Category Archives: Racquet – Old
Older racquet information
You Have Been Waiting for These!
You may not know it but you have been waiting for these!
Head continues with thier anniversary edition parade! It seems twenty-five years is a good time to re-introduce the racquet(s) that made history then!
Head Radical 107
Head Radical 98 Limited Edition
The Head Radical 107 OS is a remake of the Andre Agassi racquet that is true to the characteristics of the era! Great weight, perfect flex, workable swingweight, a 18×19 string pattern, a 107 square inch head, and minimal graphics! This may be the purest example of a remake I have ever seen. It even comes with the rubber band vibration dampers Andre used!
The Head Radical 98 MP is the newer racquet geometry and 98 head size. The graphics reach back twenty-five years for the colors but the design is definately contemporary. Plus, this racquet accepts the Head Pro Player Cap System grommet set. Yes, that means you can turn this Radical into a “beast” just like the previous versions!
I will be posting all the specifications of both of these as soon as possible but they are in the shop so please come by and take a look, and feel, for yourself. These are limited edition racquets.
Meet Jennifer
Jennifer walked into the World Headquarters of Racquet Quest the other day and asked to have her racquets strung. Nothing unusual about that, of course.
I looked a the racquets in her hand and thought to myself…” Well, where are they?”
In her hands were two (2) Head You Tek IG Prestige Mid racquets! If you don’t remember these, they are the pinnacle of the Head Performace series racquets. The head size is 93 square inches; the weight is 350 grams (12.35 ounces), with a swing weight of 309 kg/cm2 (10.9 ounces), and a racquet flex of 64 RDC units.
This is a great racquet for sure, but I don’t see many anymore in the good condition as these are. One needed a grommet set, but that was all.
The reason I mention this is to reassure tennis players that they are capable of using racquets they normally scoff at including a comment “I am not good enough to use that!” A lot depends on what you want to do with the racquet. In Jennifer’s case, she wants to get to the net as quickly as possible, and the nice recoil weight of 146.1 makes this a good racquet at the net! The low swing weight enhances the “mobility” of the racquet which also means this is not a particularly “powerful” racquet.
The new Head Graphene Touch Prestige Mid is still 93 square inches but now has a 16×19 string pattern.
If you are interested in hitting with a Head Graphene Touch Prestige Mid, our demo is strung with Babolat VS Touch natural gut which represents the purest combination I can think of!
Thank you, Jennifer, for giving me an example of what tennis players are capable of!
Racquet vs Car!
Racquet looses!
It is no surprise that a tennis racquet, or even two, will not compete against the weight of a car
Racquet(s) vs Car!
After a tough match it is easy to forget where you put your racquets, so, I suggest the first thing you do is put them in your giant bag that can not be missed!
The other thing to be careful of is the carbon fiber that is now exposed! If this gets into your skin it is not a pleasant experience!
The best thing to do is go directly to the dump and toss them in! Don’t mess with them!
Racquet Museum now Open!
Over the years I have collected many really cool racquets. I want to share these racquets with everyone so I have started a new web site.
The new site is www.racquetmuseum.com
This site is still under construction so there will be some upgrades as I go on but in the meantime take a look at some really great racquets.
I have included specifications of these racquets so you have an idea as to why they were so successful or not so much!
Have fun in the museum!
Jack Kramer ProStaff…update!
Many of you have probably never seen a Jack Kramer ProStaff racquet. That is one advantage I have by being old! This is the definitive wooden racquet produced by Wilson many years ago and to find a good one is rare. I have a couple brand new ones but I didn’t expect to see two (2) come in for stringing!
I put Tecnifibre MultiFeel 16 gauge in both at a reference tension of 45 pounds. These are, by the way, for a really good junior player to use for stroke production training. He loves them!
To put these racquets into perspective here are some specifications compared to the new Wilson BLX ProStaff Ninety. I will call these the “Kramer” and the “Ninety”. The Kramer is 27 inches long, ditto the Ninety. The Kramer weighs 13.3 ounces, the Ninety 12.6 ounces. The head size of the Kramer is 69.6 square inches and the Ninety is 91.1 square inches.
The Kramer has a stiffness of 24.0! Yes, I checked it several times. The Ninety has a stiffness of 63.0. Both have an ERT SBS of 36 but the Kramer has an effective stiffness of 16.1 and the Ninety an effective stiffness of 29.9! It is easy to see why there were fewer arm issues during the wooden racquet era.
The down side of flexibility is the reduction of power available from the racquet. The Kramer checks in at 19 compared to 46 from the Ninety.
So, it is not hard to see why new racquets are better suited to most players. The ball will make it to the net!
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