Wilson Hits Homerun with Wilson Steam 99S (mini review)

[drakulie]

Not sure what the stiffness rating on the frame is, however, it feels nowhere near a 71. Not even close. I think the open string pattern makes the head feel flexy/cushiony even with a full poly stringed. This is one of the more surprising aspects of the frame,,,,, how comfortable it felt.

Someone asked a question related to the frames ability to produce spin with something other than a poly. Please remember that spin is generated by techinque and could be magnified by a string or frame. That said, I could almost guarantee this frame will produce more than other racquets regardless of string.

[mikeler]

Great info. Thanks for the review.

[Broly4]

Please don't be so naive.
How on Earth can you hit with a Head speed mp faster than with an APD, assuming you swing equally hard, only possible explanation is different string, tension o just fake data provided by the biased company.

[drakulie]

Originally Posted by Broly4

Please don't be so naive.
How on Earth can you hit with a Head speed mp faster than with an APD,

the 315 speed mp has more mass. Also, I wasn't aware the APD was a monster in the power department as you are making it seem.

[Chotobaka]

Did you get a chance to serve with the 99S Drak?

[drakulie]

Originally Posted by Chotobaka

Did you get a chance to serve with the 99S Drak?

Yes. Great pop and obviously lots of spin. Keep in mind I didn't serve with it so long as our time was limited. I'm hoping to playtest it again and giving a more thorough review.

[Broly4]

Originally Posted by drakulie

the 315 speed mp has more mass. Also, I wasn't aware the APD was a monster in the power department as you are making it seem.

Seriously when it comes to power, there is no comparison possible between those two, everybody who has played both knows it, you can also check their power level at TWU

[drakulie]

Originally Posted by Broly4

Seriously when it comes to power, there is no comparison possible between those two, everybody who has played both knows it, you can also check their power level at TWU

I have played with both. I've never felt like the aero pro drive was an overly powerful frame.

[Gemini]

I'm curious to know how they (the engineers) were measuring pace? The other two categories I can understand but what's the unit of measure for pace?

[sansaephanh]

What was strung in the racket for this playtest?

Assuming that you are worlds better then I am (based on your scores and that you didn't complain about much) do you think it would be liked by higher level players who play a much flatter type of game?

How was the power level?

Can you steal one for me?

Why is bacon so delicious?

Do you think this racket will also be ruined by Wilson QC?

With that being said do you think this stick has to potential to take over the modern tennis scene and break into the top 5?

if you to chose one racket this racket FEELS similar to, which would it be?

[Stormcrow]

Drak, thank you for the info. Were you able to hit with the Steam 96?

[corners]

Originally Posted by realplayer

I'm only using synthetic gut. How good is the steam 99s with this set-up? Durability is not an issue.

The 16x15 string pattern was chosen to reduce inter-string friction and allow the mains to stretch, slide and snapback with maximum energy and speed to put more spin on the ball. Strings that don't have slippery, hard surfaces don't do this in more conventional string patterns and probably won't do it in this string pattern either. Syngut quickly notches and "locks" up due to the sawing action of the crosses on the soft-surfaced mains, and that will probably happen in a 16x15 pattern too.

This string pattern was designed for slippery, hard copoly strings, although gut mains/copoly crosses should also work (although the reduced number of cross strings means the stringbed will be less stiff that usual, and a player would probably want to increase the tension of both the gut mains and the copoly crosses with this pattern.)

[Broly4]

Originally Posted by drakulie

I have played with both. I've never felt like the aero pro drive was an overly powerful frame.

Sorry but it actually is, in the same league that the PD or Extreme ( no so much but close) Speed mp is clearly underpowered by those standards, so the string or the tension weren't the same at the test if you allow me.

[drakulie]

Originally Posted by Broly4

Sorry but it actually is, in the same league that the PD or Extreme ( no so much but close) Speed mp is clearly underpowered by those standards, so the string or the tension weren't the same at the test if you allow me.

Go compare the pro staff 90 power level to the aero and pure drive on TWU and I'm certain you will be shocked to find out it has more power.

[Fed Kennedy]

I was only mildly interested in this frame but after this review I am salivating...what is the tension range and string recommendation?

[corners]

Originally Posted by Torres

It sounds interesting. Doubt that it would be my type of stick, but its interesting nonetheless.

The one doubt that I would have with this type of stick is whether you would have to change your natural stroke mechanics too much in order to flatten out the ball, and hit through the court.

In theory at least, that would depend on your string type and tension. As long as you are hitting with a steep swingpath and/or a closed racquet face the mains will slide tengentially producing spin and a higher launch angle. And because incoming balls almost always have topspin on them (the friction between the ball and the court applies topspin on the bounce, even if the shot was perfectly flat before bouncing), combined with the fact that we rarely hit a ball at the exact top of the bounce, when it's neither rising nor falling, means that the angle between the ball and the strings will always be slightly more acute than perpendicular. Therefore, the main strings are going to slide and snapback to some degree on almost every shot and the launch angle will be somewhat different each time, depending on how far those strings slide.

This would be minimized to some degree with stiffer strings strung at higher tension.

However, the same thing happens with copoly strings or gut/copoly hybrids in conventional string patterns and people seem to be able to adjust for this and flatten out the ball.

But certainly, if the strings did not move at all, if they were locked at the intersections, the launch angle would be much more consistent and independent of the incoming shot parameters and therefore more "predictable" from shot to shot by our brains' targeting computer.

I would think the spin effect frames would be best for heavy spin hitters who play from the baseline with very fast swings, and rather poor for flat hitters and those who come to the net a lot. The shot to shot launch angle variability of slippery strings is magnified on shots where you swing slowly - on volleys and returns - because then the launch angle is more dependent on the incoming shot parameters. On the other hand, Drak reports that the 99s volleyed well, so this string pattern, combined with whatever string and tension Wilson set it up with, might be OK.

[Shaolin]

Good to see racquet companies finally starting to try out new types of string patterns instead of just developing new garbage to infuse with graphite year after year (intellifibers, nano-whatever, microgel ad infinitum).

[Broly4]

Originally Posted by drakulie

Go compare the pro staff 90 power level to the aero and pure drive on TWU and I'm certain you will be shocked to find out it has more power.

No need, I knew it, but that is not the stick we're talking about, so now you've checked the non sense of the data provided, thank you

[Fed Kennedy]

Drak, how did it perform on slice bh?

[sureshs]

Originally Posted by mikeler

Drak touched on string durability. That would be my only concern.

That would mean more business for him, so he will not be concerned