Racquet Playtest Comparison: Babolat NCT Power vs HEAD LM 8 vs Volkl Cat 1 FIRE
Volkl Cat 1 Fire - Solid pop from the baseline, even if you're scrambling for time, a compact punch stroke could send the ball back deep to the opposing baseline. Sweetspot is extremely generous, and the extended length gives extra pop on the serves, overheads, and groundstrokes. The extra head speed I could get from the racquet being light, and the open string pattern produced a lot of topspin, which continuously pushed my opponent deep in the backcourt. When I tried hitting flatter shots, the balls did tend to go long, until I consciously took a very compact swing. Hitting deep volleys were also easy with just a short punch stroke. Head LM8 - Much less power than I expected from a game improvement racquet. It did have good pop, one could swing out more without fear of the ball sailing long into the fence. I did feel like I had to take a decent swing at the ball w/ this racquet to generate pace, and just a simple punch would put the ball really short. I would almost put this in the tweener category. Serves and overheads had much more emphasis on spin and placement compared to the other two. Babolat NCT Power - The most powerful out of the 3 racquets I tried. Balls seemed to spray and fly everywhere, and I just couldn't find a groove with this racquet. Balls consistently flew beyond the baseline and wide, even when I did consciously shorten up my stroke. On serves and overheads, the NCT Power was a beast, not much on the control, or placement, but rather shear power. Overheads were slammed over opponents heads, and flat serves, when landing in the box, seemed difficult for the opponents to return. I could just feel the head pulling through hard on those shots. The extra length helped leverage, and the woofer grommets probably provided some extra pop as well. Many volleys with this racquet ended up beyond the baseline as well, but I didn't "punch" my volleys, they seemed to land deep. Seems to work better on reflex-type volleys. Easily the most powerful racquet of the three. Volkl Cat 1 Fire - I thought this racquet offered nice control for a game improvement racquet. I was able to find the corners easily, and the extra topspin I had would kick my opponent off the court. I also felt that slices were nice and controlled, stayed low, and had good bite. Volleys were a bit tough to control as I could punch them deep, but had a tougher time trying to hit drop or short angled volleys. Head LM8 - Control on this racquet was surprisingly good. I really didn't expect it to have as much emphasis on control as it did. Like previously mentioned, taking a good cut at the ball would still land it in the court, and it was especially nice on short angled shots, whether a topspin crosscourt shot off the "T", or low short chips. Control on the serve was also good with spin or kick, and I could direct my volleys deep or short. The most controlled racquet out of the three Babolat NCT Power - Control is not something I felt with this racquet. Again, it seemed like balls were spraying all over, and I didn't have the confidence to move the ball where I wanted it. A racquet much more focused on power over control for me. At the net, just putting the racquet out gets the ball deep, but again, not enough control to aim for the corners. If hitting short strokes with some underspin, I was able to get a little more control. Volkl Cat 1 Fire - I thought the Cat 1 Fire was light and maneuverable, allowing for a last second change of direction. Though it's slightly head heavy, the racquet doesn't feel sluggish, and is actually quite easy to swing. I felt I had increased racquet head speed that enabled me to put more topspin on my groundstrokes. At the net, it is just slightly slower, most likely due to the extra length that made it a little difficult to volley back balls hit into the body. Stretch volleys were a breeze, and overheads became easy put-a-ways. I found that if I choked up on the racquet handle on volleys, that it became easier to maneuver, and was just as solid. Ranked second in maneuverability in the three racquets I demoed, but choking up on the handle at the net brings it quite close to the LM8. Head LM8 - The LM8 is a pretty maneuverable racquet, evident by it's low swingweight (303 as listed by TW). Being only 0.25" longer than standard, I didn't really notice the difference at the net. Quick on fast exchanges, and in many instances had enough time to put more of a punch back rather than a block which allowed me to turn a defensive situation into a more offensive one. The most maneuverable of the three racquets I tried. Babolat NCT Power - The NCT Power was the least maneuverable of the three racquets in the demo, which could be attributed to the 28" length, or the more mass distributed in the head. The racquet felt sluggish both at the baseline and at the net. On the serves, it wasn't very maneuverable, but the weight helped pull the head through giving the extra pop. I also tried choking up on the handle at the net, which produced slightly better results, but I was still sailing balls long. Volkl Cat 1 Fire - I felt the Cat1 Fire was the most stable of the three racquets tested. Felt solid at impact on all strokes (groundstrokes, volleys, and serves), and didn't twist on off center hits. The sweetspot is the largest of the three racquets and this really contributed to the stability of the racquet. Head LM 8 - The LM8 is fairly stable. Shots hit high in the upper hoop did feel a bit weak, thou the head didn't twist either. The sweetspot seemed to be middle to lower hoop, and shots hit there were stable and crisp. At the net, returning hard hit shots seemed to attack the racquets stability, and if you didn't prepare early and get the racquet out there, it had a slight jarring effect. It felt better when you had time to punch the volleys. Babolat NCT Power - This racquet felt stable, even thou it had a tiny sweetspot. At the net, returning hard hit shots was a breeze because you just had to stick your racquet out with no action needed, and the ball would go back deep and the racquet would not twist. Volkl Cat 1 Fire - The Cat 1 Fire is easily the more comfortable of the bunch. The nice Sensor handle absorbed all the vibration, and Catapult grommets made it a well dampened racquet. All I can say is classic Volkl. It has a slightly muted feel, but very comfortable to play with. Felt plush, off-center hits weren't jarring at all. Head LM 8 - The LM8 felt comfortable when hitting the sweetspot, but some off-center hits would have a jarring feeling, with some vibration. Babolat NCT Power - I felt some vibration from the frame, most likely to off-center hitting, especially when I tried to swing with the frame. While just sticking the racquet out felt much more comfortable, using the opponent's pace. Volkl Cat 1 Fire - I was able to generate a lot of spin with the Cat 1 Fire. Lightweight racquet with low swingweight helped increase my racquet head speed, and it's open string pattern was also very spin friendly. Slices stayed low and had nice bite. Head LM8 - Also another frame with low swingweight, I was also able to generate good spin with the LM8. I did have to take a good cut at the ball to get some drive though, else the ball would have spin, and just sit up at the service line. Spin serves were especially nice where I was able to hit slice and kick serves with good placement. A really nice frame to chip and charge with as slices would stay short and low. Deep slices tended to float a little more than I wanted thou. Babolat NCT Power - This frame is probably a slice and dice frame more than anything. I feel the best results come from really short, punchy-like shots, which fits very well to a slice and dice player. Shots hit with a little underspin stayed deep and low, both on the forehand and backhand wings.
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