Yonex Ezone Tour 98
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gutfeeling
Hall of Fame
Completely different weight distribution.
Roquestil
Semi-Pro
Have you tried it? I know that it will be different distribution, that's a given. Wondering about any feedback.
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gutfeeling
Hall of Fame
Yes, have you? I played the 2020 standard extensively with weight added. Completely different, like comparing a Blade to a Prostaff.
gutfeeling
Hall of Fame
Which you then answered
.
Roquestil
Semi-Pro
I'll rephrase. Anyone has useful feedback about my question? Thanks guys
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rader023
Rookie
I am looking for anyone who has played and enjoyed the 2020 Ezone 98+ and also the tour. I am currently using a DR98+ and a 2018 Ezone 98+. I use the ezone when i need some more free power, use the DR when i need a little more control and feel.
Looking to either get a new 98+ or a 98 tour.....may have to demo at this rate.
Looking to either get a new 98+ or a 98 tour.....may have to demo at this rate.
TagUrIt
Hall of Fame
I initially ordered an Ezone 98 and really enjoyed playing with it. The only thing I felt it was lacking was little weight. My plan was to add some tungsten tape and a leather grip to it. Then the Tour came out, I went ahead pulled the trigger on it. I think it’s the better choice, because the weight is evenly distributed. With customizing it’s difficult to balance the racquet. Adding a leather grip would add weight, but you would still need to balance it at the head of the racquet. I added a leather grip and (same amount) tungsten tape to my previous racquets Ezone 100’s. They were definitely more powerful, but I don’t think they were all equally balanced.
mscream
Professional
I have owned and tested quite a few EZONE racquets and setups and would say that if you like the feel and response of the standard EZONE 98 but think it is too anemic in terms of plow, then the EZONE Tour is the way to go.
Received my new Ezone Tour 98 last week and this past weekend played with it three times. I’ve been playing with the DR98 (stock) for the last 4 or so years. I need to play with it more, but I’m pretty certain this will be my new racquet going forward. Getting used to the slightly higher weight, balance, etc. I had to focus on my preparation, but groundstrokes and volleys felt much more stable. Serving it felt a little heavier and at first I was hitting long, but I got used to it quickly and it didn’t tire me out. Spin was easier to generate on the DR, but I generally hit flat and so the added stability and plow thru are a plus. Arm comfort is key for me and the Tour was just as good in this area as the DR. Already thinking about buying a second one if my experience so far holds up. I’m a 4.0+ and use f/b VS Touch 57/55.
Hansen
Professional
because of the weight or because the stringbed is just more spin friendly ?
does this also mean that the tour feels more control oriented, more precision on flat shots ?
TagUrIt
Hall of Fame
Awesome glad to help! I think you will enjoy your Tours. The more I play with mine the more in tune I become with it.
The weight and balance. Yes on the control and precision.
justinhaughtmd
Rookie
I thought the Ezone 98 2020 was too light and underpowered, so I got the Ezone 98+ and it’s great with lots of power and plowthrough. I added a leather grip to make it more headlight and it made a huge difference. Feels heavy with a lot of power. Wondering what the difference would be with the Tour... I assume there is more plow with the 98+???
TresLechesCakee
New User
Got to spend some more time with the Ezone 98 Tour. Smacked on a leather grip after the few hits to make it headlight. Overall, it's quite a nice racquet with great power, easy access to spin, and decent plow through. Somewhat close to the DR 98, but it's for sure missing that memorable crisp, solid feel.
tennisislife4622
Rookie
Restrung my EZT with hyper g 17 gauge 53 lbs and i must say it played really well. Good pop and pocketing with the thinner gauge and spin was slightly better so I was able to get the ball to dive in the court. I definitely noticed a more head light feel coming from a 16L to a 17 and it felt like I could whip the racket head much easier. This may be me getting more used to the balance, but I really think it is a combination of that and the thinner string. Next, I will probably try a more shaped and grippy spin string at 17G and string it higher maybe at like 55 LBS. Hyper G makes the racket VERY muted and i assume it will become too lively here in the next couple hitting sessions. Any suggestions on good playing 17G strings that have more grip/spin and very good control? I must reiterate this racket is a serving monster its almost unfair if you have solid technique and good leg explosion up through the service motion....
ryoma_sama
New User
My stick arrived today from TW, gonna hit with it later tonight. Using Hyper-G strung at 53 lbs, gonna try it without an overgrip/dampener before I try to customize anything. This is my first time using Hyper-G, but I have liked the other Solinco strings I’ve used (Tour Bite soft and Confidential) so hopefully I jive with this one. I demoed the regular ezone 2020 and did not care for it since I lean towards heavier sticks but that also could have been me disliking PTP. It is a pretty stick for sure.
A week in with the Ezone and I am liking it more. The extra pop on serves is noticeable to my opponents, and it's still great on groundstrokes as well - really getting dialed in on the slices. Played singles on a 90 degree day and switched back and forth with the Vcore, and I preferred the Ezone for the free points on serve and easy depth on groundies. For touch, I will still have to say the Vcore wins, but if I get 90% of the touch with the Ezone I think it's a fair tradeoff. I just bought an Ezone Tour for an extended demo.
gutfeeling
Hall of Fame
Naomi’s current practice partner. Former top ranked junior. His reviews are legit. I agree with him that for those who liked the standard 98 but needed a little more stability and plow the Tour checks a lot of boxes.
no you can’t ezone is almost always on specs
So I replaced the frame with the leather grip and the the frame felt better. The balance was closer to what I am used to and was less sluggish and with the leather grip it felt more solid.
I went back and forth between the tour and then xi/ai and I was able to move the ball better but I had to work a little more for it.
The launch angle was lower than the xi/ai frame but that could be the result of the added weight I need to adjust to.
Overall, I am happy with it and looking to practice with it more.
As a reference, I’ve been using yonex frames exclusively last 5 years and here are some of my yonex frames.
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I went back and forth between the tour and then xi/ai and I was able to move the ball better but I had to work a little more for it.
The launch angle was lower than the xi/ai frame but that could be the result of the added weight I need to adjust to.
Overall, I am happy with it and looking to practice with it more.
As a reference, I’ve been using yonex frames exclusively last 5 years and here are some of my yonex frames.
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I’m a little surprised he liked the balance as he felt the HD was head heavy, but on paper the Tour should be more head heavy compared to the HD.
gutfeeling
Hall of Fame
The new TFight 305 RS is closer to 16!
BallBasher247
Semi-Pro
I think I said this at some point elsewhere in this thread, but try MSV Focus Hex 17L (1.18mm) or Confidential 17 (1.20mm). With those strings you can keep the same 53lb tension or go lower, more like 51-52. Control and feel will be tons better. I have hit with the Focus Hex 17L in one of my 2020 Prince Phantom 100P's for a few sessions, and I have Hyper-G 1.15 (18g) at 52lbs in my other one. The control, feel, and durability are tons better than thin Hyper-G, which is nearly dead after four or five hitting sessions in my experience. The thinner strings make the racket more maneuverable indeed; it definitely helps me out, since my 100P's are similarly hefty compared to the EZone Tour (~330 swingweight, higher twistweight than the EZone Tour). I am kinda curious about the EZone Tour, but I know that it would have to be around 340 grams to achieve my preferred balance point, and the thick beam will probably be less whippy/slower than the thin Phantom beam.
Wrong. I've RDC'd probably hundreds of racquets over the years. Not even Wilson or Head with their random QC have that extreme level of variance. On those racquets you'll typically see a variance of +/-1 (RA unlike weight or swingweight isn't a spec that varies massively). Yonex with the much higher QC won't have a variance of anywhere near 5 on their Ezone Tours.
Distribution of weight is more reflective of how a racquet feels through the swing rather than an outright balance measurement. The Ai98 for example has a very HL balance on paper but is more demanding to swing than its weight or balance measurement would suggest.
Frans Bleker
Professional
Yeah, I would have hoped you could spot that there was a bit exaggeration in that. But ±2-3 variance in RA is extremely common. I ran countless of rackets trew the RDC, and the RA varried much more than just 1 in my experience.
No, it isn't.
You clearly don't understand how racquets are made. The RDC reading is of the bending force of the entire racquet laid horizontally. Unlike weight (which is a much more granular measurement), RA doesn't vary much from racquet to racquet of the same model as the layup is the same and you're bending a tubular structure.
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Dragy
Legend
Yeah with 67 stiffness it seems like you can hit with any spot on the plane... They seem to bring some Medvedev's stability to the retail market, huh... Not proper thread, sorry.
I've been playing with EZONE DR 98's with TW over 14 - unless it really hit the frame, the ball was coming off healthy. So Tour is expected to act like an earthmover.
Frans Bleker
Professional
Well, first of all the RDC doesn't lie. Second of all, the layup is not the same, cause they are placed by hand in a mold. The stiffness may vary depending on how accurate you can place the same amount of carbon in the mold, also different batches can easily be made of different batches of carbon supply, and not all carbon has the same thickness etc. The result of that variation leads to different RA numbers.
tennisislife4622
Rookie
Thanks for the feedback, did you experience more control with the confidential 17G, than Focus Hex and Hyper G?
tennisislife4622
Rookie
wow he strung it with lynx at 60 lbs that crazy lol. Im definitely going to try 55-56 lbs next time around
You don't have a clue what you're talking about. It doesn't matter whether they're put in by hand or not. The carbon graphite layup sheets are the SAME for every racquet of the same model. Yonex aren't some backstreet manufacturer off Ali Express who use random scrap pieces of graphite sheets that they've found lying about in a junk yard. The structural integrity and flexing characteristics don't change whether the overall weight is 5g more or 5g less, even more so because you're creating a tubular structure where the sheets are rolled over each other multiple times. The layup would have to be wildly different to create the RA variances that you're talking about.
Furthermore, the RDC reading is not sensitive to minor variations in thickness of the same grade/roll of carbon graphite sheet from the same supplier because it loads TWO of those tubular structures which each contain multiple sheets of the same carbon graphite layup that have been rolled to create multiple layers of carbon graphite cloth. It doesn't loads a single carbon graphite sheet where the reading would be susceptible to minute variances in thickness etc. RA is not a measurement on a granular level unlike weight or swingweight.
You really don't have a clue about how racquets are made or the mechanical characteristics of the materials used.
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Frans Bleker
Professional
Haha, it is like talking to a neuro surgeon that explains me how a brain works, and I tell him that he doesn't have a clue. Mild your tone mate. Discuss based on arguments, don't trow mud. Anyway, carbon is handcut of a roll/reel of carbon, and again placed into a mold. You can't always put in the same amount, some strokes contain less mass and thus when they are heated in the mold they will result in a thinner, or less overlapping frame. Also there is the instance I just named regarding industrial batches of carbon have some variance in their characteristics. At the end the RDC machine has proven time after time that I am right. I measured the same racket type with up to 5 RA's difference. I measure pretty much every brand at a ~3 RA variation on a regular basis, Yonex is less though. But yeah, maby I should ask Babolat if my 7000 euro's machine isn't tuned correctly because mike841 on the talk tennis forums says so.
https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...prestige-pro-2016-update-is-excellent.553669/ - maby racket king also needs to have his machine checked btw.
https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/racket-specs-on-tw-wesbite-variances-in-ra.466399/ - Also please explain Tennis Warehouse that their machine is broke and that they are wrong.
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I dont understand as well because 330>326 swingweight and he say 326 is MUCH HARDER to swing his quote ! someone who knows racquets better can iluminate us!
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
Whos buying that Osaka version of this ?? it is so much prettier than that blue garbage.
Frans Bleker
Professional
Haha, accept the data and take your loss. I stated that 2-3 RA between the same type of a racket is very common. He measured the lowest in 1 batch at 63 and the highest at 67. This is just 1 random batch. TW also attest to that, I measured 100's of rackets in store before I made that statement. Get outta here man.
Nate7-5
Hall of Fame
Probably wont be an Osaka Ltd of the Tour
Frans Bleker
Professional
still this is not true for Yonex racquets, they are only within 1 RA
Frans Bleker
Professional
Frans Bleker
Professional
23/24*, you also do understand that it tapers to 19mm in the throat? Pretty close to where the rackets bends on a RDC machine
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
What is the real specs of the Osaka Tour version of this yonex ezone ?
1HBHfanatic
Legend
-does not SUKA!
color is sikkkkkkkk!! -i could hit with this thing!!
-time will tell
23/24*, you also do understand that it tapers to 19mm in the throat? Pretty close to where the rackets bends on a RDC machine
If you watch a RDC loading a racquet, you'll actually see that the racquet tends to bend in the HOOP rather than the throat.
Don't let the facts and actual experience get in the way.
