Racquet Playtest Comparison:
| About the play tester | About the racquets |
Name: DANMAN on the Talk Tennis message boards
Playing Level: 4.5
Regular racquet, string & tension: Babolat Pure Drive +, Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power 16L, 55lbs.
Tell us about your game: All court player who serves and volleys about as much as staying back, looking for any opportunity to take the net. Long, fast swings off both sides. Semi-western forehand; two handed backhand; heavy topspin off both wings; equal amount of singles and doubles.
Specs:
All racquets weights matched TW published weight. All were strung with Wilson Sensation 17. Was not provided tension info. I did not use vibration dampeners. Added an overgrip to all 3 which added 4 grams of weight.
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Power
Wilson nBlade 98: The nBlade was the least powerful of the three racquets. It was the most flexible of the three by far with an RA of 58, and since it weighs in at 11.1 ounces, it was bound to be the least powerful. By no means did I find the racquet to be underpowered as I found good depth and penetration on groundstrokes. In fact, I was surprised at the power I could generate with the racquet given the specs. The 18x20 pattern also made the racquet feel a bit less lively. Although the 340 swingweight is higher than what I am used, I found no problems whipping the racquet through the air to generate racquet head speed. I would say this racquet is a great alternative to heavier 18x20 control racquets such as the Prestige and Dunlop 200 series for those who want something a bit lighter. In fact, one of my hitting partners is making the switch from the Dunlop Muscle Weave 200G 95 to the Wilson nBlade as a result of this playtest.
Babolat Pure Storm: The Babolat Pure Storm had a great blend of power and control. Having used the Pure Drive Plus for close to five years, I was excited to get to try this similarly weighted yet more flexible offering. I found the Storm to be less powerful than my Pure Drives and somewhere between the nBlade and Tfeel. The Woofer grommets and the more open pattern helped to make the stringbed both more lively and powerful as compared to the nBlade. I found great depth on groundstrokes, and I really liked the flex of this racquet (RA of 64). I felt that the power and flex, which were between the nBlade and the Tfeel, were optimal in terms of transitioning between offensive and defensive situations.
Tecnifibre TFeel 305: The Tecnifibre TFeel 305 was easily the most powerful of the three racquets. It had the most open string pattern, which translated into a very lively stringbed. I found the power level of this racquet to be on par with the Pure Drive that I am accustomed to playing with. The power of the racquet, though the greatest among these three racquets, was easily controllable and was a joy in situations that required some pop (e.g. passing shots, serves, and overheads).
Control
Wilson nBlade 98: Though the nBlade was easily the most low-powered of the three racquets, I did not find that it was the most control oriented. The low flex and tight string pattern helped me to keep balls that were struck flat under control; however, I found that I got a bit less spin from the 18x20 pattern of this racquet than I did from the other racquets. I struggled to find a groove from the backhand side with it, but I believe that the combination of unfamiliar variables, the 18x20 pattern, low flex, and only slightly head-light balance played a major role. I feel like I could have definitely adjusted to this racquet had I had the time.
Babolat Pure Storm: I thought the Babolat Pure Storm offered a fantastic amount of both power and control. The 16x20 pattern was extremely spin friendly, and although the relatively light frame was easy to swing fast, the lack of mass made shots seem more controlled than with my normal Pure Drives (which are weighted to ~12 ounces). I immediately found the groove with this racquet and was firing both serves and groundstrokes from both sides to within inches of where I aimed. I think part of this had to do with its somewhat familiar Babolat characteristics, but nonetheless, this racquet shined in the control category.
Tecnifibre TFeel 305: Although the Tecnifibre was the most powerful of the three racquets, it was definitely controllable power. I found good access to spin which helped keep the ball in the court. Occasionally, I would have a ball fly on me when I felt like I had hit it just right. Even with the spin I was able to generate, I found that since this racquet was the stiffest, most powerful, and had the most lively stringbed, it was the weakest in the control category.
Maneuverability
Wilson nBlade 98: I found the nBlade to be the least maneuverable of the three racquets, which makes sense because of the relatively high swingweight (340 RDC). I did not, however, ever find myself late because of the racquet, only due to poor footwork. I thought that the nBlade had a sleek, streamlined beam that cut through the air nicely. If I had been forced to guess, I would have guessed that the swingweight for this racquet would have been around 330. I was able to get the racquet up quickly when at the net, and I felt this racquet was well suited to volleying (although its being a few more points headlight would have helped). Bottom Line: DonŐt let the swingweight number scare you from giving this one a swing.
Babolat Pure Storm: The Storm felt surprisingly light both statically and in motion. I felt like I was swinging a feather when swinging it. I think this is where a lot of control came from, as I was able to brush up on everything I hit, even when pressed by my charging opponent. At the net, I found this to be the quickest of the three racquets, which was by no means surprising given that it had the lowest swingweight. This was my favorite racquet at the net hands down, especially when exchanging quick volleys during 4-up advanced doubles.
Tecnifibre TFeel 305: The TFeel was reasonably maneuverable. I did not have any special opinions in terms of maneuverability. It was neither extremely whippy like the Volkl Tour 10 Gen II or the Slazenger X1 (swingweights of ~315) nor cumbersome like some high swingweight racquets. At the net, it was extremely solid and more than capable of withstanding quick exchanges.
Stability
Wilson nBlade 98: I thought the nBlade was the least stable of the three racquets. The low flex and relatively low weight of the racquet caused some twisting on slightly mishit serves and volleys. This is not to say that the racquet is unstable in general; it just was not as stable as the others.
Babolat Pure Storm: The Storm had a fairly large sweetspot and was solid as a rock within the sweetspot. The mid flex of the racquet and its light weight resulted in only a moderately stable racquet outside of the sweetspot. The stability of the Pure Storm was less than that of the TFeel and greater than that of the nBlade.
Tecnifibre TFeel 305: The TFeel was the most stable of all three racquets. It was solid within the sweetspot as were the others, but the added stiffness helped with stability on slight mishits. For a relatively lightweight racquet, I was exceptionally surprised at the stability it offered.
Comfort
Wilson nBlade 98: The Wilson nBlade was an exceptionally comfortable racquet and was the most comfortable of the three. I have been gravitating to more flexible racquets lately because of their comfort. The nBlade ranked up there in comfort with the Volkl frames that are so highly touted as arm savers (e.g. Gen II) as well as the Head Prestige line. The Wilson n-Foam technology seemed to work as I neither heard nor felt any noticeable vibration coming from this racquet. I would definitely recommend this racquet to those who struggle with elbow/wrist issues and cannot handle a 12 oz racquet.
Babolat Pure Storm: This racquet was extremely comfortable and is definitely the most comfortable offering in the current Babolat line that I have tried. It made me wish that I had tried the Babolat Pure Control Team Midplus (100 sq. inches/64 flex). It played right in between flexible and firm, to the point where you could feel the flex when striking the ball but not so much that the racquet felt like it was noticeably bending (like the Liquidmetal Prestige). This racquet was not quite as comfortable as the nBlade, but it was more comfortable than the Tfeel.
Tecnifibre TFeel 305: The Tecnifibre was the least comfortable of the three racquets, but it was by no means uncomfortable. Being accustomed to a stiff racquet, I thought it felt fine; however, some of my hitting friends felt the stiffness made it an uncomfortable hitting frame. The best comparison I can make is to a Pure Drive in saying that I felt like it was about the same comfort levelÉperhaps a little more comfortable. Note: My Pure Drives are close to 5 years old and have been strung many times and seem to play with more flex compared to new ones. This may equate to some finding the Tecnifibre to be slightly more comfortable than the Pure Drives.
Spin
Wilson nBlade 98: I found this racquet to be very spin friendly for an 18x20 pattern, though it was easily the least spin friendly of the three. I got decent kick on serves. I found that I was able to hit a heavy topspin forehand but struggled to hit with spin on the backhand wing, which I tend to roll a bit more. Slices bit quite well, as I find them to do with 18x20 patterns, and overall, I was happy with the spin capability of the racquet.
Babolat Pure Storm: The Babolat Pure Storm was the most spin friendly of the three racquets. I got tremendous spin on kick serves and found topspin off both wings. Slices were a bit difficult with this racquet as I missed having more mass to work with. The spin from this racquet is on par with the Pure Drive and AeroPro Drive, albeit slightly less.
Tecnifibre TFeel 305: This racquet had the most open string pattern and was also extremely spin friendly. I felt like I got slightly more spin from the Storm as the lower flex from it allowed for a little more dwell time. Serves had better speed/spin combination with the Tecnifibre than the Storm. This racquet is built for topspin baseline bashers. I also missed extra mass when trying to hit backspin with this racquet, although slices were satisfactory.
| Control |
| Wilson nBlade 98 | 73 |
| Babolat Pure Storm 98 | 78 |
| Tecnifibre TFeel 305 97 | 75 |
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| Comfort |
| Wilson nBlade 98 | 80 |
| Babolat Pure Storm 98 | 77 |
| Tecnifibre TFeel 305 97 | 73 |
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| Groundstrokes |
| Wilson nBlade 98 | 75 |
| Babolat Pure Storm 98 | 82 |
| Tecnifibre TFeel 305 97 | 79 |
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| Maneuverability |
| Wilson nBlade 98 | 70 |
| Babolat Pure Storm 98 | 80 |
| Tecnifibre TFeel 305 97 | 77 |
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| Power |
| Wilson nBlade 98 | 72 |
| Babolat Pure Storm 98 | 75 |
| Tecnifibre TFeel 305 97 | 82 |
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| Serves And overheads |
| Wilson nBlade 98 | 76 |
| Babolat Pure Storm 98 | 75 |
| Tecnifibre TFeel 305 97 | 82 |
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| Serve Returns |
| Wilson nBlade 98 | 70 |
| Babolat Pure Storm 98 | 78 |
| Tecnifibre TFeel 305 97 | 78 |
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| Slice |
| Wilson nBlade 98 | 80 |
| Babolat Pure Storm 98 | 75 |
| Tecnifibre TFeel 305 97 | 77 |
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| Stability |
| Wilson nBlade 98 | 73 |
| Babolat Pure Storm 98 | 75 |
| Tecnifibre TFeel 305 97 | 78 |
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| Topspin |
| Wilson nBlade 98 | 75 |
| Babolat Pure Storm 98 | 82 |
| Tecnifibre TFeel 305 97 | 80 |
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| Touch/Feel |
| Wilson nBlade 98 | 77 |
| Babolat Pure Storm 98 | 77 |
| Tecnifibre TFeel 305 97 | 74 |
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| Volleys |
| Wilson nBlade 98 | 76 |
| Babolat Pure Storm 98 | 80 |
| Tecnifibre TFeel 305 97 | 78 |
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| Overall |
| Wilson nBlade 98 | 76 |
| Babolat Pure Storm 98 | 79 |
| Tecnifibre TFeel 305 97 | 78 |
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| Playtest date: April, 2006. |
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