Tennis Warehouse Playtest: Babolat Pure Strike (16x19, 18x20, Tour) 3rd Gen Playtest

dgoran said:
I Might be weird but I felt 1pt RA difference on tour version and I liked it even better
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I think I would like the Tour version just because of the extra weight. After the initial part of this playtest, I'm going to mod both racquets to somewhere closer to my preferred specs and see how their playability changes.
 
Mine is supposed to arrive tomorrow and I'll get it strung Wednesday, maybe with YPTP / Gut or full bed of Cyclone.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
 
I am so f loving it too (16x19)....my arm not so. It is strung with Rpm at 23kg....maybe i will try a softer string like cyclone tour to see how it goes.
 
As I said on the pure strike zero 2 thread quality control of the new strikes is literally C.R.A.P. We all know that SW has increased a little bit but if you are unlucky it can get even worse. I paid twice for matching service in order to found one close to 325-327 strung. Most of the strikes that were chosen for my matching were over 327...... adding to all of that the reviewer below mentions the same harsh feel on the arm PS produces....like i did. New strike specially the 16 19 is not arm friendly like the marketing from Babolat tried to sell. 75% of the blind testers suggest that the vibrations have reduced my ass. Yeah vibrations have reduced but not the stiffness of it....you don’t feel it like the previous model it’s more muted, but pain arm specially for those with sensitive ones is still there!! My forearm feels stiff after hitting sessions and my elbow sore. Babolat has produced a stick that feels and plays soft and plush on contact but arm fatigue is still there... it wears you down without noticing it :(
tennisnerd.net

Babolat Pure Strike 98 Racquet Review - First Impressions | Tennisnerd.net

Our friend and tennis nerd Christian Andersson has tried the new Babolat Pure Strike 98 and these are his first impressions.
tennisnerd.net tennisnerd.net
 
DJTaurus said:
As I said on the pure strike zero 2 thread quality control of the new strikes is literally C.R.A.P. We all know that SW has increased a little bit but if you are unlucky it can get even worse. I paid twice for matching service in order to found one close to 325-327 strung. Most of the strikes that were chosen for my matching were over 327...... adding to all of that the reviewer below mentions the same harsh feel on the arm PS produces....like i did. New strike specially the 16 19 is not arm friendly like the marketing from Babolat tried to sell. 75% of the blind testers suggest that the vibrations have reduced my ass. Yeah vibrations have reduced but not the stiffness of it....you don’t feel it like the previous model it’s more muted, but pain arm specially for those with sensitive ones is still there!! My forearm feels stiff after hitting sessions and my elbow sore. Babolat has produced a stick that feels and plays soft and plush on contact but arm fatigue is still there... it wears you down without noticing it :(
tennisnerd.net

Babolat Pure Strike 98 Racquet Review - First Impressions | Tennisnerd.net

Our friend and tennis nerd Christian Andersson has tried the new Babolat Pure Strike 98 and these are his first impressions.
tennisnerd.net tennisnerd.net
Click to expand...

I will measure all that when i get mine. What string/tension did you try? @Hankenstein demo had a PK string I am not familiar with but tension was high @53 for a PS. I used to string the P17 @48lbs and I plan to do the same with this one. The old one played great but i eventually sold it due to the discomfort factor. Hope this one is a better experience. I will be using typhoon and S7T @48lbs for the playtest.
 
topspn said:
I will measure all that when i get mine. What string/tension did you try? @Hankenstein demo had a PK string I am not familiar with but tension was high @53 for a PS. I used to string the P17 @48lbs and I plan to do the same with this one. The old one played great but i eventually sold it due to the discomfort factor. Hope this one is a better experience. I will be using typhoon and S7T @48lbs for the playtest.
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23Kg with RPM blast. If soarness will remain i ll go with cyclone tour next. I like it so much that if the pain was not an issue i would instantly switch from my Blade 98s 2015. Babolat has made a good job on feel and ball connection compared to the previous model and mostly i love the plussness of it. I just measured the static weight strung with dampener and overgrip. It’s 323gr so i am good. But it’s so pity for people that received overspeced sticks and cannot judge PS properly like the friend of tennisNerd.
 
A_Instead said:
Could not resist so had to get one... omg...what a powerful yet controled response..I am enjoying the damage it yields..
Impressive..
I hope my arm likes it as much as my brain does..we will see..
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I feel the exact same way. My fingers are crossed that I don't start feeling any pain in the wrist, elbow or shoulder. If I don't, I'll be switching to this one for sure.
 
Yeah I like it as well but this morning I do feel some golfers elbow after demoing pure strike for few hrs...
 
dgoran said:
Yeah I like it as well but this morning I do feel some golfers elbow after demoing pure strike for few hrs...
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I strung mine with Alu Power "full bed" at 48 lbs. and it felt great. I hit yesterday for an hour and a half and have no pain at all. I believe this frame should be strung in the mid 40's. And I bet your demo was probably strung in the mid tension range "52-55" which would feel like total crap to me. String it low and see how it goes.

And for what it's worth... I have a sensitive elbow and shoulder. ;)
 
TennisManiac said:
I strung mine with Alu Power "full bed" at 48 lbs. and it felt great. I hit yesterday for an hour and a half and have no pain at all. I believe this frame should be strung in the mid 40's. And I bet your demo was probably strung in the mid tension range "52-55" which would feel like total crap to me. String it low and see how it goes.
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Yeah I was about to ask him what string/tension his demo was. I am planning on 48lbs so hope it works for me too
 
topspn said:
Yeah I was about to ask him what string/tension his demo was. I am planning on 48lbs so hope it works for me too
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Honestly I have no idea but it was some kind of shape poly multi hybrid so shouldn’t be too rough felt on the loose end maybe 45 to 50 max
 
dgoran said:
Honestly I have no idea but it was some kind of shape poly multi hybrid so shouldn’t be too rough felt on the loose end maybe 45 to 50 max
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Hmm that’s not good news. Anyway, thanks and I’ll certainly be assessing effects on my arm. Thankfully never had any shoulder issue but I use to get forearm discomfort from P17
 
gutfeeling said:
I don’t think you’re feeling the RA. There’s more weight in the head and the handle. You’re feeling the increase in recoil weight.
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i knew i was not crazy... i just checked vibration frequency of tour vs std 16x19 and there is a big difference.
Vibration (Hz)147139-5
no wonder i liked tour better this thing is nearly same freq as new blade
 
dgoran said:
i knew i was not crazy... i just checked vibration frequency of tour vs std 16x19 and there is a big difference.
Vibration (Hz)147139-5
no wonder i liked tour better this thing is nearly same freq as new blade
Click to expand...

That makes sense, more weight, lower frequency. Unless it’s a different layup altogether!
 
Got the tour in yesterday! Strung it up with Tier One Firewire boost at 52/50 and played a set of doubles with it. Serves and volleys were very solid, but groundies are going to take a few more sessions to assess.
 
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Here comes santa claus, here comes santa claus...


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I just received my 18x20 playtest. I think I want to try a gut/poly hybrid. Any ideas? I don’t string (yet), so I want to drop it off and have it back Thursday for a ride before using it in a mixed lg. match Friday night.
 
PhxRacket said:
I just received my 18x20 playtest. I think I want to try a gut/poly hybrid. Any ideas? I don’t string (yet), so I want to drop it off and have it back Thursday for a ride before using it in a mixed lg. match Friday night.
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I am going to use VS Touch 16 for the mains, and RPM Blast Rough for the crosses; it gave great results with the Tour, hoping for the same with 18x20.
 
Strike arrived today! I received the standard 16x19 model. Mine is a little under spec which is fine with me: 302.7g, 32cm, 292sw (all measurements taken with plastic on handle).
 
I own the Yonex HD, but wanted to demo the new 310 and 330 vcore pros. As a throwaway I also demoed the new Pure Strike 16x19.

Pretty impressed, did not realize the stringbed fairly dense for a 16m, with four mains in the throat. I took for a hit today and it felt like cheating. Very smooth power, especially on serve. I don't know what they did to this version, but I like it.
 
anfield said:
I own the Yonex HD, but wanted to demo the new 310 and 330 vcore pros. As a throwaway I also demoed the new Pure Strike 16x19.

Pretty impressed, did not realize the stringbed fairly dense for a 16m, with four mains in the throat. I took for a hit today and it felt like cheating. Very smooth power, especially on serve. I don't know what they did to this version, but I like it.
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Similarly I went in the local store that has a demo wall with full intention on buying Hd I thought it was just a formality to try it out...by “pure” coincidence out there on the demo rack stood strike tour. I could not resist as a true holic and bam love at first hit. Yes HD is nice and soft but strike was natural for my stroke.

I’ll demo it long term against the blade and see.
 
Oooh, it came!

Now I gotta string it. I'm going to string it like my other rackets, with a gut hybrid.

Anyone want to advise me on which of these two strings that came with it would be the best choice?

Cindy -- who was swinging it in her kitchen and thought it felt, you know, fine
 
Cindysphinx said:
Oooh, it came!

Now I gotta string it. I'm going to string it like my other rackets, with a gut hybrid.

Anyone want to advise me on which of these two strings that came with it would be the best choice?

Cindy -- who was swinging it in her kitchen and thought it felt, you know, fine
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Imo... this frame should be strung with a full bed of poly. A gut/poly hybrid will be way to powerful.
 
My 18x20 came today and i strung it up tonight with the rpm blast rough 17 that was sent with it.

Just a minor point that wont be too important to most, but i found that stringing this 18x20 to be easier than other 18x20s ive strung in the past. Specifically, the grooves that guide the string outside the frame make access to covered holes pretty easy.

Hitting with it for the first time tomorrow afternoon. Really looking forward to it.
 
Played a little bit more with it today. My initial impressions were confirmed. Pretty powerful and with a sizable sweetspot for its weight. The bit of frame and stringbed vibration is almost always present but at a low enough level to not be irritating. It has a springy impact feel that might be a bit more amplified today due to the strings losing a bit of tension.

I hit some overheads with it and there's a lot of pop, but also caught a few high on the stringbed which did not feel good. I wouldn't call it a brittle feel but it definitely feels like the frame doesn't dampen mis-hits well so the shock makes its way down to the handle. It almost feels scary to swing this racquet overhead. I have a history of shoulder issues and the light weight makes it feel like I'm trying to throw something light like a tennis ball. Versus throwing a baseball where the mass allows getting the elbow out in front, the light swingweight makes it feel like my mechanics are mis-timed and that puts stress on my shoulder.

I had some problems with the volley. Normal, firm volleys are fine, but against very hard hit balls, the contact feels like it almost has to be perfect or there is some twisting and resulting loss of accuracy. I also had some problems trying to hit touch volleys. My touch isn't all that great anyway but the springy nature combined with the light weight again made it feel like I had to hit it perfectly. Any kind of moderate mis-hit and the ball would barely reach the net. And though I haven't found the Silver 7 Tour string to be that sensitive to incoming spin in other racquets, in the Pure Strike I can almost feel the head of the racquet move in response to volleying a very heavy underspin shot.

It feels like it needs a couple of pounds more string tension, but the higher tension would probably magnify the undamped nature of mis-hit shots. The Silver 7 Tour may not be the right string for this racquet - it feels like it needs a more muted string versus a crisp string. Maybe something like Hyper-G that is known for being pretty muted and forgiving, but not being springy, would be a better fit.
 
I'm begging... Please state which racquet you're talking about (16x19, 18x20, or Tour) in your posts, we're already at 3 pages and it's a pain to go back through and try to figure out what you're testing.

Thanks
 
dsb said:
I'm begging... Please state which racquet you're talking about (16x19, 18x20, or Tour) in your posts, we're already at 3 pages and it's a pain to go back through and try to figure out what you're testing.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Yeah easier with abbreviations 16m, 18m, or PST
 
Cindysphinx said:
Oooh, it came!

Now I gotta string it. I'm going to string it like my other rackets, with a gut hybrid.

Anyone want to advise me on which of these two strings that came with it would be the best choice?

Cindy -- who was swinging it in her kitchen and thought it felt, you know, fine
Click to expand...
That’s pretty subjective and depends on what strings you normally play with. You got a mullti and a poly so which string type are you used to? You can also use any string you like in the play test so however you string your current frame
 
dgoran said:
Got tour for long term demo to compare vs blade v7.
This thing is very solid
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Same. I'm going to alternate between the two to compare. Just got the Tour in yesterday evening, going to the stringer today and probably going with FireWire Boost hybrid or Cyclone at 48

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
 
TennisManiac said:
Imo... this frame should be strung with a full bed of poly. A gut/poly hybrid will be way to powerful.
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Oops. Just saw this. Well, I'm a 98+ pound weakling, so I doubt any setup would be too powerful for me.

I dropped it (18 x 20) off just now and used gut on the crosses and the ultimate on the mains. I think. I'm on the bus and no longer sure what I wrote down.

I really suck at this.
 
topspn said:
That’s pretty subjective and depends on what strings you normally play with. You got a mullti and a poly so which string type are you used to? You can also use any string you like in the play test so however you string your current frame
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My normal setup is gut with proline II. Why? My pro liked Kirshbaum about five years ago, so I did that. I have stuck with it because I can remember it.

Sad.
 
Cindysphinx said:
My normal setup is gut with proline II. Why? My pro liked Kirshbaum about five years ago, so I did that. I have stuck with it because I can remember it.

Sad.
Click to expand...
Lol ok so not big on trying different setups. Maybe try your regular hybrid so your testing PS with strings you’re used to
 
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