Tennis Warehouse: Solinco Racquet Playtest

[snoflewis]

@snoflewis @Vicious49

So you both agree that WO has more free power and spin than TF40 16x19. I love the feel of TF40 so i will probably enjoy WO too. To me the 2 issues with TF40 was low power (no depth) and not so forgiving on my 1HB…. it swings effortless but the sweet spot is so small you have to be accurate and behind the ball. I ll try to string it even lower at 20kg and see how it goes. I don’t found the feel of TF40 hollow…..you can say it’s a little bit hollow if you compare it to previous TF40 which was even more plush and i agree that RS is more hollow. Unfortunately i cannot play with 100inch sticks so BO is not an option to try. I also cannot play with sticks that have throats 22mm and above….22mm gives me all the wrist freedom I need.

So my next question to you is. WO or Blade V8 16x19 and why ? Also your favourite right now 98 inch stick ?

I didn't find the TF40 to be low on power, even with the slightly underspec one out of the two that i had. i thought it was reasonably powered, but it did require an adjustment because the launch angle was so low. i do agree that the sweetspot was quite small and the feel and response wasn't as consistent across the stringbed inside and outside the sweetspot like a blade. if 100" sticks aren't your thing, you might want to reconsider the Whiteout because it's closer to a 100" more than any 98" stick. doesn't feel any different through the air though.

i haven't tried the v8 16x19 blade, but i've tried all the previous generations. I found all the 16x19 blades to have an inconsistent response in terms of trajectory but a more forgiving stringbed. The Whiteout is more consistent in response but the high trajectory and pop require the ball to be wound up with enough spin to drop back in. I prefer the Whiteout to any 16x19 blade.

 

[DJTaurus]

I didn't find the TF40 to be low on power, even with the slightly underspec one out of the two that i had. i thought it was reasonably powered, but it did require an adjustment because the launch angle was so low. i do agree that the sweetspot was quite small and the feel and response wasn't as consistent across the stringbed inside and outside the sweetspot like a blade. if 100" sticks aren't your thing, you might want to reconsider the Whiteout because it's closer to a 100" more than any 98" stick. doesn't feel any different through the air though.

i haven't tried the v8 16x19 blade, but i've tried all the previous generations. I found all the 16x19 blades to have an inconsistent response in terms of trajectory but a more forgiving stringbed. The Whiteout is more consistent in response but the high trajectory and pop require the ball to be wound up with enough spin to drop back in. I prefer the Whiteout to any 16x19 blade.

And your racquet of choice and also your favourite modern one ?

 

[taylor15]

I played with the WO exclusively for two weeks and it's still in my bag. It's been a really great frame, won some tough matches with it but it's definitely not perfect. Coming from the UP the feel is definitely not the same. Power was really good though from a racquet with a 322SW as I normally play with a 330SW (og damp included). Working on my writeup, as this is a great offering and would be a really good option for the blade/strike player looking for something a bit different. I think it's more arm friendly than the strike, but probably not than the blade v7. I haven't tried to v8 blade.

 

[Vicious49]

@DJTaurus Yes, the WO has more free power than the TF40. I did add a bit of lead to mine to unlock that power to the point I wanted. The TF40 doesn't necessarily feel 'hollow' to me as much as the WO feels more solid on impact in terms of feel. I've tried the Blade v8 16/19 as well. It's a good all around racquet but nothing stood out to me about it so for me I'd take the WO. My favorite 97/98" frame right now is the Blade Pro 16/19. You have to find one with a low SW though which is not an easy task.

 

[DJTaurus]

@DJTaurus Yes, the WO has more free power than the TF40. I did add a bit of lead to mine to unlock that power to the point I wanted. The TF40 doesn't necessarily feel 'hollow' to me as much as the WO feels more solid on impact in terms of feel. I've tried the Blade v8 16/19 as well. It's a good all around racquet but nothing stood out to me about it so for me I'd take the WO. My favorite 97/98" frame right now is the Blade Pro 16/19. You have to find one with a low SW though which is not an easy task.

So you enjoy Blade Pro which plays very similar to Blade V5 generation. The godlike blade.

Second favourite behind Blade Pro ?

 

[Vicious49]

So you enjoy Blade Pro which plays very similar to Blade V5 generation. The godlike blade.

Second favourite behind Blade Pro ?

I recently sold my v5 Blade. The BP has a higher launch angle and better power IMO. And the feel from the BP is totally different than the standard Blades (or most any frame really).
Second favorite is tough as I've switched around quite a bit recently. My true backup to the BP is the current gen VC95. But in the 97/98" range in my bag currently is the WO, Black Ace Pro (more of a fun doubles frame for me), and the Diadem Elevate FS. So really it's between the WO and the Elevate. It will take a bit of time to sort that one out.

 

[snoflewis]

And your racquet of choice and also your favourite modern one ?

I use the PS97 v11. It's quite similar to the Whiteout on paper but i find the ps97 to have a more consistent response from the stringbed and a slightly lower launch angle (still much higher than the TF40).

If i had to choose a racket on the market right now, it would be the Blackout. I tried the playtest @mad dog1 got with three different string setups. It's got a more predictable response, makes it way easier to vary the ball in terms if spin and trajectory, feels way plusher and comfort than its RA spec (more comfy than the whiteout), and also has better balance and weight distribution than the Whiteout.

 

[StringStrungStrang]

what are you stringing yours with? i'm finding it to be quite string sensitive.



they're about as far apart as 98" 305g 16x19 sticks can be. whiteout has more power, super open string pattern, and a more solid and full-bodied. the TF40 305 16x19 has more power than expected, a super dense 16x19 pattern, and feels equal parts modern, classic, and hollow. whiteout also has a larger sweetspot, although i didn't find it to be that big to begin with. i think the deciding factor when comparing the two sticks will come down to the string spacing. the TF40 has one of the lowest launch angles i've seen in a 16x19, and i had to try to put enough spin to get the ball over the net and back down into the court. very similar to an 18x20 in that sense. the whiteout has one of the highest launch angles where the focus really has to be bringing the ball back down.

Thanks. I am very interested in the group of 98 in racquets and your launch angle comparison is useful. Do you know (or anyone else) where the Blade 98 and Pure Strike fit into the Launch Angle Continuim (LAC)? I'd be interested to hear what people think.

 

[snoflewis]

Thanks. I am very interested in the group of 98 in racquets and your launch angle comparison is useful. Do you know (or anyone else) where the Blade 98 and Pure Strike fit into the Launch Angle Continuim (LAC)? I'd be interested to hear what people think.

i find both the blade 98 16x19 (haven't tried the v8 yet) and pure strike 16x19 (gen 2 and 3) to both be pretty similar and on the high side. those are probably the only two rackets where i prefer the 18x20 over the 16x19. the issue i had with the 16x19 versions is that i could never dial in the trajectory of the ball on a consistent basis. sometimes, flat balls would unexpectedly shoot up and loopy balls would just kinda fall down. the launch angle is one thing, but a consistent response and spin is more important in my opinion. you can always adjust for the trajectory and depth with swing path and spin, but i'm just not a fan of rackets where i have to guess how the ball is going to fly off. there is just something about these rackets with tight mains and widely spaced out crosses that just don't work for me, but i see a ton of people using it no problem... so i just assume it's a problem on my end

 

[DJTaurus]

I use the PS97 v11. It's quite similar to the Whiteout on paper but i find the ps97 to have a more consistent response from the stringbed and a slightly lower launch angle (still much higher than the TF40).

If i had to choose a racket on the market right now, it would be the Blackout. I tried the playtest @mad dog1 got with three different string setups. It's got a more predictable response, makes it way easier to vary the ball in terms if spin and trajectory, feels way plusher and comfort than its RA spec (more comfy than the whiteout), and also has better balance and weight distribution than the Whiteout.

The magical V11 with the red stripes on 3/9?

 

[snoflewis]

The magical V11 with the red stripes on 3/9?

i have the all black ones

 

[StringStrungStrang]

i find both the blade 98 16x19 (haven't tried the v8 yet) and pure strike 16x19 (gen 2 and 3) to both be pretty similar and on the high side. those are probably the only two rackets where i prefer the 18x20 over the 16x19. the issue i had with the 16x19 versions is that i could never dial in the trajectory of the ball on a consistent basis. sometimes, flat balls would unexpectedly shoot up and loopy balls would just kinda fall down. the launch angle is one thing, but a consistent response and spin is more important in my opinion. you can always adjust for the trajectory and depth with swing path and spin, but i'm just not a fan of rackets where i have to guess how the ball is going to fly off. there is just something about these rackets with tight mains and widely spaced out crosses that just don't work for me, but i see a ton of people using it no problem... so i just assume it's a problem on my end

Thanks that is very helpful feedback. I agree a consistent response IS critical! So did you find the WO to be more consistent, or have the same shortcomings as the 16 x19 Blade / Pure Strike? I am especially interested in the WO since I've heard they will offer an extended version of it! From what I've seen here the WO seems to be impressing people, but the BO reviews have been more impressive.

 

[mad dog1]

Thanks that is very helpful feedback. I agree a consistent response IS critical! So did you find the WO to be more consistent, or have the same shortcomings as the 16 x19 Blade / Pure Strike? I am especially interested in the WO since I've heard they will offer an extended version of it! From what I've seen here the WO seems to be impressing people, but the BO reviews have been more impressive.

BO is really great…for me.

 

[djNEiGht]

I am not part of the official play test. I have been hitting with an early generation of the WO Prototype. THIS WAS NOT FOAM FILLED



String and tension used for test:

Have used a number of strings (Oehms BPR, Blackout/Synthetic, Volk vSquare/GW IIRC) in this racquet but most recent were the following

TierOne Durafluxx / Ghostwire hybrid

Yonex Poly Tour Spin / Ghostwire hybrid


Tennis experience/background:

Aging weekend warrior with knees that feel like they are 15 years older than me, Junior Team Tennis coach, Tennis in Highschool was goofing around with friends


Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley):

Mostly play doubles. I am comfortable with trading shots from the baseline and look for opportunities to go to the net


Current racquet/string setups:
Prince Tour Pro 97 modified to the stock specs of the Yonex vCore Pro 97D (2nd racquet in bag). No regular string set up but often a textured/shaped poly in 125 full bed or hybrid with TierOne Ghostwire in the cross

How many hours did you play with the racquet?
I’ve been hitting with this on and off for about a year


Comments on racquet performance for each stroke (each section should be 3-5 sentences minimum):


-Groundstrokes:
This racquet in its stock form is very whippy. Shots are rewarded with a high racquet head speed. Very stable as well. Felt a little dead if shots were hit near the top of the hoop. That basically translates to a generous sweet spot but anywhere outside you really felt the flutter/dead spots all around

-Serves:
I enjoyed serving with this racquet and mostly the fast topspin/kick serve where the toss stayed up pretty high (almost similar placement where I hit my flat serves). Loopier kick serves where the strike zone of the ball is a little lower also worked well. Those were my most used type of serves but I think that most players would appreciate this racquet while serving

-Volleys:
For a lighter racquet than I’m used to it volleyed well. In the hands of more experienced/better players it will do a great job. For me, I would probably add a little weight in the hoop to help me with added stability and helping with hitting outside the sweet spot which I do a lot. lol

-Serve returns:
On most of the serves when playing with similar level players I was able to enjoy the serve return aspect of this racquet. Several of my opponents that brought a big serve I found myself getting the racquet pushed a bit. That is most in part to my lack of skill/preparation. I would take a couple steps back to give myself some time with those big serves and had better results.


Comments on racquet performance in each area (should be 2-3 sentences minimum)


Power/Control-
With high RHS, this is a racquet with ample power. I was successful in providing a challenging ball to my opponent. I really had to work on this racquet and my normal set up has a higher swing weight making me play a bit different. My usual set up plowed through the ball a bit more and my slowing footwork struggled in getting me prepped for some challenging shots to supply power to my shot. I did my best to use the whippy-ness of this racquet to fix my timing and sometimes I was successful. Yes…I do struggle with this on all racquets and am trying to work on it. But the knees don’t lie…



Control of this racquet was good but was also different for me. I could get the ball to hit my targets and change direction okay but sometimes I found this string pattern a challenge sometimes where the ball was a bit wild and unpredictable.



Top Spin/Slice-


I got great spin on my ground strokes and serves. The launch angle was a bit higher than my usual set up and I noticed the trajectory had some side movement (ground strokes) which I appreciated even if I wasn’t used to that type of ball. Slice was good but would have appreciated a bit more weight to help me on my slice shots.

Comfort-

This is a decent-comfortable racquet. It’s not butter soft but shouldn’t affect most players with any discomfort. I did some modifications though to this racquet which helped with the feedback/comfort/feel.


Feel-
I thought this racquet felt a bit raw in feedback. You could tell when you hit well timed shot in the sweet spot but when you hit near the border of the sweet spot it was definitely talking back to you. Touch/drop shots sometimes felt disconnected to me but I think I fixed that with some modifications as well as focus and practice. ahahahah

Maneuverability-


Quick and easy to move around on ground strokes as well as at the net. The swing weight and balance allowed for good adjustment. The shots I was late on was just my lack of skill

Stability-
Fairly stable against heavy shots. I thought some weight could help but didn’t try too much experimenting in the hoop. Only a touch of lead at 12.


General reaction/comments on overall performance:



Even though I didn’t get on the official playtest, a big shout out to TW and Solinco for providing an opportunity to the Talk Tennis members.

I was playing with an early generation of the WO prototype that it did not have any logos on it or even foam. The only logo on it was on the grommet/bumper. It had a stock trap door and the finish was a matte white. I added some silicone cubes and for sometime was playing with some lead at 12. I saw some other versions that had “solinco” in black on the hoop and foam filled.

I have also been working on a semi-retired WTA player that had 3 of them in rotation and was also a similar version to mine. In stock form the specs were really close. I noticed one of them had (guessing) 1-2g of silicone in one of the ports of the hairpin while the others did not. Mine did not have any silicone either and it had a very light SW at 275 with a static weight of 305g/309mm balance. I had placed 3g of silicone cubes under the trap door. Her final specs were 315g 313mm 293 SW which had lead at 3/9 & 12 plus on the handle. One had touch of lead at the bottom of the throat. She has since moved on to the Yonex vCore 100.

With the 6 string main in the throat, I thought this had a semi tight string pattern. If you looked at the two center mains at the top of the hoop, you could see how the strings sat in the grommets being offset. The grommets sat very close to each other but the string sat towards the outer edge of it. Gave a good compromise of spin/power/control.

Very good at its stock specs but also received modifications well. This will compete well with other racquets with similar specs like a Pure Strike (this comes to mind 1st), Blade, and the Prestige 360+ Tour/Pro and the new MP, etc…

I am curious as to how the retail version feels/plays compared to this prototype. I was hoping to meet up with a couple of other Talk Tennis SoCal members on the playtest to try each other’s racquets but time doesn’t allow for now.

Here are some pictures. Top one is the one I was using and the bottom are belong to my friend that I mentioned above.

 

[snoflewis]

Thanks that is very helpful feedback. I agree a consistent response IS critical! So did you find the WO to be more consistent, or have the same shortcomings as the 16 x19 Blade / Pure Strike? I am especially interested in the WO since I've heard they will offer an extended version of it! From what I've seen here the WO seems to be impressing people, but the BO reviews have been more impressive.

the WO response is more consistent for me. the WO is a good racket, but the BO is a great one. i was genuinely impressed by the BO and only declined @mad dog1 when he offered me his BO to long-term playtest because i probably would have switched to it.

 

[StringStrungStrang]

the WO response is more consistent for me. the WO is a good racket, but the BO is a great one. i was genuinely impressed by the BO and only declined @mad dog1 when he offered me his BO to long-term playtest because i probably would have switched to it.

Ha! I know the feeling.

 

[StringStrungStrang]

I am not part of the official play test. I have been hitting with an early generation of the WO Prototype. THIS WAS NOT FOAM FILLED



String and tension used for test:

Have used a number of strings (Oehms BPR, Blackout/Synthetic, Volk vSquare/GW IIRC) in this racquet but most recent were the following

TierOne Durafluxx / Ghostwire hybrid

Yonex Poly Tour Spin / Ghostwire hybrid


Tennis experience/background:

Aging weekend warrior with knees that feel like they are 15 years older than me, Junior Team Tennis coach, Tennis in Highschool was goofing around with friends


Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley):

Mostly play doubles. I am comfortable with trading shots from the baseline and look for opportunities to go to the net


Current racquet/string setups:
Prince Tour Pro 97 modified to the stock specs of the Yonex vCore Pro 97D (2nd racquet in bag). No regular string set up but often a textured/shaped poly in 125 full bed or hybrid with TierOne Ghostwire in the cross

How many hours did you play with the racquet?
I’ve been hitting with this on and off for about a year


Comments on racquet performance for each stroke (each section should be 3-5 sentences minimum):


-Groundstrokes:
This racquet in its stock form is very whippy. Shots are rewarded with a high racquet head speed. Very stable as well. Felt a little dead if shots were hit near the top of the hoop. That basically translates to a generous sweet spot but anywhere outside you really felt the flutter/dead spots all around

-Serves:
I enjoyed serving with this racquet and mostly the fast topspin/kick serve where the toss stayed up pretty high (almost similar placement where I hit my flat serves). Loopier kick serves where the strike zone of the ball is a little lower also worked well. Those were my most used type of serves but I think that most players would appreciate this racquet while serving

-Volleys:
For a lighter racquet than I’m used to it volleyed well. In the hands of more experienced/better players it will do a great job. For me, I would probably add a little weight in the hoop to help me with added stability and helping with hitting outside the sweet spot which I do a lot. lol

-Serve returns:
On most of the serves when playing with similar level players I was able to enjoy the serve return aspect of this racquet. Several of my opponents that brought a big serve I found myself getting the racquet pushed a bit. That is most in part to my lack of skill/preparation. I would take a couple steps back to give myself some time with those big serves and had better results.


Comments on racquet performance in each area (should be 2-3 sentences minimum)


Power/Control-
With high RHS, this is a racquet with ample power. I was successful in providing a challenging ball to my opponent. I really had to work on this racquet and my normal set up has a higher swing weight making me play a bit different. My usual set up plowed through the ball a bit more and my slowing footwork struggled in getting me prepped for some challenging shots to supply power to my shot. I did my best to use the whippy-ness of this racquet to fix my timing and sometimes I was successful. Yes…I do struggle with this on all racquets and am trying to work on it. But the knees don’t lie…



Control of this racquet was good but was also different for me. I could get the ball to hit my targets and change direction okay but sometimes I found this string pattern a challenge sometimes where the ball was a bit wild and unpredictable.



Top Spin/Slice-


I got great spin on my ground strokes and serves. The launch angle was a bit higher than my usual set up and I noticed the trajectory had some side movement (ground strokes) which I appreciated even if I wasn’t used to that type of ball. Slice was good but would have appreciated a bit more weight to help me on my slice shots.

Comfort-

This is a decent-comfortable racquet. It’s not butter soft but shouldn’t affect most players with any discomfort. I did some modifications though to this racquet which helped with the feedback/comfort/feel.


Feel-
I thought this racquet felt a bit raw in feedback. You could tell when you hit well timed shot in the sweet spot but when you hit near the border of the sweet spot it was definitely talking back to you. Touch/drop shots sometimes felt disconnected to me but I think I fixed that with some modifications as well as focus and practice. ahahahah

Maneuverability-


Quick and easy to move around on ground strokes as well as at the net. The swing weight and balance allowed for good adjustment. The shots I was late on was just my lack of skill

Stability-
Fairly stable against heavy shots. I thought some weight could help but didn’t try too much experimenting in the hoop. Only a touch of lead at 12.


General reaction/comments on overall performance:



Even though I didn’t get on the official playtest, a big shout out to TW and Solinco for providing an opportunity to the Talk Tennis members.

I was playing with an early generation of the WO prototype that it did not have any logos on it or even foam. The only logo on it was on the grommet/bumper. It had a stock trap door and the finish was a matte white. I added some silicone cubes and for sometime was playing with some lead at 12. I saw some other versions that had “solinco” in black on the hoop and foam filled.

I have also been working on a semi-retired WTA player that had 3 of them in rotation and was also a similar version to mine. In stock form the specs were really close. I noticed one of them had (guessing) 1-2g of silicone in one of the ports of the hairpin while the others did not. Mine did not have any silicone either and it had a very light SW at 275 with a static weight of 305g/309mm balance. I had placed 3g of silicone cubes under the trap door. Her final specs were 315g 313mm 293 SW which had lead at 3/9 & 12 plus on the handle. One had touch of lead at the bottom of the throat. She has since moved on to the Yonex vCore 100.

With the 6 string main in the throat, I thought this had a semi tight string pattern. If you looked at the two center mains at the top of the hoop, you could see how the strings sat in the grommets being offset. The grommets sat very close to each other but the string sat towards the outer edge of it. Gave a good compromise of spin/power/control.

Very good at its stock specs but also received modifications well. This will compete well with other racquets with similar specs like a Pure Strike (this comes to mind 1st), Blade, and the Prestige 360+ Tour/Pro and the new MP, etc…

I am curious as to how the retail version feels/plays compared to this prototype. I was hoping to meet up with a couple of other Talk Tennis SoCal members on the playtest to try each other’s racquets but time doesn’t allow for now.

Here are some pictures. Top one is the one I was using and the bottom are belong to my friend that I mentioned above.

Interesting. I rarely see the use of power - pads anymore, but I like them when appropriate!

 

[djNEiGht]

Interesting. I rarely see the use of power - pads anymore, but I like them when appropriate!

I have a small handful of players that use them but yes...rare.

 

[BallBasher247]

BO is really great…for me.

How is BO great? Take a shower man

 

[djNEiGht]

How is BO great? Take a shower man

I heard it works well in grappling/wrestling

 

[BallBasher247]

I heard it works well in grappling/wrestling

Tru but ringworm’s better

 

[Vicious49]

I decided to go for extra credit and do a video review in addition to the written review.

Not the best but not horrible for my 1st attempt. And yes, video reveals a lot of flaws in ones game and technique.

 

[Jingo]

My own short review of the Whiteout 305:

Background:
~5.0, aggressive baseliner who likes to move the ball around. Current/previous frames: Dunlop CX200 Tour 16x19, Gravity Pro, Blade Pro 16x19, Angel TC 95, VCore 95 (2021), Clash 98, Pure Strike Gen 1, Pure Drive. Have also tried basically everything from the past 2 years. Usually add weight to the handle to make my sticks head-light.

In stock form, I really enjoyed the Whiteout. It's quite a bit lighter than most of what I've been playing with but it rarely felt outright unstable. Loved it on the 2-hander--probably the best stick I've found for it, hit a nice driving ball on the forehand. Serve was not clicking at all. Volleys are great. Feel is great (if you look at my list of past frames, that's a huge priority for me). Crisp and direct but never harsh. Control was solid. Directness of feedback really stood out.

I didn't have the extra weights yet so I stuck with stock for the first few weeks. Now I've added the 10g cap and it's much more my tempo. More plow, serve is back to feeling like my weapon (it's what carries me!), volleys even cleaner. Easier access to spin. Backhand's not quite as natural but I'll get used to it. Normally, I feel like adding weight to the bottom of my sticks just makes them feel too polarized but the Whiteout still feels really balanced to me (foam filling, maybe?).

Will continue messing around with the weighted version. Haven't felt a need to add weight up top, which is ideal for me. Hit with big hitters and so far it's felt like it punches just a bit above its weight. (The Blade Pro is always my ideal reference--loved it but my body couldn't take the joint strain!)

 

[mad dog1]

My own short review of the Whiteout 305:

Background:
~5.0, aggressive baseliner who likes to move the ball around. Current/previous frames: Dunlop CX200 Tour 16x19, Gravity Pro, Blade Pro 16x19, Angel TC 95, VCore 95 (2021), Clash 98, Pure Strike Gen 1, Pure Drive. Have also tried basically everything from the past 2 years. Usually add weight to the handle to make my sticks head-light.

In stock form, I really enjoyed the Whiteout. It's quite a bit lighter than most of what I've been playing with but it rarely felt outright unstable. Loved it on the 2-hander--probably the best stick I've found for it, hit a nice driving ball on the forehand. Serve was not clicking at all. Volleys are great. Feel is great (if you look at my list of past frames, that's a huge priority for me). Crisp and direct but never harsh. Control was solid. Directness of feedback really stood out.

I didn't have the extra weights yet so I stuck with stock for the first few weeks. Now I've added the 10g cap and it's much more my tempo. More plow, serve is back to feeling like my weapon (it's what carries me!), volleys even cleaner. Easier access to spin. Backhand's not quite as natural but I'll get used to it. Normally, I feel like adding weight to the bottom of my sticks just makes them feel too polarized but the Whiteout still feels really balanced to me (foam filling, maybe?).

Will continue messing around with the weighted version. Haven't felt a need to add weight up top, which is ideal for me. Hit with big hitters and so far it's felt like it punches just a bit above its weight. (The Blade Pro is always my ideal reference--loved it but my body couldn't take the joint strain!)

String setup?

 

[Jingo]

String setup?

Tried Solinco Hyper G at 52/52, Lynx Tour at 50/50, and Lynx Tour/Solinco Confidential at 50/48. All pretty similar.

 

[mad dog1]

Tried Solinco Hyper G at 52/52, Lynx Tour at 50/50, and Lynx Tour/Solinco Confidential at 50/48. All pretty similar.

Thx! Just thought it would be helpful for everyone reading to know your string setups.

 

[StringStrungStrang]

I decided to go for extra credit and do a video review in addition to the written review.

Not the best but not horrible for my 1st attempt. And yes, video reveals a lot of flaws in ones game and technique.

Thanks. I like the ability to customize with the weighted butt-caps.

 

[StringStrungStrang]

Solinco Blackout 300 Review

Test racquet specs:

Unstrung (with plastic wrap on handle removed)
Static weight: 303g / 10.65oz
Swingweight: 287.46 measured using Briffidi SW1
Balance: 31.75cm / 12.5"
Buttcap: standard



Strung (with no overgrip)
Static weight: 320g / 11.3oz
Strings: Volkl Cyclone Tour 1.30/Prince Diablo 1.30 @ 47/45# strung on an electronic constant pull machine
Swingweight: 318
Balance: 32.7cm / 12.875"
Buttcap: standard



String and tension used for test: 1st string job – Volkl Cyclone Tour 1.30/Prince Diablo 1.30 @ 47/45# strung on a Babolat Sensor; 2nd string job – Volkl Cyclone 1.30 (black)/Prince Diablo 1.30 @ 47/45# strung on a Babolat Sensor


Tennis experience/background: 4.0-4.5 righty, 2hbh


Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): All court player -I prefer to hit deep topspin groundstrokes and mix it up with slices or varying depths trying to draw a short ball that I can move into the court to attack to apply pressure to force an error, set up an easy volley or put away for a winner.


Current racquet/string setups:

Racquets:

#1 – 2012 Pure Drives modded with lead strips added from 2-4 and 8-10 to achieve a 318-320 swingweight depending on strings strung at 45/43#

#2 -2019 Pure Aeros with 320-322 swingweight depending on strings strung at 47/45#

List of strings I commonly use: Head Lynx Tour 1.25, Tourna Silver 7 Tour 1.25, Solinco Outlast 1.25, Solinco Tour Bite 1.25, Solinco Hyper G 1.25, Prince Diablo 1.30, Prince Tour XP 1.30, RS Lyon 1.25, Volkl Cyclone 1.25 & 1.30, Volkl Cyclone Tour 1.30, Tier One Black Knight 1.28, Tier One Ghost Wire 1.22 & 1.27, Yonex Poly Tour Pro 1.25 & 1.30, Yonex Poly Tour Spin 1.25

Stringing notes: I typically hybrid polys using a shaped string for the mains and a round string for the crosses. I also prefer to use a thicker gauge for the crosses (1.25 mains/1.30 crosses)


How many hours did you play with the racquet? 20 hours

Introduction: The Blackout 300 (BO) plays very similarly to the Babolat Pure Drive (PD) and Pure Aero (PA). It’s like the PD and PA got married, had a kid and named it the BO. For me, the PA hits a ball with a higher trajectory than the PD. The ball the BO hits has a trajectory that falls between the two Babolats. As a Babolat user, playing with the BO required no adjustment at all. I was able to seamlessly switch back and forth between my PD12, PA19 and BO. Placing the BO on top of the PD12, the hoop shapes are identical and the cross string spacing is not as dense in the center as the PD12. Placing the BO on top of my PD15, the hoop shapes are identical and the string spacing is nearly identical as well. There are some very minor almost imperceptible differences in the spacing of the crosses. Placing the BO on top of the PA19, the hoop shapes are identical and the string spacing of the PA is more open.

Comments on racquet performance for each stroke (each section should be 3-5 sentences minimum):


Groundstrokes: The BO like the PD and PA is very comfortable exchanging groundies from the baseline. Deep, heavy, and penetrating shots are incredibly easy and effortless to achieve with consistency. The characteristics of the BO ball fell right in between that of the PD and PD. It’s a sliding scale of spin-penetration between these racquets. The PA generates more spin and more post bounce, timing altering, vertical ball action. The PD generates more penetration and more post bounce, time pressuring, forward action. The BO delivers a ball that falls between the PA and PD but slightly favoring the PD ball.


Serves: It’s easy to serve big with the BO like I can with the Babolats. Just like on groundstrokes, the PA puts a lot of vertical action on serves due to the easy spin. The PD being a stiffer frame doesn’t carve the ball as naturally on serves and hits a flatter serve with more speed and penetration. The BO again falls in between the two Babolats in this regard. It’s easier to hit the down the T flat serves with the BO than the PA and it’s easier to hit the deuce court out wide slices and ad court out wide kick serves than the PD.


Volleys: The BO volleys excellently. Stability is great due to the high RA. It is very maneuverable at net. Quick reaction volleys are easy to execute. Just keep the racquet in front of the body, make sure to step in to get the weight moving forward and the BO does the rest. Directional and depth control are both great, not unlike my Babolats.


Serve returns: The BO shines on serve returns just like the Babolats. The PD tends to rifle returns back with a flatter trajectory than the PA which will send the ball back with a higher trajectory. Serve returns with BO aren’t quite as flat as returns with the PD and aren’t nearly as loopy as returns with the PA. The BO ball trajectory on serve returns is closer to that of the PD and makes returning serves just as easy as with the two Babolats.

Part 2 continued below...

Great review! The racket seems like it should be in the conversation for anyone who currently play either of those Babolat rackets. I especially like your comparison because it gives us some context for how they actually play. That helps me a lot!

So, of the 3 racquets which 1 would you choose if IF you didn't have your current set up?

 

[mad dog1]

Great review! The racket seems like it should be in the conversation for anyone who currently play either of those Babolat rackets. I especially like your comparison because it gives us some context for how they actually play. That helps me a lot!

So, of the 3 racquets which 1 would you choose if IF you didn't have your current set up?

Thanks. The Blackout is essentially a clone of the PD and PA with characteristics that fall between the two. My top pick would be the PD12 followed by a tie between the BO and PD15. The PA19 would be next. But I can pick up any of these and play with them. The only one that requires minimal adjustment is the PA19. The others don’t require any adjustments.

 

[StringStrungStrang]

Thanks. The Blackout is essentially a clone of the PD and PA with characteristics that fall between the two. My top pick would be the PD12 followed by a tie between the BO and PD15. The PA19 would be next. But I can pick up any of these and play with them. The only one that requires minimal adjustment is the PA19. The others don’t require any adjustments.

The BO seems to right up your alley! So the playing characteristics are very similar, how about the general feel of the BO. Do you feel more connected, less vibration or sound? How about the grip? For me at least there are so many things that go into finding my racquet, performance while a big part doesn't cover all the other "intangibles". Ie some rackets do similar things, but one lets me do it easily or more consistently.

 

[mad dog1]

The BO seems to right up your alley! So the playing characteristics are very similar, how about the general feel of the BO. Do you feel more connected, less vibration or sound? How about the grip? For me at least there are so many things that go into finding my racquet, performance while a big part doesn't cover all the other "intangibles". Ie some rackets do similar things, but one lets me do it easily or more consistently.

More dampened than the PD12 and PD15. Feel is more similar to the current Babolats in terms of a more muted/dampened response but ball connection is still very good. For instance, the new Yonex racquets with vdm are muted and dampened but I have trouble feeling the ball. The Blackout is dampened but I have no trouble feeling the ball. It still has good ball connection. The grip size and shape is all Babolat.

 

[haqq777]

More dampened than the PD12 and PD15. Feel is more similar to the current Babolats in terms of a more muted/dampened response but ball connection is still very good. For instance, the new Yonex racquets with vdm are muted and dampened but I have trouble feeling the ball. The Blackout is dampened but I have no trouble feeling the ball. It still has good ball connection. The grip size and shape is all Babolat.

This has my attention!

 

[mad dog1]

This has my attention!

The blackout is an excellent stick. Clay Thompson uses it.

 

[StringStrungStrang]

More dampened than the PD12 and PD15. Feel is more similar to the current Babolats in terms of a more muted/dampened response but ball connection is still very good. For instance, the new Yonex racquets with vdm are muted and dampened but I have trouble feeling the ball. The Blackout is dampened but I have no trouble feeling the ball. It still has good ball connection. The grip size and shape is all Babolat.

Thanks! Good info and much appreciated. When the time comes I will definitely check these Solinco racquets out - this makes it hard to resist though! Can't wait for the extended versions to come out.

 

[mad dog1]

Latest string job in the Blackout 300:

full bed of Head Lynx Tour 1.30 orange at 45#. Excellent so far.

After 8-10 hours, the crosses are looking like fettuccine again…time for a fresh string job. The Blackout is hard on strings not unlike the PA19 and PD15.

Loved the way Lynx Tour Orange 1.30 performed in the Blackout. There wasn’t anything I didn’t like.

 

[mad dog1]

Next string job: Solinco Hyper G 1.25/Volkl V-Pro 1.28 @ 47/46#

 

[Cobra Tennis]

BlackOut!!!

String and tension used for test: Hyper G at 50lbs
Tennis experience/background: Former college scrub player, part time teaching pro at local club, 4.5 league player
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): All court, like to pressure the net most days to end points early and due to age

Current racquet/string setups: I have been an avid Pure Drive user for the past 20 years---dating back to the pure drive swirly. I then have played with most iterations of it. Currently playing with a Pure Drive Team 2015 with RedCode strung at 50lbs or Hyper G around the same. A few years ago went with the lighter team version for a change and have been using it steady, but the Blackout has made me change my mind---I like the heft, control, and weight behind the ball with the BlackOut more so than my old Team.


How many hours did you play with the racquet? I played 3 league matches, a couple of pick up matches, and taught with it. Easily 30 hours.

Comments on racquet performance for each stroke (each section should be 3-5 sentences minimum):
-Groundstrokes: Right away I could tell this was in my wheel house. I had to make no adjustments or getting used to the Black Out. My Forehand felt great and I could really dial up the spin when I wanted it or hit flat. Backhands were just like the pure drive, but with a little bit more "thud" and I felt like the racquet didn't twist as much and really gave good plow through. It's a lot of fun to string up poly in this at a little lower tension and enjoy the free pop and hit a lot of topspin on the FH side. I especially loved this hitting heavy topspins crosscourt and high to my opponent's BH and felt like I could control the frame much better. Hyper G really shined in this frame! I could easily see Hyper G at about 45-48 lbs in this frame being my new weapon of choice. Slices and chips back really felt good with the stiffness of the racquet. Could really knife the ball. Overall I thought this frame was an upgrade over my Pure Drive Team---much more comfortable and plush and no jarring. I always found the Pure Drvies power to be addicting but sometimes a little unpredictable and just not as comfortable. The BlackOut solved that problem.

-Serves: Loved this frame for big spin serves. My kick on the AD court was kicking up nice and a high. Able to hit good pop just like a pure drive should.
-Volleys: The comfort in the frame really shined here. Fun blocking back hard shots with this. Also found it shined hitting half volleys or balls where I had to dip.
-Serve returns: Enjoyed hitting returns with this. The free power and pop of the frame were addicting to hit on 2nd serve returns where you may have more time. Blocking back hard 1st serves was very comfortable and the frame was great at absorbing the pace.

Comments on racquet performance in each area (should be 2-3 sentences minimum)
Power/Control- Solinco got it right with this frame. The free power I like is there, but also the weight is just enough to feel comfortable going crosscourt heavy. I felt like I could place the ball where I wanted with this frame and had no issues. Good free power on a relaxed rallying swing---the pop is addicting!
Top Spin/Slice- Great with fresh Hyper-G. Could also flatted out the ball when needed, but it was a joy to hit topspin with this frame.
Comfort- Probably the biggest advantage over the Pure Drive. I didn't feel the stiffness rating of this frame (high like 71 I think?) mattered and didn't notice it. I thought this took what I didn't like about the Pure Drives, and tamed down the vibration. I'm going to experiment with a hybrid setup with something like Prince PPC. However, it's worth noting that this is a fun stick to hit with as you get the free power when you want it, but it has a nice solid feel on impact and doesn't get pushed around. A poly at a lower tension would be the sweet spot for me.


General reaction/comments on overall performance:
This frame is going to be my daily driver! It's a better version of a Pure Drive and the paint job looks good too! I like the all black look on the frame. I'm going to probably order a second one and a reel of Hyper G for the season. I felt like the racquet was an old friend and extension of my hand and had no second thoughts on the court about the equipment.

 

[M Pillai]

Review of Solinco Whiteout 305
=====================================

• String and tension used for test:
  • Used multiple strings
    Solinco HyperG 16 at 54lb mains / 52lb crosses for around 14 hrs.
    Volkl Cyclone 17 at 54lb mains / 52lb crosses for around 4 hrs.
    If not mentioned specifically, the review notes are based on the Solinco HyperG 16 (which I personally feel is a better suited string for this racket). Also, even though I liked this frame better with 10g buttcap added, the review is based on stock form, and I will mention about the buttcap if any statement or experience is based on that.
• Tennis experience/background:
  • Late bloomer. Never played tennis till middle age, and picked it up gradually over the last 10 years to reach a level of 4.5. In general I am passionate about tennis equipment, and spend too much time on tennis equipment, strings, rackets etc. In my tennis friend's opinion, if I spent that much time on actual tennis training, I would have been on the ATP tour now, LOL.
• Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley):
  • I like to think of myself as a counter puncher. Some opponents may say that my game is based on aggressive baseline forehands and high risk offense. Even though I agree that I finish my points by forehand aggression, I get there mostly by counter punching unbalanced opponents, rather than hit through them from neutral.
• Current racquet/string setups:
  • Yonex MP Tour 1 mid. Volkl Cyclone17 54lb mains / 52lb crosses (switching to another string soon).
• How many hours did you play with the racquet?
  • 18hrs
• Comments on racquet performance on each stroke:
  • My original feeling when looking at the specs was that Solinco Whiteout will be similar to Pure Drive. But I was completely wrong when I started hitting with it. It is nothing like Pure Drive and is a totally different feeling racquet. It probably has more similarities to a Blade 98 than a Pure Drive, but still unique in some characteristics. I will get to them in detail below.
  • Groundstrokes:
    Excellent. Modern baseline grinders would love all aspects of this racket. Easy to swing, easy to find the depth. I thought it was lacking some stability when dealing with incoming heavy topspin, but adding the 10g weighted buttcap made it really stable for me (which I was surprised with, since theoretically it may not add swingweight to the frame). Possibly it may have to do with the changed balance that made my swing to the ball more comfortable. But it is a really innovative idea to have these weighted butt caps, since such a small addition/removal makes a huge difference, and you can experiment to tune to your swing.
  • Serves:
    Good. Easy to swing to the ball, so any spin generation was excellent. Slice serves and Kick serves were excellent. Flat serves were good, but I felt I was not getting the same easy pace as some other frames. But I was able to find the spots very easily with the racket on flat serves as well, and so I generally don’t consider this to be an issue since I am not Isner.
  • Volleys:
    Good. Easy to maneuver around the net. Reaction volleys were a piece of cake. I felt like I could get the ball across the net even from the most uncomfortable volley positions. Also generating deep volleys were really easy and the racket did provide the stability of a high stiffness racket. What I was lacking was some of the “feel” on those volleys where I wanted precision depth control. I personally think this won’t be an issue for my style of play considering the number of chances for me to hit those volleys. But some doubles specialists may want to check the volley feel before committing.
  • Serve returns:
    Excellent. Stable to deal with incoming heavy kicks or big pace. Block returns especially were excellent with good accuracy and depth. When opportunity provided, attacking weak serves were also comfortable. I also have to say that, if you are like me and miss-hit a lot of returns (yea I know, watch the ball), just know that this frame does make you look a better player, since the sweet spot is large and most of the mishits will make it across the net, and may even make good returns.
• Comments on racquet performance on each area:
  • Power/Control:
    Excellent on both Power and Control. No need to trade one for the other. I found that baseline to baseline (deep to deep) rallies were so easy and consistent with this racket, since it does provide good power and spin. I found it a bit too much power for short angles, possibly I may have to get used to the swing path change needed with this racket. Change of direction shots and direction control was excellent as well, even when trying to do that on heavy incoming balls. Generally I found that adding a trajectory provided good heavy ground strokes, with control and power. More target shooting flat shots felt slightly over powering, and probably some adjustment period may be needed.
  • Topspin/Slice:
    Excellent. Very open pattern and excellent spin racquet. Topspins and good trajectory shots were landing deep and heavy. Slices also felt really good, on both deep low sliders as well as short touch slices. I think modern baseline grinders would love this racquet, because of the easy spin and depth generation. Also it goes through the air very quickly and so it is easy to generate the racquet speed. Also since it is very comfortable on arm, you can execute the game for long matches without any issues. More about comfort below.
  • Comfort:
    Excellent. I read about the new tech(liquid crystal), but as always was very skeptical about it. But it seems like it does some magic. The racquet was very comfortable on my arm. I have not tested this racket with any particularly stiff string, but it felt really soft. Even though the racket is not particularly heavy, it did not pass any impact to the arm. Even mishits were not that harsh. Even though I felt slight instability when dealing incoming heavy balls, that still did not lead to any arm discomfort. As mentioned before I prefer this racket with a 10g butt-cap and with that everything was perfect for me from a comfort point of view.
  • Feel:
    Average. It may have more to do with me not getting used to this racket. But I felt a slight lack of feedback on some shots. Particularly on depth control on volleys and for the touch topspin shots to get sharp angles. Touch volleys and drop shots were consistent, so I cannot complain about those, but still felt something missing. I am guessing since the racquet provided good backspin, and so I did not have to be that accurate with those shots, and probably helped with consistency and overall effectiveness. I am probably being a bit harsh on this topic, and will come back and add comments on this topic if I feel more at home with this later.
  • Manuerability:
    Excellent. I did not measure the swing-weight of the racquet. But it felt very easy to swing and move around, especially for awkward shots at the net. We all have those moments of getting caught lazy with your foot, and this racquet did save me on some of those occasions, since it was easy to move it around. On regular ground strokes, it is easy to generate racquet speed and on volleys it is excellent to move around for reaction-volleys.
  • Stability:
    Good/Excellent. The racquet is stable enough in most scenarios. The only time I felt the need for some extra heft was when on exchange with some heavy incoming topspin. But with the added 10g butt-cap, it resolved that issue for me. So with a 10g butt cap, the racquet is excellent for me in the stability department.
• General reaction/comments on overall performance:
  If I am looking for a new racquet, I definitely would consider this. Overall this does really good for me in most of my game areas. I am definitely going to keep the 10g butt-cap. I was wondering about adding some lead at 12, but I really like the balance of the racket with 10g-butt-cap and I am not really sure whether I would be happy with the balance change after adding weight at head. Also it may cost me with maneuverability and swing speed. Overall this is a really good racquet in stock form, and the weighted butt cap is really innovative. I also really like the white color. If you are a Blade98 or PureStrike fan, you should really try out this racquet when searching for the next frame. There are a lot of racquets in this general spec range, but this is one of the best in that range.
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[StringStrungStrang]

Nice review! Very interested to try both the Solinco WhiteOut and Solinco BlackOut. I am a huge fan of racquet customization, tuning racquets to your taste, so the butt-cap weight is awesome. I keep thinking I will be more interested in the WhiteOut, because I like the Pure Strike 98 16 x 19 and enjoy the Blades Series (98 and 104), but the reviews for the BlackOut have been so enthusiastic that I will have to try that too. Seems that this is a solid offering and excelled in Stability, Return of Serve and Serving. Can't wait for the extended versions to be released!

 

[Vicious49]

Solinco WhiteOut 305 Review

String and tension used for test: HyperG 16g that was supplied with the playtest at 48#. HyperG/HyperGSoft 17g is one of my go to strings anyways so this was perfect for me.
Tennis experience/background: Started hitting around as a kid and on and off throughout the years but never had any sort of formal training. Finally started playing regularly and improving over the last 4-5 years. I'm probably a low 4.0 now on a good day and a high 3.5 on a bad day.

Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): I'm more of a baseliner and counterpuncher who avoids coming to the net unless forced to come in. I love the midcourt area but am not comfortable close to the net.

Current racquet/string setups: I'm a holic so I rotate through them rather quickly. The ones I've had the longest that I still play with currently are the Wilson Blade Pro 16/19 and the Yonex Vcore95. BP is purely stock while VC95 had to have some lead added to the hoop. I've settled on NRG 17g mains at 50# crossed with a smooth poly at 47#. Lately I've also been trying out the Diadem Elevate FS with Cyclone Tour. I generally gravitate towards 97/98" frames with the occasional 95" mixed in.

How many hours did you play with the racquet? 20+

My racquet came in at spec at 305g, 8pts HL, and 288 SW. Strung with an OG and dampener the specs were 329g, 32.5 balance, 322 SW. It was good at the stock specs but I felt I wasn't getting the plow through that I usually look for in my frames. I added a bit of lead at 3 and 9 and counterweighted with the 5g buttcap which brought my specs to 336g, 32.2 balance, 328 SW. The weight made the biggest difference on groundstrokes as mentioned below.

Comments on racquet performance for each stroke (each section should be 3-5 sentences minimum):
-Groundstrokes: In stock form the racquet had good depth and spin but was missing a bit of low through. I think for somoene who can generate the RHS to control shots with spin, the stock specs would have been perfect. I hit flatter without as much RHS so for me it was lacking some plow through.
After adding a bit of weight to the frame, this is one of the best racquets I've played with from the baseline. Such easy depth and access to spin. I had to add the weight to get that extra bit of plow through but now it's a baseliners dream. Lobs aren't mentioned in these reviews generally but it was also a great racquet for hitting lobs (I end up playing a lot of doubles so it's an important shot for me).
-Serves: This is one the best serving frames I've played with in terms of how much power I get on my flat serves (only 2nd to the current gen Rad MP IMO). So easy to hit slice serves as well. And the slice serves get so much spin that it makes service games easy if you're mixing them in with flat serves.
-Volleys: I don't go to the net enough for this to be a deciding factor on any racquet. It was fine on the rare occasions I had to volley at the net - way more maneuverable than my BP but not nearly as maneuverable as the Elevate FS or Black Ace Pro.
-Serve returns: With such easy access to power and depth it made returning serves a breeze. You could go for a big cut on a 2nd serve or use the power and stability of the racquet to block back harder serves and still get the returns deep to keep yourself in the point.

Comments on racquet performance in each area (should be 2-3 sentences minimum)
Power/Control- I don't play with 'tweener' type frames so for me this one has plenty of power when comparing to player frames like the UT, Blade, TF40, etc. At the same time, it has good control but not the same level of control as those player frames just mentioned so I had to aim for slightly bigger targets. Control may be easier for those that are used to controlling shots with spin as opposed to someone like me who is more of a flat hitter naturally.
Top Spin/Slice- I get so much top spin on my groundstrokes (in both stock form and modded with weight) with the WhiteOut that it catches my regular opponents off guard. Slices are just ok with the WhiteOut. They seem to hang/float a bit on me. Maybe it's because I'm used to getting those low skidding slices from denser string patterns that I usually play with but this is one area where I had to be careful. I didn't feel as comfortable with a BH slice with this one (especially in doubles) out of fear of it giving my opponent an easy put away if they were near the net.
Comfort- This frame is a bit of an anomaly as it has a high RA but is still very comfortable. I know it's foam filled but it's feels more solid than most of it's foam filled contemporaries. It's like when you put sound dampening material in your car doors and trunk and it has such a satisfying 'thunk' when you close them. It feels sort of like that when hitting with the WhiteOut.
Feel- Despite it having a satisfying/solid feel the racquet isn't overly muted or dampened. It's not what I'd call crisp either. For me it's in a middle ground that based on your tastes will work well with various types of strings. It doesn't have the 'feel' of a BP or PT 2.0 or UT, but then again very few non-pro stock frames do,
Maneuverability- It's not clunky as I've mentioned in the volleys section but it's also not as maneuverable as a thin beamed frame like the Black Ace Pro or Prestige Pro.
Stability- Even against the heaviest hitter I face I didn't detect any instability. I did add lead tape to help me on groundstrokes but it wasnt needed for stability as that was already rock solid in stock form.

General reaction/comments on overall performance: I wasn't expecting much from the Solinco racquets when they were announced. I thought it was their first small step in to the racquet pool so thought they may put out something decent, but certainly nothing to compete with the big boys. This frame hit so well from the baseline and when serving that I am seriously thinking of making this my primary singles frames. It makes baseline rallies a breeze while giving me some easy service points. I'd really like to thank TW for choosing me for this play test as otherwise I may not have given this racquet a try.

 

[fullwesternforehand]

Blackout playtest

String and tension used for test: Luxilon 4g soft at 53 pounds
Tennis experience/background: In my prime, I was a 4.5 Ntrp player. Mainly a doubles player, but can crank out some topspin winners in singles. Now I coach high school tennis and play about 3 sets a week, and on weekends hit more.
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): All court/counterpuncher player. I have never been a flat hitter, so I absorb shots fairly well. Always looking to come into net and finish there, as opposed to grinding out points
Current racquet/string setups: I mostly use the 2013 aeropro drive, and lately have been using the deep blue yonex ezone 100. Both racquets I use either a hyper g or a 4g soft.
How many hours did you play with the racquet? I played with it for about 30 hours. About 15 of those hours were spent playing sets, 10 hours groundstrokes, and the other 5 serving/volleying

Comments on racquet performance for each stroke (each section should be 3-5 sentences minimum):
-Groundstrokes: Right off the bat, this racquet has power. It is made to be a pure drive competitor with the easy amount of power it has. If you are a topspin/more semiwestern to western grip forehand person, this racquet will be almost too much for you. I found it hard to control, and couldn't find a nice pace to hit at. I tried swinging faster but was not getting the connection I wanted, but once I slowed down and went for a tamer more flat shot on both ends, that is when the racquet shined. Overall, if you hit groundstrokes a bit flatter and are looking for easy power, this is where it shines.
-Serves: Serves were average with this racquet. I felt like the weight of the racquet was nice for flat serves, and helped avoid having to crank up the swing speed. Since the racquet wasn't very stiff, it was very hard to add the pop I can get with a stiffer racquet, like a pure aero or yonex ezone. If you are a big, flat server, this racquet will almost hold you back with so much power.
-Volleys: I am mostly a doubles player, so this is the true test for me. Volleys were not very good for me. This racquet has a weird disconnect with the ball that I was not a fan of. The best way I can describe it is like volleying with a countervail wilson blade. There is not very much feel, and I could never feel dialed in with my volleys
-Serve returns: Serve returns were wore than groundstrokes. The weight was nice to put balls in play, since I wasn't getting pushed around with returns. However, much like the volleys, there was a disconnect and was never really certain where the balls would spray to.

Comments on racquet performance in each area (should be 2-3 sentences minimum)
Power/Control- Racquet had all the power in the world, with it being not a control racquet whatsoever. The power was really nice for off-center shots, as it still had some pace to it when the balls went into play. If you want a prestige/prostaff like level of power, look elsewhere because you will not like all the power it has.
Top Spin/Slice- Spin and slice is where this racquet suffered the most IMO. As a topspin player, I always crave some spin and never really felt like I could slice or crank up the swingspeed on groundstrokes comfortably.
Comfort- This racquet was not stiff at all, which was not a good thing for me personally. I like stiffer, tweener style racquets, yet this racquet seems to be going for the crowd who get tennis elbow but want power as well.
Feel- Racquet lacks feel, which I did not like. My best way of describing it is that it felt like the wilson countervail tech. It wipes all the feel and connection, which is not what I liked
Maneuverability- For having a sturdy swingweight, this racquet never felt heavy or unable to swing. No matter how tired I got after an hour of hitting, I was still able to hit with it comfortably with full swings
Stability- Stability is where the racquet shines. The twistweight is not bad, and was able to handle shots against bigger hitters well. Offcenter shots were good and did not "hurt" my arm or elbow.

General reaction/comments on overall performance: Overall, it is a racquet trying to imitate the pure drive but without the stiffness. Personally, I was not a fan and like the stiff feeling of tweener racquets. My closest comparison is a wilson blade countervail, with more power. I would have liked to try this racquet with a stiff string to see if the soft feeling goes away, and will be my next string when my 4g breaks

As always, thank you to TW and Solinco for the playtest!! Always happy to be a part of the playtesting experience and give feedback in any way I can. Thanks!!!!!!

 

[mogo]

Solinco Racquet Playtest: Black Out 300

String and tension used for test: Solinco Hyper G 17
Tennis experience/background: 5.0 Singles player
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): Baseliner, Counterpuncher
Current racquet/string setups: working with PA+ and a Yonex HD/D
How many hours did you play with the racquet? Played with the racquet for about 11hours plus.

Comments on racquet performance for each stroke (each section should be 3-5 sentences minimum):
-Groundstrokes 9/10: Ground strokes were easy to swing in stock form. Forehands and Backhands were flatter in comparison to my PA+ but had good depth. If I wanted to add spin or a heavy topspin shot, I had no issues changing shots. I didn’t feel any brassy or jarring feeling at contact. Felt solid at impact and good drive overall. I also liked that I could get added heft if I used the 10g cap. Overall I preferred the stock form of the BO300.

-Serves 7/10: I preferred the BO300 with the stock cap. Serves were easy to hit spots. I didn’t feel that they were as powerful as with my PA+ which could be a factor at times. I could generate spin and kick without worry. Very easy to hit serves, I didn’t feel I had to force anything to get the ball to move through the court. I did feel the 10g cap threw my service timing off a bit when I tried it.

-Volleys 9/10: Solid, the BO300 did not get pushed around and had great pocketing. I was really surprised at how much control I had changing direction and with touch. This was the highlight for me. I would give it the advantage over my PA+ which is a factor that would make me consider this stick in singles or doubles. Also, overheads were easy after the volley.

-Serve returns 8/10: I didn’t notice anything special on returns. I felt about the same as my PA+. I think that with the 10g cap I had more dip on shots. In stock form I could get some height to create depth. I didn’t worry if the ball was going to sail or miss. It felt about the same for me on returns.

Comments on racquet performance in each area (should be 2-3 sentences minimum)
Power 8/10 – Power was good, I feel that the launch angle was flatter overall. I didn’t have to ramp up shots. Felt I could keep a loose wrist and let the racquet generate power for me. I didn’t feel put away power, I did feel consistent power overall in rallies.

Control 7/10 – Control was average for me, about what I am used to with my PA+. I didn’t feel any more or less control. I only felt more spin when using the weighted 10g cap, but it did throw off my serve timing. I opted for stock form overall.

Top Spin 7/10 – Topspin was average as I felt the ball was flatter overall. I didn’t feel the need to add a lot of topspin to shots but could if I wanted to. Transitioning was not bad during point play.

Slice- 8/10 – Was good when attacking or playing defensively, had no issues. On dropshots I felt it was excellent to absorb pace get the ball to die.

Comfort- 9/10 – Had no issues with comfort. This was an easy plug and play stick during hitting sessions. Did not fatigue the arm or any jarring. Great job on this part.

Feel-9/10 – Feel was awesome, I felt comfortable knowing where my ball was going and picking my spots. After serving in stock form, I was relaxed on serves and confident spinning heavy second serves.

Maneuverability-8/10 – I didn’t think the racquet had any problems with maneuverability. It was easy to generate power and change directions on shots. I liked crosscourt shots and felt I could get in a long rally and stay with a cross court pattern before changing direction which is key for me.

Stability-9/10 – Stable and build solid. I have tried other so called stable racquets and been disappointed. I cannot say this for the BO300, I did try some lead tape but preferred it in stock form. It delivered and I like using this stick a lot out on court.

General reaction/comments on overall performance:
Solinco did not disappoint, racquet had great QC and was build stable. For me the BO300 did burn through strings, about every 3rd hitting sessions or 2-3hrs I was breaking strings. I only used 17 gauge so maybe a thicker string would last longer, but I liked 17g in the BO300. I tried Hyper G 17 which I felt was a great string for this racquet. I also tried Super Smash and it didn’t have the spin I like, but I wanted to see what the racquet could do with a low powered string. I have since gone back to Solinco Hyper G 17 and will most likely stick with this for the majority of the time. I am really excited for the extended versions of the BO300 as I use the PA+ and really like the standard BO300. I think the weighted buttcaps are icing on the cake. I have them in my tennis bag and like how easy they are to switch out. I feel it’s a great way to test out and change the racquet as I like to tinker with my frames. The BO300 was an easy transition to play on court for me. Big thank you to Solinco and TW for the opportunity to test this stick. I think this is a well build racquet and I was really impressed overall with it.

 

[mad dog1]

Met up with @MaxTennis tonight and had a chance to see how the Blackout holds up against a 5.0 quality ball. It holds up very well. This time it was strung with hyper g 1.25/v-pro 1.28 at 47#. Against the 5.0 quality ball, the differences between the BO and the PD12 being more apparent. They both have great depth control but the PD12 with its tighter string pattern hits a tighter spun ball that penetrates through the court more. I’ll try adding a bit of lead to the BO ahead of my next Tuesday hit with MaxTennis.

 

[taylor15]

String and tension used for test: Kirschbaum Multifibre 17/Evolution 17. First at 53/50 and then at 56/52
Tennis experience/background: Played when younger, picked up game again in 2019. Play a few times a week. Low 4.0 level
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): All court player mostly. I rely on my speed and serve, and try to find opportunities to move into the net. Occasionally play serve/volley or resort to base-lining but if I want to win I have to keep pushing into the court.
Current racquet/string setups: Wilson Ultra Pro 16x19 for the last 6 months, recently moved the the Head Prestige MP-L right about the time the playtest was starting. Both weighted to about 335g/320mm when strung for reference to this playtest.
How many hours did you play with the racquet? About 20 or so I think. Played a couple of singles matches, clinics, drills and coaching sessions with it.

-Groundstrokes: Groundstrokes were solid with the Whiteout. On the forehand wing I could shape the ball very well due to the open string pattern weight in the head of the racquet. One the backhand wing I had a honeymoon period where I loved it, and then started to struggle to find my rhythm. While I've developed a pretty spinny forehand over the last year working with a coach my backhand is a little flat and I found myself clipping the net. I was always able to adjust and felt it was just to the more neutral balance than I generally use. My slice backhand was consistent with the whiteout, not quite as low and deep as with the prestige, but had enough spin to trouble some opponents. Finally, on the run I caught myself framing the ball more than I normally would due to the racuqet being less 'whippy' than what I normally play.

-Serves: First serves were a gem with the whiteout. I was able to get great pace and good placement. My kick serve was also accurate, but I was hitting it more shallow into the box in the beginning. After an adjustment period it was fine. With the lighter spec I was able to really focus on powering through the ball and putting action on it.

-Volleys: Volleys were okay with the frame, it's not as stable as I prefer in stock form. I believe adding a little weight to the hoop could help here as it's very light. While drilling it is very accurate, and it's just whippy enough to be mobile. The toughest test for that was playing the top guy in our league who was able to push it around when I came to the net. Usually I can handle his ground strokes at the net okay, but with the WO I was getting pushed around.

-Serve returns: Needed a bit more weight for blocking back big first serves, for other returns it was very good. Sweetspot is fairly open for a 98 and helped with reurns that were not hit on the spot. Backhand slice returns floated a little, but were accurate and in the court.

Power/Control- Power was good, higher than the UP and about even with the MP-L I am using now as my main. I would put it on par with a pure strike in power, it felt like it had a slight amount more than the blade v7. Played side by side with a Pure Drive there is still a noticeable difference, but it's not anemic.

Top Spin/Slice- Open pattern equals great top spin. Feedback from the other side of the court was positive, and I was able to get a lot of net clearance with this racquet. Slices were a bit floaty on the backhand wing but forehand squash shots were very good.

Comfort- In the beginning I felt that this frame was very comfortable. It we never uncomfortable, but I did feel a twinge of wrist pain at the higher string tension. This happened after a session where I was not hitting very clean. This is the one place that the UP excels is in the feel category. I would rate it more comfortable than a strike, less than a blade (two closest frames I've hit)

Feel- Feel was pretty good, it isn't harsh but it isn't overly muted. I could feel where the ball was on most shots. Feel towards the top of the hoop was even good, which is where a lot of frames really falter for me.

Maneuverability- Maneuverability is nice for a 3pt HL frame. I was able to move the racquet around quickly for volleys, and still whip forehands when I wanted that extra spin.

Stability- Stability was good for the weight. For groundstrokes and serves it was perfect, I would personally like a little more punch at the net. Even a similar weighted stick, such as a pure drive, feels more stable at the net.

General Reaction/Overall Comments:
Overall this is a very good offering, and one I would consider if I was playing a more strike/blade type frame. If I was to compare it to another racuqet (if you hadn't noticed yet) I would say it's very much like a more comfortable Pure Strike. The graphics are great, I'm a big fan of the glossy upper and matte lower in all white. Also, while I did review as stock, I added the 10g buttcap provided towards the end of my play-test. Having the extra weight in the handle put this frame more in my wheelhouse spec-wise and made it something I could switch to mid-match with little adjustment. In the 305g 4pt HL range that seems to be pretty competitive now I would say this is a solid contender.

 

[StringStrungStrang]

String and tension used for test: Kirschbaum Multifibre 17/Evolution 17. First at 53/50 and then at 56/52
Tennis experience/background: Played when younger, picked up game again in 2019. Play a few times a week. Low 4.0 level
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): All court player mostly. I rely on my speed and serve, and try to find opportunities to move into the net. Occasionally play serve/volley or resort to base-lining but if I want to win I have to keep pushing into the court.
Current racquet/string setups: Wilson Ultra Pro 16x19 for the last 6 months, recently moved the the Head Prestige MP-L right about the time the playtest was starting. Both weighted to about 335g/320mm when strung for reference to this playtest.
How many hours did you play with the racquet? About 20 or so I think. Played a couple of singles matches, clinics, drills and coaching sessions with it.

-Groundstrokes: Groundstrokes were solid with the Whiteout. On the forehand wing I could shape the ball very well due to the open string pattern weight in the head of the racquet. One the backhand wing I had a honeymoon period where I loved it, and then started to struggle to find my rhythm. While I've developed a pretty spinny forehand over the last year working with a coach my backhand is a little flat and I found myself clipping the net. I was always able to adjust and felt it was just to the more neutral balance than I generally use. My slice backhand was consistent with the whiteout, not quite as low and deep as with the prestige, but had enough spin to trouble some opponents. Finally, on the run I caught myself framing the ball more than I normally would due to the racuqet being less 'whippy' than what I normally play.

-Serves: First serves were a gem with the whiteout. I was able to get great pace and good placement. My kick serve was also accurate, but I was hitting it more shallow into the box in the beginning. After an adjustment period it was fine. With the lighter spec I was able to really focus on powering through the ball and putting action on it.

-Volleys: Volleys were okay with the frame, it's not as stable as I prefer in stock form. I believe adding a little weight to the hoop could help here as it's very light. While drilling it is very accurate, and it's just whippy enough to be mobile. The toughest test for that was playing the top guy in our league who was able to push it around when I came to the net. Usually I can handle his ground strokes at the net okay, but with the WO I was getting pushed around.

-Serve returns: Needed a bit more weight for blocking back big first serves, for other returns it was very good. Sweetspot is fairly open for a 98 and helped with reurns that were not hit on the spot. Backhand slice returns floated a little, but were accurate and in the court.

Power/Control- Power was good, higher than the UP and about even with the MP-L I am using now as my main. I would put it on par with a pure strike in power, it felt like it had a slight amount more than the blade v7. Played side by side with a Pure Drive there is still a noticeable difference, but it's not anemic.

Top Spin/Slice- Open pattern equals great top spin. Feedback from the other side of the court was positive, and I was able to get a lot of net clearance with this racquet. Slices were a bit floaty on the backhand wing but forehand squash shots were very good.

Comfort- In the beginning I felt that this frame was very comfortable. It we never uncomfortable, but I did feel a twinge of wrist pain at the higher string tension. This happened after a session where I was not hitting very clean. This is the one place that the UP excels is in the feel category. I would rate it more comfortable than a strike, less than a blade (two closest frames I've hit)

Feel- Feel was pretty good, it isn't harsh but it isn't overly muted. I could feel where the ball was on most shots. Feel towards the top of the hoop was even good, which is where a lot of frames really falter for me.

Maneuverability- Maneuverability is nice for a 3pt HL frame. I was able to move the racquet around quickly for volleys, and still whip forehands when I wanted that extra spin.

Stability- Stability was good for the weight. For groundstrokes and serves it was perfect, I would personally like a little more punch at the net. Even a similar weighted stick, such as a pure drive, feels more stable at the net.

General Reaction/Overall Comments:
Overall this is a very good offering, and one I would consider if I was playing a more strike/blade type frame. If I was to compare it to another racuqet (if you hadn't noticed yet) I would say it's very much like a more comfortable Pure Strike. The graphics are great, I'm a big fan of the glossy upper and matte lower in all white. Also, while I did review as stock, I added the 10g buttcap provided towards the end of my play-test. Having the extra weight in the handle put this frame more in my wheelhouse spec-wise and made it something I could switch to mid-match with little adjustment. In the 305g 4pt HL range that seems to be pretty competitive now I would say this is a solid contender.

How would you say the weighted butt-cap impacted your impressions? Did it just change specs, feel, spin or? I am intrigued by the the ability to easily customize the WhiteOut and BlackOut. I hope more follow Solinco's lead on this.

 

[lim]

Solinco Racquet Playtest: Black Out 300

String and tension used for test: Vanquish crossed with Lynx Tour at 52 lbs
Tennis experience/background: 4.0
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): aggressive baseliner
Current racquet/string setups: PD2012
How many hours did you play with the racquet? 20+ hrs- combination of singles & doubles matchplay and practice sessions

Comments on racquet performance for each stroke (each section should be 3-5 sentences minimum):
-Groundstrokes 8/10:
Huge sweet spot made it very easy to adjust to. Didn't notice a dramatic difference in the launch angle from my current stick so I felt right at home. String pattern looked very close when I compared them side by side as well so I was easily able to flatten my shots out as well as hit heavy topspin when I need to. I did feel like my short angle forehand cross was working better than usual. When I really brushed up on the ball I could really get the ball to dive into the court and open up angles nicely. Only bad thing I noticed so far was that it didn't hit through heavy spin topspin shots that well. So far I'm experimenting with some lead at the tip which has definitely improved the stability. Once I get the right amount dialed in I think that will make up the difference.

-Serves 10/10:
Easily my favorite part of the play test. Whips through the contact point so effortlessly. Flat serves were bombs especially down the T, but had no trouble finding my spots on wide serves. Slice serve was nasty as well and was able to get some nice action on my sliders that really slid into the alley. Kick serves were equally as effective especially on the ad side serving to my opponents' backhand.

-Volleys 9/10:
Volleys were solid overall. As long as I got my racquet out in front and put my weight into the shot the volleys felt crisp. Angled put aways were a breeze and felt like even if I made contact a little outside the sweet spot I could still put enough on it. The easy maneuverability made reflex volleys and drop volleys painless. Only negative I would say is defending against heavy dipping topspin felt a little jarring and I could feel the stick getting pushed back.

-Serve returns 8/10: Returns were good as long as I made clean contact out in front. Against some of the bigger flat servers I couldn't block it back with good depth like I usually can. I think the lead that I'm experimenting with will give it a little more heft and stability that I need. Another positive was that I could hit chip returns with ease especially from the backhand wing. On second serves I could absolutely rip the return either flattening it out or putting a bit of spin for margin which was a huge plus because of the easy power.

Comments on racquet performance in each area (should be 2-3 sentences minimum)
Power 10/10 – Easy access to power with a nice crisp feel. Ball was in and out of the string bed quickly which I liked. Felt like I really needed to keep the RHS up to consistently have depth and topspin. Once on attack it was lethal and I could easily flatten the ball out for approach shots or to change up the height of my ball.

Control 8/10 – Control was good overall. I definitely relied on the easy access to spin to give me enough margin when hitting out. I also felt pretty comfortable flattening the ball out but did have a feel times when it was sailing on me.

Top Spin 9/10 – Easy access to spin for me. I was getting plenty of net clearance and felt like I could rely on being able to throw in a loopy topspin shot to mix up the pace when I need to. When I was really going after my topspin groundstrokes, I could really shape the ball.

Slice- 8/10 – Enjoyed hitting slice with this racquet. I was able to really knife the ball and keep them low when I was defending. Played some chip and charge and had pretty good success with this stick as well.

Comfort- 10/10 – Did not feel arm pain at any point during the play test. I played it sans dampener which is typically my set up and felt like I was still able to get a good blend of responsiveness without it feeling too harsh.

Feel-9/10 – Feel was superb. Great feedback when you hit it square in the sweet spot but also not overly harsh on mishits. Felt confident going for my shots and knowing the playability was predictable when I needed to change pace or depth.

Maneuverability-9/10 – Very comfortable and easy to wield. Comes through fast when you whip through serves and forehands. In addition the swing weight felt very agile when at net if I needed to hit some reflex volleys.

Stability-8/10 – Overall good stability. Against heavy hitters it had a little tendency to get pushed back and I could feel it twisting in my hand. A little lead in the hoop will definitely help give it some thump if any other players run into this. At net it holds its own on volleys

General reaction/comments on overall performance:
I really enjoyed this play test. Spec wise it was easy to adjust to and I think most players will be able to pick it up stock and have success with it. The static weight, swing weight, and hoop size make it very approachable if you are a baseline player or need a little extra margin at the net. It struggled a little bit at times against heavy hitters but it is also a great platform if you need to out a touch more weight without dramatically affecting the balance or swing weight. Serves and ground strokes were the highlight for me with its super easy access to spin. It was easy to shape the ball and any time I wanted to flatten the ball out it shot out like a missile. Flat serves with this stick was an absolute beast. I definitely noticed I was serving bigger and getting more free points serving with this stick. Cosmetic wise it looks super clean. The mix of matte black and gloss black near the tip is super tasteful. All in all a very fun stick and would recommend this to others.

 

[snoflewis]

Solinco Whiteout 305 Playtest

Specs of playtest racket:
Whiteout 305 unstrung specs with plastic removed
Stock: 305.7g, 31.4cm, 292.9sw
w/ 5g buttcap: 310.4g, 31.0cm, 294.1sw
w/ 10g buttcap: 314.9g, 30.5cm, 294.2sw

Specs strung w/ YPTP 1.25mm at 50#
Stock: 322.8g, 32.4cm, 323.2 sw

String and tension used for test:
#1: Yonex Poly Tour Pro 1.25mm at 50 lbs.
#2: Tier One Black Knight 1.28mm mains and Tier One Ghost Wire 1.27mm crosses at 48 lbs.
#3: VS Gut 1.30mm mains and Prince Tour XP 1.30 crosses at 48/43 lbs

Tennis experience/background:
Played high school tennis, currently somewhere between 4.0-4.5.

Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley):
Aggressive baseliner trying to transition to all-court play. Like to setup points from the baseline and finish them at net whenever the opportunity arises. Loopy forehand with a relatively flatter 2hbh.

Current racquet/string setups:
Wilson Pro Staff 97 v11 with some lead at 12 under the bumper
Yonex Poly Tour Pro 1.25mm at 50
338.5g, 31.8cm, 325 sw

How many hours did you play with the racquet?
22 hours

Groundstrokes:
One of the Whiteout 305’s biggest strengths is from the baseline. The ball that it produces from the back of the court is impressive with the combination of power and spin. The string pattern is very open, even for a 16x19, and this allows hitting a heavy rally ball with plenty of shape to be quite easy, and despite the open pattern, the directional control is there. The minor struggle that I had with this racket at times is with the trajectory and depth control. The open string pattern defaults to a very high launch angle that required me to prioritize covering the ball to prevent shooting the ball long at times. While it can hit a great rally ball, flattening out the ball or hitting smaller targets wasn’t as easy. Even with the expected high trajectory, it was sometimes hard to gauge how high the ball would shoot up and how long it would go, even after loading the ball with plenty of spin. Catching the ball late was a big no-no with this stick. Also, slices left a bit to be desired on both wings, although I will be the first to admit that slices are not my best stroke. I have always had issues with slices using very open string patterns, primarily with tweener 100 sq in rackets, and there was nothing different here. I found it tough to control the height and depth on my slices on a consistent basis. It is worth mentioning that spin is easy in whatever direction, so the back and side spin on slices was just as impressive as the topspin. Lobs are also a strength with this stick given how much spin this stick imparts on the ball and how high the trajectory is to begin with. Trying a gut/poly job helped with the control aspect as it lowered the trajectory, but it also decreased the amount of spin.

Serves:
Serves are another strength of the Whiteout and very reminiscent of Babolat Pure Drives and Pure Strikes in terms of both power and control. Flat serves pop off the racket in a hurry, and the response off the stringbed is quite crisp. The high trajectory and ample spin found on groundstrokes also translated well to spin serves. My slice serves saw more side action than usual with plenty of pop. I found kick serves to be exceptional with this stick. The high trajectory and spin potential made it easy to get the ball high over the net and back down into the service box with a lot of action. I found it easy to vary the serve between flat and spin, whereas I find some sticks in the 98” 305g range to be better at flat serves than spin serves (like the Ezone 98) or vice versa. Placement was good but not as precise as a more control oriented stick like a Blade 18x20 or my usual Pro Staff 97, but the confidence of having a powerful first serve and super spinny kick is hard to overlook.

Volleys:
I had mixed feelings about the Whiteout on volleys. My expectations were not high as I was not expecting the Solinco to be as solid as the Pro Staff 97, and this expectation held true. The results weren’t bad at all, and maybe even good, but the experience of hitting volleys with this stick was just not that exciting. The sweetspot felt much smaller on volleys for some reason, and the racket felt harsher outside of the sweetspot on volleys more than any other stroke. It did not seem like a stability issue either. It was a really strange experience that I don’t recall having with any other racket, but at the same time, the results were good enough to where I can’t say anything bad about it from a performance perspective.

Serve returns:
Serve returns were very similar to groundstrokes with the Whiteout. Aggressive returns gave a solid and moderately stable response from the stringbed. Chip returns were solid with ample back spin and depth. Consistent with the groundstrokes, there was more net clearance than I was used to on both topspin and chip returns. This helped produce a deeper return, albeit a higher bouncing one as well. It is a racket that plays to its strengths more than its weaknesses on the return.

Power/Control:
The racket has plenty of power for a 98 sq in and is definitely one of the more powerful options in its segment. It’s got power on tap for flat serves. For strokes that require spin to bring the ball down such as topspin groundstrokes and kick serves, the string pattern is open enough to reel in the power by imparting spin to get the ball to drop. Directional control is good on all strokes. The weakness would be the depth and trajectory control. The string pattern is quite open even for a 16x19, and I occasionally found myself shooting the ball long at times. I find that power needs to be relative to control, and I’d say that this racket is slightly overpowered relative to the control. This required me to focus more on topspin to control the depth and drop the ball inside the court, but the results were undeniable.

(continued below)

 

[snoflewis]

Top Spin/Slice:
Topspin is a double-edged sword with this stick on groundstrokes. On one side, the very open 16x19 pattern and high trajectory off the stringbed allow for a ton of spin to the ball, resulting in a good loopy rally ball that makes it tough for the opponent to tee off on. The downside is that the racket has plenty of power in addition to the high trajectory, so topspin is an absolute necessity. As mentioned previously, I found myself needing to prioritize putting spin on the ball to bring it back down into the court more than almost any other racket I’ve tried. Slice groundstrokes were interesting in that they had a ton of backspin and sidespin, but I found it difficult to keep the ball low. On serve, the spin was very pronounced and made it easier to place. Slices curved sharper than usual and kick serves were easier to place due to the amount of spin that could be imparted.

Comfort:
Comfort was the biggest issue for me with the Whiteout and finding the balance between comfort and playability was the biggest challenge for me during this playtest. My first (and usual) string setup with Yonex Poly Tour Pro 1.25mm at 50 lbs was comfortable with a moderate sweetspot, and the setup felt solid. The downside to this setup was that I had control issues. To improve playability, I opted for a deader and firmer string setup hoping for a more consistent response that would deaden the response of the stringbed in the Tier One Black Knight 1.28mm mains and Tier One Ghost Wire 1.27mm crosses at 48 pounds. This was a setup that I used regularly in the past, and I found it to be comfortable in my previous racket in the 2019 Babolat Pure Aero. This was a surprise because it ended up shrinking the sweetspot while also making the frame feel harsh and unrefined. I also started to feel tenderness in my elbow rather quickly with this setup. I realized that this racket is quite string sensitive with a full poly job. The final string setup I tried was a gut/poly setup with VS 1.30mm and Prince Tour XP 1.30 at 48/43 lbs. I found this to be the best of both worlds of comfort and playability. The comfort of gut is hard to beat, and the expanded sweetspot definitely helps there. The stringbed was more dampened across the entire racket face which was welcome. Comfort will largely depend on the string choice of the user and will vary significantly based on preference.

Feel:
The feel of the Whiteout exhibited identical qualities as the comfort of my in that it is completely tied to the string setup. In general, the racket has a very crisp and clean feeling, with the string setup determining the extent of these characteristics. With a softer string setup, the racket is comfortable, stable, and very solid. In my opinion, the racket feels better with a softer string setup with anything from gut to a soft poly. It feels clean in a very refined manner without being uncomfortable. With a stiffer string setup, the racket becomes harsh and feels very raw. I found discomfort in my elbow and wrist.

Maneuverability:
The racket is very maneuverable. It comes through the air quickly and is balanced quite nicely for a 305g stick. My experience with 305g sticks have always been that the racket was either well balanced and unstable in the hoop like an 2020 Ezone 98 or stable in the hoop and relatively unwieldy like a previous generation Blade 98. Maneuverability even with the heavier Tier One setup was still not an issue, and unless there is a QC issue (nothing indicates that there is one), I don’t see the balance and weight distribution of this stick being a problem.

Stability:
The racket is stable as you would expect from a stiffer racket. I never found it to be pushed back on any stroke in stock form. I found it to be slightly jarring on volleys, but the hoop never fluttered. I would personally experiment with some lead at 3 and 9 just to bump the swingweight, but don’t see it as a necessity.

General reaction/comments on overall performance:
The Whiteout 305 is a very impressive offering from Solinco. I think it can simply be described as a stick with surefire strengths and weaknesses. It offers tons of power and spin which make it an awesome baselining stick. Shoot, it would even be a great moonballing with the amount of spin you can get. It has a very clean and crisp feel, which I personally like. The weaknesses are that it has a rather erratic response in terms of trajectory and depth. The focus has to be on covering the ball more than anything to prevent it from shooting long, but this is also what makes it great. Overall, I think this is a racket that should definitely be competitive with the stiffer 305g offerings such as the Tecnifibre 305 RS and Pure Strike 98 16x19, and I would choose the Whiteout over both of those without hesitation.

Thank you to Solinco and TW for the opportunity. I am impressed by both the Whiteout and the Blackout that I got to try on numerous occasions from @mad dog1 . Both of these sticks are absolute winners! I’m also very glad to finally be able to say that I like a racket that I playtested.

 

[djNEiGht]

the swing weight is like 10-15 points higher than my early gen WO.

 

[warney]

Solinco Racquet Playtest: White Out 305


String and tension used for test: Multiple setups.
Head Velocity MLT 1.30 @ 50/52 for 2 hours
Head Velocity MLT 1.30 @ 52/55 for 10 hours
Babolat VS touch 1.30 mains, Kirschbaum Pro Line Evolution 1.25 Crosses @55/52 for 3 hours
Babolat VS touch 1.30 mains, Velocity MLT 1.30 Crosses @??/55 for 7 hours and counting.


Tennis experience/background:
Self taught player, currently playing at USTA 4.0 levels. I no longer play any tournaments however my hitting partners typically get to Quarters or higher at 4.0 tournaments and I normally split sets with them.

Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley):
I am mostly aggressive baseliner. I will play serve and volley if opponent is just blocking serves back, otherwise I only come to net to finish points.
Serve and return are my best shots. I do not hit with ton of spin unless I am defending. My OHBH has more spin than my forehand.

Current racquet/string setups:
I typically play with extended (27.5") racquet(s). Regular ones until January were Dunlop CX 200+ (2 grams of lead at 12 and 7g in butt) and Yonex Ezone 98+ (playing stock) both with Gut (1.30)/Poly (1.25) @55/52.
However since late January this year my shoulder has been bothering me a bit and hence I have been playing with Pure Aero 2019 with full bed Head Velocity 1.30 @50/53.

How many hours did you play with the racquet?
22 hours

Comments on racquet performance for each stroke (each section should be 3-5 sentences minimum):
All racquet performance comments are based on string setups that worked well for me. Racquet was used with 5gm weighted butcap and dampener without overgrip.

Groundstrokes 9/10:
In summary ground strokes were reliable. I got more spin on my shots compared my regular racquets and very similar to PA 2019. I was able to land my shots where I wanted pretty easily. I lost little bit of power/pace compared to my extended length racquet, but not too much to be cause of concern.
Short angled forehand, inside out forehand and down the line backhand were improved compared to extended length racquet (may be due to easy maneuverability). My Approach shots were much better, I was able to hit short or deep based on the need.
Compared to my extended length racquets, rallies ended up being longer and I won more points from forced errors rather than hitting winners. However I don't think I defended more with Whiteout compared to regular racquets.
Among all ground strokes slices are the weakest. Slices float a little and is really not an offensive shot with this racquet. It's not that important of a shot for me and hence this rating.

Serves 8/10:
This was matter of give and take. My first serves are definitely bigger with extended length racquets. With white out I could not dial in flat T-Serve in deuce court for some reason. But slice, kick serves were better. Slice serve in deuce court was amazing. It took the returner way out of position. Kick serves are also great, kicking and going away from court.
I did not win many free points of flat first serves however I defended my second serve well.

Volleys 7.5/10:
I played about 5 sets of doubles in 2 outings with white out and nothing really stood out from volley perspective. I felt little instability against hard hit shots when I was at net. Hitting volleys deep was easier than trying to hit drop volley. Part of if it's my technique, but I can volley better with my Dunlop CX 200+. For singles I really do not have any issues with volleys.

Serve returns 7.5/10:
On big first serves to my backhand my returns were weaker than normal. I felt racquet twisting in my hand. Some weight at 3 and 9 may help. On second serves though complete 180. I had lot of return winners on second serves.
When my opponent was serving well, it was easy hold for him.

Comments on racquet performance in each area (should be 2-3 sentences minimum)

Power/Control 8/10:
Racquet has just enough power where I don't feel at disadvantage. However I would prefer little more pop from racquet to finish points early. There were many rallies where I had to play 1-2 extra shot(s) where normally with my regular racquets ball would not come back. Control with regards to ball placement (direction, depth) was excellent. Varying of pace was also easy.
Power -- 7.5/10, Control 8.5/10

Top Spin/Slice 8.5/10:
There is no shortage of topspin with this racquet even when using full bed of multi or gut with multi. I was able do get balls landing just inside baseline, or get high bouncing to opponent's backhand or getting ball very low for volley. Normal rally ball also had little more action on the ball compred to my regular racquets. As mentioned earlier my slices were not really offensive, though I do not depend on slices that much (aka not great at it).
Spin -9.5/10, Slice 7.5/10.

Comfort- 8.5/10:
There was no issue with comfort, however I did not use full poly stringjob. Shots hit outside of sweet spot did not cause any comfort issues.

Feel-8.5/10:
Feel is very good, firm without feeling discomfort. There is enough feedback when hitting shots. I knew when I missed sweet spot and when I hit it.

Maneuverability-9/10:
Coming from extended length racquets racquet felt so much easier to wield. Still, maneuverability is excellent. It helped me few times out of akward position due to my bad footwork. I was able to get raqcuet in place easily when I was at net in doubles and shots were hit hard at me.

Stability-8/10:
There is enough stability for 4.0 level. Except for couple of instances (volley against hard shots and hard serves to my OHBH) I felt racquet was stable. I did not have any issues while changing direction/pattern from croscourt to down the line.

General reaction/comments on overall performance:
Overall I really like this racquet. It's jack of all trades while doing couple of things exceedingly well.
Launch angle is high of the stringbed and I had to adjust string tensions to get it where I feel comfortable. I think this racquet will play well with full bed of poly and I plan to try it after Gut breaks.

I played with Pure Strike 16*19 (3rd gen), Tecnifibre TFight RS 305 (although extended by 1/4 or 3/8 inch) last year and I prefer WhiteOut over those.
I like the quality of paint on this racquet. I have hit racquet on ground 4-5 times (for low volley/ accidental drop) and there are no paint chips yet. However paintjob is probably the weakest aspect of this racquet design. It's RBA of paintjobs, there is nothing wrong with it, but it's definitely not exciting.

Overall Solinco has done great job with this racquet and it should be in demo list if someone is looking at control oriented 98", 305 racquets.
I plan to use it couple more months while my shoulder recovers. I am really looking forward to extended length version's release.

Thank you TW and Solinco for opportunity of this playetst. This is my most favorite playtest at TW so far!