Head Ti.Fire and Ti.Heat Racquet Review

I was watching boxing on ESPN the other night (Ladies and gentlemen, get ready to... RUMMMMMMMMMMMBLE!) when they started talking about the "ol' one-two". One of the boxers had softened up his opponent with a series of body blows and then went to the head with a devastating left -right combination that brought the fight to an early end. The "ol' one two" has been a part of fighting for as long as men have been settling their differences by beating each other senseless. Now Head is bringing their version of the "ol' one-two" to the tennis ring.

For the last year Head has been softening up their competition with their new titanium racquets. The Ti.S7, Ti.S6, Ti.S5, and Ti.S2 have been pounding away at the body of Prince and Wilson. The only problem is that all their new racquets were stiff, light weight extra long power racquets designed for players with slower, shorter swings. A large segment of players weren't able to take advantage of the new technology because the racquets were too powerful and didn't fit their style of game. Head kept delivering body blows, but they couldn't go to the head. Until now.

Apparently, Head feels they've softened up the market enough and is ready to throw some knockout punches. Not wanting to try to end the fight with one punch Head is delivering the ol' one-two, or as they call them, the Ti.Heat and the Ti.Fire, to the head of the competition.

The Heat and Fire are Head's first titanium "player's" racquets. They are control racquets that should appeal to a different breed of player than their other titanium frames. Where the other Head titanium racquets were competing with power racquets like the Hyper Carbon 2.0 and the PrinceThunderStrike, the Fire and Heat will be battling with racquets like the Wilson ProStaff 6.1 and the Prince Precision Equpe. Dunlop's Tour Pro Mid and Gamma's Tradition 18 would be other contenders in this category. Of course, the Heat and Fire will also be competing with each other, so let's go to...

...The Tale of the Tape

...Both the Fire and Heat are 27 inches long. No advantage in reach... The Heat weighs in at 9.9 ounces dripping wet (strung) while the Fire weighs in at 9.7 ounces (also strung). Advantage Heat for stability, advantage Fire for maneuverability... The Heat measured 4 points head heavy, the Fire 7 points head heavy. Advantage Heat for maneuverability, advantage Fire for power...The Heat is 22 mm thick, the Fire is 24 mm thick. This should be advantage Fire for power and advantage Heat for control, but both racquets scored a 64 for frame flex on the RDC machine. Advantage Heat for achieving the same flex with less material... The Fire has the Shock Stop vibration dampening system in the grip, the Heat doesn't. Advantage Fire for technology, but both racquets are pretty easy on the arm.

If you look at the power, control, and maneuverability scores from the RDC for the Fire and Heat on this page you'll find they're very similar. Our play testers also found them to play a lot alike. They agreed with the RDC that the Fire is slightly more powerful and that you get more control from the Heat. The play testers also felt the Heat was more stable. Both racquets are pretty flexible, but the Heat seemed to handle off center shots a little better. The maneuverability battle ended in a draw. Let's just say they both have great maneuverability and leave it at that.

Our play testers liked the extra power of the Fire on serves and overheads, but they preferred the extra control of the Heat on groundstrokes. The Heat was more popular among play testers who like to play from the baseline. Serve and volleyers favored the Fire slightly, mostly due to the extra power on the serve. Both racquets scored well at the net. They're stiff enough to hit crisp volleys and they have enough control to handle low and half volleys.

Overall, the Heat out-pointed the Fire in a split decision. The extra stability and control on groundstrokes was too much for the Fire. While the Fire landed the harder blows the Heat landed them more often, and that's what players look for in a control racquet. To quote one play tester, "the heat feels soooooo good! I didn't think the industry remembered how to make a 5.0+ racquet."

When competing with the other control racquets the maneuverability and weight of the Heat and Fire will probably be their biggest asset and their biggest liability. Many of the more popular control racquets (Pro Staff 6.1, Precision Equipe) weigh 2 to 3 ounces more than the Fire and Heat. Players who like the extra weight and the stability it provides probably won't like the Heat and Fire because they're so light. However, players who are tired of lugging 13 ounces of racquet around will like the combination of control and maneuerability the Heat and Fire offer. Younger players not yet strong enough to handle a heavier racquet and aging (in a good way) players who don't have as much strength and endurance they once had should benefit from the reduced weight without losing any control.

The flex of the frames and the tight string pattern on the Heat and Fire keep the power level down and the control level up. The Heat and Fire are more flexible than most control racquets and they have a tighter string pattern. Normally, this would reduce their power level too much even for control racquets. The Heat and Fire regain their punching power by having more weight in the head and having a larger than normal head size (102 sq. in. vs. the 85-95 sq. in. of other popular player's racquets). These two features, along with the Anti-Torsion bar (which keeps the frame from twisting sideways), bring the power levels back up to an acceptable level.

We'll find out in the next few months whether or not the Heat and Fire can help Head win the Championship belt. They are certainly a potent one-two punch and great additions to Head's stable of racquets. The competition had better keep their guard up because Head is getting ready to ...RUMMMMMMMMMMMBLE!.

Insider's Tip: There's a new contender planning to make it's debut this summer. Rumor has it that it's Head's biggest puncher yet. It's name? Ti.S8!

Review date: February 1999. If you found this review interesting or have further questions or comments please contact us.

All content copyright 1999 Tennis Warehouse.