Solinco Blackout 300 v2 Racquet Review

Breakdown

Groundstrokes: 8.4

The Solinco Blackout 300 v2 provided our playtesters an outstanding blend of power and directional control from the baseline. Having also tested the previous version, Jason had a similar experience with this update. He said, "This racquet provided me with plenty of pop and spin in a pretty maneuverable package. Like with the previous version, I thought the launch angle was a little higher than normal, which was great for net clearance and easy depth, but it also meant my depth control suffered slightly. I was missing long more often when I went for big swings, and I really had to make sure I put plenty of topspin on my shots to help them land in."

Despite the Blackout 300 v2 being a power racquet, Tiffani felt connected to her shots and found success with placement and shot direction. She described, "The Blackout 300 v2 has a very familiar set of specs, so I felt comfortable at the baseline right away. I play a mostly flat game, but I could flick this racquet around quickly when I did want to add more topspin, especially on short cross-court shots. I did test this alongside the extended version, and the slice with this standard version wasn't quite as reliable or cutting, but it was still good enough when I was digging out a shot and sending back a defensive ball. I wouldn't call the Blackout 300 v2 precise, but I could move the ball around confidently and play my counterpunching game."

This Blackout 300 v2 came with very familiar specs for Brittany, so her aggressive and precise game felt effortless from the baseline. She said, "The specs of the Blackout 300 v2 are right on the money in terms of what I look for in a racquet, so I expected a seamless transition, and I was right. The Blackout 300 v2 is very easy for me to play with and great for my aggressive game. From the baseline, there was plenty of power off both wings. I loved how deep my shots were landing, especially when I was on the defensive. The Blackout 300 v2 encouraged me to play aggressively and really step into my shots to take control of points. This second version has a little more control than the first, and I wasn't experiencing any of my shots launching off the stringbed unexpectedly (like I did with the first version). I found both topspin and slice to be about average, and it got the job done overall."

Recognizing the power and maneuverability of the Blackout 300 v2, Oak kept his groundstrokes compact and loose, relying on the racquet for good pace and depth. He explained, "The biggest change with this iteration of the Blackout is its feel. I thought the updated feel with the addition of the foam was quite nice because I typically prefer frames with deeper pocketing sensations during contact. The Blackout 300 v2 offered good pace and depth on every shot, keenly blended with good feel and reliable feedback. This standard-length Blackout is whippy and fun to flick through the air quickly. I liked setting up more compactly and trying to stay loose to hit big, letting the racquet do the work on the majority of the shots. For a power racquet, the feel on contact was superb. I felt like it sat nicely in between power and control, and the feel reminded me a lot of a Tecnifibre TFight. The stability was good against heavier pace, and I liked how the racquet still felt fast even when I was under pressure."

Volleys: 8.3

Volleys seemed to be one of the easier shots for our playtest team to hit with the Solinco Blackout 300 v2. At net, the racquet's maneuverability paired very well with its raw power. Tiffani stuck to the textbook and let the racquet do the work for her. She said, "I liked to keep it simple when volleying with this Blackout 300 v2. I don't really have many complaints when it comes to volleys. This racquet was plenty maneuverable, offered good power and enough stability to just block the ball back deep."

Despite facing some stability issues at net, Oak was able to really shape the ball and hit his spots. He said, "The feel was good on volleys, and the handling made this racquet great for fast-paced firefights at the net. I would've liked a little more stability, but I didn't find it to be too detrimental if I was intentional about shaping my volleys with spin. I was hitting quick, angled volleys that were cutting through the court. Anything waist high or above was really fun to attack, and the Blackout 300 v2 shone when looking to end a point with emphasis."

Jason was able to hit clean and precise volleys regardless of the pace coming at him. He described, "The Blackout 300 v2 felt very whippy up at net, and I loved how quickly I could get the racquet into position. Rarely was I handcuffed by a shot. The Blackout 300 v2 also had nice put-away power on sitter volleys and overheads. I thought the stability with off-center hits could've been a little better, but that's nothing a bit of weight in the hoop couldn't fix."

Brittany found herself at the net quite often with the Blackout 300 v2. It allowed her to be aggressive with her volleys, punching balls through the court with ease. She said, "Because I was so aggressive, I actually found myself finishing points off at the net more than usual. As expected, I had the most success punching volleys deep in the court to end points. The Blackout 300 v2 was also very maneuverable, so I was able to get the racquet into position with ease."

Serves: 8.4

All of our testers loved serving with the Blackout 300 v2 because the racquet added more speed and power to whichever serve they were trying to hit. To Jason's delight, both his first and second serve saw a huge jump in MPHs. He said, "This racquet had me serving with some heat! It didn't matter if it was first or second serves, I was getting really good pace on both. With my second serves, the access to spin, on top of the speed, made them more effective than normal."

Due to the raw power of the Blackout 300 v2, Oak had no problem hitting big flat serves, but he had to be very intentional when it came to hitting kickers. He explained, "For the majority of this playtest I hit this Blackout alongside its 27.5-inch sibling, the Blackout 300 XTD v2. It's hard for me not to compare this regular edition to its extended counterpart, especially on serve, where the XTD shone. That said, the standard Blackout 300 was great for rifling first serves off quickly. This was one instance where I think the swingweight could've been a little higher, just to brush through and over the ball a little more effectively. The Blackout 300 v2 seemed to struggle when I implemented heavier spin and pace If I wasn't explicitly loose when hitting through the ball. Loose, simple serves proved to be the most practical with this racquet."

Brittany was getting a ton of pace on her serves, and the Blackout 300 v2's 300-gram weight allowed her to maintain the pace throughout an entire match. She described, "It was honestly difficult to decide if I liked to serve or return more with the Blackout 300 v2. I was getting plenty of pace on my first serves, and they were landing deep in the service box (similar to groundstrokes). I could get enough spin to hit a slice out wide to mix it up as well as enough topspin to get the ball to kick on second serves. The most important part was that I was able to maintain the racquet head speed and consistency throughout an entire match, which resulted in fewer double faults than normal."

While the extended version of this frame provided Tiffani a lot more power for serving, she loved the extra maneuverability the regular Blackout 300 v2 gave her. She said, "This Blackout 300 v2 offers some easy power on serves -- not as much as the XTD v2 but plenty for me. I also felt that it maneuvered easily overhead, so I could mix in spin serves and move the ball around the box pretty easily. When I was feeling really confident, my favorite serve to hit was out wide on the ad side. I can hardly call it a kick serve because I never get much spin on it, but that serve had more pace on it than usual with this racquet."

Returns: 8.4

The Blackout 300 v2 offered our playtesters a lot of power and maneuverability on returns, which then allowed them to hit deep and controlled balls with ample net clearance. Brittany was redirecting heavier paced serves with ease, taking control of points from the get-go. She explained, "I felt a little more in control of my returns with this update. I was able to redirect pace on first serves and block the ball deep in the court to big targets (my favorite being down the middle). I also had the confidence to step in and take big cuts at second serves."

Oak had to be a bit more conservative when returning bigger serves to avoid overhitting, instead using the racquet's maneuverability to add spin. He said, "I actually really liked returning with this Blackout 300 v2, so long as I didn't go for too much. In particular, my forehand return was working well, and I liked shaping balls back down with heavy spin. The quick handling was appreciated, and I loved the feel on most returns."

Jason had to add a lot of racquet head speed to his returns to get them to dive into the court. He said, "This Blackout 300 v2 was definitely a fun racquet to hit returns with. With it being so maneuverable, I could really try to attack by swinging fully on my returns. The only problem was that I would miss long if I didn’t add enough topspin."

Tiffani was able to step in and take certain serves early thanks to the Blackout 300 v2's control, but she could also depend on its power when she had to block the ball back. She described, "I found a good mix of power and control on my returns with this Blackout 300 v2, and that gave me the confidence to go for my spots. I could step in and be aggressive, or I could take advantage of the stability and block back serves when necessary."

Breakdown Summary