From: clin@eng.umd.edu (Charles Lin)
Subject: On lower tensions
Reply-To: clin@eng.umd.edu (Charles C. Lin)
Organization: College of Engineering, Maryversity of Uniland, College Park
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1992 04:48:24 GMT


   I had recently been having some problem with my racquet.
As some of you may know, I purchased a Donnay Pro One Limited
Super Midsize.   I had strung it originally at 62 pounds which
is supposed to be the upper limit of the tension range.  
This value seemed awfully low to me, but I didn't want
to exceed manufacturer's recommendation -- at least not
yet.

   While the racquet felt nice the first time and generated
a decent amount of power, the second time and third, it
seemed to be more problematic.  I had harder times on
my backhand, my serve, and my volleys.   The racquet felt
a bit boardlike and rattled unless I hit it just right.
Still, some of my shots were flying a little long.  I
had two inclinations.  One was to raise the tension so
that I might control the ball a little better.  The other
was to lower the tension so that the racquet might feel
better.

   As you might guess from the title of the post, I lowered
the tension to the other extreme and it is now at 54 pounds
(I think that's approximately 23 kg, but I'm too lazy to
figure it out right now, I think it's 2.2 pounds to the
kg).  This has made the racquet feel better, and since I
am not such a power player, I still can control the shots.
I am even thinking of pushing the tension down to 50 pounds
next time I restring.  I am hoping that the racquet stringer
made the right tension (there may have been a mistake, but
I didn't ask the stringer when I had the chance) because
I would hate to find out that it was 58 pounds, and I
am dropping it to 50.  

   Since I play a spin type of game anyway, lowering the
tension hasn't seemed to cause the ball to fly out of
control.   I'll let people know what happens when I lower
it even further, though that may take a while.  So, for
those who feel the racquet rattles a bit, you might try
lowering the tension.

Testing the Dunlop Quake 8.2 (95 square inches)
-----------------------------------------------

   In my despair (which caused me to restring the racquet), I
again had my thoughts wandering to getting another racquet
but fortunately this hasn't happened yet.  I demo'ed the
Quake 8.2 which is another widebody from Dunlop.  This
is supposedly a stiffer version of the Revelation, but
still a pretty felxible racquet all around.

    Like the Revelation, the Quake employs the ISIS 
dampening system.   The idea is to basically separate
the racquet handle from the rest of the racquet.  Or
isolate it.  At least, that's what it seems like they
are saying.   I compared the racquet head shape between
the Dunlop and Donnay and they look almost identical.
But then racquet head shapes vary so little.  Very few
companies try anything as different looking as the
Yonex racquets (or some of the smaller companies that
produce really bizarre ones.  I think Estusa used to
have some strange ones.).

    They don't feel the same though.  The Dunlop feels
more flexible though I'm not sure whether to attribute
that to the dampening or whether it is actually more
flexible than the Donnay (Pro One Limited Super Midsize).
The dampening is quite good compared to the Donnay which
doesn't have any sort of dampening system.

    I like the way this racquet hits.  It doesn't feel
so much more powerful than the Donnay but has a nice
feel on forehand and backhand.  It has an open pattern
which is slightly different from the Donnay.  As you know
strings cross one another on a racquet, but as you get
near the top or bottom or either side,  they usually
don't put one set of strings.  Hence, cross strings don't
go to the very top or bottom (I think that's right) and
mains don't go all the way to the left or right.  The Dunlop
goes a little closer to top and bottom and left and right
than the Donnay.

   The racquet seems to spin reasonably well though I think
I hit some sliced backhands onto the edge.  The handle
(which is my main complaint of the Donnay) is quite long
and can accomodate a two handed grip (the Donnay tapers
off, and this is rather annoying.  If anything, it ought
to taper a little bigger for the top hand).   Two handed
grips seem to be getting rarer, but that's more an
off the cuff statement.  The only problem I had with this
racquet is that while there weren't so much vibrations,
there seemed to be some shock to my elbow.  Not as
bad as the Revelation, but it seemed to be there.
I differentiate between vibration and shock as vibration
being the rattling you get when hitting off center, and
shock being some kind of perhaps lower frequency vibration.
Lower tensions and lead tape may help.  The Dunlop
also felt a bit more head light than the Donnay.  The
Dunlop weighs 12 ounces which is a little heavier than
the Donnay at 11.8 ounces.

    So, if you prefer a little more flexible racquet, this
may be it.  The racquet I demo'ed seemed to be strung
fairly low, but it's hard to say as I was using a fairly
thick gauge compared to the Donnay and I assuming thick
gauges resonate lower for comparable tensions.

--
Charles Lin
clin@eng.umd.edu

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