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

[drak]

Originally Posted by wmilas

So here is my review.

I'm a 40 yo. 4.0 player that took the game up 3 years ago after not playing for 15 years. I switched from a semi eastern to a western grip when I took the game back up. I'm lucky enough to be able to hit with a 5.5 teaching pro twice a week. I did this last night for an hour of hard rallies.

Old sticks are Yonex RDiS 100 midplus (98 inch head)

Old and new were both strung W/ Strung Pacific NG/MSV CoFocus (54/4 on an electronic machine.

Feel: I'll start here because feel maters to me. I was taught in an era were there was more full court game and you needed to have some feel. I don't like dampeners at all as I really like the feedback from every vibration I can get. The 99s was a bit more "damp" than the Yonex but much more lively than say a ProK racquet. It felt solid but did not impart as much feel as I like. Overall it was still acceptable to me.

Forehand: Not what I expected. At all. I have a fairly fast swing speed. You need it with this racquet. You also need very good footwork. You can not cheat with this stick AT ALL. When I'm pressed back or late I have a tendency to exaggerate the brush up the back to give myself a loopier ball and more time to recover. Every time I tried it with this racquet I put the ball into the back tarp. Every time. The ball must be driven forward off your front foot with fast trunk rotation. If you do so THEN the ball naturally rotates off and penetrates deep and kicks up. Every time I tried to "help" it it was an utter disaster. I had thought it would help me exaggerate my spin semi-lob type stroke. It does not. At all. Key is good footwork so you can be in the right place to drive through.

Because of this I did not notice ANY more clearance height than my "normal" strokes. In fact I'd guess I averaged less. There was still plenty of clearance, its just that I could not "add" any more if I tried.

At first I thought there was no more speed on the FH side till about 20 minutes in when I realized my partner was framing more than normal and throwing up a lot of defensive type wrist flicks back to my baseline. I stopped and talked to him and he said the ball was penetrating much more deeply than normal for me and the rotations were up. He also said the ball was moving faster. My ball normally has a tendency to kick up and sit if I get lazy. This ball did not kick up and sit. It kicked up and OUT. I found if I concentrated and tried for the outside a bit I could actually kick it sideways. I normally only can do that on a mishit or if I get really lucky with my timing.

I think the speed increase was because I was forced to drive through the ball to keep it in court.

The higher swingweight was noticeable after 60 minutes due to exertion (or maybe cause I was not cheating at all) but did not seem to effect my timing. I did not feel late from it at all.

I'm not sure I'm good enough to use this stick correctly forehand side. If I stick with it I'll have to work hard to utilize it.

Back Hand. I have a western one handed backhand. Amazingly this is where the stick shined. I did not expect this at all. The added swing weight was very noticeable here in a good way and the stiff frame kept the head very stable. I take my BH's as early (out in front of me) as I can. This allowed me to put some crazy spin on it. My BH's never get as loopy as my FH's. I think because of that this stick shined as I immediately started plowing through the backhands imparting nasty spin. Most noticeable were low balls that normally I struggle to lift and roll back. This thing felt like a slingshot letting me almost effortlessly grab and spin a low ball back. Best 1h BH stick I've ever hit with. 1 Handed slices were deep and biting. I did notice that if I did not complete the push out or if I chopped down the ball became erratic. Still the slices were good.

Volley: The solid firm frame made volleys enjoyable. Very little head rotation. I did notice you needed to really push through and not get lazy other wise the ball would dive down. As I said in the feel section I would like a little more, but the solidness of the head really makes up for that. I can't say I like my RDiS any more than the 99s. I'd put the edge slightly to the 99s. I did not notice any more backspin than usual on the volleys. Was just solid over all.

Dropshots: Mine suck. Period. I'll skip this section cause I have the touch of an elephant when it comes to drop shots. I did try a few and they spun out of control. I'm sure its me though

Lobs: Backspin lobs tended to carry if pushed with the arm instead of the shoulder. I did notice more ball rotation with the 99s. I did not try a lot of them but I would have to re-dial in my lobs. Top spin lobs were a disaster. As stated in the FH section I'll have to re-learn to hit them if I use this stick. I'm sure its my exaggerated swing path. I'll have to change the motion and/or the speed.

Serves: I'm not the best reviewer for this section. My serves are currently the reason I'm not progressing in my game as much as I'd like. I can hit a flat, slice, and kick. My accuracy on all three is not what I would like it to be.

That being said I did notice more pop on my flat serve. I did not notice any more spin on my slice. I did notice more jump on my kick but as I'm still working hard on firming that serve up I could not get the extra "kick" every time. I will say the extra swing weight and solid feel made for a pleasing contact. The extra weight was a detriment to the snap of the pronation as I felt that took more effort. I'd give the edge to neither stick but I'm sure that has mostly to do with my skill level and not the stick itself.

So in summary the stick is great on the 1H BH side. Its nice on the others assuming your form is up to snuff.

Will I be switching? No idea. I need another 10 hours on the stick at least before I can decide that. I have not ruled it out though. The back hands were just SO GOOD.

Interesting that we had the same very good experience on the OHBH, I agree with everyting you stated on it. I likely have a flatter FH than you as I use a SW and it's more easten oriented than western. It wasn't a huge adjustment and when I relaxed as opposed to tryin to muscle it I did much better, so the FH for "might" actually be a positive adjustment - time will tell.

[wmilas]

One thing i forgot to mention. The sweetspot on the 99s is slightly smaller than the Yonex but that makes sense because of the yonex's frame. It still was a fairly large sweetspot compared to the Bab's I've demoed.

[doctor dennis]

Originally Posted by wmilas

One thing i forgot to mention. The sweetspot on the 99s is slightly smaller than the Yonex but that makes sense because of the yonex's frame. It still was a fairly large sweetspot compared to the Bab's I've demoed.

Hi

What's babolats did you try?

Could you give a brief comparison if possible?

Kind regards

DD

[Rabbit]

Well, two of the 5.0 group I sub in dropped by this afternoon. They asked if I could turn their new frames around today. I said, "Why, of course".

They gave me 4 new Wilson 99S racquets to string. One of them told me it was the best racquet he'd ever hit with and he didn't want me to hit with it. The other, a former D1 player, smiled and began to tell me that it was the only frame he'd ever seen where full poly moved and stayed that way.

He went on to say that it plays very solid and soft. He said the spin was marginally better than he's used to, but...he doesn't miss with it.

Both went on to say that the first ball you hit goes long and then you mysteriously, unconsciously dial it in. He told me I could hit with his frame tomorrow.

I called the pro shop. They have already sold out of 2's. I told my buddy up there to get me two <sigh>. Looks like my stay with the Warrior was about 3 months <ugh> (please nobody tell my wife>.

I strung the four up, all poly for both and both at 58.5/55.5. The first guy opted for ALU and the second MSV Focus Hex 17L. I get to hit with the MSV frame. I should note that both wanted 4G but I only have one set and i'm kinda saving it for me.

[klementine79]

Well, then that does it.

I usually like 18x20 patterns, soft flex and higher static weight but I gotta get a demo of this.

[couch]

Hit with mine three times this week. One singles match (6-0, 6-2), one doubles match (6-1, 6-3), and a 1 1/2 hour hitting session today.

Really starting to get dialed in with this racquet. Getting to a point where I can hit out and trust what the racquet is going to do. Groundstrokes with this thing are just a breeze. I hit a bending passing shot down the line in my singles match and you could see the ball kick to the outside there was so much spin on it. Never seen anything like it. Still getting adjusted to the higher swing weight but I think over time it will be a good thing because this thing hits deep, heavy balls compared to my old stick.

I have three of them now and am going to experiment with strings. My favorite so far is 4G in 16 gauge at 58lbs. I have one strung with 4G 15g mains and 16g crosses at 58lbs and didn't like it as much. I am going to stick with the 16g for now and see what kind of durability I get. The first time I hit with the 16g I only got like 3-4 hours so that made me very nervous since I only had one racquet. The current set of 16g has lasted me these three sessions but is getting close to breaking so maybe it will last a little longer than I think.

I'm going to try 15L Black Code next and see how that turns out. Has anyone found a nice 16g poly that seems durable and holds tension well enough for this racquet other than 4G? 4G seems to hold tension really well for a poly but seems a little low-powered at the same time.

[klementine79]

^Yonex Poly Tour HS 16g is a great choice.

While I haven't tried the 99s, I'll vouch for this one. A bit more power than 4g (still under powered), doesn't hold tension as good (but is more than decent) and is one heck of a string.

The regular Poly Tour Pro is great too. Softer and settles in nicely.

[drak]

Originally Posted by couch

Hit with mine three times this week. One singles match (6-0, 6-2), one doubles match (6-1, 6-3), and a 1 1/2 hour hitting session today.

Really starting to get dialed in with this racquet. Getting to a point where I can hit out and trust what the racquet is going to do. Groundstrokes with this thing are just a breeze. I hit a bending passing shot down the line in my singles match and you could see the ball kick to the outside there was so much spin on it. Never seen anything like it. Still getting adjusted to the higher swing weight but I think over time it will be a good thing because this thing hits deep, heavy balls compared to my old stick.

I have three of them now and am going to experiment with strings. My favorite so far is 4G in 16 gauge at 58lbs. I have one strung with 4G 15g mains and 16g crosses at 58lbs and didn't like it as much. I am going to stick with the 16g for now and see what kind of durability I get. The first time I hit with the 16g I only got like 3-4 hours so that made me very nervous since I only had one racquet. The current set of 16g has lasted me these three sessions but is getting close to breaking so maybe it will last a little longer than I think.

I'm going to try 15L Black Code next and see how that turns out. Has anyone found a nice 16g poly that seems durable and holds tension well enough for this racquet other than 4G? 4G seems to hold tension really well for a poly but seems a little low-powered at the same time.

I got mine Thursday and had only one hit, I strung it with pacific Classic at 58 and 4G coosses at 55, both 1.30 gauge, I thought it played great with excellent spin.

[klementine79]

Yonex Poly Tour HS and Poly Tour Pro

I actually had some guy, that I sold a racquet to, send me an email to ask me what kind of poly I had in the racquet.

He absolutely loved it and that string bed had more than 8 hours of play when I shipped it out, for the Poly Tour Pro.

So I know it's not just me.

[drak]

Originally Posted by Rabbit

Well, two of the 5.0 group I sub in dropped by this afternoon. They asked if I could turn their new frames around today. I said, "Why, of course".

They gave me 4 new Wilson 99S racquets to string. One of them told me it was the best racquet he'd ever hit with and he didn't want me to hit with it. The other, a former D1 player, smiled and began to tell me that it was the only frame he'd ever seen where full poly moved and stayed that way.

He went on to say that it plays very solid and soft. He said the spin was marginally better than he's used to, but...he doesn't miss with it.

Both went on to say that the first ball you hit goes long and then you mysteriously, unconsciously dial it in. He told me I could hit with his frame tomorrow.

I called the pro shop. They have already sold out of 2's. I told my buddy up there to get me two <sigh>. Looks like my stay with the Warrior was about 3 months <ugh> (please nobody tell my wife>.

I strung the four up, all poly for both and both at 58.5/55.5. The first guy opted for ALU and the second MSV Focus Hex 17L. I get to hit with the MSV frame. I should note that both wanted 4G but I only have one set and i'm kinda saving it for me.

LOL Rabbit, we often have gravitated to the same rackets at times over the past decade. I think you will like this frame, the gut hybrid plays great, curious how U will like it (I loved it) for a OHBH which I believe you use.

[PED]

Originally Posted by couch

Hit with mine three times this week. One singles match (6-0, 6-2), one doubles match (6-1, 6-3), and a 1 1/2 hour hitting session today.

Really starting to get dialed in with this racquet. Getting to a point where I can hit out and trust what the racquet is going to do. Groundstrokes with this thing
I'm going to try 15L Black Code next and see how that turns out. Has anyone found a nice 16g poly that seems durable and holds tension well enough for this racquet other than 4G? 4G seems to hold tension really well for a poly but seems a little low-powered at the same time.

16g Tour bite has excellent durability and great spin.

[couch]

Originally Posted by klementine79

^Yonex Poly Tour HS 16g is a great choice.

While I haven't tried the 99s, I'll vouch for this one. A bit more power than 4g (still under powered), doesn't hold tension as good (but is more than decent) and is one heck of a string.

The regular Poly Tour Pro is great too. Softer and settles in nicely.

I've tried Poly Tour Pro but not the Tour HS. The Tour Pro felt almost too springy and/or powerful. Sounds like the HS is a little less powerful and more crisp. I'll have to give it a try. Thanks.

[couch]

Originally Posted by drak

I got mine Thursday and had only one hit, I strung it with pacific Classic at 58 and 4G coosses at 55, both 1.30 gauge, I thought it played great with excellent spin.

I really worry about the durability of gut mains. I will probably try it at some point but the price point and fear of durability scares me a bit.

[Andyroddickfan]

Wouldn't string durability be an issue with a 16x15 string pattern?

[couch]

Originally Posted by PED

16g Tour bite has excellent durability and great spin.

Thanks PED. I have some Tour Bite sitting around so I'll give it a try too. I think it's 16L but will see how it works. BB Alu Power lasted about 2-3 hours when I tried it. Is their durability comparable? Haven't used tour bite enough to know.

[couch]

Originally Posted by Andyroddickfan

Wouldn't string durability be an issue with a 16x15 string pattern?

Yes, very much so. That's the one thing that concerns me about this racquet.

[wmilas]

About the gut mains and durability: I don't think the mains are going to be the problem. Its going to be the crosses. My mains (granted only been an hour) look just like they do after an hour on my 16x19 stick. I normally break gut mains in 8-12 hours on my RDiS. Based on my first session I don't see any difference here.

The crosses, well, that's a different story. Its poly. It looks great then snap. Who knows.

[tlm]

Originally Posted by couch

Yes, very much so. That's the one thing that concerns me about this racquet.

The racket I demoed had TNT in it and it was moving all over, this stick is made for poly. A multi will not last long, the way the new string was moving on me it had huge gaps between the mains from hitting top spin. This racket is definitely over hyped, it is not that special.

[tlm]

Originally Posted by wmilas

About the gut mains and durability: I don't think the mains are going to be the problem. Its going to be the crosses. My mains (granted only been an hour) look just like they do after an hour on my 16x19 stick. I normally break gut mains in 8-12 hours on my RDiS. Based on my first session I don't see any difference here.

The crosses, well, that's a different story. Its poly. It looks great then snap. Who knows.

Sorry but any main other than poly or kevlar is not going to last very long in this racket.

[marosmith]

I wonder what this will do to wrists, elbows, and shoulders in the long run.