Racquet Playtest Comparison:
| About the play tester | About the racquets |
Name: Indian Twist on the Talk Tennis message boards
Playing Level: 4.5
Regular racquet, string & tension: Babolat Pure Drive Team Plus, gamma synthetic gut, 62 Lbs
Tell us about your game: Aggressive baseliner. Free flowing short swinging SW Forehand with Flat shots and Topspin. Defensive Eastern 1 handed Slice Backhand. Heavy serve with Continental grip.
|
|
Volkl DNX V1 Midplus
First Take
Right out of the box, this racquet looks like a winner. The colors are Trendy and so is the design. The racquet felt extremely comfortable in the hand. The Original Grip it came with is very cozy on the hand and feels great.
Power
This racquet has the right amount of power. The sweetspot seemed to be a bit smaller but it wasn't that evident as I was able to hit the ball in the sweetspot for the most part. The feel of the racquet is very natural and is extremely comfortable. The racquet swings light but packs a powerful punch without sacrificing any other aspects. Generating racquet head speed was a breeze. Off center hits did not feel sweet, but still managed to flow to the other side with decent punch.
Control
Just aim it and rip it. It is as simple as that with this racquet. One can literally paint lines with the DNX. This racquet is perfect for topspin and unleashing topspin groundstroke drives was extremely easy. I was able to pull out just about any shot and go for a winner. I was surprised by the acute angles some I was able to find with this racquet.
Groundstrokes
Volkl seems to have gotten the right formula. Armed with so much control and power, it is no wonder that free flowing shots are the new standard. I went for my shots and as if it were magic - the ball stayed in and many a times as a winner. Topspin generation was very easy with this racquet and at times I hit a heavy ball. The feel of this one was amazing. Drop shots, topspin lobs, backhand slices were easy and always seemed to have a lasting effect on the outcome of the point. My inside-out forehand was the most effective shot with this racquet. However adding a bit of lead tape would be helpful against hard-hitting opponents. The racquet at 10.4 oz can use some extra mass.
Serves
Serves were my best shot. I wasn't able to ace that often with this racquet, but I never double faulted either and even better, most of them were service winners. The kick I was able to get on my serves using this racquet was unbelievable. Thanks to this topspin machine, my serves always stayed in, even when I was going for some low percentage serves to the corners. I could also hit hard flat serves to the corners with relative ease.
Return of Serves
I always was able to return the serve to the targeted area by angling the racquet. I am not big at hitting winners on fast first serves. This racquet felt very stable even against some big servers.
Volleys
Net is not my comfort zone. However I had good results with DNX when I came to the net. The head light balance allowed the racquet to be very maneuverable at the net. I was able to close out points with relative ease. Slices and drops were easy and had good bite.
Scramble
By flicking the racquet I was able to successfully keep the point alive. The ability to generate tremendous head speed allows one to successfully defend and switch to offense even in under pressure.
Final Take
The DNX would be a great addition to my arsenal. The racquet offers great potential for baseliners and net players alike. Great control, Tremendous spin potential and stability were the plus points. A little bit of lead tape, a good string and this will be the ultimate topspin machine.
Head Flexpoint 6
First Take
Looks wise this racquet is appealing with its cool color combinations and popular head design. The racquet feels light. The grip of the racquet is very comfortable. This is the kind of racquet most would pick up in the store and instantly fall in love with. Will that translate into resultsÉYes!
Power
This racquet ranks a little high on power totem pole and definitely felt more powerful than the DNX. Just about anywhere in the stringbed can be considered the sweetspot. The racquet felt a bit light but allowed for greater swing speeds. After hitting a few during the warm up with encouraging results, I was ready to unleash heavy shots.. I was hitting long especially encouraged by the lightness of the racquet and its ability to dish out on any shot. In order to ensure I don't hit out, I switcedh to a grip more toward western to apply more topspin. Once that offensive adjustment was made, the reward was dramatic.
Control
The Flexpoint has a good control though it is more inclined towards power side of the spectrum. I had great success whenever I applied topspin and early preparation. Flat shots are another plus point of this racquet, but carried a greater risk of hitting out. When hitting with spin, it was almost like point and shoot. The built in dampener didn't seem to have any impact on the feel, as the ball felt natural on the racquet.
Groundstrokes
I was able to hit some solid topspin groundstrokes as well as flat shots. The racquet felt solid (albeit a bit powerful at times) and forgiving. Despite the light weight, the Flexpoint was very stable against hard hitters and provided a comfortable feel. Whenever I was out of position, I was able to block the ball into the open court which allowed me time to recover and be back in the point. Slices and drop shots were easy to pull off. The forehand squash shot was my personal favorite with this racquet. The best results came when I was taking full swings into the stroke.
Serves
I had good success serving with this racquet. Though flat serves didn't seem to have enough pop on them, easy winners can be obtained by placing it well.. I was able to place them accurately. Even spin serves were a bit low on pace, but I found crazy spin and the ability to place them more than compensated for the lack of pace. The weight and balance of this racquet allowed me to go all out on serves with great results.
Return of Serve
The faster the serve, faster the return! I was able to get some winners just by blocking the ball. Because of its forgiving nature and generous sweetspot, I hit winners even when I was stretched wide and all I did was get the racquet on the ball.
Volleys
The racquet felt a bit more powerful at net compared to the DNX. I lost control of points when I tried to over power the ball. The Flexpoint allowed silken drop shots and wrist work artistry. Playing touch shots was easy with this racquet.
Scramble
The light weight and generous sweetspot ensured that I was able to recover from tight situations and scrambles. The racquet was very forgiving and hence staying in the point was easy. Blocks were often deep and at obscure spots for opponents.
Final take
The racquet is great especially for players looking for a little help from the racquet. Slightly altering the string tension would allow one to have more control. This racquet is good for both generating heavy topspin and hitting hard flat strokes. It offers decent control and provides ample options for players to customize and improvise.
Powerangle 102
First Take
Out of the box this racquet felt light. The string pattern is different from other racquets and that is distinctive. The colors lean towards sportive patterns and will find fans in the younger spectrum.
Power
This racquet is really powerful and probably more suitable for players who need some extra juice from the racquet. It felt very light and swung easily. The stringbed seemed a bit firm, but was very responsive.
Control
Being on the power side of the spectrum, more topspin and good footwork and positioning was needed to take advantage of this racquet's potential. I tried to dampen the power a bit and tried to take the ball early. I tried putting more spin and had good results.
Groundstrokes
I was hitting long whenever I took a full cut at the ball. I had to really control the power I was hitting and remember to apply more spin. However blocking the ball or flat strokes were very good with this racquet. I had some good results when I tried to hit flat out. The racquet felt light and that is very evident against hard hitters. The dampened feel of the racquet is a bit uncomfortable for me but can be liked by many other players who prefer a dampened feel.
Serves
Flat serves didn't seem to have the juice. I was able to get some good kick serves. Spin came easily. This racquet was comfortable to serve with, but I felt that I did not have enough control to place the serves in the corners.
Return of serve
Blocking the ball worked well. Trying to do more resulted in more credits for unforced errors for me. Powering off on hard serves wasn't easy without early preparation.
Volleys
With more power available, easy volleys were winners. Though the racquet felt very maneuverable at net, its power wasn't easy to control. However, drop shots and slices were good.
Final Take
This is a good beginners and intermediate level racquet. The racquet offers a lot of useful power. Blocks, slices, topspin strokes, and topspin lobs were its strengths for me.
OVERALL
The DNX and Flexpoint are very good racquets. They have tremendous potential and arm the players with many options on the court. Little bit of customization and some good play style changes go a long way to maximize one's potential with these great racquets. I liked the DNX the most among the three due to its great control, superior topspin capability and great feel.
| Feature | Volkl DNX V1 | Head FlexPoint 6 | PowerAngle102
|
| Appeal | Good | Good | Average |
| Comfortable Grip | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Feel | Comfortable | Comfortable | Stiff |
| Ease of Adjustment | Good | Good | Average |
| Flat Serve | Great | Good | Average |
| Kick Serve | Good | Good | Good |
| Serve- Control | Good | Good | Average |
| Topspin Ground Strokes | Excellent | Excellent | Average |
| Flat Ground Strokes | Good | Excellent | Average |
| Return of Serve | Good | Good | Good |
| Net Maneuverability | Excellent | Good | Average |
| Drop Shots | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
| Slices | Good | Excellent | Average |
| Lob Control | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
| Overheads | Good | Good | Average |
| Offcentre Hits | Average | Good | Average |
| Stability | Good | Good | Average |
| Overall | Excellent | Good | Average |
| Playtest date: August, 2005. |
| All content copyright 2007 Tennis Warehouse. |
|