Wilson BLX Blade 98 problems?

[MartyWhite]

I have just bought a BLX blade 98 and played with it for the first time tonight. A bit of history: - I used to play fairly high level tennis about 8 years ago, but have not played since. I now plan to get back into the sport.
I found the Blade 98 to be extremely heavy, struggled to get much topspin, and battled to find the sweet spot consistently.
Question: Should I return it for a lighter racquet, or stick with it to get my wrist up to strength, and eye back?
I used to play with Wilson Hammer 2.7 95sq inch years ago and loved it. Have others noted its weight, or is it just me?

Thanks

 

[Bartelby]

The racquet is not head light enough for the swing weight and hence the heavy feel. You could add weight to the bottom of the racquet or buy a kblade which is a better balanced racquet.

 

[MartyWhite]

Thanks for your response

The K Blade is only 0.1oz lighter though. It appears that its not all about weight, bit swing weight, as I think you are referring to.
Are you saying that with the KBlade, the centre of gravity is closer to the handle, and that if was to bring it back on the BLX by adding weight to the handle, I may not find it as heavy?
If that is the case, how is the best way to achieve this?

thanks

 

[Gemini]

You're really not going to be able to reduce the swingweight without removing material from the head end of the racquet. By simply adding weight to the handle, you only increase the overall swingweight. The increase won't be as dynamic as if you added weight to the head but it will still go up.

Adding weight to the handle will make the racquet relatively more nimble in terms of how quickly you can get the head around because you've shifted the balance. But you still need to be strong enough to get the racquet moving.

The Kblade is balanced more headlight and has a lower swingweight which might suit you.

 

[flashfire276]

The K Blade is only 0.1oz lighter though. It appears that its not all about weight, bit swing weight, as I think you are referring to.
Are you saying that with the KBlade, the centre of gravity is closer to the handle, and that if was to bring it back on the BLX by adding weight to the handle, I may not find it as heavy?
If that is the case, how is the best way to achieve this?

thanks

Yes, yes, and yes.
Go to your local tennis shop, and ask for some lead tape. Take off your grip, and put maybe 6 grams of this lead tape on the end of your handle (right above the buttcap).
Put your grip back on, and you're all set!

Or if you want a PERMANENT solution (I don't recommend this unless you really know what you want)...
Go to home depot and get some liquid silicone.
Open your trap door on the bottom of the buttcap, and shoot in about 3 grams on each hole. Make sure you know what amount weighs how much.
Let it dry for about an hour. Put your trap door back on. And you're done!

 

[Bartelby]

You can either open the butt cap and put a few grams of blutak or lead or add a leather grip, although this adds a bit to the sw.
It doesn't lower sw but makes it a lot easier to handle it, so you still want to ask the question as to what sw suits your game.

 

[MartyWhite]

Awesome feedback

Thanks for all your feedback. I fully understand your point about adding weight to the handle.. Its true, to the stronger person it may improve its agility, and make the racquet feel light, but to me I feel the last thing I need is extra weight on the frame, even if it is on the handle. I will take both your advice and take a look at the Kblade.

 

[TennisCJC]

The SW on the BLX Blade is better the KBlade. If you played a high level before and plan to again, you want a racket with a high SW. If you want to make it more head light, open the butt trap door with a slotted screw driver and put about 8 grams of lead tape in the handle. Another alternative is to use a leather grip which is heavier and/or put lead tape under the grip if you replace it. The racket has a SW of 335 according to TW with a static weight around 11.2 oz. These numbers are not high and adding weight to the handle will have very little impact on the SW while making it swing a little easier. I think the higher SW on the BLX Blade is better than the lower SW on the KBlade. Higher SW adds stability and power. Most female pros play SW 335+ and male pros play SW 350+. A SW of 335+ for an upper intermediate or advanced player is about right in my view. Also SW 330+ is much better for the arm as the mass of the racket absorbs shock instead of the players arm.

If you open the butt cap trap door, be sure it is sealed tightly or the racket will rattle when you hit high on the stringbed. Sometimes you have to add a bit of tape around the trap door perimeter to ensure the fit is tight - I have torn a small strip of babolat head protection tape to tighten the fit. Someone always complains they have a broken racket when really the trap door is loose.

 

[bad_call]

Marty - did u attend college in FL? knew a player with that name back in the day.

 

[MartyWhite]

ok, I will try the weight first, seeing as though you feel it will work. If it doesn't, I'll try Kblade

 

[MartyWhite]

No Bad_call, another Marty White. I'm downunder, in Perth Australia.

 

[bad_call]

ok. thanks.