Kalethan
Rookie
So, let's assume we're Wilson, we've drunk our own Kool-Ade and genuinely believe in the benefits of Parallel Drilling. ¿Why then is Parallel Drilling only in the 'sweet spot'?!? Wouldn't the benefits of increased comfort be even More important Outside the sweet spot?!? Is it just because it's harder/more expensive to engineer grommet strips with the flanges perfectly parallel, so they only did it on the part of the racquet that would require the least retooling of the CNC machines/plastic molds? Call me ignorant and crazy (I mostly am), but why would having the grommet holes perfectly parallel necessarily make installing the grommets any harder? If anything, it seems like a strip could glide in More easily, and be done in sections instead of 1 continuous strip as you get to the sharp-angled alternating corner sections....as it is, the strings are rubbing and pulling against the sides of each grommet hole in all but 4 crosses and 8 mains. If the idea is increasing the effective size of the string bed by extending the length of string out to the break angle at the outside of the frame, why not really run with it? Did Wilson try and find it didn't work, or just decide it would be too expensive to implement?
I'm demoing a 2015 blade 98 18x20, and it feels light years more comfortable than previous Blades, even though it has somewhat old 15 gauge Revolve in there at mid-high tension. It also produces notably more spin and in a different way than the 16x20 and 16x19 racquets I've used within the last week (textreme tour 95, Angell 95, Babolat Pure Control Tour 16x20). With the Blade 98 I perceive more spin and feel and I'm gripping the ball better than with the other 98 sq in 18x20's i used during the same-day extended hit-around (prestige mid plus and prince pro tour 98). The only comparable racquet in terms of feel and spin production was the Pure Control Tour, and lo and behold it has the Woofer system in addition to a more open pattern in the first place. I've read assessments that essentially the Woofer system IS parallel drilling, just more consistently applied around the frame, and that makes sense to me, as I played with the Pure Strike Tour for 5 months last year, and at the time it was the most spin-friendly 18x20 I'd ever played, but now the Blade 18x20 seems to have surpassed it (or at least be better enough in aerodynamics and other aspects to convince me
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So! It seems to me that if Wilson went the full monty with this technology, Parallel Drilled the whole dang thing, and remade the grommets so that there was No sideways pulling of any of the strings against the edges of the plastic grommet mouths, the vectors of force would be set free (sic) and the racquets would really breathe and just have an amazingly huge sweet spot. Now, it could be argued that if you go too far with this, reduce the friction enough, maybe do away with grommets entirely, you get Prince's O Port system or whatever, but I don't buy that it has to feel that way. (I recall the O3 I demoed many times felt very comfortable but too gooey, and many report the feel was Too plush to be enjoyable)...
So! Thoughts, especially from people who've used multiple iterations of Wilsons with and without parallel drilling, maybe Babolats before and after the Woofer tech, maybe Princes with and without ports.
Thanks,
EZ Ace Machine
I'm demoing a 2015 blade 98 18x20, and it feels light years more comfortable than previous Blades, even though it has somewhat old 15 gauge Revolve in there at mid-high tension. It also produces notably more spin and in a different way than the 16x20 and 16x19 racquets I've used within the last week (textreme tour 95, Angell 95, Babolat Pure Control Tour 16x20). With the Blade 98 I perceive more spin and feel and I'm gripping the ball better than with the other 98 sq in 18x20's i used during the same-day extended hit-around (prestige mid plus and prince pro tour 98). The only comparable racquet in terms of feel and spin production was the Pure Control Tour, and lo and behold it has the Woofer system in addition to a more open pattern in the first place. I've read assessments that essentially the Woofer system IS parallel drilling, just more consistently applied around the frame, and that makes sense to me, as I played with the Pure Strike Tour for 5 months last year, and at the time it was the most spin-friendly 18x20 I'd ever played, but now the Blade 18x20 seems to have surpassed it (or at least be better enough in aerodynamics and other aspects to convince me
So! It seems to me that if Wilson went the full monty with this technology, Parallel Drilled the whole dang thing, and remade the grommets so that there was No sideways pulling of any of the strings against the edges of the plastic grommet mouths, the vectors of force would be set free (sic) and the racquets would really breathe and just have an amazingly huge sweet spot. Now, it could be argued that if you go too far with this, reduce the friction enough, maybe do away with grommets entirely, you get Prince's O Port system or whatever, but I don't buy that it has to feel that way. (I recall the O3 I demoed many times felt very comfortable but too gooey, and many report the feel was Too plush to be enjoyable)...
So! Thoughts, especially from people who've used multiple iterations of Wilsons with and without parallel drilling, maybe Babolats before and after the Woofer tech, maybe Princes with and without ports.
Thanks,
EZ Ace Machine