Hi all! 
Getting back into the sport. Have been going through a series of testing various racquets and had definite opinions but not sure how my experiences were impacted by string.
Racquets tested this time:
Babolat Pure Drive w/ Multi
Head YOUTEK IG Extreme Pro 2.0 w/ Poly
Prince EXO3 Rebel 98 Demo Mid+ w/ Multi
Prince EXO3 Red 105 Demo w/ Poly
General thoughts:
EXO3 Rebel 98 had crazy awesome spin. Wow. If I wanted to slice and spin my way to victory, I would definitely consider this racquet. Other than spin though, it didn't seem to have too much to it. Groundstrokes, serve, etc felt like a meh version of other racquets. Maybe that's because it is a player's racquet rather than a tweener, but for a player's racquet comparison I definitely preferred the Wilson Pro Staff 90 for its ground stroke feel over the Rebel 98.
Head YOUTEK IG Extreme Pro 2.0 - Too much power, felt inconsistent. Meh on spin, had a hard time keeping baseline shots in. They felt like they wanted to leap long at the slightest provocation.
Babolat Pure Drive - I really really liked hitting forehands with this racquet. They felt very consistent, went where I wanted to, and the racquet felt really solid when I hit the ball. Why did it feel so solid? Is it the racquet weight? The string? The stiffness? Babolat magic? My own imagination? My flat serve felt great as well, and backhands were reasonably solid. The only complaint was it felt like this racquet was a bit light on spin... not sure if that is strings or racquet or what. Slices could float sometimes and my spinny serves didn't seem quite as spinny (spinny is a technical term).
Prince EXO3 Red - A generally solid racquet. I didn't like the Poly on it at all, but this is probably my 2nd favorite racquet I've tried in the past 2 weeks. Not nearly as solid feeling as the pure drive, but definitely a bit more spin while staying fairly consistent on ground strokes.
Soo... looking for people to help me interpret my reactions. How much of the Youtek vs Pure Drive was likely the string? Right now I'd be tempted to get an AeroPro Drive GT 2013 and string it with syn gut at its recommended string tension. How much will the feel differ from Multi? Are there other racquets I should try first? In general, I know very little about tennis racquets so help interpreting things I liked and didn't like and more suggestions are very welcome.
Thanks!
Getting back into the sport. Have been going through a series of testing various racquets and had definite opinions but not sure how my experiences were impacted by string.
Racquets tested this time:
Babolat Pure Drive w/ Multi
Head YOUTEK IG Extreme Pro 2.0 w/ Poly
Prince EXO3 Rebel 98 Demo Mid+ w/ Multi
Prince EXO3 Red 105 Demo w/ Poly
General thoughts:
EXO3 Rebel 98 had crazy awesome spin. Wow. If I wanted to slice and spin my way to victory, I would definitely consider this racquet. Other than spin though, it didn't seem to have too much to it. Groundstrokes, serve, etc felt like a meh version of other racquets. Maybe that's because it is a player's racquet rather than a tweener, but for a player's racquet comparison I definitely preferred the Wilson Pro Staff 90 for its ground stroke feel over the Rebel 98.
Head YOUTEK IG Extreme Pro 2.0 - Too much power, felt inconsistent. Meh on spin, had a hard time keeping baseline shots in. They felt like they wanted to leap long at the slightest provocation.
Babolat Pure Drive - I really really liked hitting forehands with this racquet. They felt very consistent, went where I wanted to, and the racquet felt really solid when I hit the ball. Why did it feel so solid? Is it the racquet weight? The string? The stiffness? Babolat magic? My own imagination? My flat serve felt great as well, and backhands were reasonably solid. The only complaint was it felt like this racquet was a bit light on spin... not sure if that is strings or racquet or what. Slices could float sometimes and my spinny serves didn't seem quite as spinny (spinny is a technical term).
Prince EXO3 Red - A generally solid racquet. I didn't like the Poly on it at all, but this is probably my 2nd favorite racquet I've tried in the past 2 weeks. Not nearly as solid feeling as the pure drive, but definitely a bit more spin while staying fairly consistent on ground strokes.
Soo... looking for people to help me interpret my reactions. How much of the Youtek vs Pure Drive was likely the string? Right now I'd be tempted to get an AeroPro Drive GT 2013 and string it with syn gut at its recommended string tension. How much will the feel differ from Multi? Are there other racquets I should try first? In general, I know very little about tennis racquets so help interpreting things I liked and didn't like and more suggestions are very welcome.
Thanks!
