Wilson Blade v7 16/19 vs 18/20, what are the differences in feel and control?
yes. 18m has twist weight of 14.3 kg-cm2 and 16m has 13.7.. this is the main driver of stability difference that people feel about. it's not night and day but it's some diff.. combined with higher hitting weight and sw on 18m is for sure more stable.
The blade 18m is for me a love/hate stick. I am for sure not an advanced player and therefore I guess its not the perfect stick. My racket is unstrung 300 SW, and depending which strings I use, it is a very different experience. I used hybrid with a 1.25mm gauge and it was a very low powered, too demanding racket with a very low launch angle.
A thin Multifilament made it more powerful and a higher launch angle. Feeling was quite different. I was several times before selling the racket.
Atm I play it with a MSV 1.1mm poly (I guess MSV is not well known outside of Europe) and with this string the racket is quite whippy, quite good top spin and efficient power. Launch angle tends to be even too high now. SW is now strung 'only' 325. I guess you can vary SW only with string in a 18x20 for around 10 SW pt.
For me this SW helps me for my OH-BH but I still get different experiences depending which opponent I have.
Serves are quite powerful even though I got a bit of ellbow issues after serving a lot. On the net the feel is very good, even more so with the thin string. The overall control is great. The only shot which seems worse with thinner gauge is my BH slice.
I strung it 21kg and played today my 5th hour with it.
I guess my next string will be a very thin (1,05 or 1,10) Hyper G or a Völkl Cyclone
A thin Multifilament made it more powerful and a higher launch angle. Feeling was quite different. I was several times before selling the racket.
Atm I play it with a MSV 1.1mm poly (I guess MSV is not well known outside of Europe) and with this string the racket is quite whippy, quite good top spin and efficient power. Launch angle tends to be even too high now. SW is now strung 'only' 325. I guess you can vary SW only with string in a 18x20 for around 10 SW pt.
For me this SW helps me for my OH-BH but I still get different experiences depending which opponent I have.
Serves are quite powerful even though I got a bit of ellbow issues after serving a lot. On the net the feel is very good, even more so with the thin string. The overall control is great. The only shot which seems worse with thinner gauge is my BH slice.
I strung it 21kg and played today my 5th hour with it.
I guess my next string will be a very thin (1,05 or 1,10) Hyper G or a Völkl Cyclone
18m is a beast at the net.. really a beast.. did you try the 16m? maybe that will be a better fit for you. i don't know... 325-330 sw is a very very common area. if that doesn't work then a lot of racquets are out of question for you... it may be the mold of blade that does not feel as manueverable for your OHBH maybe... b/c blade somehow is a clunky.. meaning there are probably same twistweight, same sw and balance sticks with similar static weight as well that may feel whippier than this one.. that could be reason may not be sitting well with you but i do not think it's the sw alone... i have tt100 (310) that is about 325sw.. which is about what my v7 16m is... tt100 has a bigger head size and higher twistweight yet comes around quicker..and easier to swing.. granted it's definitely more hl... but i tried making v7 18m hl as well.. does not do any favors.. it makes it more sluggish for me. it really must be the mold which someone else higher in the thread pointed out. every stick is a give and take... filter it down to what you can live with. like i have more maneuvrable racquets that i swith to sometimes when i get frustrated and i tell myself.. "tennis is so much easier with these ones" but that's not true.. next when i get a sitting ball or at the net when the other stick overswings or just does not sink into ball as well or is not stable as the blade then i go back.." yeah i remember that is what i liked about the blade so much"...so the sooner you find a stick, sooner you can focus on your game etc... i do not know how much the damn racquet makes a difference anyways but yeah we all obsess about these things.. hence this stupid forum... we are splitting twistweights this and that.. hahah.. i guess it's a relatively healthy hobby/obsession.
love that guy. he is so diligent on responding to people and really tries to put aside his own preference and judge the sticks as objectively as he can.
interesting.. no dude, i have not. I always been scared of 4G b/c of horror stories around how rough it is, but recently decided that i want to string one up. i have the a set of it in my bag and ready to go all tsitsipas on it! do you recommend 4g soft or 4g? i have to admit YTPT (rounded poly) was insane control with v7.. i did love it. maybe it was also that i was playing a lot and getting really much better than frgn 3 months ago before world went to sht....
tennis347
Hall of Fame
The 16 main version will be easier to use due to lower SW and more open pattern than the 18 main version. I hit with more spin so the 16 main version works best for me. I did add 1.5 grams of lead at 10 and 2 along with 1.5 to the butt of the handle to maintain a HL balance. I have 2 frames that weigh within a gram of each other and was rather lucky due to QC issues with Wilson. Both weigh in the area of 330 grams with the addition of the Wilson Contour grip. I have also been using a 16 gauge gut on the mains at 55lbs and Gosen Micro 16 on the crosses at 54lbs. This set up plays very plush with excellent feel, comfort as well as a nice balance of power and control.
gutfeeling
Hall of Fame
gutfeeling
Hall of Fame
That was exactly my issue with the 16x19. Lower twist and swing weights. With a soft stick like the v7 Blade you need mass for stability. To be fair I had an under spec 18x20 which played worse than the 16x19.
I own both and been playing with both for about a year so I'll chip in.
TL; DR
- If you play with a lot of counter punching, reaching for defensive shots and have some room for spin and margin of error, go with 16 x 19 (I guess think Andy Murray?).
- If you want to play with penetrating shots with larger swing weight, have really good footwork and want amazing backhand slice, go with 18 x 20 (Think Del Potro).
Now onto more details
Forehand: 16x19 ~= 18x20 with different strengths
- 16 x 19 provides a larger margin for error even if your footwork isn't perfect in every shot so it's relatively easier to hit defensive shots and provided a little more consistency due to the spin it provides. But if you have good footwork and prefer playing penetrating shots with really good directional control but with some risk of overhitting once in a while go with 18 x 20. One thing about 18x20 is if you come from 16x19, you will need some time to get used to the low launch angle. I don't really slice often on my forehand side but 16x19 is a little easier to slice with on the forehand side probably because of lower swing weight.
Backhand: 18x20 >>>>>> 16x19
- 16x19 has this weird launch angle where the ball pops off of the string bed with unusually high launch angle. I saw a coach reviewing the 16x19 version on Youtube and he mentioned the same thing. So I need to be super conscious to put in extra spin to bring the ball down or the ball will fly out. This is a huge downside for me because backhand is my stronger hand. I did get used to it but once in a while when I lose my concentration I get sailing shots. It is definitely easier to hit defensive shots with 16x19 just like forehand. Slice is mediocre for 16x19 in my opinion; not bad but not great either. 18x20 provides much more stable penetrating shot just like forehand and doesn't have this weird launch angle issue. However, just as with forehand, if your footwork is poor and if you aren't in a good position to hit the ball, you'll likely hit the ball into the net. On a different note, 18x20 let's you hit some consistent and clean backhand slices. If you like slicing a lot on your backhand, you'll love 18x20.
Serve: 18x20 > 16x19
- I expected 16x19 to provide me with better serve experience since it more maneuverable and I can manipulate my shot easier. But I guess it's the swing weight from 18x20, I can hit a lot more penetrating server with less effort and it shows when I practice with my hitting partner; he clearly has a harder time returning the serve. But my server is not my greatest shot so take it with grain of salt.
Volley: 18x20 ~= 16x19
- I only go to the net when absolutely necessary or after I've hit a good angle shot and the opponent can only hit a weak return shot. I think they are both pretty good obviously 18x20 providing more stability but 16x19 providing more maneuverability.
Service Return: 16x19 > 18x20
- I'm sure you see the pattern by now, but 16x19 is generally better for hitting defensive shots. Service returns to me are more risk prone shots because you have such short reaction time and good serves come much faster than good ground strokes. In my experience, because of that, 16x19 generally provided more flexibility to quickly react for service returns.
I string my 16x19 at 56 lbs with hybrid of Wilson revolve on the main and Technifibre NRG2 on the cross, and 18x20 at 54 lbs with same string set up
TL; DR
- If you play with a lot of counter punching, reaching for defensive shots and have some room for spin and margin of error, go with 16 x 19 (I guess think Andy Murray?).
- If you want to play with penetrating shots with larger swing weight, have really good footwork and want amazing backhand slice, go with 18 x 20 (Think Del Potro).
Now onto more details
Forehand: 16x19 ~= 18x20 with different strengths
- 16 x 19 provides a larger margin for error even if your footwork isn't perfect in every shot so it's relatively easier to hit defensive shots and provided a little more consistency due to the spin it provides. But if you have good footwork and prefer playing penetrating shots with really good directional control but with some risk of overhitting once in a while go with 18 x 20. One thing about 18x20 is if you come from 16x19, you will need some time to get used to the low launch angle. I don't really slice often on my forehand side but 16x19 is a little easier to slice with on the forehand side probably because of lower swing weight.
Backhand: 18x20 >>>>>> 16x19
- 16x19 has this weird launch angle where the ball pops off of the string bed with unusually high launch angle. I saw a coach reviewing the 16x19 version on Youtube and he mentioned the same thing. So I need to be super conscious to put in extra spin to bring the ball down or the ball will fly out. This is a huge downside for me because backhand is my stronger hand. I did get used to it but once in a while when I lose my concentration I get sailing shots. It is definitely easier to hit defensive shots with 16x19 just like forehand. Slice is mediocre for 16x19 in my opinion; not bad but not great either. 18x20 provides much more stable penetrating shot just like forehand and doesn't have this weird launch angle issue. However, just as with forehand, if your footwork is poor and if you aren't in a good position to hit the ball, you'll likely hit the ball into the net. On a different note, 18x20 let's you hit some consistent and clean backhand slices. If you like slicing a lot on your backhand, you'll love 18x20.
Serve: 18x20 > 16x19
- I expected 16x19 to provide me with better serve experience since it more maneuverable and I can manipulate my shot easier. But I guess it's the swing weight from 18x20, I can hit a lot more penetrating server with less effort and it shows when I practice with my hitting partner; he clearly has a harder time returning the serve. But my server is not my greatest shot so take it with grain of salt.
Volley: 18x20 ~= 16x19
- I only go to the net when absolutely necessary or after I've hit a good angle shot and the opponent can only hit a weak return shot. I think they are both pretty good obviously 18x20 providing more stability but 16x19 providing more maneuverability.
Service Return: 16x19 > 18x20
- I'm sure you see the pattern by now, but 16x19 is generally better for hitting defensive shots. Service returns to me are more risk prone shots because you have such short reaction time and good serves come much faster than good ground strokes. In my experience, because of that, 16x19 generally provided more flexibility to quickly react for service returns.
I string my 16x19 at 56 lbs with hybrid of Wilson revolve on the main and Technifibre NRG2 on the cross, and 18x20 at 54 lbs with same string set up
Kurt0707
Rookie
Nice feedback, I also tried both and played better wifh 18x20, as I dont play with lots of spin, more like old school flattish in general, eastern grip and OHBH. Thats why forehands were better with 18x20 for me, although it did fly sometimes too (needs a nice crisp poly). Also on returns 18x20 was very solid and better returns for me than 16x19..
I cannot agree more, the launch angle on the 16x19 is just a bit too much for me, I just cannot control and shape the ball as I want. Having said that, it's easy power and easier to swing vs the 18x20.
18x20 is an awesome frame, if you can manage the SW, the control and stability are just amazing.
I strung the 18x20 with a gut/poly hybrid and it felt great to be honest. Order the lowest SW 18x20's from TW. Their QC is pretty bad, you may just find a few sub 330..lol
DJTaurus
Hall of Fame
I have found similarities and differences on various V7s i ve tried. The funny thing is that every opinion you’ll hear is correct. The problem is Wilson’s awful quality control... obv there are 16x19s out there with higher SW and more HH BL than 18x20..... i ve played with 16x19s that punch the ball more than 18x20 and feel more solid..... i ve played with 16x19s that feel more soft on contact than other 16x19s. At the end of the day i believe that they are pretty similar and 16x19 has only a bit greater launch angle.
tennisintheeighties
Semi-Pro
Only De Minaur and Ugo Humbert uses the 16x19 frame ? Very strange.
