Babolat
Pure Drive Roddick Tennis Racquet
Tennis Magazine Review
SALES PITCH:
Babolat will have you know two things: First, relax, because the hugely popular Pure Drive isn’t being discontinued; second, if you like that racquet but wish it were a little heavier, check out this version.
COMPARE TO:
Babolat Pure Drive
HOW IT TESTED:
The Babolat PD Roddick is about a half-ounce heavier than the original and almost identical in weight to what Andy Roddick uses. That gives you the first clue about this frame—it’s for advanced players who have the muscle to move it through the contact zone. Pure Drive fans will notice how the extra weight keeps the frame from buckling under pressure, particularly on volleys and returns. The
PD Roddick, which also comes in an extra-long model, excels at helping players hit a heavy ball with pace and spin. Plus, because it’s stable, it delivers more control off the ground. There’s also a new
vibration filtering technology, the Cortex System, just above the handle that’s designed to reduce bad vibes without deadening the frame’s feel. (Note: The original Pure Drive is also available with or without the Cortex System.)
BOTTOM LINE:
If you can handle the heft, the Pure Drive Roddick will give you more power, control, and stability.
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Technology
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 NCT racquets integrate state-of-the-art material (Carbon Nenotubes™) with a special beam design (Straight beam stabilizers). The result increased power and a newfound enjoyment of the game.
Characteristics
* 5 times stiffer than standard carbon racquet!
* Its molecular organization, as pure as that of a diamond, makes it the ideal material to use between the sweetspot and the handle.
* High driving properties Advantages
* Enhanced performance of the stabilizers between the sweetspot and handle thanks to this real concentration of power and purity. |
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 Cortex System is the first technology customized to filter different vibrations. For competitive players, Cortex filters vibrations for purer feel of the ball. For club players, Cortex gives maximum comfort when hitting.
Interface between the handle and the frame: These two parts of the racquet are actively linked by the CDS (Cortex Dampening System) which filters and dampens the vibrations interfering with feel, to enhance the feel of the ball. |
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- MAP:
$179
- Length:
685mm/27"
- Head
Size: 645 cm/ 100"
- Weight:315
g/11 oz
- Balance:
315 mm HL
- Beam
Width: 22-26 mm
- Type
of Swing: Moderate to Full
- String
Tension: 55-65
- String
Pattern: 16x19
- Stiffness:
72 RA
- Composition:
High Modulus Graphite/Kevlar
- Grip:
Syntec Grip
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 Babolat's patented
Woofer Technology is the first dynamic system which makes the frame and the strings interact when striking the ball.
The frame is basically static which holds the driving force of the racquet, the strings, in place. Conventional racquets have strings that are attached to the frame which limits the performance of said driving force. The strings in Babolat racquets are attached to both sides of the frame. Only some strings are active when struck by the ball.
What this means is that racquets do not deliver their full potential. Babolat set out to imagine a racquet optimizing the frame and the strings - to invent a frame which permits all the strings to work together to their full potential when striking the ball, hence, Woofer
Technology |
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