Shock Absorb

March 7th, 2010 admin Leave a comment Go to comments

Shock Absorb

Is a condenser/shock absorber that important to a racket?

I know that it can absorb the shocks when I hit the ball in tennis, but does equipping it have any significance in winning the game?

Shock absorbers (or dampeners) are highly debated on many tennis forums. Some people love them, others hate them.

Many people use them to change the sound the ball makes on impact with the stringbed. The vibrations in the strings often cause a "ping" sound. With the dampener on, you get a more satisfying "pop" sound. Those that hate them say that they take away all feel from the racquet, because that string vibration does partially translate into feel.

I use a dampener, but I use it to help tone down some of the power in my racquets. Mine are a bit overpowered for me, but I can't afford to upgrade right now. To battle that, I string at really high tension, and I feel that the dampener does help regulate some of that power as well.

The good thing is that these things are really cheap. Just buy one and try it out. Feel the difference for yourself. The worst that can happen is that you don't like it, and you're out $2.

~I'll admit that I copy-and-pasted this straight from another time I've answered this question. This comes up a lot, and I can only stand to type all that so many times. To add to it:
It all comes down to personal preference. Using or not using one won't make you win or lose a game. If it made a difference, there wouldn't be any debate over their use at all.