General 97-98 vs 100 sqin headsize comparsion

A friend of mine have a mind-breaking opinion: He had Yonex EZone DR 98 285g and EZone DR 100 300g, and his experience was how hit more frame with DR 98 compared to DR 100. No, this is not a joke, but I know how this is ********. Independently from this thing I compared my (old) Head G XT Instinct MP with my (new) Wilson Pro Staff 97 (v11) and with my friends Head G XT Radical MPA and I see the difference compared these racquets stringbed size.

The thing I starting this thread because I don't have faith about a 97 or 98 sqin headsize racquet giving difference compared a 100 sqin headsize racquet. I think how this is a more complicated question. For example my Instincts head is not significantly wider than my PS 97's, but I remember how for example a Pure Aero have more wide racquet head which can helps topspin. An another aspect, how I think a same 16/19 string pattern is how narrow or wide mainly in sweetspot section. My friends Radical MPA, or EZone DR 98 is significantly narrower stringing than my Instinct MP or my PS 97. A wide stringing besides of more spin friendly I think can more comfortable because load from incoming ball suffering less string and this fact giving more elasticity.

I playing with this Pro Staffs since last November after two and a half years of using Instinct MP. These racquets are differents: 15 gramms, 3 sqin, different mold, different manufacturer, but despite similar: 16/19 is same and same wide, racquet head is also same wide, RA is 66 in all two racquets, and in swingweight only have 5 unit difference, these things giving how I can feel own this Pro Staff from first minute, and nothing reminder to me how I switched to a smaller headsize racquet.

I waiting your opinions about racquetsize comparsion in this range.

What's the question?

atelic said:

What's the question?

Click to expand...

What difference giving a 100er frame compared a 97-98er?

i think too many auto dismiss 100in frames but there isn't much diff in terms of size from 98in is there really. i'm trying a dr100 out when it stops snowing as like the 98 but want a little more spin and more sweetspot. also the vcore pro 100 i want to try as 97 was not big enough for me.

I switched to 97/98 inch frames when I moved from a 2 handed to a 1 handed backhand, slightly smaller head size seems more manageable when trying to push through with the 1-hander. Players on the pro tour seem to back me up, most one handers using 95/97/98 inch head sizes while double handers tend to go for 100.

To me it’s a continuum. As the head size goes up, the forgiveness goes up and I get more power and spin with less weight, but the feel, precision, and maneuverability decreases. There are other influencing factors for these characteristics too of course. In general I prefer the feel and handling of small head sizes, even 93 to 95, but think it's wiser for my game to go with a bit more forgiving sweet spot size / stability / power so I usually play a 98. I don't mind some 100s but I don't feel like I benefit as much going up from 98 to 100, so I use the smaller size to keep the slightly better handling / feel.

frogboy2002 said:

i'm trying a dr100 out when it stops snowing as like the 98 but want a little more spin and more sweetspot. also the vcore pro 100 i want to try as 97 was not big enough for me.

Click to expand...

This is actually a rare case where I prefer the 100. The VCore Pro 97 (310g) is too light to perform well with a thin beam and smaller head. You either need to be able to handle the 330g, add some decent weight to the 310g, or skip to the 100. I recently mentioned in another thread I was pleasantly surprised by the VCore Pro 100.

time_fly said:

This is actually a rare case where I prefer the 100. The VCore Pro 97 (310g) is too light to perform well with a thin beam and smaller head. You either need to be able to handle the 330g, add some decent weight to the 310g, or skip to the 100. I recently mentioned in another thread I was pleasantly surprised by the VCore Pro 100.

Click to expand...

at the moment i am testing the new pure aero, old pure strike, vcore 98 and dr100. still need to get the vcore pro 100 for a good test and the clash when it comes out! i have a self given deadline of 1st March to pick one long-term lol

There isn't much difference between 97,98, and 100 square inches given the same frame shape. If you are framing often with a 97, don't expect much change going to a 100 of the same shape. You can get noticeable differences if the frame shape is different.

Having said all that, if you are framing a lot with a 97 square inch frame, you should probably look into why that might be happening and try to correct the flaw with your technique.

it's not so much framing but rather hitting outside sweetspot occasionally whereas doesn't really ever happen with 100in. i hit very heavy topspin so the extra area defo helps me, i have used 98 a lot and it is much better than 97 for me, obviously my game is far from perfect and i do all that i can to correct that but i won my local singles league recently so i am getting there!