Wilson Steam 99S vs. Prince's 14/18 racquets

[Tennisspieler]

After all the current fuzz about the new Wilson Steam 99S and 105S, it seems like a small miracle that this racquet has so far gotten so little attention: The Prince EXO3 Warrior DB Team 100.

Like the new Wilson S-Line racquets, it has a very open, spin-friendly string pattern: 14 mains, 18 crosses. That’s even two mains less than the Wilsons, however three more cross strings.

According to the reviews, the Prince EXO3 Warrior DB Team 100 provides huge amounts of spin:

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/revi...WDBreview.html
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/feedback-XOWDB.html

So why is it that the open string pattern of the Prince racquet is so much under the radar of public attention?

It is probably due to the fact that the Prince EXO3 Warrior DB Team 100 is a very light 10.4 oz/300.5 g (strung), 4 pts HH stick, suitable only for a small range of players in stock form. It remains the secret of Prince’s marketing department why they (first) launched the light Team version of the racquet instead of a more solid standard weight version (around 11 oz or more).

Having said that, once Prince offers a 14/18 racquet with more heft (arguably a Prince EXO3 Warrior DB 100), it will be interesting to compare it with the Wilson Steam 99S. Apart from the weight, the specs of the sticks are quite similar. The Prince has a 100 sq. in. head size, a rather high 24 mm beam, i.e. has the typical specs of a modern tweener/advanced payer’s racquet.

On a side note: Prince please give us a darker, cooler pj on any future 14/18 racquet, not the overall white of the Prince EXO3 Warrior DB Team 100. IMHO, something like the black/silver pj of the Prince EXO3 Warrior 100 would be great, given the current surge of cool-looking black racquets like the new Wilson Blades or the Donnay Pro Ones.

[tennismonkey]

tennisspieler -- that's a good find. i didn't know prince made a racquet like this. because of the light weight and 4 pts HH balance -- i wonder if this is a good candidate for tailweighting. a bunch of silicone in the handle might make this a spin beast for a larger range of players.

[dlesser13]

Because a 14x18 is old, old news. Prince has been making them for years but only just recently got away from it. See many of their old frames, including their original POG.

[UCSF2012]

Somehow, I get more spin from my 18x20 Blade Tour than my 14x18 Prince Graphite.