TW Demo Racquets

[einca13]

First let me say, that TW has a great demo program. It is free (except for shipping), fast and super easy. I just wish they would do a better job of ensuring the demo racquets are somewhat close to spec.

i just got demo’s of the Head 2022 Speed Pro and a Gravity Pro. The Speed stock strung specs are 326g with a 6hl balance. The demo I received was 336g with a balance of 3. I kept looking for lead on it as I couldn’t believe how heavy it felt. In order for me to get this to 6pt HL, the racquet now weights 350g! Hitting with this racquet is pointless.

Gravity was 7 grams in weight the other way weighing in 324 with a 7pt balance. I can get this closer to spec pretty easily.

I know Head doesn’t have the best quality control, but the demo racquets should be closer to spec so if you like it you can order them with the matching service.

I will have to return the Speed for sure and hopefully get one closer to the actual spec.

 

[Vicious49]

The specs on those Speeds are all over the place. Mine unstrung was 300g and 282 SW. Strung with OG and dampener it came out to:
322 g
32.0 balance
312 SW

Needless to say I had to add lead to get it close to specs so it would have some semblance of power and plow through.

 

[A_Instead]

I was I could get a under spec pro like v49..

 

[McLovin]

One thing you have to remember, and I've mentioned this before, is TW's specs are an average of X racquets, where 'X' can be 3, 5, 8, 10 frames, depending on how many they have available to measure.

The Head specs are:

WEIGHT (UNSTRUNG): 310 g / 10.9 oz​

BALANCE: 315 mm / 1 in HL​

1in HL translates into 8pts HL. After stringing, it's going to be much closer to 5pts HL (I forget how many points a 'normal' string moves the balance point).

So, while the weight is clearly off (probably by 6-8g), the balance is fairly close.

Did the demo have an overgrip on it? That would account for ~ 5g of the difference. Of course, that would mess the balance up...

 

[einca13]

One thing you have to remember, and I've mentioned this before, is TW's specs are an average of X racquets, where 'X' can be 3, 5, 8, 10 frames, depending on how many they have available to measure.

The Head specs are:

WEIGHT (UNSTRUNG): 310 g / 10.9 oz​

BALANCE: 315 mm / 1 in HL​

1in HL translates into 4pts HL. After stringing, it's going to be much closer to 2pts HL (I forget how many points a 'normal' string moves the balance point).

So, while the weight is clearly off (probably by 6-8g), the balance is damn close.

Did the demo have an overgrip on it? That would account for ~ 5g of the difference. Of course, that would mess the balance up...

The Speed did not have an over grip so 336g strung.

I am aware that TW specs are average of multiple frames and there will be some +/- on what you get. My original point was if they are advertising this racket as 326g strung with a 6 pt balance than they should do a better job of having demo‘s get at least somewhat close to that spec. Under spec would even better than over spec.

The GPro I got was under spec and I can get it reasonably close to what it should be. However that racquet had a multi sting with a 28 DT, so basically a rocket launcher. I will have to restring.

I appreciate their demo program, i really do. My 2018 Vcore 95’s are ready for retirement and looking for a new frame. I will buy 3-4 so a big investment. Just trying to get a realistic as I can demo scenario.

 

[ChanterRacquet]

Maybe they don’t know the average specs until they string the demos? Maybe no racquet has average specs? How many racquets would they have to string just to find one that was average? But then the average moved? And they burned through a lot of racquets. The best they can do is match manufacturer’s quoted unstrung weight and balance.

QC isn’t TW’s job. It’s not a reflection of TW at all. If the racquets that end up as demos vary that much, well then either use a matching service or understand it reflects the brand and look elsewhere.

 

[einca13]

Maybe they don’t know the average specs until they string the demos? Maybe no racquet has average specs? How many racquets would they have to string just to find one that was average? But then the average moved? And they burned through a lot of racquets. The best they can do is match manufacturer’s quoted unstrung weight and balance.

QC isn’t TW’s job. It’s not a reflection of TW at all. If the racquets that end up as demos vary that much, well then either use a matching service or understand it reflects the brand and look elsewhere.

You are right the manufacturer is the one with the QC problem, which most seem to have with the exception of maybe Yonex. I have used 3 generations of Yonex with minimal issues.

However, TW took the time to post average specs, which people use a base for selecting a racquet to try. All I am saying is if they post those specs, it wouldn’t be that hard to select demo‘s that are least somewhere in the neighborhood, not 11g over.

I will use the matching service upon buying multiple frames, but when I get sent a frame that is so over spec I have no way of knowing if the frame is playable for me. I don’t want to discard the frame or manufacturer just because I got sent an outlier. i ordered another one and hopefully it is somewhere closer to the “average” posted spec.

 

[FuzzyYellowBalls]

First let me say, that TW has a great demo program. It is free (except for shipping), fast and super easy. I just wish they would do a better job of ensuring the demo racquets are somewhat close to spec.

i just got demo’s of the Head 2022 Speed Pro and a Gravity Pro. The Speed stock strung specs are 326g with a 6hl balance. The demo I received was 336g with a balance of 3. I kept looking for lead on it as I couldn’t believe how heavy it felt. In order for me to get this to 6pt HL, the racquet now weights 350g! Hitting with this racquet is pointless.

Gravity was 7 grams in weight the other way weighing in 324 with a 7pt balance. I can get this closer to spec pretty easily.

I know Head doesn’t have the best quality control, but the demo racquets should be closer to spec so if you like it you can order them with the matching service.

I will have to return the Speed for sure and hopefully get one closer to the actual spec.

Amazing, the previous generation Speed Pro was the reason I switched to Yonex, I bought two of them, one was pretty close to what it was supposed to be, the 2nd one was like you mentioned, 4 points off head heavy/light balance, I couldn't believe it, it was like a completely different racket.

Since then I have happily used the TW matching service, I've used it for Yonex 4 times, they are usually .05-1 gram difference in weight and no more than 3 difference in swing weight so natuarally the head balance on the Yonex I've matched have always been within 1 point of each other.

This would probably cause more work for someone at TW, but recently I did test a racket through demo and it would have been nice to know the specs, it would be fairly easy to spec out the demos, not search for averages, just grab the 4 they will use, spec them out, then track it via computer, just 1 more data point to enter into shipping receiving. I guess the majority of demo participants wouldn't care, but still, if you like a stick you demo, and it isn't Yonex, might want to try to get that matched when you buy one or know what you are demoing more precisely.

 

[mpournaras]

There is actually a very small chance you have ever hit anything that is true to spec. So if memory of demos is off spec and the racket you get from them is also off spec... thats off spec^2.

I do agree though... these manufacturer tolerances are out of control but we keep buying rackets so why would they change the manufacturing/cost margins?

 

[FuzzyYellowBalls]

There is actually a very small chance you have ever hit anything that is true to spec. So if memory of demos is off spec and the racket you get from them is also off spec... thats off spec^2.

I do agree though... these manufacturer tolerances are out of control but we keep buying rackets so why would they change the manufacturing/cost margins?

Well, I do think there has been a significant shift to Yonex in the past 5 years, not sure how much the quality control is to be credited, but maybe. With Yonex, there is an extremely small chance you will hit one off the shelf that isn't true to spec. Literally the matching service revealed to me they are mostly 2 grams in weight difference at most, 5 swing weight difference at most, all balanced the same, et. etc.

TW got racket review sticks that were off in swing weight when doing the new Vcore 95 and H, but the ones you buy from them are all spot on.

 

[Ace of Aces]

The manufacturer tolerances have always been bad at non Yonex brands. The recent price spikes make too painful to buy a new pair for me. Can’t risk spending 600$ on a pair of Wilson’s that potentially play nothing alike

 

[mpournaras]

The manufacturer tolerances have always been bad at non Yonex brands. The recent price spikes make too painful to buy a new pair for me. Can’t risk spending 600$ on a pair of Wilson’s that potentially play nothing alike

Right. 5-10g used to differentiate racket lines. When the weight swings can be +- 8g at Wilson how tf am I supposed to trust I am getting the racket I want/hit/demoed/think I want. It is truly atrocious. I do not think TW can do anything about it I would direct displeasure towards the manufacturer

 

[J D]

Receiving demos way off spec is a bummer, even worse than getting ones with really bad strings.

Back in the early days of graphite frames, manufacturers used to pick racquets that came out on spec to be demo frames. Now I would be surprised if they even bothered to measure the specs on any of their frames, including the demos.

At least TW allows you to pick frames close to the specs you want for a nominal fee when purchasing. I’ll never buy another new frame again without knowing what I’m ordering spec-wise. The QC has become too bad.

 

[abhi_trip]

1in HL translates into 4pts HL

Not really. 315mm or 1 in HL ~ 8.5 pts HL.

 

[McLovin]

Not really. 315mm or 1 in HL ~ 8.5 pts HL.

Sorry, yes, I always forget if it's 1/4" or 1/8" that equals 1PT. I've edited appropriately.

 

[stapletonj]

not to complain toooooo much, but the last 2 times I have ordered demos from TW or anywhere, they came in
strung so loosely as to be almost unplayable. I literally could not tell at all how the frame played.
Next time I will call and see if they will let me just restring them for free.... at least SOMEWHERE in the spec range.

 

[TennisHound]

Not really. 315mm or 1 in HL ~ 8.5 pts HL.

?
So if I measure using my balance board 1” from the 27” mark, that is 8.5pts HL?

 

[abhi_trip]

@TennisHound , https://www.perfect-tennis.com/head-heavy-head-light-and-even-balanced-tennis-racquets/ should help you out.
I think Head has approximated the balance to 1 inch HL. The conversion table above should answer your question.

 

[FuzzyYellowBalls]

not to complain toooooo much, but the last 2 times I have ordered demos from TW or anywhere, they came in
strung so loosely as to be almost unplayable. I literally could not tell at all how the frame played.
Next time I will call and see if they will let me just restring them for free.... at least SOMEWHERE in the spec range.

You don't need to ask, you can restring them, just be courteous and don't switch the type, at least I did that and no issues from TW.

 

[Chalkdust]

You don't need to ask, you can restring them, just be courteous and don't switch the type, at least I did that and no issues from TW.

Better not to ask!
Last time I had a demo, I broke a string on my first day hitting with it. I called TW and asked them if I could restring. They said no don't string it, send it back, and we will send you another demo.
Purely hypothetically, I may have been impatient and theoretically strung it anyway so that I could continue my demo

 

[Chalkdust]

The manufacturer tolerances have always been bad at non Yonex brands. The recent price spikes make too painful to buy a new pair for me. Can’t risk spending 600$ on a pair of Wilson’s that potentially play nothing alike

Amen. A few years ago I demo'd a Wilson, I actually liked it a lot, and ordered one. The one I got was about 10gm lighter than the demo, and played completely differently. Learned my lesson - sent it back, and sticking with Yonex. I would have ended up buying another 3 frames had the initial one felt as good as the demo, so it cost Wilson $1k and a potential repeat customer.

 

[TennisHound]

Better not to ask!
Last time I had a demo, I broke a string on my first day hitting with it. I called TW and asked them if I could restring. They said no don't string it, send it back, and we will send you another demo.
Purely hypothetically, I may have been impatient and theoretically strung it anyway so that I could continue my demo

Lol “hypothetically”. I have a friend who restrung his with poly…

 

[McLovin]

?
So if I measure using my balance board 1” from the 27” mark, that is 8.5pts HL?

No, the 13.5” mark, assuming it’s 27” long.

1/8” = 1pt, so 1” (or 8/8”) = 8pts.