Stiff powerful racket's, by specs?

[LeeD]

Hi everyone, as usual, I"m in a quandry.
Besides getting old, blinder, injured, much slower, and weaker, I've found myself liking playing with my Prince OS Shark and Reds.
Both stiff and big, and extended length.
Now the question.
Does one 70 rated stiffness racket, OS and extended, have the same power level as another companies same spec'd racket?
In his case, talking Pure Drive +'s against my two rackets.
I can't really play with PDR's, due to the higher SW, and me being older than most player's on here. So the lighter weight, 315SW, coupled around high 10 oz's, seem to be my sweetspot.
But, the regular length PD might be one possibility.
I wonder if I can hit as hard, mainly serves, with it compared to my two Prince 03 exted OS rackets. SW's are similar.

 

[BlueB]

Hi Lee. Why change something that works? PD+ is way less comfy then your O3... and sweet spot is nowhere as big as on Princes.

 

[LeeD]

The eternal search for the "holy grail" ??
PD's rate really high in serving prowess. My serves needs help at my level, so a longer, stiff racket should help.
I know, if I move up to higher 4.0, adding a mere 7 or so mph won't help a bit, but at low 4.0, it helps tons.
I sometimes get to play against true 5.0's and with the stiff extended rackets, they actually have to respect my first serves. Of course, they pummel my second serves, with any racket I serve with.
The eternal search for the holy grail.

 

[movdqa]

Ever consider going higher in SW? Maybe a gram every two to three weeks? The body can adjust. How about a 28 inch YT Prestige MP? Those can really smack the ball around.

 

[LeeD]

I"ve been losing muscle mass for about 10 years. OK, more like 25 years, but more noticeable since I turned 56.
I play mostly doubles, where reactions is more important than groundie power.
I do like serving with my 27+ Red and Shark OS's. But, I serve pretty close with my Aero500's weighted to 11+ oz and 325 SW's.
And strange me, I like to feel good about my ability to defend against body shots.
Holy Grail, ego, hoping, and wishing.

 

[movdqa]

You should be able to find a few minimal spanning set exercises that will help you maintain useful muscle mass. Perhaps squats, pushups, pullups and dips would be enough. Maybe Burpees. There are a number of exercises that work multiple muscle groups that help prevent injury as you get older.

 

[LeeD]

I don't really need to prevent future injuries, I'm swamped with past and current injuries.
I'm 5'10" and 149 lbs., so not too far off the mark. Windsurfing 4 days a week helps, as does riding my HooKooEKoo or Cannondale Caad8-6.
When there's snow, I still have my 6 snowboards.
Not to mention my now only 5 surfboards.
And no, I don't work out with weights, I live in California.

 

[movdqa]

You don't need weights for any of the exercises that I mentioned. They can all be done with bodyweight.

 

[LeeD]

Burpees were one of my favorites.
In Puerto Rico this winter, I was doing 50 non stop in the soft sand at the beach, with my g/f, who just turned 45.
I did 8 extended pushups, but not in the soft sand, rather, near the water's edge.
Still can knock off 12 pullups no problem, and 50 situps with a problem. Almost barfed, after eating lunch and hitting the situps.
Pushups, not so good, maybe only 15, and getting worse.

 

[movdqa]

Pushups, surprisingly, are great for your abs.

 

[LeeD]

No doubt, but so are extended pushups.
My abs are adaquate, my triceps totally lacking.
Windsurfing helps my biceps, so I can still do pullups. Wait, I can only do them with my palms facing outwards, because my left arm can't twist to face the palm inwards, like a chinup requires. Old motocross injury.
I was one of those tiny kids who could knock off 76 situps in a minute in junior high. And still barely do 5 pullups back then.

 

[MikeHitsHard93]

I find that strings have a bigger impact than anything. I know you like tour bite...which is as low powered as they come. Try a more elastic string next.

 

[LeeD]

Thanks Mike....
I do have most of my duplicate rackets strung with multi's, or nylon.
It's just that I'm old, and I play mostly against guys 20-40 years younger than me, and hitting soft is no easy way to win points.
And the 70 year olds I play against are former National Champions at that age group, so top NorCal players, no slouch's who's seen everything there is to see on the courts, and all playing tennis at a higher level for longer than I have.
I really hated PSGut, as control was really lacking, while power was only a tiny boost. The ball seems to slide off the strings a little on most shots, losing me more points than winning with the power.
No gut for me, we play in the foggy weather first thing in the mornings.
Any suggestions for a powerful string that still grips the ball?

 

[couch]

LeeD- check out the Pacific X Fast Light. It's about 10.8 strung, 308 SW, and 27.25" long. I play with old version which is about 11.2 strung and I would describe it as a PD with feel. It crushes ground strokes with lots of spin and pounds serves.

I would think the new, lighter, version (X Fast Lt) would be a great fit for what you're looking for. It's a real sleeper in the PD category.

 

[DonDiego]

Lee, have you tried the Blade 104? I did, and it's a fantastic racquet for what you're looking for. Slightly extended, slightly oversized, super maneuverable and comfy, while packing enough punch with surprising control.

If you want to go in the usual specs, another fine surprise for me was the new Instinct mp XT. Super fast while heavy enough to be solid on defense, and great dwell time and control, easy power.

 

[BlueB]

Blade is soft... If you go that route, also try the Prince O3 Tour OS. It is also 27.5, heavier SW then Blade.

Also, if you can get your hands on a cheap pro stock O3 White (Isner), that thing crushes the ball, without being PD stiff or Blade/Tour soft. They are 27.5 as opposed to normal 27 White. SW is about 330 strung with poly.

 

[spinovic]

Thanks Mike....
I do have most of my duplicate rackets strung with multi's, or nylon.
It's just that I'm old, and I play mostly against guys 20-40 years younger than me, and hitting soft is no easy way to win points.
And the 70 year olds I play against are former National Champions at that age group, so top NorCal players, no slouch's who's seen everything there is to see on the courts, and all playing tennis at a higher level for longer than I have.
I really hated PSGut, as control was really lacking, while power was only a tiny boost. The ball seems to slide off the strings a little on most shots, losing me more points than winning with the power.
No gut for me, we play in the foggy weather first thing in the mornings.
Any suggestions for a powerful string that still grips the ball?

I imagine it would be terribly difficult to transition from playing full poly for a long time back to a full bed of anything else. Perhaps finding a good hybrid setup could help. Gut/poly is the obvious choice, but I realize its not the most economical for everyone. There are other options. It should help you add a little pace, while still allowing to swing out and hit good topspin.

I think it's worth a shot.

 

[movdqa]

I went from full poly to a 17 guage Head multi and did transition to it in a short period of time (had to figure out how to reign in the power) but it broke in a short period of time and that combined with my long-time stringer retiring and my backup stringer essentially retiring meant that I had to find something more durable (or buy my own machine). My current stringer is currently 50 miles away - so I'm back to using Poly these days.

 

[LeeD]

I've not had the problem of "too much" power yet.
I hit strong SW forehand grips, so tons of spin, and use a slight backhand side of continental for my slice backhands, when tentative. Lots of backspin.
Why not use PD's? Bad shoulders, bad wrist, sometimes bad golfer's elbow.
But lucky for me, now 66, I don't need to practice anymore. Point play is much easier than practice drilling.

 

[sma1001]

volkl 7 series? Has lots of what you are looking for?

 

[LeeD]

Good one!
Unfortunately, I have Aero500's weighted to 11.25 oz and 323 SW's, Prince 03 RedOS, and Prince 03Shark OS, and basically always broke.
No enamored by the big headsizes, except looking towards the future. I'm 66.

 

[spinovic]

Check out TobyTopspin's comments on the new Textreme Warrior 107. That might be worth checking out.