Should I Stay Faithful? (Or, "Oh Yeah, I Play Tennis, Too—the '08 Edition")

We've been together about seven years now, and things are good, but sometimes I can't stop thinking about what things would be like if I were to explore my options.

Of course, I'm talking about my racquet of choice!

I figured while the French Open has been deluged, I could write about an issue all of us players face, namely when to switch racquets. And is it REALLY necessary to do so? I'm taking a poll here, so feel free to vote and help me out as I ponder a move!

I've only used two frames in the past 16 years: the Prince Graphite II and the Prince Triple Threat Bandit. After using the Graphite II throughout most of the '90s, I felt the game (at least at the level I play, 4.0) was passing me by. It had a pretty thin beam, which was good for control purposes. It was just that people that I was playing with were hitting bigger than me even though we were pretty equal ability-wise. So I decided to go for something with a little more ummph to it and picked the Bandit, which was a slightly thicker frame, but one that still afforded some control. I feel it's definitely helped me, but I've been playing with it for a few years now. I don't have any complaints about it; I just wonder if there's something out there that's truly better or am I being tempted by the technologies that are advertised?

I will say that I'm a Prince guy, having started with Pro-Kennex and then Wilson when I was a kid. Prince has been promoting the "O" feature for a few years now, which I know nothing at all about from a personal experience. I'm pretty lazy about demoing racquets, which I guess would help me decide. I just question the demo concept sometimes because let's say you do try one out: The string tension you might be used to might not work for this new racquet. Then, let's say you pick out a racquet that's supposedly for your playing style. If that frame sucks, do you go back and get another one? Do you get trapped in this endless demo cycle? Admittedly, I did choose ye olde Bandit through demoing it, but I wonder: Did I do it right? Was there another racquet out there better for me and I just subconciously told myself this stick kicked ass so I wouldn't be checking out frames left and right?

I guess I'm asking: Do I really need a new racquet now, or am I just being tempted by Prince's "Show me your 'O' face" campaign? Please feel free to weigh in!