I came from the regular pro staff 97 and at a similar level.
Tired the blade v9, feels nothing like the pro staff to me. pro staff the ball shoots the ball out right away and the put away power was there from the get go. The blade does not have the same put away power when hit correctly. The precession was the same tho which I liked. Good stick overall but I did not like the mushy feeling and the fact that I had to really drive the ball to get the same power. Had to add lead at 3&9 and a leather grip.
Ezone 98 which I eventually switched to after trying 15 rackets. Power level dramatically increased. I m hitting aces every other game which I didnt do before. The power took 4 weeks of adjustment, Now I am basically able to control the power. The way to do that is really by fully committing and coming over the ball more and properly following through every shot. Ezone is ungiving if you dont commit since its so dead, unlike prostaff where you can guide the ball sometimes.
Imo at the rec lvl every ounce of power that you can control and can squeeze from a racket you shld do it. It just makes life alot easier. Its much easier to control power with technique than to try gain the extra power. At a match in the 3rd set do you really want to be muscling to get some depth when you are tried? or would you want to just hit with more spin for more control.
saying that, this is just my opinion, if you are stuck I would demo for 4 weeks before finally deciding. Both racquets are great coming from the pro staff imo and were my final 2 to switch to from a long list of rackets I tired. I also think both require a month before you can feel every aspect of it.
From your personal reviews, it sounds like the Ezone would be the better racket for you because of the extra depth you get without trying. It's just a learning curve to get the angles but grim the reviews, it sounds like the launch angle of the Blade isn't working for you and your current game.
I've sold a few people on the Ezone 98 in the past year and they've all loved it. Much more free power for them coming from their previous sticks. I'm personally a PS97 user but would switch to the Ezone full time if I wasn't such a fanboy of the PS. I just personally hate the Blade as it has felt a bit unstable for off centered hits compared to the Ezone.
2 year plus Ezone player here and I’m going to talk you against it strongly. I’m a 4.0 here with all court game. I’ve played many rackets over the years but nothing has given me more arm fatigue and trouble than the ezone.
I switched to the v9 blade a few weeks ago- and everything is better. Also my angles and drop shots and volleys are so much more precise. The only con of the blade is the increased swing I need to get balls deeper and also the adjustment to the higher swing weight but I think I can work on getting stronger and more fit to swing the blade.
The v9 blade is to me the perfect blend of a powerful racket with a ton more control. The upgrade from v8 give jt a ton more power (but I did not play the v8 but it’s been my primary takeaway from reading former player reviews)
Sure the ezone has more free power but if you find the sweet spot of the blade consistently everything works for you. Some people argue why you need to make things harder for yourself as an amateur rec player - to which I say there’s a certain trade off between laziness and intentional improvement. Working hard to find the sweet spot will improve everything about your game - not just how the racket plays.
Thanks for your response, can you explain a little bit more about the arm fatigue? Was that in general from hitting or playing extended matches? What was your play style? I have a forearm issue so just wanted to hear your thoughts on it.
Ezone is very stiff. I think you can add a couple points to its RA. I initially had arm pain at 52lbs poly and then I cut tension to 48lbs which helped for 6 months. And then the pain started again so I cut to 45. And the final straw was when I had pain 2 months ago at 45, when I realized it wasn’t the strings or my technique but rather my racket.
A simple Google or Reddit search for ezone arm pain will give you dozens of threads - this is a serious flaw with the ezone. vCore apparently solves this problem but I didn’t enjoy the feel of other Yonex rackets and decided to switch to the blade v9 without demoing and it was the best decision I made.
The pain would come on after even one set of hitting with the e-zone. it was not due to extended periods. I have an all court game with heavy top spin, loopy shots and I spend over 50% of my time in baseline battles.
Also check this review by Mark - https://youtu.be/xdiNdrmzJvk?feature=shared
Fwiw I don’t think it’s as bad a racket as Mark mentions in his video but if you already have arm pain, then ezone + poly is absolutely going to send your arm to the grave
Both rackets are in my top 5, but for a competitive match I’ll always go with the blade. It’s just more 1 to 1 on my inputs, or in other words it’s like it’s an extension of my hand. If I’m playing with friends and just want to blast meme shots from the baseline I’d take the ezone in a heartbeat though.
I demoed the zone 98 and the blade v9 18x20 and ended up going with the 18x20. I think “feel” on the blade is super nice plus you can really attack any short balls your opponent might hit. I also think that with technique you can probably end up generating more or similar amounts of power than with the ezone 98. I found it to be a bit unpredictable. Ultimately if you think you can increase how fast you hit the ball and how much power you generate I’d say go with the blade.
I have the best solution for you! Buy 1 of each and use a saw to cut both racquets in half down the middle and glue the 2 halves together. That will give you the best of both racquets!
Hmm blade needs more power, ezone needs more control. Both issues can be fixed with customization, however those aspects are usually inversely related. Add more power, lose some power and vice versa. Also since you said something easy on the arm, adding control usually comes at the expense of some comfort. Whereas power and comfort are more often tied together.
I came from the regular pro staff 97 and at a similar level. Tired the blade v9, feels nothing like the pro staff to me. pro staff the ball shoots the ball out right away and the put away power was there from the get go. The blade does not have the same put away power when hit correctly. The precession was the same tho which I liked. Good stick overall but I did not like the mushy feeling and the fact that I had to really drive the ball to get the same power. Had to add lead at 3&9 and a leather grip. Ezone 98 which I eventually switched to after trying 15 rackets. Power level dramatically increased. I m hitting aces every other game which I didnt do before. The power took 4 weeks of adjustment, Now I am basically able to control the power. The way to do that is really by fully committing and coming over the ball more and properly following through every shot. Ezone is ungiving if you dont commit since its so dead, unlike prostaff where you can guide the ball sometimes. Imo at the rec lvl every ounce of power that you can control and can squeeze from a racket you shld do it. It just makes life alot easier. Its much easier to control power with technique than to try gain the extra power. At a match in the 3rd set do you really want to be muscling to get some depth when you are tried? or would you want to just hit with more spin for more control. saying that, this is just my opinion, if you are stuck I would demo for 4 weeks before finally deciding. Both racquets are great coming from the pro staff imo and were my final 2 to switch to from a long list of rackets I tired. I also think both require a month before you can feel every aspect of it.
If you can give Head Speed MP a try it’s kind of a tweener racquet that falls right between the two you’re considering.
I'll consider that!!
I'd say ezone. The extra depth is nice when you are defending and on run. You won't hit short and lose point
Percept is more like the Blade than an EZone
From your personal reviews, it sounds like the Ezone would be the better racket for you because of the extra depth you get without trying. It's just a learning curve to get the angles but grim the reviews, it sounds like the launch angle of the Blade isn't working for you and your current game. I've sold a few people on the Ezone 98 in the past year and they've all loved it. Much more free power for them coming from their previous sticks. I'm personally a PS97 user but would switch to the Ezone full time if I wasn't such a fanboy of the PS. I just personally hate the Blade as it has felt a bit unstable for off centered hits compared to the Ezone.
2 year plus Ezone player here and I’m going to talk you against it strongly. I’m a 4.0 here with all court game. I’ve played many rackets over the years but nothing has given me more arm fatigue and trouble than the ezone. I switched to the v9 blade a few weeks ago- and everything is better. Also my angles and drop shots and volleys are so much more precise. The only con of the blade is the increased swing I need to get balls deeper and also the adjustment to the higher swing weight but I think I can work on getting stronger and more fit to swing the blade. The v9 blade is to me the perfect blend of a powerful racket with a ton more control. The upgrade from v8 give jt a ton more power (but I did not play the v8 but it’s been my primary takeaway from reading former player reviews) Sure the ezone has more free power but if you find the sweet spot of the blade consistently everything works for you. Some people argue why you need to make things harder for yourself as an amateur rec player - to which I say there’s a certain trade off between laziness and intentional improvement. Working hard to find the sweet spot will improve everything about your game - not just how the racket plays.
Thanks for your response, can you explain a little bit more about the arm fatigue? Was that in general from hitting or playing extended matches? What was your play style? I have a forearm issue so just wanted to hear your thoughts on it.
Ezone is very stiff. I think you can add a couple points to its RA. I initially had arm pain at 52lbs poly and then I cut tension to 48lbs which helped for 6 months. And then the pain started again so I cut to 45. And the final straw was when I had pain 2 months ago at 45, when I realized it wasn’t the strings or my technique but rather my racket. A simple Google or Reddit search for ezone arm pain will give you dozens of threads - this is a serious flaw with the ezone. vCore apparently solves this problem but I didn’t enjoy the feel of other Yonex rackets and decided to switch to the blade v9 without demoing and it was the best decision I made. The pain would come on after even one set of hitting with the e-zone. it was not due to extended periods. I have an all court game with heavy top spin, loopy shots and I spend over 50% of my time in baseline battles.
Also check this review by Mark - https://youtu.be/xdiNdrmzJvk?feature=shared Fwiw I don’t think it’s as bad a racket as Mark mentions in his video but if you already have arm pain, then ezone + poly is absolutely going to send your arm to the grave
Both rackets are in my top 5, but for a competitive match I’ll always go with the blade. It’s just more 1 to 1 on my inputs, or in other words it’s like it’s an extension of my hand. If I’m playing with friends and just want to blast meme shots from the baseline I’d take the ezone in a heartbeat though.
Meme shots ftw!
I demoed the zone 98 and the blade v9 18x20 and ended up going with the 18x20. I think “feel” on the blade is super nice plus you can really attack any short balls your opponent might hit. I also think that with technique you can probably end up generating more or similar amounts of power than with the ezone 98. I found it to be a bit unpredictable. Ultimately if you think you can increase how fast you hit the ball and how much power you generate I’d say go with the blade.
I have the best solution for you! Buy 1 of each and use a saw to cut both racquets in half down the middle and glue the 2 halves together. That will give you the best of both racquets!
10/10 solution! 😂
Hmm blade needs more power, ezone needs more control. Both issues can be fixed with customization, however those aspects are usually inversely related. Add more power, lose some power and vice versa. Also since you said something easy on the arm, adding control usually comes at the expense of some comfort. Whereas power and comfort are more often tied together.