15 grams to the handle did miracles for the maneuverability of this racquet for me. Review holds really close to my own experience when I tried it at stock spec.
Coming from Speed Pro and Rad Pro I was impressed, loved the palett, the feel of the raquet in my hands, the little details...lovely design, tough choice with all the great sticks out there but at the moment this is the one
@@christophersharp8235 No I would stay unless you wanna have a fresh start.. always fun to try new sticks! I struggled with the shape of the grip as many others do
I was worried about the high swingweight, but after testing one I ordered myself a pair. Both came a bit overspec'd, one more than the other. After matching, I have them both at 346. No leather added, so the balance is at 2pt headlight. Coming from leathered TF40's (both 18/20 and 16/19), this is a much better racket for me. TF40 was underpowered, and I found myself forcing it too much. Weight in the hoop could have solved that, but I was very attracted by the 18x19 pattern of the ISO. I guess I thought I needed more control as I always hit too long in the past, but realized that I was hitting too straight at the ball with the TF40's. After I corrected this, the Tfight has all the spin I could want from a racket. Besides that the volleys are incredibly solid. At first my slices all went flying, and the OHBH landed short, but now both are more solid than they have ever been. Forehand felt great from the first session. To conclude things: I still have a hard time understanding how higher swing weight like that can be hard to deal with. Maybe one needs to eliminate unnecessary movements or hitches from his swing first, but once you have a straight forward swing this racket is very worth looking at.
"I still have a hard time understanding how higher swing weight like that can be hard to deal with" It's because lots of people are too weak to handle the weight. Not everyone though.
Thanks for the review Jonas. 3pts HL racquet with 335 SW is a total miss for me. With that sort of balance and SW, looks to me more likely a manufacturing issue gone awry. I have bought 6 foam filled racquets in the past few years and all of them significantly distorted with the same issues: Higher SW with balance towards the head. All needed heavy customisation to make them remotely playable.
It's the intended specs by Tecnifibre but not an issue with manufacturing tolerances. The previous version of the 305 had basically the same specs (305 unstrung at 3pts HL - SW at around 330). Not that I don't scratch my head on these specs as well, particular as the 305 is marketed as the one designed for "experienced players", which usually prefer more HL sticks.
was wondering about this racket. Switched off the Babolat pure drive to the tf40 since I grew out of the drive and can agree that the tf40 is a great racket. Love it in almost every aspect
This is definitely a frame designed for advanced players, and a swing weight of 335 is going to allow one to hit booming flat serves up the T if you have good mechanics. I believe this frame is a direct competitor to the Wilson Blade 18x20 as far as controllable power goes.
That would be the TF40 18x20. It has a little more power than current Blades (power and stiffness of Blades dropped w/ v7 & v8 compared to CV & earlier ones) but is closer in terms of control, beam construction, etc. This TFight is more along the lines of a Pure Strike 18x20; it’s got good control from the 98 headsize and 18 mains but it’s got a thicker beam & higher stiffness so this one has a lot of power as well.
@@jerrystoner2010 thx Jerry, you are probably right, my normal frames of choice are the Pure Strikes, but I often tail wgt them to bring the swg wgt down. Tennis Warehouse does list the stock swg wgt of the PS 18x20 at 334.
@@geoffchriste1703 SW doesn’t decrease w/ tail wt, but the balance gets more HL so rackets become easier to maneuver. If you like the heft/plow of the Strike 18x20 & don’t mind using a leather grip (since this has no trapdoor) this is a great alternative & I prefer it (talking about the RS) over the Strike bc the feel is better. Tbh it’s better to just get the RS since it’s basically the same racket for cheaper.
To be more specific, when I say tail wgt I mean 10gms or more, attached to the inside of the trapdoor buttcap. Adding additional mass to the very base of the racquet drives the balance point significantly lower, way more effectively than using a leather grip does. Pulling the balance point toward the base of frame will noticeably reduce the swg wgt. Relying on a leather grip alone, you not appreciably change the swg wgt much, I would feel the diff, but most club hackers would not. Quality wise and overall feel wise, Tecnifibre frames are hard to argue against. I have TF40 305s but slightly prefer the older XTC dynacore HD 305 version. Im also testing the new TF-X1 isoflex 300. Babolat sadly does not offer a classic box beam control frame option since the demise of the Pure Storm. The Tec modern TF40 305 should have been what the Pure Storm line evolved into.
IMO this racket plays best in stock form. The swing weight won’t change by adding weight to the handle and if anything will banish what makes this stick so special. For some reason, this frame feels amazing in the 1HBH. I’m now trying the 300g version. Edit: after trying the 300 for a month and going back and forth between frames, I feel more connected to the 305 but only with an 18g string (115mm or less). 17g or 16g make the string pattern too tight, and makes it harder to generate good spin. 18g is the way to go.
Thanks for honest review. Not a suitable stick for my ability. When the foam inside the frame starts falling apart I’d imagine its shock absorption will dissipate. Too bad about no trap door.
Jonas I have been a mariner all my life and if there's one thing you don't want on a boat? It's foam, because it absorbs moisture. So living on the coast quite frankly I don't want the weight, and I don't want to risk getting more weight in the frame or even in the handle or throat. So the foam for me is a deal killer. You wanted my opinion there it is, I am disappointed that the foam is in there because I was quite Keen on technofiber rackets. C'est la vie!
LOL. WTF?? There are millions of different types of foams, many of which are hydrophobic. Your tennis racquet doesn't get heavier over time because you live on the coast.
Pro Staff comparable - presume you mean RF97 for the swing weight? RF97 is 9 pts head light (strung & w/leather grip) though & a much heavier static weight which seems quite different than this one's specs. All Pro Staff's I've hit with are generally head light balance & 360g-ish (strung) static weight.
I've been using a TFight 305 RS exclusively for the last 9 months, and yesterday I was able to demo the new TFight 305 ISO. To me, the only discernable difference is the cosmetic. The two rackets played virtually identically. Despite the ISO having 2g higher swingweight, (335 for ISO, 333 for RS), I was not able to perceive the difference; it's still the same head-heavy deal as the RS, which admittedly, most days I love, but some days I hate. I'm sorry to sound cynical, but I believe Tecnifibre (a brand I love, support, and believe in) only pushed this new version to capitalize on having the world #1 player and thus stands to benefit from having a new racket to promote. It's understandable and I don't blame them, but if you're considering a purchase of the 305 ISO, you'd do better to wait until the holiday season when they will probably start blowing out the 305 RS frames for $149.
Swing weight is measured in kg*cm^2, not grams. I guess it's fair enough to say "units" or "points" since kg*cm^2 is a mouthful, but g is flat out incorrect.
@@Tennisnerd That doesn't speak well for Technifibre's QC... Have a watch of Karue's video if you have a chance. He loves the ISO (although now I wonder what specs he is playing with!).
@@vanodne yes my thoughts too, i was swayed to check out the racket from Karue but then turned away from it from this. Upon reading more reviews, I've seen people complaining about buying 2 different rackets and having about 6g difference!
I bought it with a smaller grip size, added a heat shrink sleeve to get my normal grip size and make it more headlight, added a ohems leather grip + overgrip and evrything is perfect now :) A bit sad it is impossible to open the butt cap to add weight xD
Thanks for the content. Although 335 sw is too high for me, that’s likely measured with 1.30 poly. I’d probably use. 1.15-1.20 in this anyways and put it possibly
The high SW comes simply from the low HL balance, which is why adding weight particular at the handle would make it more HL, more maneuverable and lower the SW.
@@Sly_404 No it doesn't. There are countless sources that state otherwise and it can also be easily explained. SW is measured in kg*cm^2, where kg is the mass you're adding and cm is the distance from the point you're measuring the SW from. So as you can easily see, the only way to add mass without adding SW is to add it precisely at the point of reference. Even if you add mass "below" the point, i.e. having a negative number of cm, it's still squared so it will be a positive number and will increase the SW. This explanation is _only_ made for people without knowledge reading this so that they aren't misinformed by anyone who doesn't know what they're talking about. I wouldn't have spent the time otherwise.
@@Fred_P You are clearly wrong - even the very racquet in question proofs that. The 305 (unstrung static weight) version at 3pts HL translates to 335 SW. The 315 version of the same racquet only has a SW of 321. Why does the higher static weight version have a lower sw? Because that version is a full 7 pts HL.
Hi Jonas, I'm looking to purchase the Tfight ISOFLEX 305, I've been playing the head microgel radical MP my whole life would you say this is a similar racket ? I am mainly an aggressive baseliner
Would you add some weight on the handle to lower sw? Whats your preffered sw by the way? Would you say you could adjust the raquet for your desired swingweight?
You can't lower the SW, just change the balance. My racquet was 342 when I measured it strung so there is not much to do there for my game. I was perhaps a bit unlucky with quality control.
@@Tennisnerd I then have to confess dont really understand WHAT swingweight REALLY is, what it involves, what should I look for from it.... can you measure it without the machine???? Is SW one of the most important if not the most important spec to pay attention to? Maybe a SW vid would be awesome....
Good review. Silly that TF still haven't added trapdoors to their buttcaps especially for such a head weighted racquet.
15 grams to the handle did miracles for the maneuverability of this racquet for me. Review holds really close to my own experience when I tried it at stock spec.
Wonder if that's why Karue thinks it's so maneuverable. He mentioned maybe adding leather.
@@vanodne Could be. The racquet was awesome at stock. Adding handle weight brought the balance I was seeking without sacrificing much stability.
Coming from Speed Pro and Rad Pro I was impressed, loved the palett, the feel of the raquet in my hands, the little details...lovely design, tough choice with all the great sticks out there but at the moment this is the one
@@christophersharp8235 No I would stay unless you wanna have a fresh start.. always fun to try new sticks! I struggled with the shape of the grip as many others do
I was worried about the high swingweight, but after testing one I ordered myself a pair. Both came a bit overspec'd, one more than the other. After matching, I have them both at 346. No leather added, so the balance is at 2pt headlight.
Coming from leathered TF40's (both 18/20 and 16/19), this is a much better racket for me. TF40 was underpowered, and I found myself forcing it too much. Weight in the hoop could have solved that, but I was very attracted by the 18x19 pattern of the ISO.
I guess I thought I needed more control as I always hit too long in the past, but realized that I was hitting too straight at the ball with the TF40's. After I corrected this, the Tfight has all the spin I could want from a racket. Besides that the volleys are incredibly solid.
At first my slices all went flying, and the OHBH landed short, but now both are more solid than they have ever been.
Forehand felt great from the first session.
To conclude things: I still have a hard time understanding how higher swing weight like that can be hard to deal with. Maybe one needs to eliminate unnecessary movements or hitches from his swing first, but once you have a straight forward swing this racket is very worth looking at.
"I still have a hard time understanding how higher swing weight like that can be hard to deal with"
It's because lots of people are too weak to handle the weight. Not everyone though.
Thanks for the review Jonas. 3pts HL racquet with 335 SW is a total miss for me. With that sort of balance and SW, looks to me more likely a manufacturing issue gone awry. I have bought 6 foam filled racquets in the past few years and all of them significantly distorted with the same issues: Higher SW with balance towards the head. All needed heavy customisation to make them remotely playable.
It's the intended specs by Tecnifibre but not an issue with manufacturing tolerances. The previous version of the 305 had basically the same specs (305 unstrung at 3pts HL - SW at around 330). Not that I don't scratch my head on these specs as well, particular as the 305 is marketed as the one designed for "experienced players", which usually prefer more HL sticks.
was wondering about this racket. Switched off the Babolat pure drive to the tf40 since I grew out of the drive and can agree that the tf40 is a great racket. Love it in almost every aspect
The old Fischer tennis banner at the back of the court is very nostalgic!!!
Only 3 pts headlight - yeah that one should be stable but sacrifices maneuverability in the process.
This is definitely a frame designed for advanced players, and a swing weight of 335 is going to allow one to hit booming flat serves up the T if you have good mechanics. I believe this frame is a direct competitor to the Wilson Blade 18x20 as far as controllable power goes.
That would be the TF40 18x20. It has a little more power than current Blades (power and stiffness of Blades dropped w/ v7 & v8 compared to CV & earlier ones) but is closer in terms of control, beam construction, etc. This TFight is more along the lines of a Pure Strike 18x20; it’s got good control from the 98 headsize and 18 mains but it’s got a thicker beam & higher stiffness so this one has a lot of power as well.
@@jerrystoner2010 thx Jerry, you are probably right, my normal frames of choice are the Pure Strikes, but I often tail wgt them to bring the swg wgt down. Tennis Warehouse does list the stock swg wgt of the PS 18x20 at 334.
@@geoffchriste1703 SW doesn’t decrease w/ tail wt, but the balance gets more HL so rackets become easier to maneuver. If you like the heft/plow of the Strike 18x20 & don’t mind using a leather grip (since this has no trapdoor) this is a great alternative & I prefer it (talking about the RS) over the Strike bc the feel is better. Tbh it’s better to just get the RS since it’s basically the same racket for cheaper.
To be more specific, when I say tail wgt I mean 10gms or more, attached to the inside of the trapdoor buttcap. Adding additional mass to the very base of the racquet drives the balance point significantly lower, way more effectively than using a leather grip does. Pulling the balance point toward the base of frame will noticeably reduce the swg wgt. Relying on a leather grip alone, you not appreciably change the swg wgt much, I would feel the diff, but most club hackers would not.
Quality wise and overall feel wise, Tecnifibre frames are hard to argue against. I have TF40 305s but slightly prefer the older XTC dynacore HD 305 version. Im also testing the new TF-X1 isoflex 300. Babolat sadly does not offer a classic box beam control frame option since the demise of the Pure Storm. The Tec modern TF40 305 should have been what the Pure Storm line evolved into.
more to the proststaff as jonas said. tf 40 is counter to wilson blade.
IMO this racket plays best in stock form. The swing weight won’t change by adding weight to the handle and if anything will banish what makes this stick so special. For some reason, this frame feels amazing in the 1HBH. I’m now trying the 300g version.
Edit: after trying the 300 for a month and going back and forth between frames, I feel more connected to the 305 but only with an 18g string (115mm or less). 17g or 16g make the string pattern too tight, and makes it harder to generate good spin. 18g is the way to go.
Thanks for honest review. Not a suitable stick for my ability.
When the foam inside the frame starts falling apart I’d imagine its shock absorption will dissipate.
Too bad about no trap door.
Jonas I have been a mariner all my life and if there's one thing you don't want on a boat? It's foam, because it absorbs moisture. So living on the coast quite frankly I don't want the weight, and I don't want to risk getting more weight in the frame or even in the handle or throat. So the foam for me is a deal killer. You wanted my opinion there it is, I am disappointed that the foam is in there because I was quite Keen on technofiber rackets. C'est la vie!
LOL. WTF?? There are millions of different types of foams, many of which are hydrophobic. Your tennis racquet doesn't get heavier over time because you live on the coast.
Hi !! this racket need a leather grip! 315gr is perfect for attack player!! greetings from Barcelona👍
Pro Staff comparable - presume you mean RF97 for the swing weight? RF97 is 9 pts head light (strung & w/leather grip) though & a much heavier static weight which seems quite different than this one's specs. All Pro Staff's I've hit with are generally head light balance & 360g-ish (strung) static weight.
Coming from the pro staff v12, I might be switching to this!
I've been using a TFight 305 RS exclusively for the last 9 months, and yesterday I was able to demo the new TFight 305 ISO. To me, the only discernable difference is the cosmetic. The two rackets played virtually identically. Despite the ISO having 2g higher swingweight, (335 for ISO, 333 for RS), I was not able to perceive the difference; it's still the same head-heavy deal as the RS, which admittedly, most days I love, but some days I hate. I'm sorry to sound cynical, but I believe Tecnifibre (a brand I love, support, and believe in) only pushed this new version to capitalize on having the world #1 player and thus stands to benefit from having a new racket to promote. It's understandable and I don't blame them, but if you're considering a purchase of the 305 ISO, you'd do better to wait until the holiday season when they will probably start blowing out the 305 RS frames for $149.
Swing weight is measured in kg*cm^2, not grams. I guess it's fair enough to say "units" or "points" since kg*cm^2 is a mouthful, but g is flat out incorrect.
@@Fred_P I meant to type "RDC" but in my haste, wrote "g." The point that the difference was imperceptible to me stands.
@@davidelliott6970 No worries
Good shout, just picked up an RS for £90 here in UK
You really should demo the ISO 315.
Weighed up to 340-350 grams it will play like a dream I bet
Can confirm it does. If you’re the right type of player champ
It's weird that Karue at My Tennis HQ thinks this is among the most maneuverable racquets he's tried.
We might just have gotten different weight and balance setups (QC) because even a player of Karue’s level won’t find my racquet maneuverable.
@@Tennisnerd That doesn't speak well for Technifibre's QC... Have a watch of Karue's video if you have a chance. He loves the ISO (although now I wonder what specs he is playing with!).
@@vanodne yes my thoughts too, i was swayed to check out the racket from Karue but then turned away from it from this. Upon reading more reviews, I've seen people complaining about buying 2 different rackets and having about 6g difference!
Hey Jonas,
didn't you say in the past that the RS was a MRR considerable for you?
Any similar rackets but with easier to manage swingweight?
I bought it with a smaller grip size, added a heat shrink sleeve to get my normal grip size and make it more headlight, added a ohems leather grip + overgrip and evrything is perfect now :) A bit sad it is impossible to open the butt cap to add weight xD
Is the Tfight 300 ISO 16 X19 more closer to the TF 40 305 16 X 19 in feel specs etc ??
I am using the prostaff RF 97 V13, but I am having some elbow issues, is this one a good change? or maybe the 315gr version or TF40, any thoughts?
Had the same problem. Elbow all good after switch to Iso 305.
Thanks for the content.
Although 335 sw is too high for me, that’s likely measured with 1.30 poly. I’d probably use. 1.15-1.20 in this anyways and put it possibly
The high SW comes simply from the low HL balance, which is why adding weight particular at the handle would make it more HL, more maneuverable and lower the SW.
@@Sly_404 You can't lower the SW by adding weight in the handle.
@@Fred_P That's wrong. Moving the balance point towards the handle by adding weight there does reduce swing weight.
@@Sly_404 No it doesn't. There are countless sources that state otherwise and it can also be easily explained. SW is measured in kg*cm^2, where kg is the mass you're adding and cm is the distance from the point you're measuring the SW from. So as you can easily see, the only way to add mass without adding SW is to add it precisely at the point of reference. Even if you add mass "below" the point, i.e. having a negative number of cm, it's still squared so it will be a positive number and will increase the SW.
This explanation is _only_ made for people without knowledge reading this so that they aren't misinformed by anyone who doesn't know what they're talking about. I wouldn't have spent the time otherwise.
@@Fred_P You are clearly wrong - even the very racquet in question proofs that. The 305 (unstrung static weight) version at 3pts HL translates to 335 SW. The 315 version of the same racquet only has a SW of 321. Why does the higher static weight version have a lower sw? Because that version is a full 7 pts HL.
Why not string it in the 40s?
How would you say this compares to the RF?
Hi Jonas, I'm looking to purchase the Tfight ISOFLEX 305, I've been playing the head microgel radical MP my whole life would you say this is a similar racket ? I am mainly an aggressive baseliner
The Tfight is a stiffer than the Radical and a bit heavier, so they are quite different. Best idea is to demo
Drop shotting poor Roger? Jonas, have you no compassion 😉
Haha, he deserves it! 😎
Would you add some weight on the handle to lower sw? Whats your preffered sw by the way? Would you say you could adjust the raquet for your desired swingweight?
You can't lower the SW, just change the balance. My racquet was 342 when I measured it strung so there is not much to do there for my game. I was perhaps a bit unlucky with quality control.
@@Tennisnerd I then have to confess dont really understand WHAT swingweight REALLY is, what it involves, what should I look for from it.... can you measure it without the machine???? Is SW one of the most important if not the most important spec to pay attention to? Maybe a SW vid would be awesome....
Can you do
T Fight Isoflex 315 next? 👍👍👍👐👐👐
Would you recommend this as my next racquet knowing that I play with Dunlop SX 310g 16x19
They are very different!
what the better for you. tf40 16\19 or 18\20?
Tough to say - 18x20 probably
Are there any 280-290g versions comming soon?
There is already a TFight 300 and a 295
Is the mold here the same as the RS?
I think so, yes, but not 100%
Sounds like speed pro is still more comfortable than new tfight
looks like a clay court in the middle of a jungle. who maintains the court?
Jonas, you're really giving your poor stepdad a shoe-ing... has he upset you?
Haha, nah I’m usually too nice to him!