Monday, September 1, 2008

Tennis Review - Wilson KBlade 98 (Part 2)

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This is Part 2 of my review of Wilson's latest KBlade 98 and my current racquet of choice.

Please click the "Review" link at the end of this post for Part 1 of the KBlade Review and the complete list of my other reviews.

Week 2 – Customise:

Gaining Weight:

I added some lead tape to the 3 and 9‘clock positions (about 1 gram) and some in the racquet handle (about 2 grams).

Swinging the racquet, I found that adding lead tape in this way did not alter the balance of the racquet in any significant way.

Groundstrokes:

Wow, now we’re talking! The racquet felt a lot more stable on off-center shots and the additional swing-weight forced me to slow down my swing, thus improving my consistency and control.
I was timing the ball better and was able to place the ball anywhere I wanted and with some added depth!

Touch Shots:

Where I found most benefit was on touch shots – I was finally able to perform those deft drop-shots I so missed when changing from the nSix-One 95 to the Aeropro Drive Cortex (APDC). And my volleys were much more consistent because I was more confident because I didn’t have to worry about jarring miss-hits.

A flexible racquet is definitely the way to go if you play doubles or have an all-court game and I’ve come to realize that the APDC is not really a good doubles stick.

Serve:

Another benefit of adding lead tape was on serve. It really helped on flat first-serves – I got more power and placement was just unbelievable!

Conclusion:

Some advice for intermediate or advanced players: If you find that your racquet is not giving you the level of performance you crave, try adding some lead tape here and there to alter the balance, power or stability of the racquet.

This simple customisation is not only cheap but it’s also great fun to learn how a few grams of lead tape and some patience can help improve your game!

Good luck!


Please click the "Review" link at the end of this post for Part 1 of the KBlade Review and the complete list of my other reviews.


News | Reviews | Tips | Buy | Email Us

1 comment:

Andrew CwK said...

I bought this racquet like a month ago...

So far...Feel very good with this racquet...

the sweetspot area seems like quite big...

Playing with this racquet, it seems like I manage to hit where I wanted to hit most of the time...quite accurate...

Final words: Very like this racquet :) I prefer not to add any weight or lead tape on this racquet as this racquet consider very head heavier compare to my previous racquet, N-Six-One 95(which is very-very headlight)...

NTRP rating: 3.0