Injured Again
Hall of Fame
I'm a member of UPS Choice and I've been getting emails from them almost daily telling me of the progress of the shipment. My demo is on a truck to be delivered late this afternoon.
Tennis Warehouse: Babolat Pure Drive VS Playtest
- Thread starter TW Staff
- Start date
I'm a member of UPS Choice and I've been getting emails from them almost daily telling me of the progress of the shipment. My demo is on a truck to be delivered late this afternoon.
topspn
G.O.A.T.
I am too but so far no notices
mhkeuns
Hall of Fame
I apologize for being late with the pictures... BTW, thank you, TW. Thank you, Babolat. Thank you for this opportunity to playtest the new Pure Drive VS.
The arrival -
Closer look -
Unstrung - 299 Grams - On point!
Strung with RPM Blast Rough 16G @ 50lbs - 318 Grams
I am so excited to be playtesting this frame. Looks amazing in person.
The arrival -
Closer look -
Unstrung - 299 Grams - On point!
Strung with RPM Blast Rough 16G @ 50lbs - 318 Grams
I am so excited to be playtesting this frame. Looks amazing in person.
haqq777
Legend
Now that's what I am talking about! Great pics, and pretty sweet that it's on spec tooI apologize for being late with the pictures... BTW, thank you, TW. Thank you, Babolat. Thank you for this opportunity to playtest the new Pure Drive VS.
The arrival -
Closer look -
Unstrung - 299 Grams - On point!
Strung with RPM Blast Rough 16G @ 50lbs - 318 Grams
I am so excited to be playtesting this frame. Looks amazing in person.
If they all come in pairs, I am assuming they all should be very tight in tolerances and close to specs.
samprasbackhand
Semi-Pro
Sweet looking stick
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
Got my PDVS yesterday, and today was able to open the box, measure it, string it up, measure it again, and then go for a short hit against a ball machine.
First, it looks like I got what everyone else did. A PDVS, mines is a size 3, and one pack each of RPM Blast Rough and Xcel, both in 1.30/16 gauge.
The one I got was on the lighter side. It measure 295 grams unstrung with a balance point of 31 cm. After stringing, it was 314 grams with a balance point of 32.7 cm.
I'm a firm believer that unless you can see the person doing a review and know what equipment they normally use, it's hard to know how much of their impressions are applicable to you because of how different or similar their games or equipment may be. So, I'm a 57 year old USTA 4.5 rated player who prefers to play singles. I play a hard hitting, all court game though I tend to win most of my points hitting unreturned shots from the baseline. My normal racquet is a Blade SW104, with the grip enlarged to a size 6 and lead added at 3 and 9 o'clock to get to a final static weight of 356 grams, with a swingweight in the 345-350 range. Prior to switching to the SW104 early this year, I used the 2012 model of the Babolat Overdrive 110, weighted to 355 grams with a 340 swingweight. I only use full poly stringbeds and prefer highly shaped strings. Currently, I'm testing Solinco Hyper-G/Revolution, Grapplesnake Cube and Neon Dust, Diadem Solstice Power, Y-tex Quadro Twist, and a few other similar strings. I use between 48-50 pounds in the center mains and 46-48 pounds in the center crosses.
My 25 year old son will also be testing the PDVS. He currently uses the last generation of the PD Roddick Plus, weighted to 365 grams with a swingweight in the 355 range. His racquets are strung with Volkl Cyclone 1.25 at 52 pounds. He's a hard hitting 4.5.
Since my son and I both only use full beds of poly, I strung up the PDVS with the Blast Rough at 52 pounds, exact the same as his racquet. The head shape of the PDVS is slightly wider at the shoulders and shorter overall than his PDR+.
First impressions: The PDVS is a comparatively light racquet that swings through the air very easily. Bouncing balls off the stringbed show very little in the way of unwanted vibrations. It's crisp and muted feeling, and that transferred to the court. Here is an unedited video of my first time hitting groundstrokes with the PDVS. Besides the timing issues of using a racquet 40 grams lighter and one inch shorter than I am used to, I was able to hit clean shots after just a few moments. It is very powerful for its weight, with a large sweetspot that provides a solid, crisp, and vibration-free response. Off-center hits still produce quite a bit of ball velocity and are not that jarring. Because of its light weight, any time I got a bit out of time and didn't swing through the ball with a flatter stroke, the ball kind of dribbled off the stringbed. It didn't feel like I got any compression of the ball against the strings and the launch angle was very low.
About 2/3's of the way through, I tried to step back and loop up some higher groundstrokes with more topspin and was spectacularly unsuccessful. The ball machine balls weren't good, and the racquet just lacks the mass to compress the balls against the strings on a glancing type of hit.
Slices were easily produced but lack the speed or bite that I get with a heavier racquet.
Volleys close to the net were easy to hit. Generous sweetspot and light weight made it easy to get the head of the racquet into the right position. The firm flex made for good volley speed with just a short punching stroke. The light weight helped on drop volleys, at least on my backhand. My forehand volley is pretty much my worst shot, with no touch whatsoever. Directional accuracy is good, and even mis-hits went close to where I was aiming.
I tried stepping back and volleying from around the T, but from there the lack of mass is pretty apparent. You need a pretty long stroke to get the ball back to the baseline, and I had a tough time figuring out how to do that properly.
I hit a few overheads, backhand overheads, and drove some groundstrokes out of the air. Because of the light weight, I was trying to protect my shoulder and elbow by kind of short-arming the overhead. The racquet is so light it's almost like trying to throw a tennis ball. There's so little resistance that it's easy to get hurt. Even so, it's easy to tell all of the typical Pure Drive attributes are there. It's powerful, directionally accurate, and has a generous sweet spot. The light weight hurts on swinging volleys. It feels a bit unstable when I miss the sweetspot even a bit, I guess from trying to redirect the ball to such a different direction than the incoming angle.
Last, here's a video of me practicing against my nemesis shot, which is trying to drive a heavy underspin ball off my backhand to either pass someone at the net or to put it down by their feet. I set the ball machine for about a 50 MPH shot with maximum underspin, so that the ball comes off the court with no spin or still some very slight backspin. When I hit this, I try to impart as much topspin as I can through wrist pronation while still hitting through the ball so I can get enough lift to clear the net. I use a lot of wrist on both backhand and forehand side, and this shot usually is very telling to me as to how stable a racquet is with the high racquet head speed that I am trying to generate. The lack of weight is kind of telling. Again, when I mis-timed the shot a little bit and didn't get the racquet through the ball, it just dribbles off the strings and into the net. If I swung at it kind of flatly, the ball flies. At its current weight, it is not nearly as forgiving as my SW104.
Slicing back the slice again shows the lack of mass. I just don't get the depth or penetration, though the contact feels very good, crisp, yet muted.
Overall, from this ball machine session, I'd rate the PDVS very highly. It has a generous sweetspot, more than ample power, feels crisp when hitting the sweetspot, forgiving and not excessively harsh when mis-hitting, and doesn't have any real weaknesses.
My son and I will provide more impressions after we hit with it more in the coming days.
First, it looks like I got what everyone else did. A PDVS, mines is a size 3, and one pack each of RPM Blast Rough and Xcel, both in 1.30/16 gauge.
The one I got was on the lighter side. It measure 295 grams unstrung with a balance point of 31 cm. After stringing, it was 314 grams with a balance point of 32.7 cm.
I'm a firm believer that unless you can see the person doing a review and know what equipment they normally use, it's hard to know how much of their impressions are applicable to you because of how different or similar their games or equipment may be. So, I'm a 57 year old USTA 4.5 rated player who prefers to play singles. I play a hard hitting, all court game though I tend to win most of my points hitting unreturned shots from the baseline. My normal racquet is a Blade SW104, with the grip enlarged to a size 6 and lead added at 3 and 9 o'clock to get to a final static weight of 356 grams, with a swingweight in the 345-350 range. Prior to switching to the SW104 early this year, I used the 2012 model of the Babolat Overdrive 110, weighted to 355 grams with a 340 swingweight. I only use full poly stringbeds and prefer highly shaped strings. Currently, I'm testing Solinco Hyper-G/Revolution, Grapplesnake Cube and Neon Dust, Diadem Solstice Power, Y-tex Quadro Twist, and a few other similar strings. I use between 48-50 pounds in the center mains and 46-48 pounds in the center crosses.
My 25 year old son will also be testing the PDVS. He currently uses the last generation of the PD Roddick Plus, weighted to 365 grams with a swingweight in the 355 range. His racquets are strung with Volkl Cyclone 1.25 at 52 pounds. He's a hard hitting 4.5.
Since my son and I both only use full beds of poly, I strung up the PDVS with the Blast Rough at 52 pounds, exact the same as his racquet. The head shape of the PDVS is slightly wider at the shoulders and shorter overall than his PDR+.
First impressions: The PDVS is a comparatively light racquet that swings through the air very easily. Bouncing balls off the stringbed show very little in the way of unwanted vibrations. It's crisp and muted feeling, and that transferred to the court. Here is an unedited video of my first time hitting groundstrokes with the PDVS. Besides the timing issues of using a racquet 40 grams lighter and one inch shorter than I am used to, I was able to hit clean shots after just a few moments. It is very powerful for its weight, with a large sweetspot that provides a solid, crisp, and vibration-free response. Off-center hits still produce quite a bit of ball velocity and are not that jarring. Because of its light weight, any time I got a bit out of time and didn't swing through the ball with a flatter stroke, the ball kind of dribbled off the stringbed. It didn't feel like I got any compression of the ball against the strings and the launch angle was very low.
About 2/3's of the way through, I tried to step back and loop up some higher groundstrokes with more topspin and was spectacularly unsuccessful. The ball machine balls weren't good, and the racquet just lacks the mass to compress the balls against the strings on a glancing type of hit.
Slices were easily produced but lack the speed or bite that I get with a heavier racquet.
Volleys close to the net were easy to hit. Generous sweetspot and light weight made it easy to get the head of the racquet into the right position. The firm flex made for good volley speed with just a short punching stroke. The light weight helped on drop volleys, at least on my backhand. My forehand volley is pretty much my worst shot, with no touch whatsoever. Directional accuracy is good, and even mis-hits went close to where I was aiming.
I tried stepping back and volleying from around the T, but from there the lack of mass is pretty apparent. You need a pretty long stroke to get the ball back to the baseline, and I had a tough time figuring out how to do that properly.
I hit a few overheads, backhand overheads, and drove some groundstrokes out of the air. Because of the light weight, I was trying to protect my shoulder and elbow by kind of short-arming the overhead. The racquet is so light it's almost like trying to throw a tennis ball. There's so little resistance that it's easy to get hurt. Even so, it's easy to tell all of the typical Pure Drive attributes are there. It's powerful, directionally accurate, and has a generous sweet spot. The light weight hurts on swinging volleys. It feels a bit unstable when I miss the sweetspot even a bit, I guess from trying to redirect the ball to such a different direction than the incoming angle.
Last, here's a video of me practicing against my nemesis shot, which is trying to drive a heavy underspin ball off my backhand to either pass someone at the net or to put it down by their feet. I set the ball machine for about a 50 MPH shot with maximum underspin, so that the ball comes off the court with no spin or still some very slight backspin. When I hit this, I try to impart as much topspin as I can through wrist pronation while still hitting through the ball so I can get enough lift to clear the net. I use a lot of wrist on both backhand and forehand side, and this shot usually is very telling to me as to how stable a racquet is with the high racquet head speed that I am trying to generate. The lack of weight is kind of telling. Again, when I mis-timed the shot a little bit and didn't get the racquet through the ball, it just dribbles off the strings and into the net. If I swung at it kind of flatly, the ball flies. At its current weight, it is not nearly as forgiving as my SW104.
Slicing back the slice again shows the lack of mass. I just don't get the depth or penetration, though the contact feels very good, crisp, yet muted.
Overall, from this ball machine session, I'd rate the PDVS very highly. It has a generous sweetspot, more than ample power, feels crisp when hitting the sweetspot, forgiving and not excessively harsh when mis-hitting, and doesn't have any real weaknesses.
My son and I will provide more impressions after we hit with it more in the coming days.
ron schaap
Hall of Fame
Would be even more interesting if there were a xtended lenght version.
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
Extended length would be nice. My son plays with the PDR+ (27.5") and I play with the SW104 (28"). Getting used to the shorter, standard length for me required deliberately getting closer and aiming almost as if I wanted to hit the ball on my SW104 down near the throat.
Maybe the extended length is in the works. Would increase the swingweight but maybe they think the PDVS is already powerful enough and doesn't need the added heft nor racquet head speed of being that half inch longer?
A couple of other things. One is that I didn't get a return shipping label. Maybe that's something that's coming later? Did anyone get a return label?
Second is that the grip length is short. My son uses a two-handed backhand and he noticed right away that the grip is short - an inch shorter than on his PDR+. This puts two fingers on the bare frame. He has pretty large hands - we both use size 6 grips, but it is hard to imagine this would not be an issue for many people.
topspn
G.O.A.T.
You will not get a return shipping label. The racquet will be yours to keep
You don’t look like that big of a guy, no clue how you play with a grip 6 that no one even makes 
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
You will not get a return shipping label. The racquet will be yours to keep
I would be very happy with that if it were true!!
You don’t look like that big of a guy, no clue how you play with a grip 6 that no one even makes
I am (well, was, since I'm now in the shrinking phase of my growth curve at age 57) 6 feet tall but I learned tennis in the day of heavy wood racquets that required large grips to make them easy to hold. When competing against younger players, I seem to mis-hit about every third or fourth shot and a small grip just twists so much. And I don't think I have the mechanics to be able to whip a racquet around using a small grip anyway, so I've stuck with my tried and true.
On my SW104, which comes with a size 3 as the largest available, I built it up using two layers of the full-grip-size shrink wrap, covering about the bottom 5 1/2 inches of the grip, then added an extra thick replacement grip on top. Works well since the Wilson Sublime grip that comes on that racquet is really thin.
Have you gotten your frame yet?
topspn
G.O.A.T.
Wow..i play with an L4 grip but you really take grip size to another level! BTW, that is how these play tests work, you get to keep the racquet you are testing and do not return it. I should be getting my racquet Monday!I would be very happy with that if it were true!!
I am (well, was, since I'm now in the shrinking phase of my growth curve at age 57) 6 feet tall but I learned tennis in the day of heavy wood racquets that required large grips to make them easy to hold. When competing against younger players, I seem to mis-hit about every third or fourth shot and a small grip just twists so much. And I don't think I have the mechanics to be able to whip a racquet around using a small grip anyway, so I've stuck with my tried and true.
On my SW104, which comes with a size 3 as the largest available, I built it up using two layers of the full-grip-size shrink wrap, covering about the bottom 5 1/2 inches of the grip, then added an extra thick replacement grip on top. Works well since the Wilson Sublime grip that comes on that racquet is really thin.
Have you gotten your frame yet?
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
Are you kidding me? I can't believe they won't want them back to use in their demo fleet.
I read the TW reviews and some threads here on the PDVS and am surprised that my impressions seem to be quite different from many others. I'm very curious to see what other playtesters think.
topspn
G.O.A.T.
No, totally serious, this really is how play tests work and you get to keep the racquet. @TW Staff can you please verify what I’m saying
. Yeah, I read them as well and i think these are die hard pure drive fans that can’t get their minds over a bit more control and comfort. I play TC95s which i think are Thor’s Hamer especially on serve but they do require technique to unlock. I already hit the PDVS as a demo for about an hour and yes it has enough power to cheat and arm a hit to get power.
Last edited:
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
No, totally serious, this really is how play tests work and you get to keep the racquet. @TW Staff can you please verify what I’m saying
My son has been playing with his three PDR+'s for the last three years or so. They've probably gotten soft over that time but don't feel substantially different in terms of flex from the PDVS, at least as far as I can tell from the racquets being 50 grams different in weight. I usually notice flexible racquets in how they respond to hits high on the stringbed, and because I have more and more trouble getting to balls, I end up hitting there more often and that's why I have a strong preference for stiff frames. But because I've always used at least 350 grams of weight, it's enough to let me get away with something extraordinarily stiff and not have arm/wrist/elbow issues.
I looked at getting an Angell TC105 and liked the 74 RA, but couldn't find anyone local with one to try of any model. I committed to the SW104 a bit reluctantly because I wanted a larger headsize, but am finding that it's big enough and that I might even be able to go down a bit more in size. I'm still undecided - there are things the SW104 does really well, and a few things I don't think it does well. For instance, I think the sweet spot is pretty small in size relative to the stringbed and the extra weight I put on the hoop. And as hard as I swing, a bad mis-hit seems more jarring than I think it should.
Anyhow, I think my impressions will change as I hit against my son. He hits hard and it's always different against a live opponent than a ball machine.
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
My son and I took turns using the PDVS tonight in a practice session. This is a very nice racquet in stock form. We both took a few minutes to adjust to the small grip (we both use size 6), weight (40 grams lighter than my racquet, and 50 grams lighter than his racquet), and length (one inch shorter for me, 1/2 inch for him). The generous sized sweet spot and light swingweight helped us to cleanly hit and time our usual rally balls. Trying to fend off really hard hit shots is where the lack of mass is very obvious. Any mis-hit would make the racquet twist, with directional accuracy being badly lost. Volleys against heavy topspin shots was also difficult as the spin seemed to really shock the racquet.
My son says that compared to his PDR+, there's less impact vibration but it still feels pretty much as stiff, and it's easy to tell they're pretty much the same family of racquet. He complained that the stringbed was very springy. It's hard to know if that's due to the wider string spacing on the PDVS versus his PDR+ or due to the RPM Blast Rough, which was strung at the same tension as his preferred Cyclone 1.25. When he mis-timed his swing and caught the ball pretty flat, his shot missed by a good ten feet. Both of us felt that it wasn't very linear in generating ball speed when transitioning from heavy spin to flat shots. Flat shots seemed to have a lot more ball speed than expected based on how much ball speed we got when hitting a heavy spin shot. This did make it easy to punch flat volleys away for winners, as long as we caught it in the sweetspot.
The problem with the short grip seems like a strange oversight. The grip is almost exactly one inch shorter than his PDR+and he has two fingers on the bare frame to hit his two-handed backhand.
Overall, a very good racquet in stock form for a player looking for a powerful, forgiving, spin capable, and maneuverable racquet when playing against opponents who generate moderate ball speeds. Anyone used to the Pure Drive racquets should find this to feel pretty familiar and hit a similar ball. It doesn't feel like Babolat really achieved their goal of making it substantially softer. It needs a significant amount of added weight to be effective against harder hit shots when not catching the ball cleanly, such as when returning hard serves or volleying against a hard hit groundstroke.
Question for the TW Admins. Your email said we can customize the racquet. Would that include lengthening the racquet as well, or would you prefer us to test the racquet in its current standard length but with just weight added? We'll do the formal writeup after we do some more playtesting, and especially after using my son's preferred string.
My son says that compared to his PDR+, there's less impact vibration but it still feels pretty much as stiff, and it's easy to tell they're pretty much the same family of racquet. He complained that the stringbed was very springy. It's hard to know if that's due to the wider string spacing on the PDVS versus his PDR+ or due to the RPM Blast Rough, which was strung at the same tension as his preferred Cyclone 1.25. When he mis-timed his swing and caught the ball pretty flat, his shot missed by a good ten feet. Both of us felt that it wasn't very linear in generating ball speed when transitioning from heavy spin to flat shots. Flat shots seemed to have a lot more ball speed than expected based on how much ball speed we got when hitting a heavy spin shot. This did make it easy to punch flat volleys away for winners, as long as we caught it in the sweetspot.
The problem with the short grip seems like a strange oversight. The grip is almost exactly one inch shorter than his PDR+and he has two fingers on the bare frame to hit his two-handed backhand.
Overall, a very good racquet in stock form for a player looking for a powerful, forgiving, spin capable, and maneuverable racquet when playing against opponents who generate moderate ball speeds. Anyone used to the Pure Drive racquets should find this to feel pretty familiar and hit a similar ball. It doesn't feel like Babolat really achieved their goal of making it substantially softer. It needs a significant amount of added weight to be effective against harder hit shots when not catching the ball cleanly, such as when returning hard serves or volleying against a hard hit groundstroke.
Question for the TW Admins. Your email said we can customize the racquet. Would that include lengthening the racquet as well, or would you prefer us to test the racquet in its current standard length but with just weight added? We'll do the formal writeup after we do some more playtesting, and especially after using my son's preferred string.
TW Staff
Administrator
@Injured Again,
Yes, the racquet is yours to keep after the playtest. The only thing we ask is as a courtesy to our vendors to not sell the racquet on our message board.
You can customize the racquet however you would like. We just ask that you hit with it enough in stock form to have a full set of comments (you can also provide comments after customization as well).
Hope that makes sense.
Thanks,
Brittany, TW
Yes, the racquet is yours to keep after the playtest. The only thing we ask is as a courtesy to our vendors to not sell the racquet on our message board.
You can customize the racquet however you would like. We just ask that you hit with it enough in stock form to have a full set of comments (you can also provide comments after customization as well).
Hope that makes sense.
Thanks,
Brittany, TW
haqq777
Legend
Awesome! What do you plan on stringing it up with? Looking fwd to your impressions.Finally got my PDVS. UPS really destroyed the boxbut the frame was unharmed. Very attractive PJ so well done Babolat on that front. QC still an issue it seems. Unstrung weight 298.2 so not to bad. Balance is 31.5cm or 9HL so two points off the 7HL spec.
topspn
G.O.A.T.
Going with my Black Night @50lbs. I string my TC95 with BK @48lbs
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
Thanks, Brittany! A very unexpected but welcome surprise (I didn't read my email closely enough), and I thank you again for choosing me as a playtester. Both my son and I like the racquet and he will probably move to this frame when his PDR+'s are at their end of life. The racquet is already in his Babolat bag! I might let him hit with it every so often when I'm not using it...
mhkeuns
Hall of Fame
I had about three hours of hitting yesterday with the Pure Drive VS. It felt definitely light and had to make some initial adjustments, especially on my backhand, because I was early on my shots. It only took a few minutes to realize how closely it plays to the regular Pure Drive. That being said, the Pure Drive VS felt way more maneuverable (*almost too fast at first) & much more focused than the regular Pure Drive. Once I was dialed in, I had much easier time hitting my one handed backhand than the regular version, and I was able to counter punch hard incoming shots with accuracy and confidence. There is definitely some power potential, but a couple of things that stand out in its playing characteristics are the maneuverability and accuracy. It feels much more all-court frame than the Pure Drive, or Pure Aero. This frame begs the player to play the aggressive all-court style tennis.
There were a couple of things that didn't work out too well, which were hitting winners off the baseline and couldn't really get good bites on hard slices. I had difficult times ending the points because I couldn't generate the pace that I would normally do with the heavier rackets. It was so much lighter than what had been using that I probably need more time to gel with the frame. The slices were floating a bit for me, as well. I just think I need to get more familiarized with the frame. Then, everything should really work well.
One other thing I'd like to mention is the solid feel. The 70 RA worried me a bit because I've mostly been hitting with more flexible frames lately, but the Pure Drive VS feels solid and dampened but not muted. It felt nice actually and did not notice the stiffness. Actually the best feeling Babolat frame I've hit so far.
Will be hitting with it much more. I really want to get used to this frame. So far, it seems like the racket that everyone was asking for - more maneuverable & more precise Pure Drive. Doesn't quite have the power that the regular version has, but it offers lots more on other areas.
More reviews to follow..
There were a couple of things that didn't work out too well, which were hitting winners off the baseline and couldn't really get good bites on hard slices. I had difficult times ending the points because I couldn't generate the pace that I would normally do with the heavier rackets. It was so much lighter than what had been using that I probably need more time to gel with the frame. The slices were floating a bit for me, as well. I just think I need to get more familiarized with the frame. Then, everything should really work well.
One other thing I'd like to mention is the solid feel. The 70 RA worried me a bit because I've mostly been hitting with more flexible frames lately, but the Pure Drive VS feels solid and dampened but not muted. It felt nice actually and did not notice the stiffness. Actually the best feeling Babolat frame I've hit so far.
Will be hitting with it much more. I really want to get used to this frame. So far, it seems like the racket that everyone was asking for - more maneuverable & more precise Pure Drive. Doesn't quite have the power that the regular version has, but it offers lots more on other areas.
More reviews to follow..
mpournaras
Hall of Fame
Mine came in on Monday. It came in pretty much on-spec. This would have been a good "pair" to have received
I think I am going to go with an Excel/RPM Rough hybrid so I can most closely compare it to the gut-main hybrid I have in the Clash Tour. Should be interesting!
I think I am going to go with an Excel/RPM Rough hybrid so I can most closely compare it to the gut-main hybrid I have in the Clash Tour. Should be interesting!
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
I've hit with my PDVS more in its stock form, and have had the opportunity to compare it to my son's old but modified PDR+. This last time, I played some sets and am finding I like it more and more.
Compared to my son's PDR+, it just feels "new" in that it's got this evenly stiff feel all around the stringbed, yet isn't that harsh feeling relative to how stiff it is. My son's PDR+ feels flexy up near the tip like the frame's getting tired, which it probably is.
The main problem I had was serving, and the problems were both that the shorter PDVS has a lower sweetspot, so I was consistently hitting it too high on the stringbed, and that the light weight made for issues timing the contact point. When I got it right, there was a lot of pop considering how light the racquet is.
The string spacing really helps with generating spin. Kick serves had a lot of action and it was easy to dip a passing shot at the feet of the net person.
Does anyone know if they are coming out with a extended length version, or possibly an 18X20? I'm going to now weight up and extend this racquet and see if the playing characteristics change. I like this enough to consider changing to it, even though I just got into the SW104's a few months ago.
Compared to my son's PDR+, it just feels "new" in that it's got this evenly stiff feel all around the stringbed, yet isn't that harsh feeling relative to how stiff it is. My son's PDR+ feels flexy up near the tip like the frame's getting tired, which it probably is.
The main problem I had was serving, and the problems were both that the shorter PDVS has a lower sweetspot, so I was consistently hitting it too high on the stringbed, and that the light weight made for issues timing the contact point. When I got it right, there was a lot of pop considering how light the racquet is.
The string spacing really helps with generating spin. Kick serves had a lot of action and it was easy to dip a passing shot at the feet of the net person.
Does anyone know if they are coming out with a extended length version, or possibly an 18X20? I'm going to now weight up and extend this racquet and see if the playing characteristics change. I like this enough to consider changing to it, even though I just got into the SW104's a few months ago.
blackpearl2007
Semi-Pro
I was selected for the Playtest (thanks TW!!!) and received mine yesterday late. I really like the looks of this frame. Overall, the paint job looks high quality and I personally really like the looks. I weighed mine and it was spot one 10.6 / 300g. The balance looks to be spot on or maybe 1 point more head light. I can’t wait to try it.
djpj
New User
Folks try adding ~3-4g @2/10 and counterbalanced in the handle. Really makes a world of difference in helping out oomph and upper hoop stability. Don’t know why they made the SW so low for a PD intended for more advanced players.
Some people are saying that it needs a ton of weight—I disagree. 333g w/OG (10g of lead) is where I landed after a lot of tinkering.
Also, I found it likes full poly 46-50lbs, though I’m demoing lux gut x max power right now and it feels incredible.
You guys are so lucky to have gotten this stick for free!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Some people are saying that it needs a ton of weight—I disagree. 333g w/OG (10g of lead) is where I landed after a lot of tinkering.
Also, I found it likes full poly 46-50lbs, though I’m demoing lux gut x max power right now and it feels incredible.
You guys are so lucky to have gotten this stick for free!
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It will have full bed of black night 1.28 @48lbs. I will play it stock for 2 or 3 hitting sessions the try experimenting with some added weight. It will be around 24g lighter in stock form then my TC95sInjured Again
Hall of Fame
I hit with this racquet a bit more in its stock form, and I'm now ready to customize it to the midway point between my racquet and my son's racquet. I'll be using two layers of the full size increasing heat shrink wrap, and extending it as well.
Are there multiple makers of extended length buttcaps? I'm looking for either a half or 3/4 inch.
Are there multiple makers of extended length buttcaps? I'm looking for either a half or 3/4 inch.
mhkeuns
Hall of Fame
After around 10+ hours on it, it feels a lot more natural to swing this frame. Initially, I was getting to the ball too early and didn't make the cleanest contacts. I saw the potential in my first hit with the frame, so during my second session, I made sure that I took time to learn the racket and its capabilities. Instead of me trying to swing for the fences on all my shots, I just focused on making the cleanest contacts as possible, just letting the racket do most of the work. Once I got the groove of hitting relaxed strokes that were landing deep near the baseline, I began stepping in more on my shots to get some power behind the strokes. The exercises and training really helped me to feel more natural with the frame. I had been using a racket that weighs around 40 grams more, so I needed that adjustment period. The third and today's fourth outing felt a lot more connected. I am still playing more of a counter-punching game with this frame, but I am getting better at generating my own pace with this frame and actually ended some points by hitting outright winners. I will probably need a couple more hitting sessions with the Pure Drive VS for it to play like an extension of my arm, but I am thoroughly enjoying this frame. To me, this frame is so much more fun to hit than a powerful 100" tweener because it feels a lot more maneuverable, versatile and more connected.
Likes:
Power Potential/Controllable Power
Maneuverability
Solid feel on impact
Stability
Directional Control
Spin
Cosmetics
Dislikes
Could be too light for some players
Have been using the frame with just a small dampener and an overgrip. Wanted to hit as close to the stock specs as possible, but it got too slippery hitting without an overgrip for me. Honestly, I think I am not going to modify the frame. Maybe at the most, I would replace the synthetic grip with the leather grip, but that might be it. I can totally see the potential of this racket. I want to really get to know the frame and play really good tennis with it. I have been serving really hard and my topspin OHBH is getting really penetrating & powerful. I just need to work on my forehand timing and practice more on the touch shots.
Overall, this is the most fun to hit Babolat frame I have used and feel that it's one of the most versatile (*because it's so easy to maneuver) sticks around.
Likes:
Power Potential/Controllable Power
Maneuverability
Solid feel on impact
Stability
Directional Control
Spin
Cosmetics
Dislikes
Could be too light for some players
Have been using the frame with just a small dampener and an overgrip. Wanted to hit as close to the stock specs as possible, but it got too slippery hitting without an overgrip for me. Honestly, I think I am not going to modify the frame. Maybe at the most, I would replace the synthetic grip with the leather grip, but that might be it. I can totally see the potential of this racket. I want to really get to know the frame and play really good tennis with it. I have been serving really hard and my topspin OHBH is getting really penetrating & powerful. I just need to work on my forehand timing and practice more on the touch shots.
Overall, this is the most fun to hit Babolat frame I have used and feel that it's one of the most versatile (*because it's so easy to maneuver) sticks around.
Last edited:
TennisHound
Legend
Wow, thanks for the videos. Good stuff!Got my PDVS yesterday, and today was able to open the box, measure it, string it up, measure it again, and then go for a short hit against a ball machine.
First, it looks like I got what everyone else did. A PDVS, mines is a size 3, and one pack each of RPM Blast Rough and Xcel, both in 1.30/16 gauge.
The one I got was on the lighter side. It measure 295 grams unstrung with a balance point of 31 cm. After stringing, it was 314 grams with a balance point of 32.7 cm.
I'm a firm believer that unless you can see the person doing a review and know what equipment they normally use, it's hard to know how much of their impressions are applicable to you because of how different or similar their games or equipment may be. So, I'm a 57 year old USTA 4.5 rated player who prefers to play singles. I play a hard hitting, all court game though I tend to win most of my points hitting unreturned shots from the baseline. My normal racquet is a Blade SW104, with the grip enlarged to a size 6 and lead added at 3 and 9 o'clock to get to a final static weight of 356 grams, with a swingweight in the 345-350 range. Prior to switching to the SW104 early this year, I used the 2012 model of the Babolat Overdrive 110, weighted to 355 grams with a 340 swingweight. I only use full poly stringbeds and prefer highly shaped strings. Currently, I'm testing Solinco Hyper-G/Revolution, Grapplesnake Cube and Neon Dust, Diadem Solstice Power, Y-tex Quadro Twist, and a few other similar strings. I use between 48-50 pounds in the center mains and 46-48 pounds in the center crosses.
My 25 year old son will also be testing the PDVS. He currently uses the last generation of the PD Roddick Plus, weighted to 365 grams with a swingweight in the 355 range. His racquets are strung with Volkl Cyclone 1.25 at 52 pounds. He's a hard hitting 4.5.
Since my son and I both only use full beds of poly, I strung up the PDVS with the Blast Rough at 52 pounds, exact the same as his racquet. The head shape of the PDVS is slightly wider at the shoulders and shorter overall than his PDR+.
First impressions: The PDVS is a comparatively light racquet that swings through the air very easily. Bouncing balls off the stringbed show very little in the way of unwanted vibrations. It's crisp and muted feeling, and that transferred to the court. Here is an unedited video of my first time hitting groundstrokes with the PDVS. Besides the timing issues of using a racquet 40 grams lighter and one inch shorter than I am used to, I was able to hit clean shots after just a few moments. It is very powerful for its weight, with a large sweetspot that provides a solid, crisp, and vibration-free response. Off-center hits still produce quite a bit of ball velocity and are not that jarring. Because of its light weight, any time I got a bit out of time and didn't swing through the ball with a flatter stroke, the ball kind of dribbled off the stringbed. It didn't feel like I got any compression of the ball against the strings and the launch angle was very low.
About 2/3's of the way through, I tried to step back and loop up some higher groundstrokes with more topspin and was spectacularly unsuccessful. The ball machine balls weren't good, and the racquet just lacks the mass to compress the balls against the strings on a glancing type of hit.
Slices were easily produced but lack the speed or bite that I get with a heavier racquet.
Volleys close to the net were easy to hit. Generous sweetspot and light weight made it easy to get the head of the racquet into the right position. The firm flex made for good volley speed with just a short punching stroke. The light weight helped on drop volleys, at least on my backhand. My forehand volley is pretty much my worst shot, with no touch whatsoever. Directional accuracy is good, and even mis-hits went close to where I was aiming.
I tried stepping back and volleying from around the T, but from there the lack of mass is pretty apparent. You need a pretty long stroke to get the ball back to the baseline, and I had a tough time figuring out how to do that properly.
I hit a few overheads, backhand overheads, and drove some groundstrokes out of the air. Because of the light weight, I was trying to protect my shoulder and elbow by kind of short-arming the overhead. The racquet is so light it's almost like trying to throw a tennis ball. There's so little resistance that it's easy to get hurt. Even so, it's easy to tell all of the typical Pure Drive attributes are there. It's powerful, directionally accurate, and has a generous sweet spot. The light weight hurts on swinging volleys. It feels a bit unstable when I miss the sweetspot even a bit, I guess from trying to redirect the ball to such a different direction than the incoming angle.
Last, here's a video of me practicing against my nemesis shot, which is trying to drive a heavy underspin ball off my backhand to either pass someone at the net or to put it down by their feet. I set the ball machine for about a 50 MPH shot with maximum underspin, so that the ball comes off the court with no spin or still some very slight backspin. When I hit this, I try to impart as much topspin as I can through wrist pronation while still hitting through the ball so I can get enough lift to clear the net. I use a lot of wrist on both backhand and forehand side, and this shot usually is very telling to me as to how stable a racquet is with the high racquet head speed that I am trying to generate. The lack of weight is kind of telling. Again, when I mis-timed the shot a little bit and didn't get the racquet through the ball, it just dribbles off the strings and into the net. If I swung at it kind of flatly, the ball flies. At its current weight, it is not nearly as forgiving as my SW104.
Slicing back the slice again shows the lack of mass. I just don't get the depth or penetration, though the contact feels very good, crisp, yet muted.
Overall, from this ball machine session, I'd rate the PDVS very highly. It has a generous sweetspot, more than ample power, feels crisp when hitting the sweetspot, forgiving and not excessively harsh when mis-hitting, and doesn't have any real weaknesses.
My son and I will provide more impressions after we hit with it more in the coming days.
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
The RPM Blast Rough didn't last long before losing tension and elasticity. The ball is being catapulted off the stringbed with loss of the precise control that we felt earlier, though the muted response to mis-hits still remains.
I'm going to restring with my son's preferred Cyclone 1.25 at 52 pounds for a more accurate comparison with his current racquets.
topspn
G.O.A.T.
No issues with control playing with this stick and comfort seems ok. Of course Bk string is beautifully comfortable so no issues there and very good spin window. It is just very light for me in stock form and lacks weight on the ball compared to my normal stick. Even a simple block shot on serve return doesn’t get the same response. I totally expected this of course so no surprises.
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
The more my son and I hit with it, the more we like it. We started with the RPM Blast that died quickly, and I strung it up with the Xcel for some more elderly, flatter swingpath players to try. Those players liked the power, comfort, generous sweet spot, and the vibrationless solidity when hitting the center of the strings.
I then strung it up with my son's preferred string in his Pure Drive Tour Plus, 17 gauge Cyclone at 52 pounds. His static weight is 365 grams with a swingweight of roughly 350, so I added a fair amount of lead to the hoop. I ordered an extended buttcap which hasn't arrived yet, and am planning on building up the grip to a size 6, which he normally uses.
Right now with just the lead on the hoop, the racquet has been transformed. It has all the power of his PDT+, with more comfort, less extraneous vibration, and seemingly a bit better directional accuracy, though that may be because it is still 27 inches long. He is certain he will go to this racquet as he needs to replace his current sticks.
I'm on the fence. My own story is that as I've gotten older, I trended towards larger head sizes to cut down on mis-hits and to remain competitive as a 4.5 singles player. Up until this year, I was using the Babolat Overdrive 110, weighted to 350 grams with a 340 swingweight. When the last of my stash of these racquets broke, I tried the next and current models of this racquet and found they played significantly worse. I switched to the Blade SW104 this January, believing that the smaller headsize would result in more mis-hits and found that to be not the case.
The PDVS has that solid feel my Overdrive 110's had, and I'm not sure the sweetspot is much smaller with all of the lead added to the sides of the hoop. If I get the extended buttcap on and find the hitting experience and my swing accuracy are decent enough to go to this small of a headsize, I'm going to switch to it as well. It has a bigger sweet spot than the SW104, is more forgiving off center, and is more responsive when missing high on the stringbed. The 16x19 pattern and more open string spacing will help with spin generation and will let me go back to using strings I liked in my Overdrive 110, whereas now I'm still searching for that go-to string for the SW104.
I'll post more when I get the buttcap on and the rest of the mods completed. We both liked the PDVS in stock form, and hopefully it will take well to the modifications we are making to it. It sure seems like an easily customizable platform that starts off good and only gets better.
Nastase
Semi-Pro
Thanks to TW and Babolat for the opportunity to participate in this test – it’s been a pleasant experience and enjoyable test.
String and tension used for the Pure Drive VS test: Strung it first with Alu Power 16L then with Tourna Black Zone 17 both around 50/51 lbs. Later tried a hybrid of Tourna Big Hitter Silver 17 and Prince multi in cross around 53/54 lbs. The best performing string in this frame for me was Alu - hands down.
Tennis experience/background: Former junior and college player now in my mid-50s. Still play a good amount and favor tournament play to leagues. Pretty much all the guys and gals I hit with played in college.
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): Aggressive baseliner, semi-western FH and 2-hand backhand. Coming to net much more these days to put an end to the grind. Competitive play is mainly doubles these days.
Current racquet/string setups: Had a 25-year relationship with the POG OS and have historically liked heavy, head-light frames. The last couple of years has been a miserable racket journey. While I appreciate the ease-of-use of the tweener-type sticks, I’ve never permanently gelled with them due to the disconnected feel and the intermittent control issues. Currently using the Tecnifibre XTC 305 which is powerful but the thin beam and denser pattern offers control. Have used the Pure Strike P17 extensively and can make some comparative comments.
How many hours did you play with the racquet? Approximately 20 hours in doubles match play, serving from hopper, and singles drilling.
Comments on racquet performance: In stock form I found the racquet to be an enjoyable hit and my comments would echo what others have said. It was a nice frame with good comfort and I found it easy to use. As nice as it was I did not have an “A-HA!” moment in stock form. When you first hit a Pure Drive or Aero you get that A-HA feeling. This was a very nice stick but I did not find it to be outstanding in any monumental way in stock form. In fact if it wasn’t such a good looking racquet and a Babolat (which is irresistible to many) I am sure many folks would find that a blade or other similar spec racquet would outperform the Pure Drive VS head-to-head.
-Groundstrokes: I found the racquet to be very easy to swing, very whippy and spinny. The light weight made it easy to get around and it helped on those emergency shots where you have to flick the ball a bit. But the light weight also had downsides as the depth of my shots was not normal and got me in hot water too often. Over time and with adjustment things improved and I found better depth and, again, found spin to be outstanding. No comfort issues for me on groundstrokes. A positive experience on balance.
-Serves: This was the lowest performing test area for me in terms of raw power and weight of shot. It was very easy to swing and I could get the ball jumping but found overall pace and weight of shot to be down from my normal racquet. Serve percentage was quite high but I had to hit my spots instead of relying on heavier serves. It felt that no matter how much effort I made I could not get the MPH up consistently…and Lord I tried. But after a jillion serves my arm wasn’t suffering and I found that to be a positive since with any other racquet I would probably feel it a bit after hitting so many serves. I would estimate my overall serve MPH and pace was down by 5-10% unless I struck it perfectly. That’s a wholly subjective percentage. In fairness, this could also be timing related as I normally swing a heavier stick.
-Volleys: So easy to use here. Good stability for its weight. Light and maneuverable, no issues getting racquet into position and I felt that feel and touch were very good. An absolute highlight of the test.
-Serve returns: Very good results returning serve due to the ability to get the racquet into position quickly. The racquet’s (for me) inability to generate big pace and depth on groundstrokes was assisted by incoming pace of serve. I found much better depth and weight of shot. Very good directional control. I could swing big and the ball tended to go in. I found the VS to be stable for its weight and comfortable. This was another highlight of the test for me.
General reaction/comments on overall performance: Overall a nice racquet, easy to use, with no enormous downsides….and its really nice looking. I would think in stock form this racquet would be a very good option for many players as it probably fits into a lot of peoples spec window. It may be a really good option for young juniors transitioning to a new racquet due to ease of use and comfort.
General comments part II with modification: I tinkered with adding weight to this frame and found best success with about 4 grams in the handle and about 4-5 grams in the head. Of all the lead positions in the head I liked 5 and 7 the best, with a gram or more also at 12. Total weight in the head for me never exceeded 5 grams. I personally think a little bit of weight goes a long way, especially depending on the placement…so I am not one to add 15 grams to any racquet. If you’re doing that maybe you bought the wrong stick? To say the added weight totally transformed the racquet would be a little generous, but overall I must say that performance was improved significantly. Areas of the stock test that left me unsatisfied were resolved by the additional weight. Serves were improved and near normal…and weight of shot/depth on ground strokes was much improved. For those who want to add more weight (and are capable of swinging it) I would think the racquet performance would continue to get better with some additional weight especially higher in the hoop. I just don’t prefer a lot of weight there for my game. So the 5-10% (subjective not a lab test) perceived shortfall in stock form was alleviated with a bit of weight.
Comparison to other racquets: The Pure Strike is a better racquet in stock form, more solid and stable. The Strike is a very good frame and my performance with it is pretty good, but the dull feel is very off-putting to me. The VS has better feel to me than the Strike and (post-modification) it surpasses the Strike’s performance for me. For the Pure Drive user that wants a thinner beam, softer ride, and better comfort this racquet probably meets that objective. To get close to Pure Drive performance a little bit of weight is needed.
My assessment of the racquet is based on my level and age. I absolutely enjoy hitting with this frame and am going to continue to see if a relationship develops. I am going to tinker with some string set-ups and am looking forward to others comments. Thanks again to TW and Babolat. I am grateful for the chance to participate in the test.
String and tension used for the Pure Drive VS test: Strung it first with Alu Power 16L then with Tourna Black Zone 17 both around 50/51 lbs. Later tried a hybrid of Tourna Big Hitter Silver 17 and Prince multi in cross around 53/54 lbs. The best performing string in this frame for me was Alu - hands down.
Tennis experience/background: Former junior and college player now in my mid-50s. Still play a good amount and favor tournament play to leagues. Pretty much all the guys and gals I hit with played in college.
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): Aggressive baseliner, semi-western FH and 2-hand backhand. Coming to net much more these days to put an end to the grind. Competitive play is mainly doubles these days.
Current racquet/string setups: Had a 25-year relationship with the POG OS and have historically liked heavy, head-light frames. The last couple of years has been a miserable racket journey. While I appreciate the ease-of-use of the tweener-type sticks, I’ve never permanently gelled with them due to the disconnected feel and the intermittent control issues. Currently using the Tecnifibre XTC 305 which is powerful but the thin beam and denser pattern offers control. Have used the Pure Strike P17 extensively and can make some comparative comments.
How many hours did you play with the racquet? Approximately 20 hours in doubles match play, serving from hopper, and singles drilling.
Comments on racquet performance: In stock form I found the racquet to be an enjoyable hit and my comments would echo what others have said. It was a nice frame with good comfort and I found it easy to use. As nice as it was I did not have an “A-HA!” moment in stock form. When you first hit a Pure Drive or Aero you get that A-HA feeling. This was a very nice stick but I did not find it to be outstanding in any monumental way in stock form. In fact if it wasn’t such a good looking racquet and a Babolat (which is irresistible to many) I am sure many folks would find that a blade or other similar spec racquet would outperform the Pure Drive VS head-to-head.
-Groundstrokes: I found the racquet to be very easy to swing, very whippy and spinny. The light weight made it easy to get around and it helped on those emergency shots where you have to flick the ball a bit. But the light weight also had downsides as the depth of my shots was not normal and got me in hot water too often. Over time and with adjustment things improved and I found better depth and, again, found spin to be outstanding. No comfort issues for me on groundstrokes. A positive experience on balance.
-Serves: This was the lowest performing test area for me in terms of raw power and weight of shot. It was very easy to swing and I could get the ball jumping but found overall pace and weight of shot to be down from my normal racquet. Serve percentage was quite high but I had to hit my spots instead of relying on heavier serves. It felt that no matter how much effort I made I could not get the MPH up consistently…and Lord I tried. But after a jillion serves my arm wasn’t suffering and I found that to be a positive since with any other racquet I would probably feel it a bit after hitting so many serves. I would estimate my overall serve MPH and pace was down by 5-10% unless I struck it perfectly. That’s a wholly subjective percentage. In fairness, this could also be timing related as I normally swing a heavier stick.
-Volleys: So easy to use here. Good stability for its weight. Light and maneuverable, no issues getting racquet into position and I felt that feel and touch were very good. An absolute highlight of the test.
-Serve returns: Very good results returning serve due to the ability to get the racquet into position quickly. The racquet’s (for me) inability to generate big pace and depth on groundstrokes was assisted by incoming pace of serve. I found much better depth and weight of shot. Very good directional control. I could swing big and the ball tended to go in. I found the VS to be stable for its weight and comfortable. This was another highlight of the test for me.
General reaction/comments on overall performance: Overall a nice racquet, easy to use, with no enormous downsides….and its really nice looking. I would think in stock form this racquet would be a very good option for many players as it probably fits into a lot of peoples spec window. It may be a really good option for young juniors transitioning to a new racquet due to ease of use and comfort.
General comments part II with modification: I tinkered with adding weight to this frame and found best success with about 4 grams in the handle and about 4-5 grams in the head. Of all the lead positions in the head I liked 5 and 7 the best, with a gram or more also at 12. Total weight in the head for me never exceeded 5 grams. I personally think a little bit of weight goes a long way, especially depending on the placement…so I am not one to add 15 grams to any racquet. If you’re doing that maybe you bought the wrong stick? To say the added weight totally transformed the racquet would be a little generous, but overall I must say that performance was improved significantly. Areas of the stock test that left me unsatisfied were resolved by the additional weight. Serves were improved and near normal…and weight of shot/depth on ground strokes was much improved. For those who want to add more weight (and are capable of swinging it) I would think the racquet performance would continue to get better with some additional weight especially higher in the hoop. I just don’t prefer a lot of weight there for my game. So the 5-10% (subjective not a lab test) perceived shortfall in stock form was alleviated with a bit of weight.
Comparison to other racquets: The Pure Strike is a better racquet in stock form, more solid and stable. The Strike is a very good frame and my performance with it is pretty good, but the dull feel is very off-putting to me. The VS has better feel to me than the Strike and (post-modification) it surpasses the Strike’s performance for me. For the Pure Drive user that wants a thinner beam, softer ride, and better comfort this racquet probably meets that objective. To get close to Pure Drive performance a little bit of weight is needed.
My assessment of the racquet is based on my level and age. I absolutely enjoy hitting with this frame and am going to continue to see if a relationship develops. I am going to tinker with some string set-ups and am looking forward to others comments. Thanks again to TW and Babolat. I am grateful for the chance to participate in the test.
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
Yeah, it was really a bunch of circumstances that led me to have to quickly choose a new frame. I had six or seven Overdrive 110's that I started using in 2012 or so, and the last two broke within a short period at the end of 2018. One of our two large open age group tournaments take place at my home Club in January, so I was in a mad scramble to find anything that would give me a similar response. I had some recommendations from TT of frames that weren't locally available, and the TW demo process just seemed like it would take too much time. I tried looking far and wide for an Angell but couldn't find one locally of any model to demo.
So I stuck with what I thought I needed, which was extended length because at age 57, I can't move like I used to, and oversized because I also can't visually track hard hit balls like I used to, to be able to square them up on the sweetspot every time. The only frame locally available that I felt comfortable with was the SW104, and I ended up going that route.
The PDVS has been eye opening though. I didn't think that small of a frame could be as forgiving as it is - it is more forgiving than my SW104 on mis-hits and seems to have an equally large sweetspot even in just lightly modified form. It has the impact feel and ball response that is very similar to what I got from my Overdrive 110's, and since I'm now retired and have more time to train, I'm finding I might be able to do with a smaller headsize.
I still have just two SW104s so I'm not entirely wedded to this frame yet. I did ask Brittany and she said there would be more word of different PDVS models, possibly an extended version, that would be announced in the next few months. So for now, I'm hoping to be able to get my PDVS extended and modded to my desired specs and see how well I can do with it, and see what Babolat comes out with during the model refresh.
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
Finally got my XTP buttcap. I removed the original buttcap and installed the XTP with two of the four staples but no glue. It's a very tight fit.
I used one full grip size heat shrink wrap to even out the extension of the XTP buttcap, and also installed two extra wraps around the buttcap. I like a larger buttcap, but not Gasguet-large, but definitely larger than stock.
It looks like the full size increasing heat shrink wrap isn't quite large enough, but I thought I would try it as is for now. I then put on another full size heat shrink wrap:
Yeah, I should have probably put on a half-size increasing heat shrink wrap to make it more even. I did think that the grip might make it not perceptible, but I was wrong. I can feel it through the grip. If it bothers me enough, I'll cut off this outer layer, put on the half-size wrap, then put on another full size wrap.
Here it is completed. Added five grams total to 3 and 9 o'clock to bring the static weight to 357 grams, 8 points headlight.
Swings lighter than my SW104s, so swingweight is probably down in the low 340's. Twistweight feels relatively the same. The only problem is I can feel that transition off the XTP buttcap, and I know the OCD side of me is going to be bothered by it until I fix it.
Will be hitting later today.
I used one full grip size heat shrink wrap to even out the extension of the XTP buttcap, and also installed two extra wraps around the buttcap. I like a larger buttcap, but not Gasguet-large, but definitely larger than stock.
It looks like the full size increasing heat shrink wrap isn't quite large enough, but I thought I would try it as is for now. I then put on another full size heat shrink wrap:
Yeah, I should have probably put on a half-size increasing heat shrink wrap to make it more even. I did think that the grip might make it not perceptible, but I was wrong. I can feel it through the grip. If it bothers me enough, I'll cut off this outer layer, put on the half-size wrap, then put on another full size wrap.
Here it is completed. Added five grams total to 3 and 9 o'clock to bring the static weight to 357 grams, 8 points headlight.
Swings lighter than my SW104s, so swingweight is probably down in the low 340's. Twistweight feels relatively the same. The only problem is I can feel that transition off the XTP buttcap, and I know the OCD side of me is going to be bothered by it until I fix it.
Will be hitting later today.
Injured Again
Hall of Fame
Got back from a hitting session with my son. The added length made the racquet feel more familiar for both of us, and the added weight around the hoop helped with stability, plow-through, and power. The only potential negative is that for some reason, the racquet now feels "hollow" on shots that are slightly mis-hit high on the stringbed. I don't recall this before, and it really doesn't affect the direction nor the speed the ball comes off the strings. It's almost like that the weight is polarized, with lead at 3 and 9 o'clock and two full heat shrink sleeves on the grip, that the racquet now bends and vibrates in a way not intended to when hitting high on the sweetspot.
The previous problem I had with low volleys off hard hit shots near the service tee is gone - the added weight has made it very stable in just meeting the ball and that helps blocking back hard hit serves and deep groundstroke shots as well. Serve and overhead power is good but not stupendous. All of the positive attributes I found with the stock racquet are enhanced. The sweet spot is very solid.
So, would I switch? I think the answer for me is "no". It is definitely better suited for both our games now that it is modified, but the reality is that against a young, hard hitting, 4.5 level player like my son, I need a larger headsize. Too many times when he really belted the ball, I just couldn't square it up on the center of the strings, even though I did time it pretty well. My SW104, even though it doesn't feel as solid when I mis-hit, still does have a larger (mostly wider) sweetspot that helps in those situations.
My son, however, is going to switch to the PDVS. It's more solid feel than his Pure Drive Tour Plus, which are probably getting tired now that they're two to three years old, and he doesn't mind the hollow feel even though he does notice it a little bit as well. Only thing he wants is for it to be a bit heavier, and this may be the chance to put some wider lead strips between the handle and hoop to see if depolarizing the weight distribution helps.
Thanks again to Tennis Warehouse for allowing me to be a tester for the PDVS.
The previous problem I had with low volleys off hard hit shots near the service tee is gone - the added weight has made it very stable in just meeting the ball and that helps blocking back hard hit serves and deep groundstroke shots as well. Serve and overhead power is good but not stupendous. All of the positive attributes I found with the stock racquet are enhanced. The sweet spot is very solid.
So, would I switch? I think the answer for me is "no". It is definitely better suited for both our games now that it is modified, but the reality is that against a young, hard hitting, 4.5 level player like my son, I need a larger headsize. Too many times when he really belted the ball, I just couldn't square it up on the center of the strings, even though I did time it pretty well. My SW104, even though it doesn't feel as solid when I mis-hit, still does have a larger (mostly wider) sweetspot that helps in those situations.
My son, however, is going to switch to the PDVS. It's more solid feel than his Pure Drive Tour Plus, which are probably getting tired now that they're two to three years old, and he doesn't mind the hollow feel even though he does notice it a little bit as well. Only thing he wants is for it to be a bit heavier, and this may be the chance to put some wider lead strips between the handle and hoop to see if depolarizing the weight distribution helps.
Thanks again to Tennis Warehouse for allowing me to be a tester for the PDVS.
topspn
G.O.A.T.
Here is my review of the PD VS, I hope everyone enjoys it and it provides some perspective. Thanks TW and Babolat for having the playtest which is an excellent form of peer feedback. I enjoyed the opportunity to participate.
String and tension used for test: I chose Tier1 Black Night 1.28 as it is my string of choice on my main sticks and would be one less variable in the playtest.
Tennis experience/background: I have played Tennis ever since I was a kid around 7 years old. I played high school tennis although it was overseas. I came to the US for college and was not familiar at the time with any Tennis programs or how that system worked and ended up playing soccer for 4 years. Long story short, my tennis went from sporadic after school to almost none existent until 15 years ago. Started back up in earnest and I play with hitting buddies, USTA leagues and some private leagues to get more singles in.
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): I am an all courter who likes to change up rhythm and look for opportunities to come to the net. One handed backhand that i drive, topspin or slice. Big forehand with an eastern grip that I tend to cheat on and go semi western when I am going more loopy heavy spin. I use my serve as a weapon and not to role the ball in so a big 1st and 2nd serve. My main weak point right now is fitness which I am pissed off at. I am putting myself on an off court workout schedule and good diet to loose weight and gain fitness. Enough is enough with bad habits and blaming it on getting older.
Current racquet/string setups: My main frames are 3 matched Angell TC95 16x19 63RA 344g/8HL strung. I also have an assortment of other frames for fun: K7 red, PSTGT, Dunlop Revelation, Angell ASL3, Ezone XI 98 and a couple of woodies Dunlop Maxply Fort.
How many hours did you play with the racquet? I think I am around 18 hours give or take. I am on my second string job and my strings are totally dead
Groundstrokes: No surprise given Babolat’s user friendly playability that this frame is no exception. I remember first hitting session completely stock with just an OG, i thought, well this is easy peasy hitting. Black Night for those who have not used the string is a soft nice pocketing copoly. Hitting from the backcourt had nice levels of spin and trajectory was not extreme. The frame is very light in stock form and i have to admit i had to deliberately slow down my swing. To my surprise, slice backhands seemed fine but my top spin backhand suffered from the lightness of the frame. I found myself driving more from that side. In stock form, while rallying was easy but I was not getting much weight on the ball. I also found the responsiveness diminished if i did not hit cleanly in the sweet spot. However if you hit more flat and nailed the sweet sport you got some serious velocity on the ball.
After a few hitting sessions, I added some weight to the head. I added 2 grams to each side between 1-2 and 10-11. I countered with around 5 grams at 7” from the butt cap so around the top of the grip. I normally would counter with a leather grip as well as weight at 7” but the frame being an L3, I didn’t want to get the grip any slimmer. The added weight was felt a bit more on smoothing out my swing and it did add weight to the ball but not as much as i was hoping. One thing that this frame encouraged was slapping the ball for more flat zingers. Just look for the right ball, shorten the back swing and smack laser beams. While fun to hit but a bad habit to get into to much but i was just drilling and not in a match.
Serves: The light weight of the frame made easy work with the swing speed on serves. You really get some nice speed on flat serves and it took me a bit but once I got comfortable with timing, I could snap flat serves from the ad side with a sharp angle going out of the court. I could really get some speed on those too so if i nailed my spot, that was an easy point. Deuce side wide serves were good as well and it was a matter of dialing in. Where I struggled was getting a heavy ball on my kick serve which is easy with my regular frame. I thought i’d compensate for the lack of mass with head speed and I was getting kick just not the heavy ball that handcuffs the opposition. Even with added weight later on I still didn’t feel i was getting truly heavy kick. Perhaps i really needed to bring up this frame to 12oz + weight.
Volleys: This was an area of two tales for me. Good on balls were you have a bit of time and you’re hitting the sweet spot but quick reaction shots had mixed results. Sometimes you’d get an unstable non-responsive reaction. Once I added weight to the head it helped quite a bit but wasn’t a total cure. The feel for me could have been better as well. In this area, I may be a bit picky as it’s important to my game and my main sticks are sublime on volleys.
Serve returns: Simple and easy to block back heavy serves. Part of that is certainly related to how mobile the frame is but it also related to the power of the frame were you can return deep even on a decent block. I had a bit more trouble if i wanted to slice a backhand back on the ad side. I just had trouble keeping it nice and low. It is a feel shot and the frame didn’t hep me there. With weight added, forehand returns were good although i did not have the confidence to go huge. It has to do with my ability on my own frame to get the pocketing that makes me feel like i can rip a return. Very respectable returning overall given the easy mobility and power of the frame.
General reaction/comments on overall performance: I really like frames in the 95-98 head size space. I still get a level of forgiveness but get rewarded with more precision so i tend to enjoy play testing frames in that size range. I wasn’t really sure what Babolat had in mind with this one though. A PD 98? Isn’t that just a Pure Strike or were they looking for a frame to suit a modern baseliner hitting heavy spin. Yes, the PD VS does have that extra precision over a PD but you give up additional power, forgiveness and heavier spin. I also don’t see this frame as a more superior 98 to the Pure Strike. To be honest, the PS 98 is just as good from the backcourt and better precision with 8 mains in the throat and a much better volley stick and overall a more solid stable feel. So perhaps there is that aggressive baseliner who will give up the PD for more control. I was just hoping it would be a more stable stock stick. Overall, this is a nice stick with power and easy playability. Then again so are the PS and PD and they get it done better overall. This frame does take first place in the Babolat lineup on PJs though. Very well done in that regard, it looks quality and very attractive.
String and tension used for test: I chose Tier1 Black Night 1.28 as it is my string of choice on my main sticks and would be one less variable in the playtest.
Tennis experience/background: I have played Tennis ever since I was a kid around 7 years old. I played high school tennis although it was overseas. I came to the US for college and was not familiar at the time with any Tennis programs or how that system worked and ended up playing soccer for 4 years. Long story short, my tennis went from sporadic after school to almost none existent until 15 years ago. Started back up in earnest and I play with hitting buddies, USTA leagues and some private leagues to get more singles in.
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): I am an all courter who likes to change up rhythm and look for opportunities to come to the net. One handed backhand that i drive, topspin or slice. Big forehand with an eastern grip that I tend to cheat on and go semi western when I am going more loopy heavy spin. I use my serve as a weapon and not to role the ball in so a big 1st and 2nd serve. My main weak point right now is fitness which I am pissed off at. I am putting myself on an off court workout schedule and good diet to loose weight and gain fitness. Enough is enough with bad habits and blaming it on getting older.
Current racquet/string setups: My main frames are 3 matched Angell TC95 16x19 63RA 344g/8HL strung. I also have an assortment of other frames for fun: K7 red, PSTGT, Dunlop Revelation, Angell ASL3, Ezone XI 98 and a couple of woodies Dunlop Maxply Fort.
How many hours did you play with the racquet? I think I am around 18 hours give or take. I am on my second string job and my strings are totally dead
Groundstrokes: No surprise given Babolat’s user friendly playability that this frame is no exception. I remember first hitting session completely stock with just an OG, i thought, well this is easy peasy hitting. Black Night for those who have not used the string is a soft nice pocketing copoly. Hitting from the backcourt had nice levels of spin and trajectory was not extreme. The frame is very light in stock form and i have to admit i had to deliberately slow down my swing. To my surprise, slice backhands seemed fine but my top spin backhand suffered from the lightness of the frame. I found myself driving more from that side. In stock form, while rallying was easy but I was not getting much weight on the ball. I also found the responsiveness diminished if i did not hit cleanly in the sweet spot. However if you hit more flat and nailed the sweet sport you got some serious velocity on the ball.
After a few hitting sessions, I added some weight to the head. I added 2 grams to each side between 1-2 and 10-11. I countered with around 5 grams at 7” from the butt cap so around the top of the grip. I normally would counter with a leather grip as well as weight at 7” but the frame being an L3, I didn’t want to get the grip any slimmer. The added weight was felt a bit more on smoothing out my swing and it did add weight to the ball but not as much as i was hoping. One thing that this frame encouraged was slapping the ball for more flat zingers. Just look for the right ball, shorten the back swing and smack laser beams. While fun to hit but a bad habit to get into to much but i was just drilling and not in a match.
Serves: The light weight of the frame made easy work with the swing speed on serves. You really get some nice speed on flat serves and it took me a bit but once I got comfortable with timing, I could snap flat serves from the ad side with a sharp angle going out of the court. I could really get some speed on those too so if i nailed my spot, that was an easy point. Deuce side wide serves were good as well and it was a matter of dialing in. Where I struggled was getting a heavy ball on my kick serve which is easy with my regular frame. I thought i’d compensate for the lack of mass with head speed and I was getting kick just not the heavy ball that handcuffs the opposition. Even with added weight later on I still didn’t feel i was getting truly heavy kick. Perhaps i really needed to bring up this frame to 12oz + weight.
Volleys: This was an area of two tales for me. Good on balls were you have a bit of time and you’re hitting the sweet spot but quick reaction shots had mixed results. Sometimes you’d get an unstable non-responsive reaction. Once I added weight to the head it helped quite a bit but wasn’t a total cure. The feel for me could have been better as well. In this area, I may be a bit picky as it’s important to my game and my main sticks are sublime on volleys.
Serve returns: Simple and easy to block back heavy serves. Part of that is certainly related to how mobile the frame is but it also related to the power of the frame were you can return deep even on a decent block. I had a bit more trouble if i wanted to slice a backhand back on the ad side. I just had trouble keeping it nice and low. It is a feel shot and the frame didn’t hep me there. With weight added, forehand returns were good although i did not have the confidence to go huge. It has to do with my ability on my own frame to get the pocketing that makes me feel like i can rip a return. Very respectable returning overall given the easy mobility and power of the frame.
General reaction/comments on overall performance: I really like frames in the 95-98 head size space. I still get a level of forgiveness but get rewarded with more precision so i tend to enjoy play testing frames in that size range. I wasn’t really sure what Babolat had in mind with this one though. A PD 98? Isn’t that just a Pure Strike or were they looking for a frame to suit a modern baseliner hitting heavy spin. Yes, the PD VS does have that extra precision over a PD but you give up additional power, forgiveness and heavier spin. I also don’t see this frame as a more superior 98 to the Pure Strike. To be honest, the PS 98 is just as good from the backcourt and better precision with 8 mains in the throat and a much better volley stick and overall a more solid stable feel. So perhaps there is that aggressive baseliner who will give up the PD for more control. I was just hoping it would be a more stable stock stick. Overall, this is a nice stick with power and easy playability. Then again so are the PS and PD and they get it done better overall. This frame does take first place in the Babolat lineup on PJs though. Very well done in that regard, it looks quality and very attractive.
haqq777
Legend
Awesome review! Loved it.
By the way, big praise in the end for the PJ. First place? Nah! My favorite in Babolat line up is the Project One Seven. This comes in second
- it is indeed a great PJ though and definitely looks better in person.Again, well done. Great review. Enjoyed reading it. Couldn't agree more on slapping flat zingers after shortening back swing. Nice bombs on short balls but that is indeed a bad habit to get into lol
topspn
G.O.A.T.
lol P17 is sweet but maybe I got used to it and this one is still fresh. It’s call it a tieBy the way, big praise in the end for the PJ. First place? Nah! My favorite in Babolat line up is the Project One Seven. This comes in second
Thank you to TW and Babolat for the opportunity to play test the racket.
String and tension used for test: Genesis Black Magic 17g at 54lbs
Tennis experience/background: I started playing tennis around age 13-14 or so. I am now in my early 40s. I played on my high school varsity team. Also played a good number of USTA tournaments as a teenager. Now I mostly play twice a week with friends and play an occasional tournament. USTA rating is 4.5
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): I have a pretty well rounded game. My strengths are my serve, forehand and I still move well for an old guy. I play mostly from the baseline but will not hesitate to come in when the opportunity presents itself. I will also throw in the occasional serve and volley.
Current racquet/string setups: The latest Babolat Pure Drive strung with Genesis Black Magic 17g at 54lbs. I have been using the Pure Drive for a little over a year. Prior to the Pure Drive I used the Head IG Youtek Prestige Pro for 5-6 years. Before the Head I used the Prince Original Graphite Mid for 20 plus years. I did toy with other rackets on and off but always went back to the POG mid. The "players" frames always appealed to me. I was drawn to thin beamed, mid size rackets, that were around 12oz and headlight. The Babolat Pure Drive doesn't have the same feel as the old school rackets but the pure drive is just so easy to use. I figured I can use all the help I can get since I am an old guy.
How many hours did you play with the racquet? About 12 hours
Comments on racquet performance: The Pure Drive VS definitely feels better than the Babolat Pure Drive. It feels very solid and dampened but not muted. The racket is easy to use. More control with the VS compared to the Pure Drive. The power level is lower with VS compared to the Pure Drive. The VS is very predictable unlike with the Pure Drive you will get the occasional shot that just seems to "fly".
-Groundstrokes: My groundstrokes were very consistent with the VS. Very good control, kinda just point and shoot. I have a two handed backhand but may slice off the backhand side 20 percent of the time. The two handed topspin backhand felt nice, I had no issues there. However with the onehanded backhand slice it seemed to float a bit, I got nowhere near the "bite" that I typically get with the Pure Drive. The forehand felt fine with the VS, again just point and shoot. I had no issues generating topspin but my shots seemed to lack a bit of heaviness. I don't seem to get the same amount of power with the VS off the ground as I do with the Pure Drive.
-Serves: The VS is very easy to serve with. Flat serves, slice serves and kick serves were easy. I was able to hit my spots a little better with the VS compared to the Pure Drive. However I did not generate as much pace on my serves with the VS and the kick serve seemed to lack its usual "heaviness".
-Volleys: No issues with volleys. The racket is solid at the net. The better "feel" of the racket makes touch shots and drop volleys easier with the VS than the Pure Drive.
-Serve returns: The racket is solid on returns. Easy to block back hard flat serves. No issues with the racket getting "pushed" around or twisting. Very stable on returns.
General reaction/comments on overall performance: Overall I am very pleased with the racket. I love the "feel" of the racket. Very solid and dampened feel which reminds me more of the "players" frames I used prior to switching to the Pure Drive. The cosmetics of the racket are really nice. The only issue I have is that my shots seem to lack some power and heaviness. I am not one that typically messes around with lead tape. I prefer to use rackets in stock form but I might try and play around with some lead tape on the VS because I think that might get me some of the power and heaviness that I feel my shots are lacking with the VS. If I can get the power and heaviness by adding lead tape then I definitely see myself switching to this racket. It just "feels" much better then the Pure Drive.
Thank you again TW and Babolat. I appreciate the opportunity and really enjoyed the play test.
Chace
String and tension used for test: Genesis Black Magic 17g at 54lbs
Tennis experience/background: I started playing tennis around age 13-14 or so. I am now in my early 40s. I played on my high school varsity team. Also played a good number of USTA tournaments as a teenager. Now I mostly play twice a week with friends and play an occasional tournament. USTA rating is 4.5
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): I have a pretty well rounded game. My strengths are my serve, forehand and I still move well for an old guy. I play mostly from the baseline but will not hesitate to come in when the opportunity presents itself. I will also throw in the occasional serve and volley.
Current racquet/string setups: The latest Babolat Pure Drive strung with Genesis Black Magic 17g at 54lbs. I have been using the Pure Drive for a little over a year. Prior to the Pure Drive I used the Head IG Youtek Prestige Pro for 5-6 years. Before the Head I used the Prince Original Graphite Mid for 20 plus years. I did toy with other rackets on and off but always went back to the POG mid. The "players" frames always appealed to me. I was drawn to thin beamed, mid size rackets, that were around 12oz and headlight. The Babolat Pure Drive doesn't have the same feel as the old school rackets but the pure drive is just so easy to use. I figured I can use all the help I can get since I am an old guy.
How many hours did you play with the racquet? About 12 hours
Comments on racquet performance: The Pure Drive VS definitely feels better than the Babolat Pure Drive. It feels very solid and dampened but not muted. The racket is easy to use. More control with the VS compared to the Pure Drive. The power level is lower with VS compared to the Pure Drive. The VS is very predictable unlike with the Pure Drive you will get the occasional shot that just seems to "fly".
-Groundstrokes: My groundstrokes were very consistent with the VS. Very good control, kinda just point and shoot. I have a two handed backhand but may slice off the backhand side 20 percent of the time. The two handed topspin backhand felt nice, I had no issues there. However with the onehanded backhand slice it seemed to float a bit, I got nowhere near the "bite" that I typically get with the Pure Drive. The forehand felt fine with the VS, again just point and shoot. I had no issues generating topspin but my shots seemed to lack a bit of heaviness. I don't seem to get the same amount of power with the VS off the ground as I do with the Pure Drive.
-Serves: The VS is very easy to serve with. Flat serves, slice serves and kick serves were easy. I was able to hit my spots a little better with the VS compared to the Pure Drive. However I did not generate as much pace on my serves with the VS and the kick serve seemed to lack its usual "heaviness".
-Volleys: No issues with volleys. The racket is solid at the net. The better "feel" of the racket makes touch shots and drop volleys easier with the VS than the Pure Drive.
-Serve returns: The racket is solid on returns. Easy to block back hard flat serves. No issues with the racket getting "pushed" around or twisting. Very stable on returns.
General reaction/comments on overall performance: Overall I am very pleased with the racket. I love the "feel" of the racket. Very solid and dampened feel which reminds me more of the "players" frames I used prior to switching to the Pure Drive. The cosmetics of the racket are really nice. The only issue I have is that my shots seem to lack some power and heaviness. I am not one that typically messes around with lead tape. I prefer to use rackets in stock form but I might try and play around with some lead tape on the VS because I think that might get me some of the power and heaviness that I feel my shots are lacking with the VS. If I can get the power and heaviness by adding lead tape then I definitely see myself switching to this racket. It just "feels" much better then the Pure Drive.
Thank you again TW and Babolat. I appreciate the opportunity and really enjoyed the play test.
Chace
