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Head Radical MP 2023
You have seen the pretty pictures; now see the specs of this new Radical series!
We are starting our property review with the Head Radical MP 2023. The MP version will probably be the most popular due to the very lovely weight and “player” style head size of 98 inches!
Head Radical MP 2023
As you look at the following specifications you may notice the addition of some “numbers”, specifically “beam width”.
We have been taking this number for many years but now believe it is time to expose it to you, the readers.
Briefly, the beam height-to-width ratio contributes to in-plane stiffness which is important for consistent string bed stiffness (SBS).
| Manufacturer | Head |
|---|---|
| Racquet Model | Head Radical MP 2023 |
| Reference Tension | 55 |
| String | MonoGut ZX Pro |
| Machine Used | True Tension Professional |
| String Bed Stiffness - RDC | 53.0 Units |
| String Bed Stiffness -FlexFour | 64.9 pounds |
| String Bed Stiffness - SBS | 51.8 pounds |
| String Bed Stiffness - ERT | 35 Kg/Cm |
| Racquet Flex, RDC | 65 - After stringing |
| Racquet Flex, FlexFour | 44.5 |
| Racquet - In Plane Stiffness | 379.7 lbs/Inch |
| Weight, Grams | 326 |
| Weight, Ounces | 11.50 |
| Balance, mm | 333 |
| Balance, Inch | 13.11 |
| Length, Cm | 68.57 |
| Length, Inch | 27.00 |
| Head Width | 9.63 |
| Head Length | 12.79 |
| Head Area, cm2 | 623.0 |
| Head Area, Sq. Inch | 96.7 |
| Beam Height @ Grip, mm | 21.0 |
| Beam Height @ Mid, mm | 22.5 |
| Beam Height @ Tip | 20.5 |
| Beam Width @ Grip, mm | 12.5 |
| Beam Width @ Throat, mm | 11.5 |
| Beam Width @ Mid, mm | 12.8 |
| Beam Width @ Tip, mm | 12.8 |
| Number of Main Strings | 16 |
| Number of Cross Strings | 19 |
| Ratio Cross/Mains | .634 |
| Main String Grid | 7.18 |
| Cross String Grid | 9.44 |
| Density (% of head filled with string) | 69.6% |
| Average Cross String Space | .494 |
| Average Main String Space | .449 |
| Dynamic Tension, Kp, ERT | 35 |
| Dynamic Tension, Lbs/in | 195.76 |
| First Moment, Nm | .841 |
| Polar Moment | 347 |
| Torsional Stability | 16 |
| Swing Weight, Kg/cm2 | 331 |
| Swing Weight, Ounces | 11.68 |
| Swing Weight Calculated | 361.5 |
| Power, RDC | 52 |
| Control, RDC | 49 |
| Manueverability, RDC | 66 |
| Power, Calculated | 2101.4 |
| Head Points | 3.15 |
| Head Weight, % | 48.5% |
| Center of Percussion | 21.1 |
| Dwell Time, ms | 8.74 |
| Efective Stiffness - lbs | 29.2 |
| K, Lb/In | 169.87 |
| Recoil Weight | 156.44 |
| Twist Weight | 226.48 |
| End Weight | 126.0 |
| Tip Weight | 197.7 |
| 9 O'Clock | 105.1 |
| 3 O'Clock | 104.7 |
| Butt Cap | 115.6 |
| COF, Main | .416 |
| COF, Cross | .388 |
Head…just when you thought it couldn’t get any better
The Head Radical has always been one of the best performance racquets available and doesn’t require much in the way of annual changes!
We think this new group is right on target! Adding Auxetic in the throat brings this series into the overall success of the Auxetic component!
We will be doing full reviews very soon, but in the meantime, take a look at these new Radicals!
The Team is the new “S” in the Radical Series! Based on our initial testing, we think this model has a trick up its sleeve!
ZUS Tennis
Never heard of them? I hadn’t either until yesterday!
ZUS is a Chicago-based company that offers several racquets with various specifications available.
A ZUS Custom Sven Goth Design came in for work, so we had a great opportunity to get all of the specifications and include them in a “racquet review”!
First, the racquet seems to be a well-made version of the Wilson Pro Staff RF, with an ever so slightly thinner modified box section beam. the geometry is very much like the Wilson Pro Staff RF, as is the weight.
This racquet has a bunch of weight at the rear end, plus a shrink sleeve to increase the grip size, so it is loaded up with weight down there, which is OK!
Rear Weight
The racquet is foamed, probably the entire tube, which may contribute a more muted feel than a non-foamed racquet. The Pro Staff RF is also foam filled.
The small oval piece is a lead or steel, weight sandwiched between the two halves of the shaft. This construction makes it impossible to remove that weight if you want to, but it is good to have it there!
| Manufacturer | ZUS |
|---|---|
| Racquet Model | ZUS Custom Sven Goth Design |
| Reference Tension | 50 |
| String | Prince Tour XR 16 |
| Machine Used | True Tension Professional |
| String Bed Stiffness - RDC | 53.0 Units |
| String Bed Stiffness -FlexFour | 59.1 pounds |
| String Bed Stiffness - SBS | 50.6 pounds |
| String Bed Stiffness - ERT | 35 Kg/Cm |
| Racquet Flex, RDC | 63 - After stringing |
| Racquet Flex, FlexFour | 41.0 |
| Racquet - In Plane Stiffness | 438.0 lbs/Inch |
| Weight, Grams | 354 |
| Weight, Ounces | 12.49 |
| Balance, mm | 316 |
| Balance, Inch | 12.44 |
| Length, Cm | 68.57 |
| Length, Inch | 27.00 |
| Head Width | 9.41 |
| Head Length | 12.80 |
| Head Area, cm2 | 610.1 |
| Head Area, Sq. Inch | 94.6 |
| Beam Height @ Grip, mm | 20.5 |
| Beam Height @ Mid, mm | 20.2 |
| Beam Height @ Tip | 20.6 |
| Beam Width @ Grip, mm | 10.8 |
| Beam Width @ Throat, mm | 10.8 |
| Beam Width @ Mid, mm | 11.6 |
| Beam Width @ Tip, mm | 12.4 |
| Number of Main Strings | 16 |
| Number of Cross Strings | 19 |
| Ratio Cross/Mains | .619 |
| Main String Grid | 7.25 |
| Cross String Grid | 9.68 |
| Density (% of head filled with string) | .742 |
| Average Cross String Space | .509 |
| Average Main String Space | .453 |
| Dynamic Tension, Kp, ERT | 35 |
| Dynamic Tension, Lbs/in | 195.76 |
| First Moment, Nm | .854 |
| Polar Moment | 348 |
| Torsional Stability | 18 |
| Swing Weight, Kg/cm2 | 330 |
| Swing Weight, Ounces | 11.64 |
| Swing Weight Calculated | 353.5 |
| Power, RDC | 51 |
| Control, RDC | 49 |
| Manueverability, RDC | 67 |
| Power, Calculated | 1965.9 |
| Head Points | 8.46 |
| Head Weight, % | 46.1% |
| Center of Percussion | 20.9 |
| Dwell Time, ms | 8.74 |
| Efective Stiffness - lbs | 28.8 |
| K, Lb/In | 169.87 |
| Recoil Weight | 167.26 |
| Twist Weight | 235.57 |
| End Weight | 151.7 |
| Tip Weight | 197.9 |
| 9 O'Clock | 105.5 |
| 3 O'Clock | 108.1 |
| Butt Cap | 137.1 |
| COF, Main | .382 |
| COF, Cross | .306 |
Solinco Black Out 300XTD
Solinco is not new to the tennis racquet business but the new offerings have some excellent features that I don’t remember on the previous ones we saw.
The two (2) racquets being reviewed are the Black Out 300XTD and White Out 305 XTD
Solinco Black Out
Cleverly, one is all black and one is all white! I mention this because the graphics are minimal which I think is a very good design platform.
We will start the review with the Black Out. As you might have guessed the 300XTD is a 300-gram, 27.5-inch-long racquet having a 100-square-inch hitting area.
This racquet comes with three (3) butt caps for adding much-needed weight! Pop out the 0-gram standard and pop in a 5 or 10-gram replacement! When you pop out the butt cap you will see this is a non-filled (hollow) racquet, and, there is nothing wrong with that. You will also see that the grip pallet is a molded foam pallet, allowing for minor size and shape changes.
That is enough narrative. Take a look at the specifications below:
| Manufacturer | Solinco |
|---|---|
| Racquet Model | Solinco Black Out 300XTD |
| Reference Tension | 42 |
| String | Volkl V-Star 18 |
| Machine Used | True Tension Professional |
| String Bed Stiffness - RDC | 42.0 Units |
| String Bed Stiffness -FlexFour | 39.0 pounds |
| String Bed Stiffness - SBS | 41.3 pounds |
| String Bed Stiffness - ERT | 28 Kg/Cm |
| Racquet Flex, RDC | 70 - After stringing |
| Racquet Flex, FlexFour | 49.0 |
| Racquet - In Plane Stiffness | 377.4 lbs/Inch |
| Weight, Grams | 330 |
| Weight, Ounces | 11.64 |
| Balance, mm | 323 |
| Balance, Inch | 12.72 |
| Length, Cm | 69.9 |
| Length, Inch | 27.52 |
| Head Width | 9.81 |
| Head Length | 12.98 |
| Head Area, cm2 | 645.3 |
| Head Area, Sq. Inch | 100.0 |
| Beam Height @ Grip, mm | 23.3 |
| Beam Height @ Mid, mm | 24.5 |
| Beam Height @ Tip | 23.7 |
| Beam Width @ Grip, mm | 16.0 |
| Beam Width @ Throat, mm | 15.7 |
| Beam Width @ Mid, mm | 11.0 |
| Beam Width @ Tip, mm | 12.8 |
| Number of Main Strings | 16 |
| Number of Cross Strings | 19 |
| Ratio Cross/Mains | .637 |
| Main String Grid | 7.70 |
| Cross String Grid | 10.68 |
| Density (% of head filled with string) | .822 |
| Average Cross String Space | .562 |
| Average Main String Space | .481 |
| Dynamic Tension, Kp, ERT | 30 |
| Dynamic Tension, Lbs/in | 167.79 |
| First Moment, Nm | .819 |
| Polar Moment | 332 |
| Torsional Stability | 15 |
| Swing Weight, Kg/cm2 | 317 |
| Swing Weight, Ounces | 11.18 |
| Swing Weight Calculated | 344.3 |
| Power, RDC | 60 |
| Control, RDC | 36 |
| Manueverability, RDC | 75 |
| Power, Calculated | 2330.5 |
| Head Points | 8.35 |
| Head Weight, % | 46.2% |
| Center of Percussion | 20.9 |
| Dwell Time, ms | 10.19 |
| Efective Stiffness - lbs | 25.0 |
| K, Lb/In | 125.00 |
| Recoil Weight | 155.24 |
| Twist Weight | 237.60 |
| End Weight | 136.4 |
| Tip Weight | 192.7 |
| 9 O'Clock | 100.4 |
| 3 O'Clock | 101.3 |
| Butt Cap | 127.5 |
| COF, Main | .370 |
| COF, Cross | .332 |
Comparing Racquets (for real)
The Racquet Quest podcast recently aired a session on comparing racquets, so, to be fair I wanted to post that same data here. If you listened to the podcast this will sound familiar.
These racquets are not random. These racquets are owned by a client that is seeking an upgrade without going overboard!
Here is what Jess has to say:
“Hey, John –
Jess definitely likes the VS more than the Rafa. She said that she gets more easy power and stability with the Rafa but she’s able to accelerate faster on the forehand side with the VS.
She also felt like the VS was more maneuverable at the net. She said that if she’s in control of the point that she can really whip her forehand for a winner. She definitely noticed the lighter swing weight and liked that.
However, she also said that sometimes it feels a little unstable – like the VS is getting pushed around a bit. For example, she noticed that the head of the racquet can twist sometimes if her opponent nails a hard ball at her.
She has more control for sure with the VS – felt like she blasted more balls out with the Rafa. Overall, she likes the racquet- just would like a little more stability.”
By the way, Jess had not seen the racquet data prior to her hitting. So, there you have it. I believe you can see how much numbers help us find the right performance characteristics for a racquet.
Racquet Quest, LLC
