Review? I just put my Vortex ES108 up in for sale section and I want to demo Vortex Tour 95
General:
I also bought the tour 100 and I'll let you know what I think of that racquet as well. The tour 95 is a players stick that packs a real punch and some serious spin. Many agree that racquet head speed is big factor in creating spin. The 95 with it's thin beam and standard length creates far more spin in the right hands than the previous models. I'm a 35 year old 4.5 player with a true all court game....with an accent on serve and volley. I used pro supex blue gear platinum white edition 18 guage.
Serves : 9/ 10
Holy crap! this stick can hit some monster serves. It can hit the flat bbomb but kickers and slices were unreal. The racquet is very maneuverable so
accuracy is dead on as well. The 108 is a bit to powerful and clunky on serve.
The ES 100 is a very good serving racquet as well but it just doesn't cut through the air as fast as the thinner tour 95.
Ground strokes : 9/10
Just perfect. Slice, top, flat, drops all awesome. It blows the 108 out of the freaking water . I found with the 108 you could basically only chip and charge or hit slice. It was way to thick and clunky to het good topspin with. The es 100 was a good ground stroke stick but the 95 just does everything better....with more penetration and more bounce. I did however miss the added length of the es 100. It is the one criticism I have about the 95. I wish they added that half inch or better yet the crazy 28 inches of the yellow stick.
Return of serves : 7/10
Here is one area that I actually think the es 108 and 100 are better. Return of serves are very good with the 95 but it doesn't come close to it's larger cousins. In fact the larger you go with this line the better the returns. The yellow stick has the most insane return of serves I have ever seen in my life. Nothing gets by you!!
Volleys : 10/10
It just doesn't get better. Absolutely the greates volleys I have ever hit in my life. There are two types of volleys....first is the type where you are already at the net as in doubles......the 95 slightly out did all the others in the line. But where it blew it away was in serve and volley tactics as you are approaching the net......return at your feet or in no mans land were just incredible, again blows everything out of the water
Conclusion:
The tour 95 is a real players stick and basically does everything well. Yet it's not like a 90 blx where you have to do all the work. This stick still makes the game easy but you can really swing at the ball and have incredible feel and spin. I have the tour 100 as well and I will try it but honestly I see no reason to as this is just perfection. I suspect the tour 100 plays similar just more powerful....the 95 has plenty of power an no more is needed.
I also would highly recommend using blue gear with this already spin friendly stick.
I have tried every racquet in the line except for the tour 100. Here is my short assessment of each stick and the type of player it is suited for:
Tour 95... 4.0 and up. Meant for an all court player or serve and volleyer or doubles player.
Es 100....3.5- 4.0 Meant for a all court a serve and volleyer or doubles player.
Basically it's just more forgiving than the tour 95
Es 108 .....3.5-4.0 Runner/ retriever. Serve and volleyer or doubles player. If your a singles player with an aggressive baseline game just throw this stick in the garbage.
Es 116...... 3.0- 4.0 .....retriever , serve and volleyer or doubles player. Basically the same as the 108 just a tad more forgiving.
133 ...... 2.0- 3.5..... Retrievers and doubles players....This stick is just incredible for volleys . In fact it's probably the best in the line for volleys and return of serves. The problem is that if you can generate your own power on the serve then this cannon is just way to powerful. It would be a great serve and volley stick if you could serve with it!! If on the other hand you don't have a lot of power then this stick will certain,y provide all the power you could possibly need. This stick is also probably the greatest of all time for retrievers, it's like 28 inches or even more.....you get to EVERYTHINg. It's incredibly light but is a whopping 133 inches. Everything comes back!! Nothing will ever get by you,,,,,,,,,for a fast retriever this is possibly the greatest stick ever made.
