Tried new RDS 001 Mid & MP, RDX 500 Mid User

[lonetango]

I recently switched to the RDX 500 Mid from the POG Mid and the Volkl Tour 10 VE Mid. The RDX had 1 thing that lacked from the POG and Volkl. The POG had too open a string pattern, causing so many string breakages in such a short period of time. The Volkl had an 18x20 pattern which was too dense and boardy for my liking. So naturally the RDX fixed on that one thing and became my stick of choice and I have been loving it ever since I got it.

But of course, I had to try the new RDS' to see if there was an improvement. I had the MP version about 3 weeks ago and it came strung with 16g gut. To me it was terrible. For one, I don't really prefer MP heads but it was a good buy and the specs were all nice except for the head size. Swing weight was good and the weight was comparable to the RDX mid. However, it felt really sluggish on groundies. For such a low swing weight, it sure felt laggy and heavier than what is stated. I could not get the racquet back like I wanted to with the RDX and the shots definitely didn't feel very stable. I almost put it back in the bag after about 10 minutes. Yet I took it up to net and it was great up there. The volleys felt very solid and the sweet spot was very huge. It felt very maneuverable up there, so much more than at the baseline. Other than that, it's a no go for the MP.

Just today my RDS mid came in. I was skeptical about the static weight and swing weight increase, along with an increase in stiffness. However to my surprise, the mid swings extremely light, much lighter than the RDX. I was happy right off the bat as the weight issue was off my mind. But because of it swinging so light, probably due to a more headlight balance, it felt less stable than the RDX on baseline. Off centered hits took a harder beating than the RDX and there was a little bit of twisting on mis-timed hits. It definitely felt more crisp and had more pop than the RDX. But as far as more power, my shots tend to fall shorter in the court than the RDX as this could be due to the flex level of the two. On volleys, it was just as good as the RDX with a tad bit more pop and less touch. I would say that overall the RDS Mid is not much of a change over the RDX and I like both because each is a little different from each other, not exactly an improvement over one or the other but more on the lines of preference. I did not serve with this one yet to know the improvement over RDX.

I would say that I'm definitely into the RDS while I'm still holding onto my RDX. So I would still keep 2 of each in my bag until I really decide on one over the other. I can say that on any day, either one will be satisfying. So I'm gonna stock up on one more RDS and let go of 2 of my RDX. The RDX is still a great stick in my mind.

 

[Mugatu]

interesting comments. i think the rds would volley better coz it's a bit heavier. i always think the slower swinging in volleys (relative to groundstrokes) necessitates a heavier bat..

 

[sabi]

lonetango,

thank you for this timely post. I recently demoed the RDX mid and Prostaff 6.0 95. I enjoyed both racquets, to my surprise actually as I assumed both would be above my playing ability.

The RDX mid was the better stick for control and power, and for my backhand (my best shot) nearly lethal. Despite having all my hitting partners say that I should go with the RDX Mid, my concern was, and still is, that the small head would over time demand more than my abilities could give. This left me leaning to the PS 95, which gives me less smack on my one handed backhand (at least the demo) and less winning point baseline shot accuracy, but less unenforced ground stroke error and much much better top spin on the serve, another week shot of mine (toss help is needed). Anyway, it was a little hard to tell with a week long demo, but I thought the PS 95 might have been less arm friendly, and I am trying to find a replacement for my slazenger x1's which I love but which have caused shoulder pains in the past. So anyway, I started looking at the RDS MP and the reviews of others on the forum. I had truly hoped that being a stiffer racquet than the RDX 500 MP, which I vaguely recall using a year ago and disliking, that the RDS MP would play a lot more like the RDX Mid but allow me the larger sweet spot that I appear to need on the forehand and at the net. So obviously, I read your comments with great interest. Unfortunately, your comments suggest otherwise, especially the comment about the stability. I actually found the RDX Mid to be so stable on the backhand that it felt like an extension of my arm. The best one-handed backhand racquet I have used. But on the forehand, my fundamentally weaker shot, not so stable. If the RDS MP is less stable, that would be disconcerting. (this post was intentionally put in this narrative form in case you had any advice for me as I finalize my racquet search.)

How do you other RDS MP playtesters/owners compare the RDS MP to the RDX Mid?

 

[lonetango]

Sabi,

I, too, use a one-handed backhand and I would have to agree that the RDX mid does an impressive job considering it's my weaker side. But no doubt it's the best racquet for me when I'm slowly learning to use the one-hander. The RDS MP gave me a hard time getting around that backhand. My preparation on the backhand side isn't always there and the RDS feels even more sluggish getting around.

When it comes to sweet spot, I would say that the RDX mid nice sweet spot for a 90 head size, hard to find in any other stick with equivalent measures. The RDS MP seemed to only have a nice sweet spot for volleys but was very hard to get around on the baseline. Whereas off-centered shots on the mids went short, they sprayed past the baseline on the RDS MP as if I had totally lost control of the shot.

You might want to try the RDS Mid however, because the sweet spot has a slightly different feel than the RDX. The extra stiffness gives it a little more punch while it still pockets the ball well. I would describe the pocketing of the ball on the RDX like the frame flinging back the ball, whereas the RDS pocketing is like the frame stays still and the strings give a trampoline effect on the ball. I can't really compare sweet spot size between the two because they just feel differently. The only problem I have is that the RDS will drive through the ball and seem very light whereas the RDX will seem to have more push as it drives through the ball. In this case I would say the RDX is still a bit more "solid" than the RDS. But this could be due to the fact that I used the same string on both sticks, however, the same tension on both racquets seemed to feel very different. 56 pounds on both but the RDS seemed much more loose than the RDX. I will definitely go up 2 more pounds on the RDS for it to level in feel with the RDX.

 

[Kevo]

lonetango, what string were you using?

 

[lonetango]

Kevo,

I had Technifibre X-One BiPhase 18g on the RDS Mid. It was strung at 56lbs pre-stretched. It came out much looser than I thought. I would probably say 58lbs would be good on this one but 56lbs worked well for me on the RDX mid.

 

[lonetango]

But wouldn't you think that the price of using more strings on the POG eventually evens out?

 

[Kevo]

I stayed in the mid to upper 50s for a while, but I've migrated to 60/57 on most strings in the RDX mid. On the softer ones I go to 62/59. Right now I am playing Klipper Zyex 17g at 62/59 and am liking it a lot. Better than almost everything else up to this point and it's looking like it's going to be more durable as well.