parasailing
Legend
The 2015 Blade came close so we shall see how this 2019 model plays.
The 2015 Blade came close so we shall see how this 2019 model plays.
vsbabolat
G.O.A.T.
I only hit with the 18x20 and can’t comment on the 16x19
vsbabolat
G.O.A.T.
It is supper muted and makes that thud sound on impact. No more metallic feeling and pining
parasailing
Legend
You like it more than the 2015 Blade?
Power Player
Bionic Poster
Cant wait. Ill have mine on Tuesday
vsbabolat
G.O.A.T.
Did I mention it was plush?
mad dog1
G.O.A.T.
ProRadTour
Semi-Pro
@vsbabolat Have you hit the new Gravity Pro? If so, how does the Blade compare?
Classic-TXP-IG MID
Hall of Fame
Damn!
Damn! Where’s the mute button?
I know... it's so hard to resist...
I pulled myself away from the ledge yesterday... this 25% off TWE deal had me ordering strings, shoes and the Blade... but I have so so many racquets, I just can't justify it (just got 2 more C10 Pros, a Volkl PB10 MP, a Liquidmetal Radical MP, and an IG Speed 300 MP). I will have to postpone the yearnings as long as possible... see how I go
topspn
Legend
God I hope you mean something else with muted
Everyone was saying the feel is very well connected and not muted like CV.
mad dog1
G.O.A.T.
Think muted in this case means dampened and lacking in excessive vibration since @vsbabolat says it’s buttery.God I hope you mean something else with muted
The CV was muted, boardy and stiff like hitting with a 2x4 length of lumber. Nothing buttery about it. Lol.
2nd Serve Ace
Hall of Fame
@vsbobolat so you are telling this is the perfect combo between the 13 and 15 blades!?
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Sent from my SM-T560NU using Tapatalk
Automatix
Legend
I think that in general talks about tennis racquet feel suffer from a somewhat loose vocabulary and the fact that what we refer to as "feel" is subjective.God I hope you mean something else with muted
Some use "muted" interchangeably with disconnected, some use it as a synonym of dampened and so on...
Tennis vocab evolves though... anyone remember the time that it was hard to read a thread without the word "pop"?
parasailing
Legend
I know... it's so hard to resist...
I pulled myself away from the ledge yesterday... this 25% off TWE deal had me ordering strings, shoes and the Blade... but I have so so many racquets, I just can't justify it (just got 2 more C10 Pros, a Volkl PB10 MP, a Liquidmetal Radical MP, and an IG Speed 300 MP). I will have to postpone the yearnings as long as possible... see how I go
That is nice that you can get stuff 25% off unlike us in the US.
I wonder why they don't offer that in US.
Classic-TXP-IG MID
Hall of Fame
They might, just at a different time of year... Like Black Friday or Thanks Giving or something...
I still didn't go for it as I have too many racquets and shoes, and loads of string... plus I figure someone will be disappointed with the Blade as it's now got such positive reviews that people will build it up too much, and then get disappointed (as nothing is absolutely perfect). Then they'll sell perfectly new racquets at reduced prices.
JustTennis76
Hall of Fame
I hit with the new blade 18x20 this evening. I have owned many older model blades before including kblade, 2013 black/silver one. This new version is just amazing. Very rock solid feel with no arm issues and super comfortable. I don’t know if I will be making the switch because I love my prestige pro.
aimr75
Hall of Fame
So Wilson have produced a PT630 in 18x20 pattern, but also a PT in 16x19 a la Murray. Petty cool
vsbabolat
G.O.A.T.
I hit with the Gravity Pro too. It was strung with some poly I hated but I will say this. It didn’t ping and made a nice sound off the string bed. I would have liked a better string in there to really feel what’s going on.
dgoran
Hall of Fame
I would be surprised if you didn’t like it...
I strung old beat up prestige classic and gravity pro with my string of choice (typhoon poly) and it felt the same to me on impact and flex almost like it was prestige classic oversize lol
Keizer
Hall of Fame
For those of you who have had a chance to demo the new version and also played prior versions of the Blade:
I read that the 16x19 was "more demanding" than prior iterations. I play with the BLX and 2013 18x20 versions and I was wondering if you think this might hold true. I know the swingweight on the 18x20 v7 is slightly higher than my 2013 18x20 and the flex is lower, but I was hoping to get another opinion.
I read that the 16x19 was "more demanding" than prior iterations. I play with the BLX and 2013 18x20 versions and I was wondering if you think this might hold true. I know the swingweight on the 18x20 v7 is slightly higher than my 2013 18x20 and the flex is lower, but I was hoping to get another opinion.
Power Player
Bionic Poster
Got a feeling this Blade may have all the qualities I love about the Phantom 93 in a modern frame. Muted to me means no bad vibrations. Thats one of the things about the Phantom I love, as no matter where I bounce the ball on the frame, it feels solid. This is one of those things that I notice whenever I bounce the ball off the ground or frame a shot.
The thing about the Phantom is that while it’s not as light for hitting with big spin, it is insanely consistent. Less errors means more wins at most levels. If the Blade 18x20 has that level of consistency while allowing me to hit with bigger spin due to the lighter weight, I am going to be all in with this thing. Nothing recent has really topped the Phantom 93 for me when it comes to feel, precision and consistency, but I do gel a lot more with the higher SW, lower static weight spec. This is perfect timing as the weather will be cooling down in about 6-8 weeks here and by that time I will be dialed in with the frame and ready to go.
The thing about the Phantom is that while it’s not as light for hitting with big spin, it is insanely consistent. Less errors means more wins at most levels. If the Blade 18x20 has that level of consistency while allowing me to hit with bigger spin due to the lighter weight, I am going to be all in with this thing. Nothing recent has really topped the Phantom 93 for me when it comes to feel, precision and consistency, but I do gel a lot more with the higher SW, lower static weight spec. This is perfect timing as the weather will be cooling down in about 6-8 weeks here and by that time I will be dialed in with the frame and ready to go.
AtTheNet
New User
Totally agree. I do play around with other racquets, but always come home to the 2013 Blade.
parasailing
Legend
I had a chance to demo the Gravity Pro and had it spec'd exactly like my 2015 Blade 18x20. It definitely checks off a lot of boxes but at the same specs, the Blade offers more power and plow.
mad dog1
G.O.A.T.
Interesting. I have a Gravity Pro and this thing bludgeons the ball from the baseline. My friend says it’s the heaviest feeling ball from his side of the court. Maneuverability isn’t the greatest but that’s another story. Lol.
Power Player
Bionic Poster
That sounds exactly how I pictured it would play. It has a lot of weight and SW so if you can’t crush the ball with it, then it’s a fail IMO. The thing is when you have that type of weight on a 100 size frame with a wide/balloon shape, it can be pretty slow through the air. The beauty of the Blade to me is that it is fast through the air even with the pumped up SW. You lose a little real estate with the 98 v 100 size, but to me the benefits are worth it.
mad dog1
G.O.A.T.
The static weight isn’t bad at all but the higher swingweight coupled with the wider head shape makes it sluggish for me to brush up quickly on short ball approaches.
parasailing
Legend
It isn't a bad racquet but my Blade got more pop and plow. It might be due to the beam width of 20mm on the Pro vs 21.5mm on the Blade.
I strung it up with the same string and tension with same specs and the Blade just felt better.
mad dog1
G.O.A.T.
My gravity pro definitely hits a heavier ball with more plow than my blades. Ball feel with the Gravity pro also feels more meatier and full on contact but the blades are more stable and solid. The blades are also easier to maneuver as well so I can totally understand how you like the blades more.
2nd Serve Ace
Hall of Fame
I agree. The blade is more accommodating of different racquet head speeds.
Gravity becomes rather flimsy if not going full tilt.
So I got the new blade V7 like a month ago since I’m working for Wilson this summer. For people who know me, I’m a Babolat guy since young (actually I’m more like a pure control/ pure strike guy lol) and my racket of choice is still original pure strike 2014. I tried the project one7 for decent half a year when it came out. Good racket for sure but not as good as the 2014 (most people like the P17 better than 2014 though). Tried the recently popular Pure Aero VS, still, great racket and very fun to play but probably not the best option if I wanna win I tournament. Then this summer I have this chance working for Wilson and playtest the new Blade V7. I had some experience with blade before. When I about to went to college I was deciding between blade 2013 (black n silver one) and original pure strike (black n red one) and ended up with the strike. 2013 blade was also my first blade experience (as a guy born in 1995 sorry didn’t try older blade before lol) then 2015 blade is slightly better than 2013 version in my opinion. Hate the CV version, and the new blade V7, I gotta day, I really considering switching to it. It is that good. The only thing bothers me it’s that the spin is not as good as my old pure strikes. My blade V7 is 16/19 (same as my pure strike) and it is probably the tightest 16/19 on the market. But the feel and control is phenomenal. Since my pure strike 2014 is kinda old and hard to find new grommets, I’m seriously thinking about switching to the new blade. Have two tournaments coming so that will decide if I switch or not. Btw I did play with the new pure strike 2020 as well but not for too long. (However it feels better than the everyone’s favorite P17 in my hand) So I’m also thinking about give the new strike some time when it becomes wifey available. At the end, my blade V7 specs are: 324g strung weight, 333mm strung balance, and 326 strung SW. I’m a 4.5 guy with two hand backhand.
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Hearing great things about these frames. What string/tension did you use?
2nd Serve Ace
Hall of Fame
That moss green @ 3-9 totally works for this frame.
Super gorgeous.
Super gorgeous.
iceman_dl6
Professional
That’s why I like my Gravity Pro, because of its plow! I guess it depends if you have used heavy racquets in the past. For me, coming from an RF97 that I have used for years, I found the GPro very maneuverable!
is the 25% off deal for TWE still on today (Monday U.S.), anyone know when it ends?
mad dog1
G.O.A.T.
Oh yeah. The RF97a is a sledgehammer to swing. If you can swing that, the GP is a featherweight.
parasailing
Legend
I guess it depends on what type of racquet you have used in the past. The rf 97a is too much sw for me and I end up hitting it late.
If you are coming from the rf 97a, the pro will not be an issue.
The Blade is easier to get away with less racquet speed than the Pro.
If you are coming from the rf 97a, the pro will not be an issue.
The Blade is easier to get away with less racquet speed than the Pro.
D
Deleted member 746200
Guest
I use tour bite @ 51 lbs which is a little bit higher on this frame in my opinion. 48 should be the best for me.
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dgoran
Hall of Fame
Guys I have this feeling that it all depends on qc and if you prefer thin beam vs thick beam racquets. Wilson and Head are knownto be all over the place so I suspect that with same specs it would be really a wash but let’s see I think I should have by balde by Friday to compare.
Turbo-87
G.O.A.T.
Did you get it next day shipping? Just curious.
1HBHfanatic
Legend
I got the v7 w.blade.98 16/19
strung with FB poly Wilson.revolve (gray color), 16g 50/48lbs
I added 6" of 1/2" lead in the handle,
2 overgrips, with a bigger bump on the butt (ala gasquet), now its about 9pts head light
this i do to just about all racquets I hit with!
I don't feel it needs extra help up at top,
so now its feeling fast and modern
easy to hit topsin
backspin is surpricingly nice with this stick
no flutter at impact, solid, not as solid as the w.rf, but its just right imo
dgoran
Hall of Fame
I plan to get it locally it’s usually cheaper by a bit
Turbo-87
G.O.A.T.
That is cool. No place around me carries good racquets so I had to order it here. I am guessing I will have to wait until next Tuesday or so. I went with the 98 18x20 switching from an RF97a. I just can’t swing it well enough anymore so I am hoping this is a happy medium.
parasailing
Legend
I agree with the quality control but I actually had both racquets spec'd with the sw, static weight, balance so the only difference I can see is the beam width and material being the difference.
saigonbond 2.0
Rookie
(1) K-Blade (2008), (2) Blx Blade (2011), (3) Amplifeel Blade (2012/2013), (4) v7 Blade (2019)
Addxyz
Hall of Fame
Should I prepare the quote for you? "The new Blade feels like a larger 93P." [emoji16][emoji16][emoji16]
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dgoran
Hall of Fame
I’m hoping it’s more like thicker beam pt57a because gravity pro already beat 93p in almost everything except the mid racquet precision so if blade is like large 93p it’s going on the for sale section.
mrmike
Semi-Pro
Being a 5/8 grip player I don’t like the fact that Wilson decided to only make grip sizes up through 1/2 available on the Blades. In fact the only recent Wilson frames I know that 5/8 are available are the RF97 and the Ultra Tour. Switched to a Gravity Pro recently and love it so far. It’s like a PT280 feel in a bigger head size.
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