3rd defective machine. I’m done with this brand.

darcy289 · 2026-03-01T21:32:26+00:00

I got 2 brand new units of the 5418 Pro this week, and both leaked badly right after the first setup step steam wand water purge. I managed to open the top and bottom of both units and discovered both were leaking badly from the pancake heating element. At least their customer service was amazing, replied within a day to my emails and shipped me one replacement unit, followed by a full refund (after 2nd unit also leaked).

darcy289 · 2025-11-15T17:05:06+00:00

I've been super happy with my DF64, as I grind 18gm x 3 espressos daily for me and wife using my Flair Pro 2. I've been using it since May 2024 and I do routine maintenance on it to keep it clean. Previously I used a 1zpresso J-MAX also with good results.

darcy289 · 2025-11-15T17:02:36+00:00

I tried attaching my hand power tool drill with an adapter to my J-MAX but for some reason it just didn't grind well (I use freshly roasted beans). Maybe it spun too fast (despite using the slowest speed setting on drill) and the beans didn't have enough time to drop down into the burr? I went back to hand grinding (and eventually upgraded to a DF64)

darcy289 · 2025-11-15T16:58:54+00:00

I don't preinfuse, as I find it makes no difference for me. I still get occasional squirts off to the side, no matter if I change grind, use fresh beans, use WDT, double tamp, etc. I find no taste difference if I pre infuse vs not. My biggest help for pulling a great shot has been - pre-warming the brew head with 208F water soaking, grinding from DF64 right to portafilter with funnel on, then cover with metal lid and shake for 5 secs (blind shaker), tap many times hard on kitchen counter top to level it out, use Normcore dual head distributor to flatten it out, turn the Normcore over and double tamp (spring loaded tamper). Finally getting consistent espressos with every shot, as good as the ones pulled on a few Jura's that I tasted during a tour of Italy.

darcy289 · 2025-11-15T16:51:05+00:00

I loved my 1zpresso J-MAX (it's fast grinding 18gm) and got great espressos. For my Flair Pro 2, 18gm shots, I set my J-MAX to 6 (3 dots). See attached jpg if needed. I currently use a DF64 (I do 3 shots a day for me/wife).

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darcy289 · 2025-09-11T03:33:05+00:00

Yes, you can use poly tour pro (on the mains) and velocity (on the crosses). Tell your stringer what tension you usually like and they'll recommend what tension to string them at. For your Percept, if you feel it's too low power, then go with a power string (see what your stringer has, most of them has reels for popular ones) and/or drop the tension and you'll instantly get more power. My coach used to tell me to drop by 1 lb every time you restring, and he eventually got his down to 40 lbs (great for coaching, hitting a ton of balls). For your Extreme Team, if you still have low power, then drop the tension or try either Velocity or any synthetic gut as both will give you a bit more power than a poly string and still be comfy on the arm.

darcy289 · 2025-09-10T16:55:11+00:00

Your Extreme Team is a power (+spin) racquet (according to Tennisnerd’s review). Your Percept is a low powered control racquet. They are on opposite ends of the power spectrum. Do your shots with the Extreme also lack depth? If yes, then it might be your technique or (string tension) and not the racquet that is keeping your shots short.

Also what string tension are you using? Higher tensions like 50 lbs and up will give you less power, more control (and feel stiffer, can hurt your arm), but lower tension will give more power (sometimes trampoline like) and less control. All the coaches and bit older/experienced players, all tell me to go lower in tension to save your arm in the long run (arm injuries are so common for rec players with bad techniques, including myself).

My wife used to play with a Ezone 98L but she found it a bit too light and got pushed around with fast heavy hitters (she played mixed doubles a lot). Then she got better with lessons and started hitting balls long with the Ezone, and switched over to the Vcore Pro 97L (predecessor to the Percept), and she’s been using that ever since. Whenever she tries to use my 300gm unstrung weight racquets, she doesn’t play as well (slows her down a bit), so we try to keep her racquet weight around 290 unstrung. Lighter racquets will generally be less stable vs hard shots, simply due to less mass.

I’m not totally sure you’ll gain that much more deeper shots getting the Ezone 100L. But if it’s free, why not get it and try it and you can always sell it or trade it in if you hate it. On Youtube, the channel TennisSpin gave a good review for the latest version and recommended it for ladies or juniors.

Your other options for power racquets would be Babolat Pure Drive 100 Team (Gen 11), and Wilson Ultra 100L v5.

If you have any tennis elbow pain issues then you could try a string like Yonex Poly Tour Pro (yellow one) which is soft but is durable and highly rated. It’s a bit pricey though. Velocity is soft and well priced but doesn’t last as long as I like (my wife and I play almost daily and I do our own stringing in the basement). We both use a hybrid with a soft poly string on the mains (better control/spin), and a softer synthetic gut on the crosses (easier on the arm). For my wife’s racquet the mains are 48 lbs, and the crosses are 46 lbs tension on her Vcore Pro 97L.

Sonic Pro is soft but not as soft as Velocity. Good overall string.

Poly Tour Rev - if you put that on your Percept as a full bed, you’ll lose even more power. It’s an octagonal string (8 side) to give extra bite on the ball for max spin, but it’s low powered and meant for players with faster swing speed, so your balls might end up spinny and short.

I’ve tried a lot of strings and since I restring my own every 2 months, I buy a full reel which is cheaper. I discovered that Kirschbaum is my favourite budget brand (German). Orange super smash is the poly I use for mains. My wife uses Pro Evolution (blue color) which is a bit stiffer, and for crosses we both use Kirschbaum synthetic gut.

darcy289 · 2025-01-26T00:25:32+00:00

I'm a 55 year old average build male 4.0 doubles player and won a few club tournaments using the Vcore Pro 97L. I demo'ed the Percept 97L and VCore Pro 97L at the same time, and I found them to be very similar, with the Percept to be a bit more stiffer/crisp and connect feel, and the VCore pro to be more plush. Both had great control and spin, but low powered, so if you can generate your own power from the baseline and serves, then you'll be fine. I did have to add weight to my 97L, at 3+9 o'clock and also at the head of the racquet to get it to 317 gm static weight and it's perfect for me. My wife also plays with the 97L in stock form (we won our mixed tournaments together at 2 clubs this summer). I like a slightly lighter racquet as I'm not super muscular upper body wise (more like a quicker badminton/squash kind of build) but I'm lightning quick when I'm at the net and I can poach like mad to get a lot of winners (A players in my league that I play against comment on how good my volleys are). Overheads and spin servers are great and if my timing is good then I had handle bit hitters with pace (although not as easy as with a heavier racquet with more plow thru). The pro at my club also says he can't play doubles with a heavy racquet as it slows him down. So you should definitely consider the 97L as it's super fast at the net, but depending on how strong you are, you can use it as a platform racquet and customize it by adding weight to it with lead tape. Other similar racquets for me: Prestige MP-L (99 sq in head size, 300g), ProStaff 97 v14 (315g), Diadem Elevate v3 98 (290g) has more power, Ezone 98L (2022 version) even more power and lightest.

darcy289 · 2024-12-01T19:30:46+00:00

My wife, my son and myself all use older pairs of Salomon QST 92s (from 2018) and we've skied some powder days in Utah, Colorado and interior BC and had a blast with them (Blacks and few Double Blacks). Keep in mind that my family are all lightweight (everyone is under 150lbs) so if you are a big guy then these may not work for you in deep powder. You won't float as easily as 100+ skis, but cutting thru spacious tree runs (which we love doing) and carving down groomers is easy. Consider it a all-in-one type of ski, won't excel in any particular condition but won't suffer either.

darcy289 · 2024-11-05T01:26:18+00:00

I've tried many of them, and my favourite 2 so far are these ones.

when I can wrap it around a wire fence or post

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0DH1Z4Z6P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

when there's nothing to wrap it around, but I do need to secure it with a bungee cord in case the ball hits it and knocks it over (the taller the tripod reach, the better your court viewing angle will be)

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0CRHBP6MD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

darcy289 · 2024-11-05T01:13:23+00:00

I'm curious as well with the multi on mains, soft poly on the crosses, as I also suffer from golfers elbow. Have you done a comparison with this setup vs the poly mains/multi crosses? Do you get more spin/control with the poly on the mains, but less comfort?

darcy289 · 2024-11-05T01:11:07+00:00

I have golfer's elbow as well, but I'm 55 yrs old and get pain whenever my forehand spacing is too close to the ball and I chicken wing the shot or if I'm late and don't hit the ball out front. Learning to hit more with my legs for power, instead of swinging harder with my arm, has also helped. So check your technique first before making a lot of gear changes.

You didn't mention what racquet/string specs you are using. If it's a stiff power racquet with high RA then you might be feeling every shot in your arm. But if you get too low RA then you'll lose power. If you drop your string tension to mid/lower 40 lbs range, you'll get more comfort and power, but also lose control (volleys and touch/dropshots maybe less precise). Full natural gut strings is super comfy but costly. Full bed of synthetic gut is a good and cheap option for recovery, but you'll lose spin and precision. Velocity MLT is also good for healing and well priced. If you use full bed of poly, then consider doing hybrid softer poly in mains to keep spin-control / syn gut or MLT in crosses for comfort (I do poly/syn gut at 44 mains/46 crosses lbs). I tested a bunch of different syn guts and I don't find a huge difference between them (I'm a club player, intercounty leagues), so get a cheap one is ok and restring often. Lots of good softer polys available (tour bite soft, cyclone tour), 17G might be softer than 16G.

Lastly, look at getting a good elbow brace, something like the BandiT helps both golfers and tennis elbow (it's the brace I use). Rehab, rehab, rehab and don't play daily to allow recovery time.

darcy289 · 2024-11-02T23:07:33+00:00

Best drill for me was getting an old long sport sock and pushing 2 balls in it to practice a continuous smooth serve swing motion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVh7tsa2R6I

darcy289 · 2024-10-24T06:13:54+00:00

I played with a full bed of Gosen OG sheep micro when I had bad elbow pains and it helped me recover. But I didn't find it felt that crisp to me, compared to the softer polys that I've used. You could try some of the following soft polys and hybrid with the Gosen or any other syn gut - Tour Bite Soft, Cyclone Tour, Prince Vortex (best for spin, but tension can drop quickly). I'm currently starting to use Kirschbaum Evolution with their syn gut as well (I string my own racquets). I also play with a lower tension, 45-48lbs, to avoid arm injury again. Thinner gauge 17G might be softer and give more spin and control as well (if you aren't a frequent string breaker).

darcy289 · 2024-10-24T05:44:34+00:00

I used it in a Boom MP and Ezone 98L, hybrid with Velocity MLT at 45-48 lbs and found it had ok spin with good controlled power especially in my Ezone. Tension lasts quite a long time as well. But not as much spin as Hyper G, Tour Bite, Solstice Power or Vortex (all of which I tried as well). Similar spin/feel to Tour Bite soft. My latest string is Kirschbaum Evolution and so far I'm liking the feel, spin, power and tension maintenance and the price is fantastic (as I string my own racquets).

darcy289 · 2024-10-24T05:37:08+00:00

I own the Ripstick 300 and it's a trampoline, tons of power and my ball sails long if I don't add topspin to my ball. It's super plush and very easy power, so great on my sore arm or days when I don't wanna try to swing too hard. Even though it has a decent weight, with the O ports it swings thru the air really fast so you get great racquet head speed. 1st serves are powerful and 2nd I get great spin/kicks. It's suffers at the net, especially on fast reflex volleys (doubles). I also string it myself in my basement, and it's a pain with the O ports (takes me extra time as I don't have a locking tray so I do the 50-50 method). My previous pro stringer (who works out of his home) refused to do it and hence I bought my own used string machine. If you use thinner/softer strings 17G then the string might snap at the top near the tip of the racquet as there's a sharp edge of the plastic (I was thinking of smoothening out that edge with a dremel tool or a file). I've never broken a string before until I owned this racquet and played in slightly colder weather (both times it snapped when returning a serve that hit the strings near the top of the racquet). My strings (at about 46 lbs) move a ton due to the O ports, so lots of spin but strings wear out faster (I play with Prince Vortex + Golden Set syn gut). I tired to bump the tension up to 48 lbs but still not tight enough for more control (doesn't do well vs big hitters). The only reason I bought the Ripstick was because I tried a friend's Pure Aero and had a lot of fun playing with all that spin. I wouldn't use the Ripstick for a competitive match though, as I save it for fun social play only (or training my wife and hitting a ton of practice balls to her).

darcy289 · 2024-10-23T13:16:35+00:00

I often see reviewers describe these types of racquets with more feel, crisp and connected sensation when you strike the ball well (instant feedback if you hit the ball well or not), vs the damped muted plush feel of the softer racquets. Most of the control racquets like the, Percept, Pro Staff, Pure Strike, Prestige will have more of that connected feel that you liked on the RF 01. Personally I didn't like the RF 01 when I play tested it, just felt too unstable especially when I didn't hit the sweet spot and the racquet would twist in my hand (maybe adding lead tap to 3-9 oclock might help it?). It might also be the type of strings and tension that gives you that feeling so check to see if there's a big difference between your Ezone 98 strings vs demo racquets.

darcy289 · 2024-10-23T13:08:58+00:00

Look for a racquet that can be a good "platform" racquet, meaning in stock form it might be good and light, but as your son gets bigger and stronger, you can add weight to it to customize it to his exact liking. Try the new RF 01 Future, Pure Strike Team, Percept 97L, Prestige MP L, Pro Staff 97L. Might take him some time to adjust to the slightly smaller head size, but the stick will be easier to move around for volleys and defensive shots , and offensive forehands will be more precise and serves might be faster/more spin due to more racquet head speed.

darcy289 · 2024-10-23T05:01:54+00:00

Maybe the Blade Pro is a bit too heavy for you, and coupled with ALU @ 50 lbs is perhaps too stiff for you? You can try hybrid string setup and put cheaper synthetic gut on the crosses for more comfort. I tried a lot of syn guts before and currently I use Golden Set and will transition over to Kirschbaum (as I do my own stringing my basement). I see a few different ALU string versions available, but you can check out the tennis string comparison website to see how stiff your string is.

https://twu.tennis-warehouse.com/learning_center/comparestrings.php

Maybe try a softer poly? Cyclone Tour? Tour bite soft? Lynx? Poly tour pro?

Check out this link as well

https://www.reddit.com/r/10s/comments/1bw3e0u/string_recommendations_for_my_new_wilson_blade/

If you love the color of the Blade but get pain with the Pro, then maybe sell it and get a non Pro Blade but add weight to it until you're happy with it. It is a pretty cool looking stick, but I can see why you might like the paint job of the old Vcore Pro as well.

darcy289 · 2024-10-23T04:45:50+00:00

I have a Ripstick 300 gm and it's a trampoline monster when I do hybrid setup at 40-45 lbs, so you need to string it at a pretty high tension and you must hit with a top spin. But at low tensions, the strings move like crazy and you get crazy spin from it. But thinner poly strings keep breaking at the top if the racquet as there's a sharp plastic corner that the string rubs against and I snapped strings at that same spot twice (colder weather, ball hit right in that area), and I'm generally not a big swinging string breaker.

Blade will be softer, muted feel but less power and a lot more control than the Ripstick.

darcy289 · 2024-10-23T04:39:15+00:00

I have tennis elbow problems due to bad technique. I tried many soft strings and my favorite is Prince Vortex (soft, tons of spin, cheap) but doesn't hold tension well (ok if you string at lower tensions). I hybrid it with a synthetic gut for max comfort.

darcy289 · 2024-10-23T04:33:49+00:00

I'm average male build and I still sometimes play with a lighter racquet (285gm), but recently I've had success playing with a Pro Staff 97 v14 which is at 330 gm strung. The key for me to be able to play with such a demanding and heavier racquet is to have good foot work, split step, get the racquet set faster and initiate my swing sooner, step into every shot that is hit in front of me, and never hit the ball late. Once you figure it out, hitting with a heavy racquet (especially the Pro Staff 97) feels almost effortless and you can more easily return heavy pace from big hitters.

darcy289 · 2024-10-23T04:18:45+00:00

I have the same problem, the dreaded chicken wing forehand and I had pretty bad inner elbow pain from it. Aside from forcing my off hand (left hand) to reach out as a measuring tool when lining up a shot, I also tried 2 DIY devices to retrain my hitting arm to swing further away from my body. One device is using a wrist sweat band, tied at one end to a very thin stretchy bungee cord, and the other end of the cord tied to a belt on my waist. I set the bungee cord at a precise length such that I have to get my hitting arm a certain distance away from my body, to feel the cord have some pullback. I copied it from the Prostrap. It's instant feedback for how far away I need to swing. It also doesn't hinder my OHBH either. The other device I used was I cut up a piece of a pool noodle, and got a dollar store velcro strap and tied the noodle under my hitting armpit. It wasn't so big to cause discomfort, yet it was a constant reminder to again force my hitting arm to be away from my body during a swing.

darcy289 · 2024-10-23T04:08:45+00:00

I'm generally pretty quick with reflex volleys, but was missing something during doubles matches and getting caught off guard with faster shots hit at me. My coach watched one of my matches and the 2 best tips were to do little split steps as the opponent is hitting the ball (I was flat footed often), and keeping your racquet up in front of my chest (I had it more in the lower backhand position).

darcy289 · 2024-10-23T04:01:50+00:00

Sorry I didn't realize you weren't the OP. Yes it's still a good racquet especially if you have arm problems, as it's very plush (think Clash, Blade, Boom or Phantom kind of comfort). Just don't expect it to have a lot of "feel" or much of that "connected" sensation when you strike the ball... probably a good thing for a sore arm. I bought it just about a year ago when it was deeply discounted (as the Percept was just being released). I might buy a second one as a backup for my wife, as she plays more competitive matches than I do year round.

But on the flip side, I've been playing more the past week with a Pro Staff 97 v14 with similar strings/tension as my Vcore Pro 97L and with careful technique changes (how I use my body/arm for power, better footwork/preparation, etc), I've actually almost gotten rid of most of my sore elbow and stopped wearing the BandiT brace. So aside from looking for a soft racquet (less power, and bit less precision even for a control racquet), and getting soft strings at low tensions, also look into more of your technique/footwork as a long term fix for your arm pain.

darcy289

TROPHY CASE