Shock Block

Back to a tennis post.

I've used all sorts of vibration dampeners lately. I used to never use it because I liked feeling vibrations. I'd get some idea if I hit the ball wrong by the vibrations. Even so, over time, it's nice not to feel it either.

The most common kind of dampener is a tiny logo. These are also the "worst" of the dampeners. They do their job fine, but they aren't the best. The best ones are made by Gamma called Shockbuster. These deaden vibrations like no one's business. I don't use this.

Why not?

The Shockbuster has two plastic tubes filled with some sticky gel. No matter what, you are going to hit the tubes, and eventually, they rupture and slowly leak. So, despite being a great dampener, I ditched it.

I then took Adam's suggestion to use the Head Vibrasorb and a similar competitor called the Forten worm. The problem, for me, with these is that they don't stretch out well enough over the strings. Furthermore, if you hit the dampeners, they can become dislodged.

The dampeners I like best are either the Prince NXT Silencer or, lately, the Wilson ShockTrap. Both of these are a bit hard to put on, but once they are on, they don't fall off easily.

So my recommendation is the Wilson ShockTrap (again, a good knock can cause it to partly dislodge).

I've yet to try the Agassi rubberband which would, at the very least, be the cheapest option, and if it worked well, I'd be thrilled. I just need to remember to go to Office Depot and buy one of those supersize rubberbands.