Head Micro Gel Radical OS Tennis Racquet (Strung)

I purchased this racquet because of I have some shoulder and elbow problems. My older racquets aggravate the problems. This racquet is much gentler and I have little pain after playing with it. Control is very good while power is fair. As a recreational player, I like this racquet a lot.Bought a second racquet for backup and this one is not as good. I think this one has original Head factory stringing while my first one had stringing done by Tennis Express. (The logo paint was still wet when I got it, but it had the cardboard insert attached to the strings so I didn't think anything of it.) The looser strings made this a great racquet for me. Little to no vibration and good power and control. The extremely tight factory string tension pretty much negates the vibration dampening. (Why would Head do this? That's the whole point of this racquet.) The strings are so tight there are audio harmonics when struck. Even with a Gamma Shockbuster vibration dampener interwoven at the bottom of the string there is still a loud ping! Plus the vibration from hitting a ball is very noticeable. It also lessens the power substantially. (Now some of the other reviews make sense.)I still love my first one, I am going to get the second racquet restrung to a lighter tension. I suppose I'll have to take the first as well and get the tension measured before a string breaks. I recommend that you buy this unstrung and have it strung at 53 or 54 lbs. instead of the recommended 57 (+/- 5 lbs.). But that's just a guess tension on my part. I think the second must be towards the higher end of the range.No racquet stringers in my area, so it may be a while before I can update.

I have been playing with Head racquets for many years and was using a 98 sq. In. Head Radical. As I have gotten a little older, I find that the enlarged sweet spot of the 107 sq. in. Oversize racquet has given me more consistency with a little more power. I am very pleased with the way it plays.

After using a $20 walmart racquet for a while, I decided that I wanted to upgrade to a quality racquet that was within my budget. After much research, I narrowed my choice to 3 racquets that were basically on sale b/c they were previous years model. I chose the microgel b/c of it's low "stiffness" rating which means that it does a better job of obsorbing the shock of impact (which results in less shock to your elbow or shoulder). I've played for 6 months now and my bad shoulder feels great, no problems so far. As far as performance, I hit better than I've ever hit before and with lots of topspin. I feel that I have lots of control, pace and spin on my forehand shots. My backhand also improved significantly. It does lack some power as others have indicated, so be prepared to generate more power with your swing and proper technique.In summary, if you are looking for a quality upgrade to a beginner racquet, or if you are looking for something with lots of control and easy on your arm, then this is the racquet for you.

I can only play with 110 size racquets. The Radical OS is manueverable and dependable. I custom weight it, so know out of the box it is too light for me. Additionally I replaced the grip with leather, as I find the stock grip too soft. I play 3+ days/week at a 4.0/4.5 league level.

The racquet came in excellent, new condition. Was well packaged and protected for transport.

I bought 2 of the same racquets and both a cracking at the same exact spot. Not sure if these are genuine as liquid metal racquets shouldn’t break in a month! To top it off, no one picks up the customer service number so that I can make a complaint. Very disappointed, as I just lost $190 since it’s past Amazon’s 30 day return policy!

I recently developed tennis elbow and thus brought this racquet for it's softness; Tennis Warehouse rated it with a stiffness of 57 while the racquet that gave me tennis elbow is rated 70. I was worry this Head micro gel was going to be too soft but I don't want my elbow to suffer more, so I was pleasantly surprised by its solid feel without that steel-like stiffness of my old racquet. It has plenty of power for my skill level (3.0) and the control is also quite good. I am very please with it except it does need an absorber. It comes with Head's standard absorber and I am sure it can do the job fine. I just prefer rubber band instead, and it takes away those minor high pitch vibration good.

What a great racquet at a great price. I have two of them and trade off in the Florida heat and humidity. It provides a feeling of strength for returning hard pace shots, but feels relatively light with good control and little vibration.