Review: Volkl V-Torque Tour String
Hello friends,
Please find my play test review of the Volkl V-Torque Tour string. I received 18G version of the string. I usually prefer the 17G or thicker as I snap thinner gauges. And that is unfortunately what happened during the playtest as well. My string snapped around 4 hour mark during the playtest.
To give a better comparison, I will mostly compare with Volkl Cyclone 17 as that is the string I am mostly using these days. Slight caveat here being that different gauges play differently so it might not really be an apples to apples comparison per se. But it should be enough to give a good idea.
Here is the string I received:
Snapped main after approximately 4 hours of hitting:
What gauge did you receive?
18G
Tension used for playtest:
Full bed at 50 lbs.
Regular string set up:
Varies from time to time. My usual go-to string is the Volkl Cyclone, ranging from 50-52 lbs.
Racquet used for test:
Angell Custom TC100
Power:
Power was high for a copoly, IMO. I would rank it medium, towards the middle on the power spectrum. Cyclone 17g that I play with is much lower powered. Not sure if gauge is the culprit here but I was surprised because even the regular 17g V-Torque I have played with in the past was lower powered than this Tour version. Had to considerably adjust my strokes.
Feel:
This string was softer in feel to Volkl Cyclone. Bed felt slick. I could feel the ball better at net and on touch shots too. Plasticky still, yes, but I could definitely feel the ball better as compared to Cyclone. Lively too, for sure. Ball jumped off the bed every time. Slices initially were going long so I had to adjust. Groundstrokes were sailing as well before I made the adjustments but then all was okay. Off-center hits were easy on the arm, much more comfortable than Cyclone.
Spin:
Superb. Ball grab was amazing. Very nice dwell time as well. Cyclone 17 is firmer and more crisp feeling but this had better snapback I felt. I definitely got more spin with this 18 G V-Torque Tour. Great serving too including kick serves and slices. Avg on flat serves.
Comfort:
Slicker string. Was very comfortable on the arm at 50lbs. Definitely more comfortable than Cyclone 17.
Durability:
I am not a regular 16G string breaker but I do break 18G fast. I broke this string under 4 hour mark in a span of 3 days (see picture above). But with string being 18G, I know it would't last long for me anyway. Because of that, not sure if I should give it bad marks in durability department.
Playability Duration:
No drop in playability for me till I snapped it. Was playing how it should after 4 hour mark. Took about 10 mins to settle in a bit. After that I did not feel any tension loss. Usually thinner gauges in my experience lose tension very quick. Not the case here for me.
Control:
Control was great once I got the hang of it. I could feel the ball really well and bring it down with spin very easily. Initially balls were flying but I adjusted to it. Then, the bigger my swing the more confident I was that it was landing in. Ball trajectory and launch angle both were higher than Cyclone, easily. Net play and volleys were awesome too due to the good feel. Serves were decent too as I mentioned but kick and slice serves were definitely up there.
Recommended tension:
Same (50lbs) range. Maybe even a pound or two tighter for that initial settling in period.
Compare to the string you use most often:
Softer, more comfortable than Cyclone. Much less durable probably because of the thinner gauge too. Also had much better feel than Cyclone.
List any additional thoughts (optional):
The string snapped unfortunately just when I had started to groove with it. Only played one match, rest was practice hitting.
Stringing was super easy. Did not string myself but was told that there were zero issues. I did enjoy the playtest and wish it hadn't snapped. On the plus side, the review came in super quick!
Finally, big thank you to
@TW Staff for this playtest opportunity. Would definitely consider this in slightly thicker gauge depending on price point and need at the time.
