Tried a 1st generation Pure Drive, big shock

Nadal15thslam

Nadal15thslam

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Today I tried my friends pure drive original, the one without cortex. Before this the only pure drive i hit with was the pure drive gt 2009, which felt like a frying pan with a lot of vibration. It was not the case with the pure drive original. It even felt soft and overall a very nice feel, quite shocking for a pure drive to feel this good. If I want a similar feel to the pure drive non cortex, what racquet would give me that? I guess it is the graphite kevlar layup that makes the big difference. Maybe the Pro Staff 97 has a similar feel because it has the same graphite kevlar construction?
 
Yep, Pure Drive Team and APDo were better rackets than their offspring IMO.

Can't think of any others that feel like them.
 
I like my NOS PD Team. Has a touch more feel than the newer sticks do.

161832744.gK1FrawH.jpg
 
I also happened to see a cheap PD Team (probably 2001 version) and bought it on a whim based on the love for it at TT. I too had hated the GT (2012 version) which gave me a TE. PDT feels totally different. Feels not stiffer than my 6.1 95S.
Serves were better but I couldn't adjust well enough to the more power available and some of my strokes were going long off the court, not 'sailing' long but it was adding a few inches.
My racquet is leaded with extra 10 g distributed. Maybe it needs some extra weight on the handle only.
 
The 1st version PD is one that you never see and is quite different than the later Swirly and PD Team. It has a more open string pattern and different grommets without Woofers. That is the one that some say is like the Solinco Protocol.
 
monomer said:
The 1st version PD is one that you never see and is quite different than the later Swirly and PD Team. It has a more open string pattern and different grommets without Woofers. That is the one that some say is like the Solinco Protocol.
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I have used the very first PD both when it arrived to Sweden during 1997 and also later. Latest was about 2 years ago. It is the best feeling Pure Drive of all, but it also made me a very lazy player. I shortened my swings more and more and in the end i just pushed the ball. Had to stop play with it and sold all 5 I had. I also had one Protocol 300 and the mold is identical. 100 % spot on, but the Solinco plays nowhere near the original PD. The Solinco is much more hollow and much lighter in feel compared to the PD. I think the protocol 300 would be a very nice frame with some good amount of lead and silicone
 
Hankenstein said:
I have used the very first PD both when it arrived to Sweden during 1997 and also later. Latest was about 2 years ago. It is the best feeling Pure Drive of all, but it also made me a very lazy player. I shortened my swings more and more and in the end i just pushed the ball. Had to stop play with it and sold all 5 I had. I also had one Protocol 300 and the mold is identical. 100 % spot on, but the Solinco plays nowhere near the original PD. The Solinco is much more hollow and much lighter in feel compared to the PD. I think the protocol 300 would be a very nice frame with some good amount of lead and silicone
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That is good info. Do you know if the grommets of the Solinco will fit the 1st gen. PD? I have had no luck tracking any down.
 
Yup, that ain't no 1st gen...the first one I came across was the swirly ~2001, and I believe the true first gens were mid-to-late '90s, with no woofers.
 
I have never hit any PD's before the 2012 but I play with PDR+'s. I had a chance to hit the solinco's extensively. They have a raw, visceral feel to them. I believe one of the TW testers said they are like a PD with all the technology boiled out. They're kind of like driving an open race car. Exhilirating for 15 minutes but do you really want to commute to work in it?
 
Lavs said:
What the key difference between PD Team Swirly (2001 version) and PD Team (2003) ?
Click to expand...

I'd like to know as well. I had a pair of PD+ (2003) and regret selling them off. Currently playing with the new PD+ and it is a great and stable racket but it feels hollow. The PD Team wasn't as stiff and felt solid. I just acquired 2x PD Team Swirly but have yet to have them strung.
 
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I dunno about PD team VS Team, but loads of folks at the local tennis club have current versions of the PD. I have let them borrow mine, and tried theirs. Mine is far less stiff, but still not what I would remotely call flexible, and has a bit more touch. But it has way way less power. But, then again, I string mine with control strings at lower tensions to reign it in. It was originally strung with babo synth at 60 lbs, which made it a rocket. But the comfort was great until you framed it.
 
That is a good question. I have one of each and they are pretty much the same weight and balance. They are the "+" model though. I have owned several others and found more variation between individual racquets than the two models.I would not be able to tell the difference if I didn't know which I was swinging.
 
Speaking of first PDs, what about stories that original PD was in fact copy of much older Pro Kennex Destiny design?

Also, did anyone had by chance any experience with some of newer Pro Kennex Destiny FCS designs?

I just ordered Pro Kennex Destiny FCS 265. The idea to heavily customise it (target weigth is 330-340 grams with high SW). Inspired by what @Shroud is doing :) it will be something similar...
 
monomer said:
That is a good question. I have one of each and they are pretty much the same weight and balance. They are the "+" model though. I have owned several others and found more variation between individual racquets than the two models.I would not be able to tell the difference if I didn't know which I was swinging.
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Did you feel any difference in stiffness? Wasn't PD Swirly tad stiffer than PD Team?
 
I've played with my PDT a few times now. It's a bit hard to control unless you hit with lots of topspin/slice. The only advantage I found over 6.1 95s was the extra pace on the serves. For overall game Wilson is much better. I'll try to give the PDT another chance though.
 
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donquijote said:
I've played with my PDT a few times now. It's a bit hard to control unless you hit with lots of topspin/slice. The only advantage I found over 6.1 95s was the extra pace on the serves. For overall game Wilson is much better. I'll try to give the PDT another chance though.
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I would agree with this. A Pure Drive is definitely not the best choice if you don't use some topspin to tame it. The 6.1 95 is a fine racquet and definitely wins in the feel department. For me, it is much more demanding and suits a different style of play than the PD.
 
monomer said:
I would agree with this. A Pure Drive is definitely not the best choice if you don't use some topspin to tame it. The 6.1 95 is a fine racquet and definitely wins in the feel department. For me, it is much more demanding and suits a different style of play than the PD.
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I played with both PDT and 6.1 95S again and this time it was totally the opposite. I played so much better with the PDT. This is what makes people who try different racquets crazy I guess. One day you think you observed something and the next day the world turns upside down. Not sure how long I will need to use both but I kinda started liking the PDT. That said, I need to remind that I've been using the racquet with extra 10 grams which helped to make it more robust.
 
Hankenstein said:
I have used the very first PD both when it arrived to Sweden during 1997 and also later. Latest was about 2 years ago. It is the best feeling Pure Drive of all, but it also made me a very lazy player. I shortened my swings more and more and in the end i just pushed the ball. Had to stop play with it and sold all 5 I had. I also had one Protocol 300 and the mold is identical. 100 % spot on, but the Solinco plays nowhere near the original PD. The Solinco is much more hollow and much lighter in feel compared to the PD. I think the protocol 300 would be a very nice frame with some good amount of lead and silicone
Click to expand...

Hankenstein i have a question as i remembered you had some PD originals recently. Found a PD original lately in solid but well used condition, and got a spare racquet with it thats cracked. Both weigh about 320g strung but both are quite head heavy ie only about 1-2 pts HL and they feel it too, hitting the playable one its very solid and seems very powerful with a lot of weight in the head. Did yours feel that way or more balanced? Thought i remembered from the specs they should be about 4pts HL so not sure whats going on?
 
I customized mine with silicone inside the handle, but from my memory the was almost even balanced in stock form. The play and feel much more heavy then more recent PD´s.

I played very very good with this frame in the beginning, but then i shortened my swing more and more and in the end before i sold them i just pushed the ball with a very short swing. This frame need a high tension to be any good, at least for me
 
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