My coach is sponsored by Prince and recieved two racquets to playtest today -- they were the two versions of the new EXO3 Tour.
The two versions were both exactly the same weight and balance. The ONLY difference was the string pattern. There was one 16X18 and one 18X20.
So far, I have only hit with the 16X18. My usual racquet is a KBlade Tour, so this felt very light, fast, and maneuverable. I was expecting to see a loss on control, but there was none. The biggest difference was the stiffness -- the EXO3 Tour seemed extremely flexible in comparison.
My groundstokes felt different, but I was just as comfortable with the Tour as I am with my KBlade. There was perhaps slightly more spin, but I usually hit pretty flat, so my shots stayed deep. It was more forgiving as well. The only downside was that off center hits were more brutal than they are on my KBlade.
Serves were much sharper. I was able to get more snap because the increased manuverability. This also meant more kick on my kick serve and more bite on my slice serve. It almost felt like I had more control and placement, but that may have been due to the fact that I felt more confident.
For me, this stick really shined at the net. I am accustomed to my super-stiff KBlade, so the flexibility added a level of touch I was totally impressed by. Simply superb. Sharp angles felt so natural and I was easily able to pick any ball off my shoelaces. The larger face was much more forgiving than my KBlade, and even if I was caught unprepared and framed a volley, there was still enough forgivness to get the ball over the net. There was a ton of control, too. When I wanted to really stick a volley, it was flawless. The level of manuveribility was a big help for everything I did mid court (volleys, overheads, approaches, dropshits, etc) and resulted in cleaner shots.
Overall, I was extremely impressed by the 16X18 and tomorrow I will try hitting the 18X20. I am expecting that the 18X20 will be even better for me, since my KBlade is also 18X20. Depending on my finances, I may make the switch after this is released.
