Hi ASH1485,
The following pictures may help address your question regarding specs.
This grip replacement was done on a "late and last" model Chinese PS 85 (silver specification decal, with stock Wilson leather grip).
FYI, I weighed the stock Wilson leather grip off of this racquet: about 22 grams.
As for the synthetic replacement grip, I was aiming for a 2 pt HL reduction with at least an 8 gram reduction in the handle area so I narrowed down my choices to:
- Babolat Syntec (17.4 g, Babolat spec, assuming uncut)
- Babolat SKin Feel (16.6 g, Babolat spec, assuming uncut)
- Head Hydrosorb Tour (~16 g trimmed, Talk Tennis forum info)
I went with the Babolat Skin Feel. At that point after trimming, I'd estimate that I had on the racquet at the very least (most?), a 14 g Skin Feel grip. (Actually, it may have been less than 14 g)
(I did come across one of Sureshs' old Talk Tennis posts on the equivalent weights of the Shockshield grip and Fairway leather in order to maintain specs - Thank you Sureshs for posting that good info
)
Here are the actual weight differences I noted down for this racquet immediately after the replacement:
- Strung, with stock Wilson leather grip - 12.6 oz
(without dampener or Wilson Pro Overgrip)
- Strung, with Babloat Skin Feel grip - 12.3 oz
(without dampener or Wilson Pro Overgrip)
**
NOTE: The two pics above show the static weights and specs WITH BOTH a Babolat dampener AND a Wilson Pro Overgrip on the racquet, as I wanted these included in calculating the final swingweights. Not sure where any discrepancies may have occurred but everything is as measured. Also, I know the first pic doesn't show 13 oz. exactly but I took a few measurements and it was 13 oz.
Regarding your first question on "how does it play", I'd say the resulting racquet is less "whippy" (being slightly less HL) yet just as maneuverable, slightly easier-serving perhaps and a little quicker on reaction-type volleys at the net. Groundstrokes feel about the same to me. Of course, this is just my opinion and my preference is a more moderate HL setup.....Actually that's an interesting question considering the final static weight and HL spec achieved is very close to that of the TW reissued PS 85 (which I have not tried) so I wonder how close these two versions are really....
As for maintaining grip sizes, I am used to the 1.5 mm TW leather grip with a Wilson Pro OG on top so the Babloat Skin Feel (1.55 mm) with Wilson Pro OG on top suits me just fine. Of course, bevels feel better with a leather grip but no issues there for me.
Funny you mentioned wrist injury....I had a wrist injury about seven months ago. (Almost positive it was a TFCC/ulnar-side wrist injury) It took a good 3-4 months before my wrist slowly gained full strength again. I'd wait for a full recovery on the wrist before hitting that sweetspot on those PS 85s again....As you probably already know, it's an experience that's well worth the wait...