I was dreaming of, with a racket I loved. I didn’t know that a racket could be this soft and comfortable – strung with NXT 17 it’s more comfortable than a Clash, and with pinpoint control and ridiculous stability and a solid feeling that I had never felt before. Certain rackets really are magical and the 5G certainly belongs in that club. I think in this group of Pro Kennex frames, it’s the only one that really is truly magic.
(cont'd)
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