Head Custom made Frames, are they worth it?

Okay, a big hype about Head and their custom made frames. The best way for me to find out was to purchase one!

Website Design Process

My Personalized Racquet Spec

Website Design Process

Website Design Process

The nine-step Custom Made process is quick and user-friendly, featuring both the metric and imperial measurement systems. You select the racquet’s cosmetic (either all black or the traditional inline Speed design), weight, length, balance, grip shape and size, grip type (all-leather, HydroSorb Pro or HydroSorb Comfort), string pattern (18x20 or 16x19), and string type and tension. To top it all off, the name for your racquet (in 25 characters or less with three font choices) is laser-printed inside the shaft.

“In the end, we wanted a holistic approach to making the racquet," Schwenger said. “It’s the relationship between the player and the racquet, so when the racquet performs exactly the way the player wants, it’s the joy and confidence that comes from that experience.”

If you’re unsure of which parameters to pick, you can start with stock settings of the Speed Pro, Speed MP, or Speed S, with tips from Djokovic, Murray, and Sharapova serving as guides in the configuration process: “The standard length is 685 mm: A longer racquet gives you more power but also becomes harder to swing due to less maneuverability,” Murray advises.

The entire process took me less than 10 minutes to complete. A word of caution: Be sure you're completely committed to your final design before you check out; once you complete the transaction, you can't change your design.

Six weeks later, it will be delivered to your door in a stealth black box, complete with a Custom Made bag and a certificate with your specs signed by the engineer who customized your stick at company headquarters in Kennelbach

Head’s Research & Development center

“Unfortunately, we cannot offer the consumer to come to Kennelbach, but this is the first step.”

Step 1: Design of the Racquet

(Well, first decision was definitely an easy one. I don’t want to have a black racquet, so I chose the only other option: “Speed”. It’s a mixture of white, black and orange (not necessarily my favorite colors, but pickers can’t be choosers right? But wait, isn’t that the point of this)

Step 2: Weight of the Racquet

(I had to think twice about the weight. They give you some basic advice on how to determine the weight of your racquet. If you have great technique, go with a heavier racquet, as it predictably gives you more power. Whatever, I’ll just pick the weight I am playing with right now.)

Step 3: Length of the Racquet

Again, they give you some nice advice but it all feels rather subjective. I still I wouldn’t know how the different lengths would affect my game until I get each one on the court with me. The standard length is 26.92 inches, which is what I picked. But again, I brought in my current racquet for guidance more than anything.

Step 4: Balance

Okay, now I am certainly at the point where I don’t have the knowledge to make an educated decision. Only a very savvy coach or proffessional would really be able to properly diagnose the difference between all the differences in balance..Guess, what I did? I looked at the stats of my current one, and chose 320 mm! Not really straying from what I know, I guess.

Step 5: Grip Size

Here we go, the grip size, that’s something I know. They again suggest a grip size for women (2) and men (3), what is usually really helpful. I realized when purchasing my last racquet that my fingers are too long for a standard womens grip, so I had to go with a size 3 over a size 2. It’s much more comfortable holding the racquet now with a grip curtailed to my needs. Success!

Step 6: Grip band

I have a favorite grip band color, and those three I can choose from are definitely not part of my favorites (I usually go with pink or green and obviously it takes my game to the next level). In order to get through this as fast as possible, I’ve chosen white and the Hydrosorb pro type. This ensures my hands won’t be all sweaty in my next match, especially in the Texas heat.

Step 7: String pattern

Weeeeeell, another decision I definitely didn’t really enjoy making. I was just so thankful to have my current racquet handy. I have now 16/19, so that’s what I chose for my custom one, too!

Step 8: String type

I definitely leave this decision to the coach I trust the most. He certainly knows better than I do and can give me better advice than the website. So I just left the racquet of my dream “Unstrung”.

Finally, Step 9: Personalize Your Frame.

My Personalized Racquet Spec

My Personalized Racquet Spec

This was the spec that I ordered:

HEAD Prestige Select black

String pattern: 16/19

Mass: 320.0000

Balance: 321.0000

Length: 695.0000

Grip shape: squared

Grip size: 3

Grip type: leather

String type: unstrung

Personalization: : : NeL : : [1]

Personalization font: Digital Sans

Total cost for the frame was £ 249.00

I also ordered 5 Bumper/Grommet Sets at avery goodprice of £ 4.00 each.

Total £ 20.00

Grand Total (Incl.Tax) £ 269.00

My Experience:

The Frame:

Beautiful and well made. (Made in China - Customised in Austria)

Plays great.

The spec:

It did come out as I ordered.

(Head says Custom Made racquets are subject to a measuring tolerance of +/- 1mm/0.04inch and +/- 1gram /0.04oz.)

Delivery:

Five weeks is a long time but worth the wait.

Customer service:

Helpful, although unwilling to pay for return due to a rattle in the frame.

The Pros

Head, are one of the top tennis racquet manufacturers in the world and have a fantastic pedigree.
Your have nine stages of customisation options.
Their user interface is easy to use and can be an enjoyable experience (providing you know what you want)
The frame will arrive well packed in a sexy black monolith box. Inside you will find your frame, a certificate of your specification and a very nice pull string bag to keep your frame in.
The Frames are customised in Head's legendary

The Cons

The frames are made in China and only finished in Austria.

They take around five weeks from purchase to delivery.

They are expensive but retail tennis racquet costs are climbing.
Any problems, you are expected to pay for returns (in my experience)
(If they had a swing weight parameter and a weight distribution parameter they might have taken customization to a new level.)
(I might consider if they had 3 more options:
Beam Width
Stiffness
Head Size)
(No swingweight options, no stiffness options.)

Additional notes:

(According to Head)

'The stiffness of a Custom Made Graphene Prestige with leather grip is approximately 62'

Questions: Is this a Pro Stock Frame?

All three are very different.

The TGT293.2 is the Pro Stock version of the IG Prestige MP retail stick. It will be stiffer, have more vibrations than the PT57x.

The PT57A is the pro stock of the PT630 and will be the softest, plush feel. You could get the PT630 and see how it feels.

The PT57E is the pro stock version of iPrestige, which is stiffer and different from the other two.

Verdict:

I was disappointed that I was expected to pay for the return postage to head Austria to fix the rattle.

I decided not to send back to Head and that I would remove the silicone from the handle so as to remove the rattle (turned out to be material from the drilling process I suspect)

Nick