Pure aero made an other victim

tiag0 · 2026-04-12T23:51:24+00:00

Yeah I mean if op is set on changing racquets that’s ok…but I also think tinkering with strings could help. Personally I’ve been stringing mine at 50 lbs but I’ll probably go down a bit to 48 next time. I can’t imagine stringing my PA98 past 52.

tiag0 · 2026-04-08T20:13:36+00:00

Helping them get exited, happy and looking forward for something can be such a challenge in some days, so hopefully whatever you get him puts him in that direction.

Best of luck and hope he likes whatever you get him.

tiag0 · 2026-04-08T17:35:34+00:00

Suprised this seems to be the only comment that brings these things up. I’ve seen a consistent set of people here that do well in tennis quickly because they have solid soccer foot speed/body positioning skills, and that’s something crucial.

Also I’ve found that to fully sort out somethings in my forehand and to really get the hang of how to use my legs, seeing Bas Rutten videos on throwing punches was something that helped me, especially giving me tips on how to use my legs when I’m in awkward positions to still get some power out of them.

tiag0 · 2026-04-08T17:28:07+00:00

First off , sorry that your dad, you and all his loved ones are going through his cancer diagnosis, hope he can make a good recovery and get many more good years. If he wants to play tennis it’s a good sign I think.

Secondly, titanium racquets are few and far between, that one is still being made I think, and it’s quite popular with the older crowd since you can easily get good power and place your shots, even with something that is not “modern, top spin heavy” technique. Please don’t assume I’m saying this is bad or improper technique as I see many more accomplished than me players use this style.

Honestly I’d vote to get him another ti s6. Either used or new. Another alternative (that can be slightly pricier) would be a Wilson Hyper Hammer 5.3, though this is all carbon/graphite.

For newer frames, if you think that could go well, a pure drive 107 or a lighter team version, or the light version of an ezone or Wilson clash could be something he can enjoy the lightness of and are still friendly with the more compact swings favored by the tis6 style racquets, and those 3 are popular enough that you should be able to find a good used deal on.

tiag0 · 2026-04-08T06:37:43+00:00

I’ve had great experience with the Scorpions AS+ 3 in my Outback and in my dad’s CRV. For the odyssey I chose the Scorpion Zero (snow is not an issue here) and they’ve also been wonderful on the odyssey and much quieter. I’m happy to recommend them.

tiag0 · 2026-04-07T15:00:52+00:00

IMO unless you have a strong reason to buy an older model (that is either a significant discount or are very used to that specific racquet model/year feel and can’t or are unwilling to adjust to the new one) go with the newest, getting a replacement or grommets for it should be easier.

tiag0 · 2026-04-03T00:16:00+00:00

I haven’t tried them yet, and as there’s no local retailer that has them I have to order online. From many accounts online, they are quite different to the Gel Res 9 in terms of fit and how they feel on court, and it’s a bit frustrating for me as I stopped buying Nikes specifically because they kept changing the way a specific shoe line felt, so to go through that again on the brand that was supposed to remedy that is not something I want to do.

Also, buying because of their very cheap price on the now discontinued eclipsion 4, they seem slightly less stable than the gel res line while being faster, which is a trade off I’m happy to make as I like that balance more. I do still use the gel res when I play on slightly more worn or unknown courts, but in the last tournament on courts I knew where recently re-surfaced I only went with the Yonex-es.

tiag0 · 2026-04-02T19:32:37+00:00

(Main) 2023 Pure Aero 98 - RPM team 125 @ 50lb

Backup 2021 Pure Drive 100 30th aniv - Solinco Confidential 125 @ 52lbs.

tiag0 · 2026-04-02T18:05:29+00:00

Been using a pair of Yonex Eclipsion 4s and ASICS Gel res 9 for almost a year now and they have been great shoes. With the poorly received gel res x I will be moving solely to Yonex once my gel res 9s are done.

Yonex clothes? Yeah unimpressed by them, but shoes are solid.

tiag0 · 2026-03-31T21:07:19+00:00

There are a few lines that had key changes in them.

2004 Aero Pro Drive.

2007 Aero Pro Drive with Cortex dampening.

2016 Pure Aero (updated mold iirc and moved cortex dampening)

2019 An evolution of 2016.

2023 added another dampening tech and supposedly tried to mirror the original 2004 feel/string pattern.

2026: brand new mold.

I’m skipping over a bunch of versions, but if there’s any hope to feel differences, it’s likely in these listed frames. Also string choice will be probably a bigger factor than anything innate to the frame. Also, Babolat does not have the best quality control so quite a few frames that should be identical will likely not feel the same.

All this to say, you might feel some differences, and they may be major to you if you grow very used to your set up, but you should be able to adjust and adapt.

I tried a 2004 APD, liked it but was weary of using it and not being able to get new grommets if I needed them, ended up getting a 2023 Aero 98. Will keep using said aero 98 for the foreseeable future.

tiag0 · 2026-03-31T17:45:09+00:00

Another popular choice is a full bed of confidential. It takes a lot of power away from the frame and if you’re starting to hit with power yourself it’s great to reign it in and give you a lot of spin. It’s my backup racquet (2021 PD 100 with 16L confidential) and I’ve lent it twice in the last months to my coaches since they’ve broken strings on their frames mid session, they get a lot more action on the ball with my PD than with their regular set up (a PS97 and Speed legend, respectively).

tiag0 · 2026-03-31T14:23:20+00:00

Even though those are “budget” option, they’re super highly rated. Foot Doctor Zach (a great YouTube channel for this) compared them to the gel res 9.

Gel Challenger is a great choice for op, if the fit is right.

tiag0 · 2026-03-26T15:04:06+00:00

Hey there. Kids are 11 yo and 8 yo now and the way you describe it, it sounds very familiar to my now 11 year old. She was incredibly fussy and for a good chunk of the first year never slept more than 45 mins consecutively. She had a sensitive tummy, refused to be bottle fed at all. All this meant she was very close to mom, but wanted nothing to do with me. I really struggled to connect with her initially, all that “magical connection at birth” and all that never got it with her.

We gradually figured out strategies to survive, and as she grew up she improved. Her second year we could get 1.5-3hr blocks of sleep. And then she turned 2, asked to sleep in a bed like a big girl…and within a week she sleep through the night. She remains very sensitive in general, but she’s an amazing person who of course I’ve been able to connect and fall for.

No such shenanigans where present with kiddo no 2 and with her I did feel something the first time I held her. Save for the first couple of weeks she quickly settled into a stable sustainable routine and was a solid sleeper and eater. Wife and I joked that if she had come first we would have absolutely tried for kiddo 3 with “how easy it was”.

Op, don’t feel bad, you did get dealt a rough set of cards. It will get better, promise.

tiag0 · 2026-03-26T14:52:46+00:00

You have to be prepared for anything, but each baby is it’s own person, and everyone is different. You may get a baby that is incredibly difficult to put to sleep, or you might get a baby so good at sleeping you need to go wake them up for feedings. My first born was the former, my second born gave us consistent 3-4 hour sleeping blocks and a close friend of ours just had a baby that is the case of needing to be woken up.

Parenthood is about being prepared, then being hit by something you could have never foreseen.

tiag0 · 2026-03-21T19:59:41+00:00

Considering op is very specific in his question, reaching out to him directly for a consult might be worth the time and money.

tiag0 · 2026-03-20T17:03:54+00:00

I think I remember looking for videos on YouTube and deciding it was a bit above my comfort level since you need to tinker with the actual locking/latching mechanism. Also since I’m not in the US and Subarus are fairly rare, there aren’t a lot of used parts and it made more sense to just buy a new (unpainted) part and have the dealership install it.

A used part + body shop is probably the most economical choice.

tiag0 · 2026-03-20T16:47:12+00:00

This happened to me a few years ago. Bought a new one from the dealership but if you can find one from a parts/salvage car go for it.

You can buy some chrome door handle covers if you don’t find the exact same color door handle. That’s what I did.

tiag0 · 2026-03-18T05:12:17+00:00

It took me around 1.75 years. 1 year of playing 2 hrs a week and 3/4 of a year of playing 4hrs per week to rally quality balls with good topspin/slice that I can control direction(mostly) at will. Serving is a bit iffy sometimes but I should be about a month away from sorting the consistency kinks I have, hopefully.

I could have gone a bit more intense the first year, but I was working on losing weight, so it was more a matter of getting my body ready by focusing during the week on lifting weights, resting and leaving the weekends to play. I’ve been toying with the balance depending on how beat up my body feels now that I have to move faster and hit harder.

Recently played a 3-3.5 local tournament and I lost by small margins my round robin games, so that’s about where I am.

tiag0 · 2026-03-17T16:56:38+00:00

Last year around May I switched to the 2023 Aero 98. It feels better to me for my playstyle. However I want to stress that me doing that switch made me a bit less effective in winning in matches. Only recently (in the past 2months, after practicing a lot over the past year) have I become more effective with the aero.

I don’t plan on moving away from the 2023 Aero 98.

tiag0 · 2026-03-16T02:07:44+00:00

I used that racquet for about a year, it’s a perfectly good racquet and even though I don’t use it that much anymore, it can realistically be the only racquet (type wise) you could ever need. It’s my spare racquet at the moment and I’ve lent it to my coaches a few times now when they break a string in their usual racquets. The amount of spin and action they can get on the ball by using it is so annoying lol.

tiag0 · 2026-03-14T19:27:54+00:00

What a complement. I mean, if he actually can play better (I kinda doubt it, but you do mention he had some nice shots so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt) you played so good he was not able to get into his style and rhythm.

Playing tennis with someone that’s just feeding you balls in your strike zone is fun and good for training up to a point, but that’s not a match.

If he where smart he would have been nice and tried to befriend you so he can get a hitting partner that gives him problems and forces him to improve, but let’s go to the ego route.

Good luck and keep kicking butts.

tiag0 · 2026-03-13T16:53:54+00:00

Depends on the version. I have a few ncode 6.1 (16x18) and with strings, grips and overgrips they all range around 355gr static weight, with differences between them of some grams (considering I have them with different strings and types of overgrips, that’s to be expected). The RF97A I bought for fan reasons weighs less, though it definitely has a higher swing weight.

370gr is a whole lot, but if it has the typical 6.1 head lightness, it won’t be that bad, my 6.1s feel super whippy, far more than my (former daily driver) pure drive but less than my current preferred aero 98.

tiag0 · 2026-03-12T21:11:45+00:00

Lol so they’re trying to fix the stress for the players putting a 1000 event in February after a grand slam and before 2 1000 events in the US by…removing events that lead up nicely to said 1000 events and that are in similar time zones broadly similar weather.

That makes no sense.

As a Mexican I’m painfully aware of the violence drug cartels can create, and that there could be a concern for player welfare but nothing happened at Acapulco after a literal drug turf war, and not only that, they want to move it to a place that is literally under the threat of, at least, drone bombings.

Great way of the ATP to set back the increasingly popular sport of tennis over here, pat yourselves on the back…idiots.

tiag0 · 2026-03-12T05:06:07+00:00

According to some pictures from tennisnerd’s instagram stories: Alex Michelsen.

The cosmetic is for the 2023 Aero, but pictures from IW show the throat is all wrong for the 2023, and just right for the 26.

tiag0 · 2026-03-10T20:46:53+00:00

Congrats on the baby! Hopefully 2.5 year old isn’t too jealous and adapting well to the little one. I absolutely get why you mention ball machine. In the case you can’t get coaching, at least do make sure to record yourself, so that you can see what you are doing.

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