Stefano or TennezSport!

[xwall]

I would like to know why many racquets have different specs IRL than on paper or websites?

What I mean is that both my Babolats and new Wilsons don´t have the same specs on the frames as on paper!

How is this possible, and is it a common thing?

That some of the internet-shops - even the biggest ones - can write wrong specs is understandable, but when it´s even incorrect at their official websites I get confused.

As an example: Wilson say the Six.One 95 BLX is 9 pts HL. Tennis-warehouse say it´s 8 pts HL and on the frames IRL it´s typed 12 pts HL.

Directly after buying them last night I went by a post-office and had a look - one was 341 grams strung and the other 346 grams strung (same strings)!

Is it always like this, or is the QC sometimes bullshit?

G`day!:D

[armsty]

QC is an issue at Wilson in particular.

TW is the best reference, as they take half a dozen or so of the rackets with stock string (and im sure they string them up if they come without strings) and then measure all specs on each frame then put an average of them up.

[TennezSport]

Xwall,

Armsty is correct and sorry to say, Wilson has had QC issues for some time. Think of it as a reference spec and a spec range in the manufacturering process. When racquets are mass produced there is a target spec they aim for with an acceptable "range" plus or minus from the reference. Some companies have a wider acceptable range than others. From my experience, companies like Yonex, Volkl and Fischer (now Pacific) have the tighest spec range. We wind up customizing more Wilson frames than any other due to their ranges.

Cheers, TennezSport :cool:

[Stefano]

I agree completely.

Some online shops use the specs from the producers and some measure themselves.

With some brands (Wilson being probably the worst) quality control in pretty much non existent.

I have the same experience as Larry (TennezSport) with Volkl, Yonex and Fischer (now Pacific): it's pretty easy to match 2 racquets, they are always pretty much identical.

I would add Prince as well. They are produced in the same factory where they produce Volkl (with a different management) and their racquets are pretty good when it comes to specs.

Have a look at this video. This is the factory where they produce Volkl and Prince, in the Prince section. Really cool.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=105298276165511&ref=nf :)

[ClubHoUno]

Normally the specs shown on the racquet is unstrung specs, sometimes TW and other stores use strung specs......sometimes the specs measured by the tennis shop is true specs, while the number on the racquet is 'factory dream specs'

Unfortunately mostly of the bigger companies have terrible production control and a too large margin for errors in production specifications and production control.

Best thing is to do this, when buying more than one of the same racquet model:

1. Buy a place that have one of the expensive Tennis racquet specifications machine. Unfortunately this excludes many of the smaller tennis shops, because they can't afford having such a beast of a machine (it costs circa $5.000 - $7.000 depending on model and brand - the machine can precisely measure swingweight, balance point, static weight and stiffness)

2. Ask the shop, when you order the racquets, to make sure, that they control and match all the racquets you buy. The racquets should have the same balance, static weight and swingweight. If the shop owner asks what you mean by 'racquet matching' - dump the shop for obvious reasons.

I order my Babolat racquets through a guy from TW EUROPE, who has inside connections at Babolat, so I get them matched directly from the Tour Department with unique serial numbers. My Völk was almost spot on stock, only 1 balance point off and 1 gram static weight off between the two.

My Wilsons was also checked before they shipped them to me.

[xwall]

Very nice answers from each of you!:)

[xwall]

How much - or little - does a 6 gram overgrip change the specs and playing char. of a racquet?

Is it noticable at all, or does it really change som balance, racquet speed and power of the ball coming of the strings?

[armsty]

You don't really notice it. It will obviously add weight to the racket, it will add very minimal to the swingweight as it's fairly low on the racquet. Not a lot difference.

[benraschke]

I have one more interesting tidbit to add. One of the companies that was mentioned earlier in responses actually uses better quality control on their demos.:confused: The racquets sold in the stores are the more imperfect models. The sales rep for this company stated the reason was the demos are what people base buying a racquet on. If a person takes a demo out that s crappy chances are that player won't purchase a racquet. This company decided to make the demos under the most strict quality control counting on a person then buying the racquet. Once you have purchased a racquet that company doesn't care as they have gotten your money. :mad: I use Volkl C10Pros and when I purchased my racquets I bought 2 at a time (I have 4) and had the specs checked before I paid for them. As is Vokl's standards both racquets were exact. For those of you in the tennis world who have never heard of Volkl or tried a Volkl I would highly recommend you do so. :D

[xwall]

I have sold my Pure Drive Cortex racquets since I couldn´t swing as hard as I wanted without loosing control of the ball. After many advices from people - that the new APD GT would be much better for my game - and som testplay, I decided that I would buy them.

On the phone, I was very clear about what I wanted and told him several times that I wanted racquets that were matching each other. He said that he should weigh and check the balance. I trusted him, paid and went home. When I came home, I could actually feel that they did not match! One racquet felt heavier and also less HL in my hand. Took them with me to the postal office and checked them on their expensive machine: One of them was 315, and the other 323! Both were strung with Excel Premium from the factory.

Should I go back tomorow and tell him that I don´t want to buy them if he doesn´t match their wieght and balance perfectly? I sure as hell don´t want to play with racquets that almost weigh as different as different models of the AeroPro Drive GT!