Man, again quality content as always. Love the detailed explanations and clearly you've formed your own opinions and aren't influenced by the sentiment of the racket market. It's great to hear real thoughts! The FX500 range is top quality, and it's nice to see that you like the LS. Looking forward to the next one 👍
Awesome! this was originally my top recommend for you. I really do suggest you try a different FX500 just to make sure it's not a build quality issue. Many TH-camrs have documented massive QA spec issues with the Dunlop CXs.
I am not surprised. I recommended this racket for you. When I started playing tennis again 2,5 years ago. I started with the Pure Drive and the FX500 because I needed some extra power. Played great tournaments with both of them, but on the run and in defense (especially against hard hitters) I started spraying the ball a little bit too much and too often. So I switched to the Ezone 98 and now the Blade 98 (18x20). But when you have time in rallys the Fx500 is a blast, also for easy depth, and service is fine with it. So I still use it in practise, or when I get tired.
Super interesting. Back to some years ago, it was impossible to think that such a light racquet would be even "usable". But yes, it's happening more and more, I can relate to myself going from 330+ grams to 295 and feeling good.
You were hitting great with the Tour and even better with the LS. I might have to spend a bit of time trialling lighter racquets after seeing this. Great vid
I recently picked a pair of dunlop cx200ls. I similarly liked it better than the heavier offerings. I have since customised it with a leather grip and some weight at 3 and 9 and I absolutely love it for my game. Dunlop has been killing it recently!
Dunlop is doing great. The original version of this vid featured a tribute to Dunlop. I decided to delete it, but they were a goat company is the tennis field and had a few bad years, but now they are back with some great racquets.
You should try the other two Dunlop series , Dunlop SX series and Dunlop CX series. I reckon you'll love the SX series as Babolat Pure Drive was your long time used racquet.
I haven't played with any of the Dunlops, but going based on reviews the FX series is supposed to be the equivalent to the Pure Drive, SX = Pure Aero, and CX = Pure Strike. In rough terms.
@@ntnnot Kind of but Babolat is always more on the Power / Spin side than Control. FX is more like a Pure Drive or Yonex Ezone though is stable on volleys. SX is a mechanical copy-cat of Pure Aero but CX is more control than the Pure Strikes. CX is more like Prestiges/Old Heads. I did a full video on the Dunlops on my channel to get the entire picture
I really believe you may have gotten an underspec regular FX 500. I’ve been playing with it for a couple of months now and absolutely love it. The stability is excellent-normally, I add lead at 3 and 9 o’clock, but with this racket, I don’t feel the need to at all. The power feels elastic, making it easy to generate depth from the baseline and on serves. The control I get from the spin potential is outstanding as well. I highly encourage you to give it another try, just make sure it’s in spec. Cheers!
Nikola, an interesting video and its interesting that you came to a similar conclusion on FX's being a great racquet line. I chose FX being slightly ahead of CX but honestly they are even. I consider FX to be control-power and both FX and CX are great on serves and at the net. You should try CX200 98 and CX400 Tour which is 100 sq inch but still has control
I would not customize the LS. I would "play it in" and get used to it. Seems to me it is very close as is and your backhands did not look bad at all. And I still say the Wilson Ultra 100L v4 would do well for you. Right in the spec range you are looking at.
Looking real good with the LS! I can’t help but think you might be a victim of dunlop’s qc, with the fx500 being way underspec. Since you liked the LS might be good to measure the specs so you can ask a racket match if/when you decide on this one.
Is it possible that you've got regular one low on SW due to poor quality control? And that's why it was so much weaker than LS that you just straight disregarded it?
I wonder if something was off with your particular regular FX 500--maybe strings or something at the lightest end of quality control. Just a little strange you'd like it the least when the specs should be most similar to what you want. Either way, sounds like we have a winner line of racquets for you!
Love the oval shape of Dunlop rackets.. always felt good on my 1h backhand.. used them until a year ago when I switched to Yonex which is better overall but not for my 1h backhand
Thanks for the next instalment Nik. If the match highlights are anything to go by the FX is the one, you’re hitting so cleanly and consistently. Have you played points against other players with a different game style to Milan?
I dunno what is a bigger surprise here, Nick loving Dunlop and the LS version no less or that he is wearing Federer shoes on the clay instead of his regular Nike kicks, never seen this haha
I play with Head Gravity MP and used to play Head Hawk Touch at 24 / 23 kg Recently I switched to Head Hawk Touch at 24 kg and Head Hawk Power at 23 kg in the crosses to get more power and ball pocketing for my backhand. I really feel that this is my dreamcombination to play tennis! You can feel the ball extremly well and for me it's perfect because I got a lot of power but enough control. Maybe try this as well!
Nice play test series video. I notice you wear the ON shoes in the play for the first time (if I'm note wrong) instead of Nike. Are you planning to change to ON brand in the future?
A very special tip: try the Grapplesnake Tour M8 string. The most responsive and confortable string ever. It was made for you, Nick. Much more responsive than super smash, super performance at lower tensions (40-45lbs), holds tension super well, outstanding snap back and spin. A german brand too.
I'm always surprised when players choose not to demo rackets with an over grip applied. Unless you are someone who chooses to play without them, it's going to change the grip size by about half a size, and the weight and balance slightly. I always apply one to demos so i know how the racket is going to feel after I buy one. Additionally, some manufactures have slightly different grip sizes compared to others. For example, yonex grips notoriously play quite big. I had to buy my vcores in 4 1/4 because the 4 3/8 demos i had felt about a whole size bigger with an over grip on than my 4 3/8 head rackets.
These selections raises some questions. Some coaches recommend taking the heaviest racket player can handle. Is this recommendation valid? Does it have some exceptions or hidden amendments? Or 285 gram is the highest racket you can handle? Thanks in advance.
Old school advice.. Anyway lets say the heaviest u can handle effectively in a 3+ hour tournament match without injuries. Sinner Alcataz and Fritz use 305ish grams, based on your level and atheticism u can scale down, i guess. Real life is even more complex than that..
@@whitemaz3756 Thanks for taking time to reply. I admire your logic but not your data. Pro players usually use rackets from a different stock called "Pro Stock". Sinner's racket is actually a 330ish called Head TGT 301.4 and swingweight is around 340 grams.
Last model FX 500 Tour (more black than blue) is more stiff giving it a better feel; The ball seems to sit on the strings for incredible , responsive control. Manueverability is wonderful. Hard to find a better racquet. Keep it strung low with your previous string, Orange Smash.
After testing quite a few I settled on the CX200+ with Solinco Confidential. Interestingly, it sits lonely in the top right corner of the TW Tennis University's racket universe chart of sweet spot vs power. Probably the result of a high unstrung swingweight of 340 while not overly stiff at 66ra. At 9 pts headlight it feels more manouverable than my Tecnifibre Tfight 305. Unfortunately Dunlop discountinued it, I hope they bring it back. Have you ever played this one?
@@IntuitiveTennisJonas tennisnerd gave the Q+5 a good review a couple of years ago. That one is in 300, 315 and in an extended version. Based upon what you say about your flat backhand, serve, it might suit your style. It is not too heavy yet has a nice plow trough feel.
@whitemaz3756 athleticism.. precision.. timing.. experience.. tactics.. feel for the ball.. and pure talent.. I think any top 10 pro player using a $20 racket could easily beat anyone using these fancy new rackets..
@@bigchainring1977 yes they can beat many, not any. But they dont become pro with a 20$ stick, and dont become pro changing stick every other day. Raquet and strings are requested a minimum performance level, and your body needs to adapt to their behavior in a way dont need to actually think what u r doing when playing. A usefull way to start this adaptation process is starting from a setup comfortable and effective for the way u play. People have different perceptions and there are limitless setup combinations, so it could be an endless journey, or not..
Why so many players nowadays have next gen forehands and backhands
👉 th-cam.com/video/1BURR5P5rG8/w-d-xo.htmlsi=DrvwWZt3M57h2Il9
The CX 400 tour is an amazing racquet as well. Dunlop racquets are slept on
For sure
Thanks for taking ur time to review. Happy it was able to impress u
🙌
You should measure the weight and swing weights of the LS and regular 500 to see if the 500 is actually under spec and if the LS is over spec
Great idea
Very possible to be true
yeah i was wondering this too and why Nick said the 300g version didn't feel significantly different than the LS
@@IntuitiveTennisquality control on Dunlop are very poor, I suggest you verify the real specs of the racquets.
I just love watching intuitive tennis so much!
🙏
Man, again quality content as always.
Love the detailed explanations and clearly you've formed your own opinions and aren't influenced by the sentiment of the racket market.
It's great to hear real thoughts!
The FX500 range is top quality, and it's nice to see that you like the LS.
Looking forward to the next one 👍
Much appreciated!
Need to check rackets with volleys, especially lite versions for stability.
No need for him since he rarely volley. He’s a baseliner..😅
Awesome! this was originally my top recommend for you. I really do suggest you try a different FX500 just to make sure it's not a build quality issue. Many TH-camrs have documented massive QA spec issues with the Dunlop CXs.
Well quality assurance mis-assurances are not good for any rackets relationship or trust building when you take it on the court..
Oh wow didn’t know that
Yes i might have to grab another 300g
Namaste Coach Nick,
Amazing Racquet series. Fav next to Serve Analysis and Point Play analysis of players.
Thank you 🙏
I am not surprised. I recommended this racket for you. When I started playing tennis again 2,5 years ago. I started with the Pure Drive and the FX500 because I needed some extra power. Played great tournaments with both of them, but on the run and in defense (especially against hard hitters) I started spraying the ball a little bit too much and too often. So I switched to the Ezone 98 and now the Blade 98 (18x20). But when you have time in rallys the Fx500 is a blast, also for easy depth, and service is fine with it. So I still use it in practise, or when I get tired.
🙌
Super interesting. Back to some years ago, it was impossible to think that such a light racquet would be even "usable". But yes, it's happening more and more, I can relate to myself going from 330+ grams to 295 and feeling good.
🙌
Liked the tour. Never tried the ls. Will give it a go. Cheers mate.
You were hitting great with the Tour and even better with the LS. I might have to spend a bit of time trialling lighter racquets after seeing this. Great vid
🙌💯
I recently picked a pair of dunlop cx200ls. I similarly liked it better than the heavier offerings. I have since customised it with a leather grip and some weight at 3 and 9 and I absolutely love it for my game. Dunlop has been killing it recently!
Dunlop is doing great. The original version of this vid featured a tribute to Dunlop. I decided to delete it, but they were a goat company is the tennis field and had a few bad years, but now they are back with some great racquets.
You should try the other two Dunlop series , Dunlop SX series and Dunlop CX series. I reckon you'll love the SX series as Babolat Pure Drive was your long time used racquet.
I haven't played with any of the Dunlops, but going based on reviews the FX series is supposed to be the equivalent to the Pure Drive, SX = Pure Aero, and CX = Pure Strike. In rough terms.
spin (SX)
control (CX)
power (FX)
@@ntnnot Kind of but Babolat is always more on the Power / Spin side than Control. FX is more like a Pure Drive or Yonex Ezone though is stable on volleys. SX is a mechanical copy-cat of Pure Aero but CX is more control than the Pure Strikes. CX is more like Prestiges/Old Heads. I did a full video on the Dunlops on my channel to get the entire picture
Hey Nick, just put a leather grip on the FX 500LS and it is done! The perfect racquet!
Not a fan of leather grip. I’ll address in future vid
500 Tour with dunlop explosive Spin yellow is damn good
This is a good choice for you to try given your preferred specs. Great vid!
🙏
I really believe you may have gotten an underspec regular FX 500. I’ve been playing with it for a couple of months now and absolutely love it. The stability is excellent-normally, I add lead at 3 and 9 o’clock, but with this racket, I don’t feel the need to at all. The power feels elastic, making it easy to generate depth from the baseline and on serves. The control I get from the spin potential is outstanding as well. I highly encourage you to give it another try, just make sure it’s in spec. Cheers!
It’s possible
Nikola, an interesting video and its interesting that you came to a similar conclusion on FX's being a great racquet line. I chose FX being slightly ahead of CX but honestly they are even. I consider FX to be control-power and both FX and CX are great on serves and at the net. You should try CX200 98 and CX400 Tour which is 100 sq inch but still has control
I would not customize the LS. I would "play it in" and get used to it. Seems to me it is very close as is and your backhands did not look bad at all. And I still say the Wilson Ultra 100L v4 would do well for you. Right in the spec range you are looking at.
Since you started your search, I had a feeling this would be the racquet you probably end up with!
🙌
Looking real good with the LS! I can’t help but think you might be a victim of dunlop’s qc, with the fx500 being way underspec. Since you liked the LS might be good to measure the specs so you can ask a racket match if/when you decide on this one.
Could be…
When getting older I am liking lighter frames better, dropped pure strikes and gone back to head instinct, need to try the LS now!
It makes sense to go lighter
Is it possible that you've got regular one low on SW due to poor quality control? And that's why it was so much weaker than LS that you just straight disregarded it?
Could be, it felt awful
nice to see some dunlop racquets
🙌
You need to measure the weight of the individual racquet they can be off by more than 14 g in relation to each other and offspec by 10 g.
I wonder if something was off with your particular regular FX 500--maybe strings or something at the lightest end of quality control. Just a little strange you'd like it the least when the specs should be most similar to what you want. Either way, sounds like we have a winner line of racquets for you!
Could be the winner
I recommend you try the Yonex Ezone 100L, it has almost exactly same specs of the FX 500LS.
Love the oval shape of Dunlop rackets.. always felt good on my 1h backhand.. used them until a year ago when I switched to Yonex which is better overall but not for my 1h backhand
Thanks for the next instalment Nik. If the match highlights are anything to go by the FX is the one, you’re hitting so cleanly and consistently. Have you played points against other players with a different game style to Milan?
With the FX no, with other racquets yes
I dunno what is a bigger surprise here, Nick loving Dunlop and the LS version no less or that he is wearing Federer shoes on the clay instead of his regular Nike kicks, never seen this haha
🙌
I play with Head Gravity MP and used to play Head Hawk Touch at 24 / 23 kg
Recently I switched to Head Hawk Touch at 24 kg and Head Hawk Power at 23 kg in the crosses to get more power and ball pocketing for my backhand. I really feel that this is my dreamcombination to play tennis!
You can feel the ball extremly well and for me it's perfect because I got a lot of power but enough control.
Maybe try this as well!
Nick, i have the Pure Drive + and the Kirschbaum strings because of you. When you finally choose a new racquet i think the Dunlop might be the one.
That’s an awesome combo 🙌
@@IntuitiveTennis
Yes very responsive! 😀😀😀
You looked incredible with the racket Nick! Did Milan find any difference with the heavinest of your ball when comparing the ls to the tour?
Great question. Yes Milan always gives me feedback which racquets I play the best with. Important to get outside view points as well
Great video! Love my aerogel 6 hundred (still the best after 15 years)! What did you string with & at?
You finally tried them. So weird that the 500 felt lighter to you than the LS. Maybe a QC issue.
Could be
What's your string setup?
Can you please share what strings you used for the test I noticed it wasn’t orange smash?
I recently swapped to a Purestrike 100 V4. 4pts headlight, 100 sq head and 16x19. 305 unstrung. I like it much more over my Percept 100D rn.
Nice play test series video. I notice you wear the ON shoes in the play for the first time (if I'm note wrong) instead of Nike. Are you planning to change to ON brand in the future?
I use them from time to time
th-cam.com/video/Tcx3evqKzxU/w-d-xo.htmlsi=HhKjlzVu61UMqkT8
Try the new head gravity tour 2025
I might
I'd appreciate it if, when you're doing these racquet reviews - whiziI love - you gave the specifics of the stringing setup you were using.
Dunlop Goldilocks. And this one is just right.
I told you the FX 500 will be the winner!!!
🙌
A very special tip: try the Grapplesnake Tour M8 string.
The most responsive and confortable string ever. It was made for you, Nick. Much more responsive than super smash, super performance at lower tensions (40-45lbs), holds tension super well, outstanding snap back and spin. A german brand too.
@@rodrigocosta1852 I will try thank you
Dunlop been making solid racquets recently. Use to hit with sx 300 ls until becoming a yonex guy😅
FX 500 is basically a mix of ezone 100 and babolat pure drive
🙌
I'm always surprised when players choose not to demo rackets with an over grip applied. Unless you are someone who chooses to play without them, it's going to change the grip size by about half a size, and the weight and balance slightly. I always apply one to demos so i know how the racket is going to feel after I buy one. Additionally, some manufactures have slightly different grip sizes compared to others. For example, yonex grips notoriously play quite big. I had to buy my vcores in 4 1/4 because the 4 3/8 demos i had felt about a whole size bigger with an over grip on than my 4 3/8 head rackets.
I want to feel the original grip
These selections raises some questions. Some coaches recommend taking the heaviest racket player can handle. Is this recommendation valid? Does it have some exceptions or hidden amendments? Or 285 gram is the highest racket you can handle? Thanks in advance.
Old school advice.. Anyway lets say the heaviest u can handle effectively in a 3+ hour tournament match without injuries.
Sinner Alcataz and Fritz use 305ish grams, based on your level and atheticism u can scale down, i guess.
Real life is even more complex than that..
@@whitemaz3756 Thanks for taking time to reply. I admire your logic but not your data. Pro players usually use rackets from a different stock called "Pro Stock". Sinner's racket is actually a 330ish called Head TGT 301.4 and swingweight is around 340 grams.
304 unstrung, 325-6 strung w/overgrip, 33.3 balance, 340sw from what I found here and there..
It is much more complex than unstrung static weight as u can imagine..
Last model FX 500 Tour (more black than blue) is more stiff giving it a better feel; The ball seems to sit on the strings for incredible , responsive control. Manueverability is wonderful. Hard to find a better racquet. Keep it strung low with your previous string, Orange Smash.
🙌
You should probably weight all three of them strung and see how they compare
Should have done that yes
After testing quite a few I settled on the CX200+ with Solinco Confidential. Interestingly, it sits lonely in the top right corner of the TW Tennis University's racket universe chart of sweet spot vs power. Probably the result of a high unstrung swingweight of 340 while not overly stiff at 66ra. At 9 pts headlight it feels more manouverable than my Tecnifibre Tfight 305. Unfortunately Dunlop discountinued it, I hope they bring it back. Have you ever played this one?
Have not tried the CX
Interesting that this pure drive like frame is controllable but the speeds weren't. At least dunlop will give u them free!
Have you considered testing the prokennex Q+5?
I might test Pro Kennex
@@IntuitiveTennisJonas tennisnerd gave the Q+5 a good review a couple of years ago. That one is in 300, 315 and in an extended version. Based upon what you say about your flat backhand, serve, it might suit your style. It is not too heavy yet has a nice plow trough feel.
Can anyone compare this dunlop 500 ls for someone trying to update from an old ti heat comfort zone?
I don't like the grip shape of Dunlop rackets. It feels almost like Tecnifibre or the old Head grip shapes.
What the FX?
Are you stalking Trash Bin Tennis and ripping off the Condor?
Told ya ;)
💯
Isn't a racket just a racket? Tell me really what makes one better than the other?
Isn't an arm just an arm? Or a hand just a hand? A ball just a ball? Tell me really what makes one player better than the other? 😅
@whitemaz3756 athleticism.. precision.. timing.. experience.. tactics.. feel for the ball.. and pure talent.. I think any top 10 pro player using a $20 racket could easily beat anyone using these fancy new rackets..
@@bigchainring1977 yes they can beat many, not any. But they dont become pro with a 20$ stick, and dont become pro changing stick every other day.
Raquet and strings are requested a minimum performance level, and your body needs to adapt to their behavior in a way dont need to actually think what u r doing when playing. A usefull way to start this adaptation process is starting from a setup comfortable and effective for the way u play. People have different perceptions and there are limitless setup combinations, so it could be an endless journey, or not..
Are you in jail?
that's maze runner
Prison - not jail
9:55 touched it, you lose 😅