Pure Drive vs. Surge

[Ash Doyle]

Could someone who has played with both the Babolat Pure Drive and Wilson Surge tell me how they compare. They appear to have very similar designs and specs. Thanks.

 

[Ash_Smith]

Is far as I was aware they were from the same mould, although the spec's (weight, balance etc may be different. This might have changed now that the surge has been ncoded.

 

[Gaines Hillix]

They are very similar. Some of those who prefer the Surge say that it's more consistent and predictable for them because it doesn't have the woofer grommet system. Another frame that is kind of under the radar but is similar to the PDs is the PK Laver S and SX.

 

[barry]

I use the Wilson Surge. It is a great racket. Strung with a leather grip it weighs 11.7 ounces. I switched to the Surge from a Head Ti.Radical, which was a great racket (discontinued), switched because the dense string pattern on the Head took away power and was a pain in the butt to string 7 months ago. The open string pattern on the Surge gives you better feel and pop on the ball. You can hit harder serves with the Surge.
Overall I am very pleased with the frame, and the spec's on the new nSurge are identical to the old one, so will stay with the existing Surge's for a while.
I hit a few balls with the PD and could not tell any difference other than the sound which was probably due to the strings. From what I read Wilson Cloned the racket and sell its for a lot less. I am a 4.5 level player all court.

 

[Tenny]

Surge > PD

I briefly owned, played both. I prefer Surge to PD. Cosmetics are actaully no problem (many complain about Surge's paintjob but I found it's OK). Most importantly, I never had pain problem with Surge but instantly had problem with PD. My experience is limited because I didn't own them for a long time but I can clearly say Surge played better than PD (Similar but Surge felt more solid, maneuverable, precise as others say). Hope this helps!

Tenny.

 

[Cfidave]

Not exactly what you asked, but...I play with the Surge X, and have played with the Pure Drive Plus. I found the Surge X to be more predictable, as powerful, and more comfortable then the PD Plus. Mine has a leather grip and is weighted to 12 3/8 oz. I also found more depth on my shots with the Surge.
The only place I found the PD to be superior was spin, especially on the serve, and that was by a small margin.

 

[Serve-And-Volley]

When I demoed the racquet I liked Surge it had a better feel at the net and good power on groundies and serves. The Pure Drive is a racquet that you can pop the groundies and serve hard with but if you go to net you can expect the racquet to not perform well. But as for specs. that are very similar.

 

[monologuist]

I have spent time with both frames. They actually feel more diferent imo than you'd think. I can see that they are based on the same idea, but there are important distinctions. Primarily the ommission of Woofer grommets in the Surge, you'll either like or not like, I happen to like it as it give me greater control/predictability on most shots that are flatter. The disadvantage is that it makes it less comfortable and dampened feeling, and since there is more dwell time with th Woofer System, you get a little more spin. The Woofer-less Surge also gives it MUCH more feel on touch shots, volleys, anything where you are not swinging hard.

Also the grip shape is quite squarish/boxy on the Surge, while the PD has a a more rectangular one. To me the PD grip is slightly better for semi-western and western grips, but you can get used to the Wilson grip too.

So I'd recommend the Surge to Serve and Volley/All-Courters, and Pure Drive to western-grip heavy topspin baseliners.

I have one Surge X with Touch Turbo 17 @ 58 lbs., and it is a tad bit too powerful, and another with Babolat Hurricane 17 mains, Wilson NXT 16 crosses, @ 60 lbs. , and it is just right.

I also sometimes play the Surge 5.1, but the Surge X has a slightly higer swingweight whcih I like, and extra leverage on groundies and serves. I have a 1 hh backhand though, so I am wondering if I should be favoring the standard length Surge, but so far, the extar .5" hasn't been much of a negative factor in any regard, including maneuverability, as the racquet is so light and maneuverable to begin with.

anyway, to wrap it up, these racquets are similar, but don't let people tell you they are clones, as they play pretty differently imo, and I'm glad I playtested them extensively before settling on the Surge.

 

[Mr. Potato Head]

And what about LM Instict, the other clone? More similar to Surge as it lacks woofer system too or not? It is also less stiff, isn't it?

Bye.

 

[Gemini]

I'll chime in on this one. I inherited a Surge X and PD+ a couple of years ago. I preferred the Surge X over the PD+ because it was less tension sensitive and had a more predictable shot response overall.