Yonex V Core 98D, what a nice surprise!

Ten_nuts · 03-24-2011, 10:16 PM

I actually never thought that i would buy a Yonex racquet. I borrowed a friend this Yonex V Core 98D and hit for only half an hour, and i knew i've got to have it. I bought 2 of these with grip 4 1/4. The racquet looks so beautiful with quality deisgns. At the throat it has the letters US and a little shiny hologram sticker(as i was told by the Yonex dealer, this same racquet that was made for Asian market doesn't have the letters US and no shiny hologram sticker at the throat. Can anyone in Asia area verify this?). I got the 1st racquet strung with Babolat Revenge 16g full bed at 60lbs main vs. 58 lbs cross, and the 2nd one was strung with Solinco Revolution 17g full bed at 57 lbs main vs. 55 lbs cross. The one with Revenge weighes 11.44 oz and the one with Solinco weighes 11.43 oz, how sweet is that? What a superb quality control Yonex has. My idealized weight would be 11.7 to 11.9 oz, so i added 6g lead tape at 12 on each one as well as Yonex overgrip. Now the one with Revenge weighes 11.82 oz and the one with Solinco weighes 11.81 oz. Now with the lead tape and overgrip, each racquet has about 5 points headlight, and i am very pleased that the headlights on both of them are exactly the same. Sweet. Now it's time for hitting talks.
After a few strokes warming up, i could tell the stiffness of the frame is around 62 max (i think it's 61 or 60) cause my forehand felt very comfy. I was also very surprised that eventhough it weighes 11.82 oz, but i felt a little light when hitting. The power was good but not too much like the Pure drive, and the vibration was very little if hitting heavy balls. I went on and rallied for a while, then i switched to the one with Solinco and played 1 set singles. Here's my thoughts:
Serve: flat serve was great because, as i mentioned above that i felt the racquet a little light, i was able to snap the ball quite easily. Kick serve was better than the Utek Radical MP that i used to play, cause the balls went over my friend's shoulders. I still have to work on slice serve with this racquet because, with the Utek Radical i had no problem serving wide, i got the balls go too wide (out) with this Yonex.
Forehand: all i can say is...awesome. I barely missed the forehand during the match. Again, the racquet was very easy to swing and my topspin forehand did bite the balls like crazy. I also noticed that the accuracy was there wherever i aimed the targets. The sweetspot seems large to me.
Backhand: again my 1 handed backhand with crazy spin worked quite well. At 1st the balls went below the net, but i adjusted it quickly and it worked wonderful. Slice backhand with this racquet was also great thanks to the huge sweetspot.
Volley and overhead: I could punch the balls at net with ease, or like a piece of cake and so with overhead.
In short, this racquet is an all around court racquet with high quality design and beautiful paint job. It's worth the money. I also had a chance to hit with the RDIS 200 Light and i think it's also a very good racquet too. If i have the RDIS 200 Lite, i would put some lead tape at 12 and on handle, and i think the RDIS 200 Lite would do awesome job for me too. But if you like the RDIS 200 Light but want it a little stiffer, want it look prettier, you can give the V Core 98D a demo. This is my review. If you have questions, please ask and i will try my best to answer. Thanks for reading.

karophiteblu · 03-24-2011, 10:23 PM

Thanks for the awesome review! Have you tried the older version, the RDiS 100 MP? If so, do you mind posting a comparison? Thanks!

tennistiger · 03-25-2011, 03:32 AM

Someone told me that yonex rackets are now all from China, only the painting of the "Made in Japan" rackets is still made in Japan.

zumzool · 03-25-2011, 04:36 AM

It says made in japan on the frame.

Ten_nuts · 03-25-2011, 05:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by karophiteblu

Thanks for the awesome review! Have you tried the older version, the RDiS 100 MP? If so, do you mind posting a comparison? Thanks!

Sorry buddy, i never hit this racquet. Let me see, long long time ago, i hit with the Yonex RDX 500 MP for around 2 or 3 minutes and quit. I also had a chance to hit with the RDIS 300 for a few strokes and didn't like it either. That's all the Yonex i've ever tried.

Ten_nuts · 03-25-2011, 05:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tennistiger

Someone told me that yonex rackets are now all from China, only the painting of the "Made in Japan" rackets is still made in Japan.

I really don't care much whether the racquet has the printed label: Made in China or Made in Japan. As long as i pick up a racquet and hit, and if i feel good--> i love it. DO you agree that eventhough the Babolat, Head, Solinco, and few other brand names have their racquets printed Made in China, but their paint jobs are outstanding.

Bartelby · 03-25-2011, 06:08 AM

Your version is a half an ounce heavier than it should be so that's more than a little off, but yes if it says MADE in JAPAN it is.

vsbabolat · 03-25-2011, 06:19 AM

I have a new VCore 100S and yes it is Made in Japan and it has Made in Japan printed on the frame. I was very impressed with the feel. Very solid frame.

vsdtrek · 03-25-2011, 06:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bartelby

Your version is a half an ounce heavier than it should be so that's more than a little off, but yes if it says MADE in JAPAN it is.

That 11.8 spec is really odd unless there are overgrips and vibration damper being included. Even then, that seems like a big difference.

One wonders if that "US" designation has something to do with it.

Bartelby · 03-25-2011, 07:09 AM

It is only about a quarter of an ounce heavier, rather than a half, and it's basically a review of a weighted Yonex. 6 grams at 12 even with an overgrip makes this a quite differet racquet from the spec version.

li0scc0 · 03-25-2011, 07:11 AM

The racquets weighed 11.43 and 11.44 ounces strung. THEN the OP added lead to get into the 11.8 range.

Bartelby · 03-25-2011, 07:14 AM

The idea of 6 grams at 12 is not very appealing. It provides a power boost, but is it viable in the long run???

vsdtrek · 03-25-2011, 07:19 AM

Got it - I was reading at work while on a conference call and didn't catch all (and some would say any!) of the details.

I've been trying the RDiS 200 lite and think it is a bit too lite and flexible. The 98 specs seem exactly what I want so this review is really helpful.

XFactorer · 03-25-2011, 09:17 AM

The throat flex isn't anywhere close to 62. I demoed the stick for a solid week. It was OK. I was a little sporadic with it off ground strokes, but it felt so much stiffer than it's TW RDC rating.

I ended up demoing a Ti80 lite and loved that much more.

Ten_nuts · 03-25-2011, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XFactorer

The throat flex isn't anywhere close to 62. I demoed the stick for a solid week. It was OK. I was a little sporadic with it off ground strokes, but it felt so much stiffer than it's TW RDC rating.

I ended up demoing a Ti80 lite and loved that much more.

Are you sure? as i stated, mine were strung full bed with Babolat Revenge 16g at 60 vs 58 and Solinco Revolution 17g at 57 vs 55, and my arm still feel very confortable while hitting. Some racquets i've tried with higher stiffness like Head IG Speed 18x20, Dunlop Bio. 300, 200 plus, and 500 tour, BLX Blade 98, BLX Blade Lite, and i could tell right away cause my arm getting hurt.
The next string job would be my fav of all time string: Tecnifibre Pro Red Code 17g, full bed, at 57 vs 55.

JGads · 03-25-2011, 11:28 AM

Had the same reaction to the VCore line - stiffness felt way above the rating, given the throat doesn't bend at all really. Some people love that kind of stiffness. I just couldn't deal with it myself.

XFactorer · 03-25-2011, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ten_nuts

Are you sure? as i stated, mine were strung full bed with Babolat Revenge 16g at 60 vs 58 and Solinco Revolution 17g at 57 vs 55, and my arm still feel very confortable while hitting. Some racquets i've tried with higher stiffness like Head IG Speed 18x20, Dunlop Bio. 300, 200 plus, and 500 tour, BLX Blade 98, BLX Blade Lite, and i could tell right away cause my arm getting hurt.
The next string job would be my fav of all time string: Tecnifibre Pro Red Code 17g, full bed, at 57 vs 55.

My arm doesn't hurt from a stiff frame. I just don't like the feel as much as I like a "soft" frame.

The EZONE is rated at 68 and it's soft at impact. But I felt like the VCOREs (98D and 100S) were really stiff.

On a side note, the Pro Red Code has a "break in" period... it'll feel good after that initial "Oh, this is horrible!" At least that's the case for me.

Ten_nuts · 03-25-2011, 02:16 PM

Hi XFactorer, i agreed with you that the Pro Red Code does have a break in period, and that's why i use the 17g so the break in period is way much faster than the 16g. Such awesome string.

Boricua · 03-25-2011, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vsbabolat

I have a new VCore 100S and yes it is Made in Japan and it has Made in Japan printed on the frame. I was very impressed with the feel. Very solid frame.

I have this racket VCore 100S also with Revenge mains, gut crosses. Still adjusting, but mighty solid for a light racket.

Boricua · 03-25-2011, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XFactorer

My arm doesn't hurt from a stiff frame. I just don't like the feel as much as I like a "soft" frame.

The EZONE is rated at 68 and it's soft at impact. But I felt like the VCOREs (98D and 100S) were really stiff.

On a side note, the Pro Red Code has a "break in" period... it'll feel good after that initial "Oh, this is horrible!" At least that's the case for me.

I love the stiffness without the hurt, huge sweetspot, no vibration, VCore 100 does this

03-24-2011, 10:16 PM	#1
Ten_nuts Rookie Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 352	Yonex V Core 98D, what a nice surprise! I actually never thought that i would buy a Yonex racquet. I borrowed a friend this Yonex V Core 98D and hit for only half an hour, and i knew i've got to have it. I bought 2 of these with grip 4 1/4. The racquet looks so beautiful with quality deisgns. At the throat it has the letters US and a little shiny hologram sticker(as i was told by the Yonex dealer, this same racquet that was made for Asian market doesn't have the letters US and no shiny hologram sticker at the throat. Can anyone in Asia area verify this?). I got the 1st racquet strung with Babolat Revenge 16g full bed at 60lbs main vs. 58 lbs cross, and the 2nd one was strung with Solinco Revolution 17g full bed at 57 lbs main vs. 55 lbs cross. The one with Revenge weighes 11.44 oz and the one with Solinco weighes 11.43 oz, how sweet is that? What a superb quality control Yonex has. My idealized weight would be 11.7 to 11.9 oz, so i added 6g lead tape at 12 on each one as well as Yonex overgrip. Now the one with Revenge weighes 11.82 oz and the one with Solinco weighes 11.81 oz. Now with the lead tape and overgrip, each racquet has about 5 points headlight, and i am very pleased that the headlights on both of them are exactly the same. Sweet. Now it's time for hitting talks. After a few strokes warming up, i could tell the stiffness of the frame is around 62 max (i think it's 61 or 60) cause my forehand felt very comfy. I was also very surprised that eventhough it weighes 11.82 oz, but i felt a little light when hitting. The power was good but not too much like the Pure drive, and the vibration was very little if hitting heavy balls. I went on and rallied for a while, then i switched to the one with Solinco and played 1 set singles. Here's my thoughts: Serve: flat serve was great because, as i mentioned above that i felt the racquet a little light, i was able to snap the ball quite easily. Kick serve was better than the Utek Radical MP that i used to play, cause the balls went over my friend's shoulders. I still have to work on slice serve with this racquet because, with the Utek Radical i had no problem serving wide, i got the balls go too wide (out) with this Yonex. Forehand: all i can say is...awesome. I barely missed the forehand during the match. Again, the racquet was very easy to swing and my topspin forehand did bite the balls like crazy. I also noticed that the accuracy was there wherever i aimed the targets. The sweetspot seems large to me. Backhand: again my 1 handed backhand with crazy spin worked quite well. At 1st the balls went below the net, but i adjusted it quickly and it worked wonderful. Slice backhand with this racquet was also great thanks to the huge sweetspot. Volley and overhead: I could punch the balls at net with ease, or like a piece of cake and so with overhead. In short, this racquet is an all around court racquet with high quality design and beautiful paint job. It's worth the money. I also had a chance to hit with the RDIS 200 Light and i think it's also a very good racquet too. If i have the RDIS 200 Lite, i would put some lead tape at 12 and on handle, and i think the RDIS 200 Lite would do awesome job for me too. But if you like the RDIS 200 Light but want it a little stiffer, want it look prettier, you can give the V Core 98D a demo. This is my review. If you have questions, please ask and i will try my best to answer. Thanks for reading.

03-24-2011, 10:23 PM	#2
karophiteblu Semi-Pro Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 465	Thanks for the awesome review! Have you tried the older version, the RDiS 100 MP? If so, do you mind posting a comparison? Thanks! __________________ 9.5/10 BLX95 16x18 W/PICS for sale! --> /showthread.php?t=375510

03-25-2011, 06:19 AM	#8
vsbabolat Legend Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 7,430	I have a new VCore 100S and yes it is Made in Japan and it has Made in Japan printed on the frame. I was very impressed with the feel. Very solid frame. __________________ Babolat ruined VS Gut and Tonic Gut with BT7. Why change a gut string that had been perfect for 135 years? It's now overpriced garbage.

03-25-2011, 07:11 AM	#11
li0scc0 Hall Of Fame Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 2,181	The racquets weighed 11.43 and 11.44 ounces strung. THEN the OP added lead to get into the 11.8 range. __________________ 5.0 game with 2.0 consistency. Babolat Pure Control Team 98 (348g 330 SW 9.5pts HL)

03-25-2011, 07:19 AM	#13
vsdtrek Semi-Pro Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 403	Got it - I was reading at work while on a conference call and didn't catch all (and some would say any!) of the details. I've been trying the RDiS 200 lite and think it is a bit too lite and flexible. The 98 specs seem exactly what I want so this review is really helpful. __________________ On to the next frame . . . Last edited by vsdtrek : 03-25-2011 at 08:46 AM.