Tennis Warehouse: Head Boom MP (Prototype 2021) Racquet
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nvr2old
Hall of Fame
Play testing now in stock form. Then plan to mod it with some lead to my more HL preferred spec.
Classic-TXP-IG MID
Hall of Fame
Tennisevan
New User
Can you link to prestige thread I can not find info or updated ones.
nvr2old
Hall of Fame
rechecked: correction 11.1 oz and 4 pt HL after dampener and overgrip
nvr2old
Hall of Fame
4 hours for me as well. I haven’t been able to dial in slice yet but serves are coming along and topspin and drive ground stokes are amazing with proper strike prep esp racquet drop otherwise tend to get fliers given power of frame.
TennisHound
Legend
That is pretty light, maybe a little too light.
nvr2old
Hall of Fame
Platform light.
FoldingChair
Semi-Pro
So I just broke the lynx tour the boom stick came with. About to put the lynx touch string in it for hitting this wednesday. Really like what i've been seeing from this stick. Will put in some more time and return with full review
nvr2old
Hall of Fame
I haven’t yet. Will give it till mid next week or about 2 weeks of use first and then start modding. Thinking of adding to butt first to make it more HL and them might add to throat to increase sw a little and stability. Gonna be fun.
ryushen21
Legend
I was thinking lead up top to boost the swing weight. This thing feels crazy light so maybe my impression of the swing weight is off.
nvr2old
Hall of Fame
Yup understand. I like fairly HL setup. Sometimes 8-10 pts so maybe I’m atypical. I add weight back to get some sw and feeling back sometimes. To each his own. For a long time I just played them stock. Then found the IMO wonderful possibilities of adding weight and changing racquet characteristics.
lidoazndiabloboi
Hall of Fame
Swingweight is only 320. Still need more lead
ryushen21
Legend
Did you counterbalance in the handle?
Swingweight is only 320. Still need more lead
ryushen21
Legend
Also, what did that bring the static weight up to?
Swingweight is only 320. Still need more lead
TennisHound
Legend
I know you have to do a playtest with the stock weight, but how does it hit with the lead on it?
Swingweight is only 320. Still need more lead
lidoazndiabloboi
Hall of Fame
Strung weight is up to about 315g, if I recall correctly, but I'll check it when I get back today. No I haven't had a chance to counter balance it yet. Will be doing that once I have some free time.
I hit with it stock from about 1 weeks, 5 sessions, until the point where I started to feel a little pain in my arm. Thats when I knew I really needed to add some more weight. It definitely is more stable now with the added lead. In stock form, if I hit the ball smack in the center of the strings, it was good, but anything off center, you can feel a lot of racket push back. After adding the lead, the racket feels more forgiving on off center shots.
TennisHound
Legend
Awesome, thanks for the update
ryushen21
Legend
I've pretty much finished my playtest with this frame in stock form. I'm not entirely sure that I want to spend the time going through the modding process with this frame because it's going to take a lot of lead to get it close to a spec that would be remotely similar to anything else that I hit with.
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
If a frame needs that much lead... it's a child's toy. Give it to a little kid or toss it in the can.
Swingweight is only 320. Still need more lead
Classic-TXP-IG MID
Hall of Fame
Pro Stock racquets look like this after they have been modified. Have a look at Wawrinka's racquet, for example.
smalahove
Hall of Fame
But their SW is then way higher than 320. That is the most lead I've seen on a racket; it almost covers 3/4 of the inside hoop, on both sides
Classic-TXP-IG MID
Hall of Fame
But their SW is then way higher than 320. That is the most lead I've seen on a racket; it almost covers 3/4 of the inside hoop, on both sides
Yeah, I know. Wawrinka had about that much on the sides of his 95D and he used to hide the lead tape under the top/ bummer guard grommets, which meant that it would be similar if visible.
It depends on what you start with and how the weight is distributed within the racquet. You can't just look at a picture and assume things. If you start with a 300g racquet with most of the weight in the head, it will need to be modified completely differently from a 300g racquet with the majority of the weight in the handle, assuming you want to get it to 350g static, 310-315mm balance, and 335-340 SW (just as an example).
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ryushen21
Legend
Well, here's my review
String and tension used for test: Lynx Tour @53, Black Knight @47/45
Tennis experience/background: 16 years of playing experience, High School Head Tennis Coach
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): Aggressive all-court player, SW forehand and 2-handed backhand
Current racquet/string setups: 2021 Yonex VCore 95, Black Knight/Grey Fire @47/45
How many hours did you play with the racquet? Approximately 30 hours. I used it exclusively from the time I received it up until the point of this posting for both playing and coaching sessions.
No modifications were made to the racquet. These comments are made based on the stock setup of the racquet.
Comments on racquet performance for each stroke (each section should be 3-5 sentences minimum):
-Groundstrokes: In a lot of ways, this racquet is a baseliner’s dream. There’s easy access to both power and spin from this frame with a full swing. This frame definitely encourages you to take aggressive swings at the ball and responds with good spin and depth and the pattern promotes spin production quite easily. As long as you are set up in a good position to execute your shots, there is no reason the ball shouldn’t get back over. However, if you’re stretched or in a more defensive posture, the lack of mass in the frame can make shots where you can’t get a full swing in. Flicks and stabs generally produced a relatively short ball that opened an attack for opponents. Control off the ground is also pretty good for a light, open-patterned racquet.
-Serves: First serves were just ok with this racquet for me. I could come through contact pretty quick so there was some heat on them and placement was generally not an issue. I found myself going for more kick and slice serves with this frame than flat serves. This is where the lightweight and the open pattern work in perfect harmony because you can get really aggressive on these types of serves to produce some crazy action on them.
-Volleys: I had some issues getting adjusted to volleys with this stick and never really got super comfortable with them. The low weight of the racquet meant that I had to be perfect on volleys to feel comfortable. And when you hit them perfectly, they were pretty good. Control was solid and with good technique, touch volleys could be executed. But if you were slightly off in the least on volleys, they came off weak and anemic and asking to be punished.
-Serve returns: Similarly to groundstrokes, if I was able to react and set up quickly enough to execute a full swing, returns were great. I could hit back heavy and get aggressive with return angles to pull my opponents out wide and set up a cross-court return/winner. On more challenging serves where I needed to block back, I found the returns coming up short. Like with the groundstrokes, I could get the ball back over but not with much depth or pace.
Comments on racquet performance in each area (should be 2-3 sentences minimum)
Power/Control- I think it would be fair to say that this frame has ample power to it when you put a full swing behind it. The frame simply lacks enough mass to be able to stand on its own. Once I got used to how the frame swung, I found I was able to manipulate shots quite easily. While this frame can drive the ball too, it much prefers to hit with lots of spin. If you are the type of player who hits for areas and relies on the action on the ball to cause your opponents problems, this frame does that well. The pinpoint precision is not there that you would see in a “player’s racquet” but the ability to shift and adjust shot types with this frame is great. You can go between hitting high loopy shots to more driven and tightly-spun shots with ease.
Top Spin/Slice- It feels like this is what this frame was really designed for. The open pattern combined with the lighter mass allows you to create exceptional racquet head speed to put massive amounts of action on your shots. It’s capable of producing that ball that looks like it’s going to sail long but suddenly (and dramatically) drops in within right by the baseline. I posted in another thread that this may be the best slicing racquet that I have ever hit with. Pretty much right out of the box, I was able to produce slice shots with a low trajectory and tons of action. It was practically perfect where the ball just skids after impact and barely bounces up at all.
Comfort- At the first hit, I was afraid that comfort was going to be a concern on this frame as it came strung higher than I usually go with a full poly setup. But once that bed started to settle, I found the frame to be quite comfortable to hit with. It’s also easy to play for hour after hour with this frame because it’s so easy to swing that it doesn’t tire you in the least. The only comfort issues I found were when making contact outside the sweet spot and that came more from the instability of the racquet than anything else.
Feel- It’s hard to find the right way to describe the feel of this racquet. On the first hit, it came across as tinny and hollow but that was likely attributable to the string and tension. As the bed settled and the frame opened up a little bit, the feel became quite nice. I would almost dare to say that there was a certain plush feel to it when you laid into the ball just right. It did not feel as muted as some other more recent frames and there was good connection to the ball as well as feedback on impact.
Maneuverability- Low mass plus what felt like a relatively head light balance make this a very maneuverable frame. You can easily adjust on shots and execute shorter, faster strokes when you need to. This also makes it easy to adjust quickly on shots and buys you a little time when you need it. Although, I will say that at times it felt like the racquet moved a little too quickly and I occasionally found myself slightly out of position.
Stability- Here it’s almost a case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. When you nail the sweet spot of this frame, whether it’s on a groundstroke or volley, it seems to be superb and almost untouchable. But when you’re slightly off, you absolutely know it and the performance of the racquet drops off dramatically. It’s a case of the racquet being too light once again.
General reaction/comments on overall performance: As I’ve been playtesting this racquet, I kept asking myself who this racquet was targeted at. It’s light, spin-oriented, relatively easy to use, and comfortable. The lightweight of the frame makes me think that it’s marketed more towards beginner/intermediate players as it also seems to promote the good habits of taking a full swing and developing that top spin oriented style of stroke.
But I come back to thinking that Head may have seriously limited the market for this frame because the weight is so low. I’ve followed some other reviewers and have seen reports of weight being anywhere in the 275g to 285g range and that just seems to be way too low unless this is specifically the light variant of the range they are introducing. If this frame started at a 290 or 295g unstrung weight, I feel like it would still accomplish everything that they want it to while being more stable and usable to wider market.
String and tension used for test: Lynx Tour @53, Black Knight @47/45
Tennis experience/background: 16 years of playing experience, High School Head Tennis Coach
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): Aggressive all-court player, SW forehand and 2-handed backhand
Current racquet/string setups: 2021 Yonex VCore 95, Black Knight/Grey Fire @47/45
How many hours did you play with the racquet? Approximately 30 hours. I used it exclusively from the time I received it up until the point of this posting for both playing and coaching sessions.
No modifications were made to the racquet. These comments are made based on the stock setup of the racquet.
Comments on racquet performance for each stroke (each section should be 3-5 sentences minimum):
-Groundstrokes: In a lot of ways, this racquet is a baseliner’s dream. There’s easy access to both power and spin from this frame with a full swing. This frame definitely encourages you to take aggressive swings at the ball and responds with good spin and depth and the pattern promotes spin production quite easily. As long as you are set up in a good position to execute your shots, there is no reason the ball shouldn’t get back over. However, if you’re stretched or in a more defensive posture, the lack of mass in the frame can make shots where you can’t get a full swing in. Flicks and stabs generally produced a relatively short ball that opened an attack for opponents. Control off the ground is also pretty good for a light, open-patterned racquet.
-Serves: First serves were just ok with this racquet for me. I could come through contact pretty quick so there was some heat on them and placement was generally not an issue. I found myself going for more kick and slice serves with this frame than flat serves. This is where the lightweight and the open pattern work in perfect harmony because you can get really aggressive on these types of serves to produce some crazy action on them.
-Volleys: I had some issues getting adjusted to volleys with this stick and never really got super comfortable with them. The low weight of the racquet meant that I had to be perfect on volleys to feel comfortable. And when you hit them perfectly, they were pretty good. Control was solid and with good technique, touch volleys could be executed. But if you were slightly off in the least on volleys, they came off weak and anemic and asking to be punished.
-Serve returns: Similarly to groundstrokes, if I was able to react and set up quickly enough to execute a full swing, returns were great. I could hit back heavy and get aggressive with return angles to pull my opponents out wide and set up a cross-court return/winner. On more challenging serves where I needed to block back, I found the returns coming up short. Like with the groundstrokes, I could get the ball back over but not with much depth or pace.
Comments on racquet performance in each area (should be 2-3 sentences minimum)
Power/Control- I think it would be fair to say that this frame has ample power to it when you put a full swing behind it. The frame simply lacks enough mass to be able to stand on its own. Once I got used to how the frame swung, I found I was able to manipulate shots quite easily. While this frame can drive the ball too, it much prefers to hit with lots of spin. If you are the type of player who hits for areas and relies on the action on the ball to cause your opponents problems, this frame does that well. The pinpoint precision is not there that you would see in a “player’s racquet” but the ability to shift and adjust shot types with this frame is great. You can go between hitting high loopy shots to more driven and tightly-spun shots with ease.
Top Spin/Slice- It feels like this is what this frame was really designed for. The open pattern combined with the lighter mass allows you to create exceptional racquet head speed to put massive amounts of action on your shots. It’s capable of producing that ball that looks like it’s going to sail long but suddenly (and dramatically) drops in within right by the baseline. I posted in another thread that this may be the best slicing racquet that I have ever hit with. Pretty much right out of the box, I was able to produce slice shots with a low trajectory and tons of action. It was practically perfect where the ball just skids after impact and barely bounces up at all.
Comfort- At the first hit, I was afraid that comfort was going to be a concern on this frame as it came strung higher than I usually go with a full poly setup. But once that bed started to settle, I found the frame to be quite comfortable to hit with. It’s also easy to play for hour after hour with this frame because it’s so easy to swing that it doesn’t tire you in the least. The only comfort issues I found were when making contact outside the sweet spot and that came more from the instability of the racquet than anything else.
Feel- It’s hard to find the right way to describe the feel of this racquet. On the first hit, it came across as tinny and hollow but that was likely attributable to the string and tension. As the bed settled and the frame opened up a little bit, the feel became quite nice. I would almost dare to say that there was a certain plush feel to it when you laid into the ball just right. It did not feel as muted as some other more recent frames and there was good connection to the ball as well as feedback on impact.
Maneuverability- Low mass plus what felt like a relatively head light balance make this a very maneuverable frame. You can easily adjust on shots and execute shorter, faster strokes when you need to. This also makes it easy to adjust quickly on shots and buys you a little time when you need it. Although, I will say that at times it felt like the racquet moved a little too quickly and I occasionally found myself slightly out of position.
Stability- Here it’s almost a case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. When you nail the sweet spot of this frame, whether it’s on a groundstroke or volley, it seems to be superb and almost untouchable. But when you’re slightly off, you absolutely know it and the performance of the racquet drops off dramatically. It’s a case of the racquet being too light once again.
General reaction/comments on overall performance: As I’ve been playtesting this racquet, I kept asking myself who this racquet was targeted at. It’s light, spin-oriented, relatively easy to use, and comfortable. The lightweight of the frame makes me think that it’s marketed more towards beginner/intermediate players as it also seems to promote the good habits of taking a full swing and developing that top spin oriented style of stroke.
But I come back to thinking that Head may have seriously limited the market for this frame because the weight is so low. I’ve followed some other reviewers and have seen reports of weight being anywhere in the 275g to 285g range and that just seems to be way too low unless this is specifically the light variant of the range they are introducing. If this frame started at a 290 or 295g unstrung weight, I feel like it would still accomplish everything that they want it to while being more stable and usable to wider market.
FoldingChair
Semi-Pro
String and tension used for test: Head Lynx Tour@53 pounds,
Tennis experience/background: former 4.5 soon to be playing 4.0 as I age and fatten, 15 years overall of tennis experience
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): I would describe myself as a baseline basher who's main strengths are serve return and 2hbh. I LOVE me a bunch of drop shots.
Current racquet/string setups: Until about a week ago, EZONE 2020 w/Toroline wasabi @50. Now using Wilson Blade V8 16x19, Gosen G tour 3 1.23 x Gosen AK Pro CX 1.24 hybrid at 48lbs
How many hours did you play with the racquet? up to this point about 20-30.
Comments on racquet performance for each stroke (each section should be 3-5 sentences minimum):
-Groundstrokes: As the reviewer ahead of me stated, this stick rewards big aggressive cuts on the ball. When I had time to set up and take a full swing, I was rewarded with a deep penetrating ball that would jump off the court with heavy spin. Flat shots on the other hand for me were just a no go. I play with some strong 4.5 and 5.0's who can really punish the ball and when on the run this stick's low weight specs reared it's head as stability jumped right out the window. I added four four inch strips of lead at 3 and 9 which helped somewhat but I feel as though it took away from the fun of the racquet as it slowed down my swing ever so slightly.
-Serves: Bombs. I was serving absolute bombs with this racquet. I don't have the fastest serve or the biggest serve but I pride myself in being able to vary up my serve and place it well enough. Flat, slice, kicks, they all had some extra juice on them and the spins serves in particular felt "heavier to return" as per the words of my hitting partners. I developed most confidence in this aspect of my game using this stick as I just started going for serves with more success. The spin serves in particular worked well for me, especially my kicker out wide on the ad side.
-Volleys: I disliked this one for volleys, I just couldn't vibe with it. I play a lot of dubs and had extensive time hitting volleys with this thing. I felt as though you'd need to be perfect with volleys otherwise the ball just dies. The low weight hindered this racquet big time. Even with lead I felt as though I was still getting pushed around. I could get the racquet in position on time but I just couldn't punch it to the spots I was aiming for. Goodness and when I would miss the sweetspot, shock city for my elbow every time. After a while I had to just stop being super aggressive at the net as I just did not feel confident at all there.
-Serve returns: The low swing weight translated to me just cracking returns... into the fence. I have a habit of flattening out my returns to begin pressuring my opponent right off the jump. I couldn't do that with this stick. When I started understanding this and got under the ball a bit more, it started rewarding me. On my backhand side I try to mix in deep slices with my regular 2hbh which stayed low and got the court penetration i was looking for. I found stability issues prior to lead tape being added especially on big flat serve returns.
Comments on racquet performance in each area (should be 2-3 sentences minimum)
Power/Control- There was power a plenty with this one and I can't help but feel as though this was meant to be a highlight aspect of this frame. "Control" isn't inherently there compared to what I regularly use but for an experienced player that knows how to add spin to their strokes, they'd be able to reel in that power.
Top Spin/Slice- Spin was there for both topspin and slice. The light weight allows for a fast enough swing speed to generate the spin off both wings. Topspin wasn't better than any aero i've ever tried, slice wasn't better than any 18x20 i've tried. But it didn't do them any worse than those either. I feel that with enough time to setup and utilization of proper technique, this is a weapon in the right hands.
Comfort- In my experience this racquet was semi comfortable right in the sweetspot but anything outside of it was jarring. Never in my years of using full poly setups have I ever developed tennis elbow until now. Maybe it's this racquet or maybe it's the accumulation of wear and tear over the years. What I do know is that it's after this one that i'm going to see a PT for tennis elbow. I'm not kidding. I'm not perfect, i'm not great, I don't hit the sweetspot every time and maaaaaaaaaan am I paying for it with this one. For all I know it might not even be the racquet, it could be the strings being tensioned higher than i'm used to.
Feel- It feels hollow and reminiscent of an older gen pure drive in my opinion. It's satisfying to see what you can produce with this racquet off the ground but it doesn't give you that "oooooh yeaaah" type of feeling in your head. Touch shots like my beloved drop shot were not present as there's too much power and too little weight on this frame leading to my drop shots landing towards the service line. I personally felt it was muted and hollow but again that is my experience and yours may differ.
Maneuverability- Shine the rays of light from the heavens down upon this racquet. Whippy whippy whippy, you can generate so much racquet head speed with this one. The low weight and low swing weight allows for great maneuverability meaning I could get the racquet in position on a moments notice and could hit some big ol' serves.
Stability- HATED THE STABILITY OF THIS RACQUET. The low weight meant the racquet got pushed around a lot. If I found myself on the run and needing to hit a shot, perfect I could get there and swing in time because great maneuverability! But would the racquet waver upon contact? I always had to ask myself that. Even after lead tape I was feeling some stability issues when returning big strokes/serves and especially my volleys. This might relate back to my comments on comfort but this was definitely a contributing factor to my elbow pain.
General reaction/comments on overall performance: It's a light weight fun hit and allows for the user to generate ultra fast racquet head speed leading to big spin and strokes. But that's all it is, a fun hit. I couldn't see myself using this long term. I had praise for some aspects of this racquet but I feel as though there are asterisks with the praise as well as I alluded to in my review/comments. There was also a lot of dislikes I had with it as well: comfort, weight, stability, feel, etc. So like the reviewer ahead of me, who is this for? Is it for the weekend warrior that hits the courts once biweekly for an hour? Or the junior picking up the game for the first time? Thank you again to head and tennis warehouse for allowing me to participate in this playtest.
Tennis experience/background: former 4.5 soon to be playing 4.0 as I age and fatten, 15 years overall of tennis experience
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): I would describe myself as a baseline basher who's main strengths are serve return and 2hbh. I LOVE me a bunch of drop shots.
Current racquet/string setups: Until about a week ago, EZONE 2020 w/Toroline wasabi @50. Now using Wilson Blade V8 16x19, Gosen G tour 3 1.23 x Gosen AK Pro CX 1.24 hybrid at 48lbs
How many hours did you play with the racquet? up to this point about 20-30.
Comments on racquet performance for each stroke (each section should be 3-5 sentences minimum):
-Groundstrokes: As the reviewer ahead of me stated, this stick rewards big aggressive cuts on the ball. When I had time to set up and take a full swing, I was rewarded with a deep penetrating ball that would jump off the court with heavy spin. Flat shots on the other hand for me were just a no go. I play with some strong 4.5 and 5.0's who can really punish the ball and when on the run this stick's low weight specs reared it's head as stability jumped right out the window. I added four four inch strips of lead at 3 and 9 which helped somewhat but I feel as though it took away from the fun of the racquet as it slowed down my swing ever so slightly.
-Serves: Bombs. I was serving absolute bombs with this racquet. I don't have the fastest serve or the biggest serve but I pride myself in being able to vary up my serve and place it well enough. Flat, slice, kicks, they all had some extra juice on them and the spins serves in particular felt "heavier to return" as per the words of my hitting partners. I developed most confidence in this aspect of my game using this stick as I just started going for serves with more success. The spin serves in particular worked well for me, especially my kicker out wide on the ad side.
-Volleys: I disliked this one for volleys, I just couldn't vibe with it. I play a lot of dubs and had extensive time hitting volleys with this thing. I felt as though you'd need to be perfect with volleys otherwise the ball just dies. The low weight hindered this racquet big time. Even with lead I felt as though I was still getting pushed around. I could get the racquet in position on time but I just couldn't punch it to the spots I was aiming for. Goodness and when I would miss the sweetspot, shock city for my elbow every time. After a while I had to just stop being super aggressive at the net as I just did not feel confident at all there.
-Serve returns: The low swing weight translated to me just cracking returns... into the fence. I have a habit of flattening out my returns to begin pressuring my opponent right off the jump. I couldn't do that with this stick. When I started understanding this and got under the ball a bit more, it started rewarding me. On my backhand side I try to mix in deep slices with my regular 2hbh which stayed low and got the court penetration i was looking for. I found stability issues prior to lead tape being added especially on big flat serve returns.
Comments on racquet performance in each area (should be 2-3 sentences minimum)
Power/Control- There was power a plenty with this one and I can't help but feel as though this was meant to be a highlight aspect of this frame. "Control" isn't inherently there compared to what I regularly use but for an experienced player that knows how to add spin to their strokes, they'd be able to reel in that power.
Top Spin/Slice- Spin was there for both topspin and slice. The light weight allows for a fast enough swing speed to generate the spin off both wings. Topspin wasn't better than any aero i've ever tried, slice wasn't better than any 18x20 i've tried. But it didn't do them any worse than those either. I feel that with enough time to setup and utilization of proper technique, this is a weapon in the right hands.
Comfort- In my experience this racquet was semi comfortable right in the sweetspot but anything outside of it was jarring. Never in my years of using full poly setups have I ever developed tennis elbow until now. Maybe it's this racquet or maybe it's the accumulation of wear and tear over the years. What I do know is that it's after this one that i'm going to see a PT for tennis elbow. I'm not kidding. I'm not perfect, i'm not great, I don't hit the sweetspot every time and maaaaaaaaaan am I paying for it with this one. For all I know it might not even be the racquet, it could be the strings being tensioned higher than i'm used to.
Feel- It feels hollow and reminiscent of an older gen pure drive in my opinion. It's satisfying to see what you can produce with this racquet off the ground but it doesn't give you that "oooooh yeaaah" type of feeling in your head. Touch shots like my beloved drop shot were not present as there's too much power and too little weight on this frame leading to my drop shots landing towards the service line. I personally felt it was muted and hollow but again that is my experience and yours may differ.
Maneuverability- Shine the rays of light from the heavens down upon this racquet. Whippy whippy whippy, you can generate so much racquet head speed with this one. The low weight and low swing weight allows for great maneuverability meaning I could get the racquet in position on a moments notice and could hit some big ol' serves.
Stability- HATED THE STABILITY OF THIS RACQUET. The low weight meant the racquet got pushed around a lot. If I found myself on the run and needing to hit a shot, perfect I could get there and swing in time because great maneuverability! But would the racquet waver upon contact? I always had to ask myself that. Even after lead tape I was feeling some stability issues when returning big strokes/serves and especially my volleys. This might relate back to my comments on comfort but this was definitely a contributing factor to my elbow pain.
General reaction/comments on overall performance: It's a light weight fun hit and allows for the user to generate ultra fast racquet head speed leading to big spin and strokes. But that's all it is, a fun hit. I couldn't see myself using this long term. I had praise for some aspects of this racquet but I feel as though there are asterisks with the praise as well as I alluded to in my review/comments. There was also a lot of dislikes I had with it as well: comfort, weight, stability, feel, etc. So like the reviewer ahead of me, who is this for? Is it for the weekend warrior that hits the courts once biweekly for an hour? Or the junior picking up the game for the first time? Thank you again to head and tennis warehouse for allowing me to participate in this playtest.
dr325i
G.O.A.T.
You may need a basic lesson how the frames are made.
Not sure if you've seen Novak's hoop and I bet a $100 you would not be able to handle it!
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
I play with heavy rackets. You'd lose $100.
ryushen21
Legend
And you probably think you're superior because you play with a heavy racquet.I play with heavy rackets. You'd lose $100.
dr325i
G.O.A.T.
I still put $100. Where are you located. I’ll loan you one of 6 ND I haveI play with heavy rackets. You'd lose $100.
Classic-TXP-IG MID
Hall of Fame
I still put $100. Where are you located. I’ll loan you one of 6 ND I have
I'm in Australia... send one over ASAP.
Better yet... Get Novak to send me one, that way I don't need to worry about having to send it back.
bertrevert
Legend
How come reviews so far not say - Pro or MP?
Should state up top, not require readers go thru whole thread findout. Later when yr review turn up in Google searches yr reader just wanna know up top.
Should state up top, not require readers go thru whole thread findout. Later when yr review turn up in Google searches yr reader just wanna know up top.
ryushen21
Legend
As far as I know, the MP was the one sent out for mass demo/review. The Pro model only went to specific retailers/pros.
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
If I give you my address will you send me one? I'll record a video of me using it to play a set and send it back to you. Then you can send me $100 via PayPal. Sound like a plan?I still put $100. Where are you located. I’ll loan you one of 6 ND I have
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
Superior?... no, not at all. Really good?... yes.
dr325i
G.O.A.T.
How about you give me the address and if on my way I stop by and check out for myself and collect my $100?
remember, “handle it” means play a full session with 360SW small sweet spot thing, 5 times per week…
ryushen21
Legend
You do you boo. Don't complain when you get dusted by someone using a tweener.
bertrevert
Legend
@ryushen21
Ah yeh thought so, reading the intial putout by TW at start of thread. Nevertheless you may wish to add to yr review so as not to force the reader to find - but we just told them
Now frame good at slice? Some element of strings and frame shape in what you say? Usually 18x20 and heft good for slice. However good slice out of this MP is intriguing
Ah yeh thought so, reading the intial putout by TW at start of thread. Nevertheless you may wish to add to yr review so as not to force the reader to find - but we just told them
Now frame good at slice? Some element of strings and frame shape in what you say? Usually 18x20 and heft good for slice. However good slice out of this MP is intriguing
ryushen21
Legend
The slice was a surprise but yes, it's that good. Just clearing over the tape and low, low skidding action.@ryushen21
Ah yeh thought so, reading the intial putout by TW at start of thread. Nevertheless you may wish to add to yr review so as not to force the reader to find - but we just told them
Now frame good at slice? Some element of strings and frame shape in what you say? Usually 18x20 and heft good for slice. However good slice out of this MP is intriguing
18x20 and heavy is not necessarily a requirement for excellent slice. Both the EZone and VCore 100 are excellent slicing racquets as is the Wilson 6.1 100 v13.
smalahove
Hall of Fame
I know you're a Head fan, but you have to admit that adding that much lead on a retail stick to get it to 320 SW is not a good look on Head's QC. There's no comparable racket in the market that has a SW below 310 stock, and it should be at least 315 stock imo.
Not sure why pro-stocks are dragged into the conversation, as both Novak's and Stan's rackets, that have similar amounts of lead, have SW in the 360s.
dr325i
G.O.A.T.
I am not sure why you mention QC as:
1) it is still the prototype frame (MP)
2) we do not know the target SW spec on it, may be 300 and adding all that lead brings it to 320.
However, I don’t think so as I played with the Boom Pro with lead at 12 and SW of 340. Something does not make sense there, looks like about 10-12g of lead in the hoop and SW of only 320kg*cm2??
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