if you know you have trouble hitting the sweet spot consistently due to poor footwork, changing racquets is not going to help you. you would be better off sticking with your existing racquet and working on improving your movement and footwork.I have some trouble hitting the SS consistently, mainly due to poor footwork... would I be better off with the TF40 or Blade?
Also, today I play with an Ultra Tour, which specwise is pretty much on par with these two.. haven’t seen reviews pairing the TF40 up with the UT (slightly modded for similar SW of course).. or even comparing the Blade to the UT for that matter.
Anyone care to shed some light?
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here's the main issue with the Blades. Wilson's QC isn't great so you could end up with a high swing weight battle axe or a low swing weight platform stick or something in between. If you end up with a blade with a 340 SW and you prefer a racquet with a 330 SW, there's nothing you'll be able to do to drop 10 pts of SW on your blade. if you're fortunate to get one that is your preferred SW, then I would take the Blade over the UT (modded).
I use a modded UT and love it. Through a good friend, I recently acquired an under spec 2015 Blade 18/20 with an unstrung SW of 291. I replaced the stock grip with a leather grip. This thing is pretty awesome now.
Based on my experience
Power: Blade > modded UT > TF40 305
Trajectory (ball height over the net): Blade > modded UT > TF40 305
Control: modded UT > TF40 305 > Blade
Topspin: Spin is determined by technique. I have no trouble generating topspin with any of the sticks, but the type of spin is different. The spin from the Blade kicks up and forward. The spin from the UT jumps more forward than up. The spin from the TF40 doesn't kick up or jump forward as much as the other 2.
Slice: modded UT > Blade > TF40 305
Volleys: Blade > TF40 305 = modded UT
Feel: modded UT > Blade > TF40 305
Serves: haven't been able to serve w/ the TF40 305 or Blade as these were acquired after i injured my shoulder. I serve well with the modded UT. I had a 2015 Blade 18/20 with a higher SW previously and it was a little sluggish on serves. This under spec Blade should be great on serve especially with more power and higher trajectory than my modded UT
Maneuverability: Blade = modded UT > TF40. TF40 was pretty close to the other 2
Comfort: all 3 are very close in terms of comfort. They are all 18/20 patterns so the string bed by default will feel more firm. The Ultra Tour has more frame flex comfort but the string bed is dense while the Blade has less frame flex but the string bed is more open so there's more "give" in the string. The TF40 frame is more firm but very well dampened and the string bed is dense in the middle and opens up as it moves towards the outside.
My main 2 sticks now are the modded UT and the under spec 2015 Blade 18/20. The TF40 305 was sold.
hope this helps.
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