Dunlop F 3.0 Tour

[Hominator]

Just took this racquet out for a hitting session and wow, what a nice racquet. Feels incredibly crisp and lively, with little to no shock for such a stiff frame. Hoop is very solid and the frame feels very fast. Control was outstanding, too. The frame seems to reward fast racquet head speed.

Despite being 18x20, I also found this racquet to be very spin-friendly. In fact, I was getting more action with this racquet than with my Pure Drives or Aero Storms. This is also despite being strung with a multi. Can't wait to try a poly hybrid in this frame.

Really impressed with this frame - Dunlop has a real winner with this one.

If you like the power of a Pure Drive, but are looking for a little more control, check this one out. I think you'll like it.

[sargeinaz]

Wow. It really has the power of a pure drive even with the players specs it has? And has no shock to the arm. Might have no choice but to demo this one then even though I never cared for the older dunlops.

[kc571]

I liked it a lot. Not as maneuverable as the xdual. But it has pop control and decent spin.

[retrograde]

I've been demo'ing the F3.0 Tour this week (strung w/ Silk). I was looking for comfortable frames since I get TE on and off and added the F3.0 Tour to the demo order as an afterthought.

I like it more than the Bio 300 Tour in stock form ... really solid volleying stick, good pop, and more access to spin. Torsional stability is good (check out the F3.0's Twistweight at TW University). I enjoyed serving with it too, not sure why that was.

It feels fairly stiff to me, but off-center shots didn't punish my elbow like other stiff frames have in the past. Still, I probably wouldn't recommend the F3.0 Tour to those with TE issues.

Good addition to the Dunlop stable.

[Hominator]

I'll add that I've had TE on and off, to the severity where I've had to take a break from tennis for a couple months a year or so ago.

The Dunlop F 3.0 Tour gives me no problems with my arm whatsoever. The feel on contact has little shock. Contact feels similar to a Pro Kennex Kinetic 5G - very clean and uniform with no flutter in the hoop at all.

[Pneumated1]

When you say "stiff," are you referring to a more modern feel? If so, how would you compare this frame to either Organix 10? Those are as "stiff" as I could go. Can you compare this to a former Blade? The 5G comparison helps, but I've never thought of that frame as stiff.

I came to the London from the 300 Tour, and with its discontinuation, I'm interested in this one.

[Hominator]

Originally Posted by Pneumated1

When you say "stiff," are you referring to a more modern feel? If so, how would you compare this frame to either Organix 10? Those are as "stiff" as I could go. Can you compare this to a former Blade? The 5G comparison helps, but I've never thought of that frame as stiff.

I came to the London from the 300 Tour, and with its discontinuation, I'm interested in this one.

Hmm, I think perhaps stiff wasn't the right word to use, since stiff has many negative connotations. By stiff, I mean crisp and not flexy.

Compared to the X10, the Dunlop has a more crisp feel, but its equally arm-friendly. In fact, the uniform hoop response upon contact is very similar. I spent the last 5 minutes or so of my practice, hitting out, just for fun, and I couldn't feel the stick flex at all. Still, my arm felt completely fine.

Sorry, I've never hit with any Blades.

[Pneumated1]

Originally Posted by Hominator

Hmm, I think perhaps stiff wasn't the right word to use, since stiff has many negative connotations. By stiff, I mean crisp and not flexy.

Compared to the X10, the Dunlop has a more crisp feel, but its equally arm-friendly. In fact, the uniform hoop response upon contact is very similar. I spent the last 5 minutes or so of my practice, hitting out, just for fun, and I couldn't feel the stick flex at all. Still, my arm felt completely fine.

Sorry, I've never hit with any Blades.

Thanks for clarifying that for me, Hominator, and sorry for splitting hairs.

If it's more crisp than the X10s, then I won't need to bother. I have to have some noticeable flex. My choices are severely limited, so I'll try to keep stocking up on my frame.

[McLovin]

For those who have hit with both this and it's 'predecessor', the Bio 300: From the photos, it looks as if the handle is a bit longer. One of my gripes about Dunlop is that the handle is usually shorter than on most frames. Having a 2HBH, I don't like having my top hand off the grip. So, is there more grip on this frame?

[tom4ny]

the grip on the new F3.0T is definitely longer than on the bio 300T and has enough real estate for a 2hbh.

agree that this frame has a much crisper feel and that the string bed is both livelier and the ball comes off faster than the bio 300T. also agree that shock absorption is very good and the frame is arm/elbow friendly.

the feel is 300tour blended with babalot aero pro drive. the bio 300T has better flex and ball pocketing but the F3.0T is more stable in stock form and they have definitely fixed the upper hoop problem. still, i have added lead for added drive.

i am still staying with the bio 300 tour but will continue play testing the new version and tweaking.

[SteveI]

Originally Posted by tom4ny

the grip on the new F3.0T is definitely longer than on the bio 300T and has enough real estate for a 2hbh.

agree that this frame has a much crisper feel and that the string bed is both livelier and the ball comes off faster than the bio 300T. also agree that shock absorption is very good and the frame is arm/elbow friendly.

the feel is 300tour blended with babalot aero pro drive. the bio 300T has better flex and ball pocketing but the F3.0T is more stable in stock form and they have definitely fixed the upper hoop problem. still, i have added lead for added drive.

i am still staying with the bio 300 tour but will continue play testing the new version and tweaking.

I will be very interested to see if Dunlop produces a new Bio 400 Tour. If they can firm up the upper loop on that frame.. that would really be a nice improvement. I am playing the current version and while I do not hit much in the upper loop it would be great to get an overall firmer feel on the stringbed.

[Torres]

How does this compare to the:

- 4D 300 Tour
- Bio 300 Tour

(Both of those were quite different sticks despite the specs).

[retrograde]

Originally Posted by McLovin

So, is there more grip on this frame?

Measured from butt to the top of the elastic band, its 8". That's about 3/4" longer than my AG 4D 200 16x19.

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by retrograde

Measured from butt to the top of the elastic band, its 8". That's about 3/4" longer than my AG 4D 200 16x19.

Sweet. Thanks.

This frame just moved into the spring demo lineup, along w/ the Yonex VCORE Tour 97 and the new YOUTEK Speed. Not saying I'm moving away from my X Force Pros, but it will be almost two years with those frames, so I have to at least look at other stuff.

Besides, I believe if I stick with the same frame for more than two years my membership to TT gets revoked...

[JackB1]

Originally Posted by Pneumated1

Thanks for clarifying that for me, Hominator, and sorry for splitting hairs.

If it's more crisp than the X10s, then I won't need to bother. I have to have some noticeable flex. My choices are severely limited, so I'll try to keep stocking up on my frame.

Have to agree with Homi here. I had a loooong demo session with both the M and F 3.0's and they have little to no flex. I thought they felt pretty stiff to me. Nice frames but very noticeable when you miss the sweetspots, which are rather small.

[JackB1]

Originally Posted by Pneumated1

When you say "stiff," are you referring to a more modern feel? If so, how would you compare this frame to either Organix 10? Those are as "stiff" as I could go. Can you compare this to a former Blade? The 5G comparison helps, but I've never thought of that frame as stiff.

I came to the London from the 300 Tour, and with its discontinuation, I'm interested in this one.

the new Dunlops are NOTHING like the prior models. Its a totally new mold.
Definitely stiffer feeling than the X10.

[retrograde]

Originally Posted by Hominator

I'll add that I've had TE on and off, to the severity where I've had to take a break from tennis for a couple months a year or so ago.

The Dunlop F 3.0 Tour gives me no problems with my arm whatsoever. The feel on contact has little shock. Contact feels similar to a Pro Kennex Kinetic 5G - very clean and uniform with no flutter in the hoop at all.

Same here, I had to take 6 months off a year ago but my elbow still feels tender sometimes.

I've been playing with the PK 7g for 10 years. In the demo box along with the F3.0 Tour is a PK KI5 315 and Yonex RDIS 200. Hitting with all these yesterday, the F3.0 Tour was the least comfy for me.

That said, it felt like I was getting easy pace with the F3.0 and volleys felt really solid, even on reaction volleys to a hard drive or when the volley was made below the net at an angle to the racquet face. This would be a good doubles stick for me if my elbow weren't so picky.

[JackB1]

Originally Posted by Hominator

I'll add that I've had TE on and off, to the severity where I've had to take a break from tennis for a couple months a year or so ago.

The Dunlop F 3.0 Tour gives me no problems with my arm whatsoever. The feel on contact has little shock. Contact feels similar to a Pro Kennex Kinetic 5G - very clean and uniform with no flutter in the hoop at all.

Homi...have you tried the M 3.0 as well? I found the M and F almost identical except for the string pattern.

[Hominator]

Originally Posted by JackB1

Homi...have you tried the M 3.0 as well? I found the M and F almost identical except for the string pattern.

No, I haven't. Sorry.

[retrograde]

Originally Posted by JackB1

I found the M and F almost identical except for the string pattern.

I only demo'd the F3.0 Tour and have not demo'd the M 3.0, but ....

After I demo racquets, I like to check on each stick's TW University data to see if they're consistent with what I experienced. The data won't tell the whole story, but any inconsistencies make me want to re-demo to see if I should re-evaluate. Anyways, the two tools I like to use are:

Power Potential & Sweetspot Size scatter plots:
http://twu.tennis-warehouse.com/cgi-...eruniverse.cgi

Vibration Frequency:
http://twu.tennis-warehouse.com/cgi-...bfrequency.cgi

Using the above, I can see why the M3.0 and F3.0 seem similar to you, at least to a first order. Their power potential distributions and sweetspot zone areas are pretty similar.