Power Player
Bionic Poster
What are people stringing the VCP 97 310 with?
Tour Bite is the only one I have tried but it plays and feels great.
What are people stringing the VCP 97 310 with?
Referring to my earlier post in this thread, I only got to hit with the 2021 97 for about 20 minutes yesterday before we got rained off the court. I’ll probably have more to say after my re-scheduled hit for this afternoon or maybe after the weekend by which time I should have been able to put many more hours on the demos, but my highly abbreviated first impression was that I feel like the 2021 VCP 97 is a pretty big improvement for me over my memory of the 2018 VCP 310 that I demoed in 2018.
The two things I didn’t like about the 2018 310 were that it felt a bit too dead (under-powered due to low inertia / lack of “plow-through”, I guess) to me and it also felt unstable in the sense that if I missed the sweetspot it twisted hard and sent the ball flying somewhere.
After my brief hit yesterday I can say that the 2021 VCP 97 didn’t seem to have those downsides to me. In terms of the plow-through, I could definitely feel the difference between it and my 330’s; it still doesn’t have the heft and stability of my current frames. But it didn’t feel “anemic” like I remember the 2018 310 feeling. It felt good and nothing seemed to be lacking in any substantial way compared to my current 330’s; though in all likelihood if I were to buy the 97, I’d probably add some lead to the hoop to get a little more plow-through.
On the other hand, I also didn’t notice any giant feeling of increased nimbleness, quickness, maneuverability... which is what I am hoping to get from it. I may just need a longer hit (which I intend to get multiple times this week) to feel the difference, or it might also be that my stroke mechanics don’t reveal the difference in a way that matters to me. Just standing and swinging the frame back and forth I can clearly feel the difference between the 97 and the 330, but while I was hitting, it didn’t translate into a very noticeable (to me) difference. In other words, the new VCP 97 kind of felt about as good to me as my 330’s (which I love) but on that brief hit, I wasn’t noticing enough of an improvement in my ability to whip the racquet around faster that it felt like a worthwhile upgrade. If I had to make a choice now, I would be as happy to play with the VCP 97 as I am to play with my current frames, but I wouldn’t buy 97’s to replace my 330’s.
I didn’t have time to hit with the 97H at all yesterday. Looking forward to hitting with that one too, though just swinging it around, my guess is that it is going to feel good but also like too much work; similar to my impression of the RF97 when I demoed that frame at the same time as my original demos of the 2018 VCPs.
I currently play with VCORE 95 (2021). I only have one and need a second racquet for tournaments. Overall, I'm happy with my VCORE, but want to get a bit more feel and plough through. I feel I can swing a slightly heftier racquet without any problem. I used to play with Dunlop 200G, 350g strung, but it got too heavy for me as I got older. Would it be a good idea to buy the new VCORE PRO 310 as my second racquet? As I understand, the static weight and SW are pretty similar. I feel that my ideal swing weight is around 325-330. My current setup: Wilson Pro OG, Kirschbaum Pro Line 2 1.25, 338g static weight, no dampener. I hit 1BH.
Wow... you guys are getting really low swingweight ones. Considering everyone thought the TW swingweight specs were too high.
Full set up:I could be wrong but I think TW uses 16g full poly for their playtests. That would make the swingweight higher than people who use thin gauges. Not sure if fully explains the difference though.
Got to hit the 97 and 97D last night. Quick background: played high-school and college, came back after a break and played for a while with the previous-gen Vcore 95. I was seduced away by the DR 98, and most recently I've been spending a lot of time with the 2020 Ezone 98. In short: I like Yonex.
I tried all three versions of the previous Vcore Pro 97 (310, HD, 330). I liked the HD the most. I'm going to agree with some other feedback and say that the 97D felt substantially harder to swing than the HD. The plow is amazing, but it takes quite a bit of work to get it going. This is coming from someone who likes heavy racquets — I played my VC95 at up to 350g. I do think the 97D can hit a heavy ball, and if you like old-school frames, knock yourself out. Not my cup of tea, especially over long matches/hits.
The 97 is my choice of the two, and it's pretty sweet. To me, it's much improved over the previous generation. It's more stable, and I prefer the softer feel. Loooove dat flex. Control is good, touch is great. I don't know where the swingweight was (weight/balance were right on), but I tried adding a couple grams at the tip to bump up the swingweight. I thought it worked well, and I really enjoyed hitting the 97 in this configuration. My hitting partner said it felt like a more headlight Blade v7, and I think that's a reasonable comparison. I also think calling it a less powerful DR 98 isn't too far off. Power is not the main attraction here, but it has a bit more than the last generation, and bumping up the swingweight helped.
The downsides are the usual for control-focused racquets: not overly forgiving, tough on defense. Every stroke has to be lined up, or you'll lose ground. I'll probably stay with the 98s for those reasons, but if you're looking for a control stick, I think you could do a lot worse than the VCP97.
Full set up:
Tecnifibre RPX 16/Isospeed Cream 16
Yonex Super Grap OG
O Dampner
Still:
I just received my new VCore Pro 310 (2021) from Tennis-Point (******* Sports.) I asked them to pull 4 or 5 new ones and test the Swing weight's on them.I wanted one close to the "325 kg*sq. cm" they have listed on their product page. What they sent me was one that has a Swing weight of 309. I think Yonex has a major Production/QC issue on their hands. I'm sending this racquet back and probably gonna have to wait until they address this issue.TW still says that their listed swingweight is based on only 2 samples. It will be interesting to see if the number changes after they measure the normal amount.
I just received my new VCore Pro 310 (2021) from Tennis-Point (******* Sports.) I asked them to pull 4 or 5 new ones and test the Swing weight's on them.I wanted one close to the "325 kg*sq. cm" they have listed on their product page. What they sent me was one that has a Swing weight of 309. I think Yonex has a major Production/QC issue on their hands. I'm sending this racquet back and probably gonna have to wait until they address this issue.
"played with" - what did you move to?I played with the green 97 310, and imo it's exactly that. Just stable enough. I really liked the feel.
I demoed it. Used it for ~10 hrs or so and thought it was very nice. It's on my list of possible racquets in the future. I'm still demoing a few more racquets but for now the 360+ Pres MP is my fav. Still can't wait to demo the VCP 97D."played with" - what did you move to?
I'll be curious to see if the 97 (310) is stable enough without needing lead tape.
If I wanted a heavier racket, I would have bought the 330.the new VCP97 moves slightly slower through the air than previous generations due to slightly thicker beam. Yes it has more power and stability but less whippiness…there’s always a trade off, this update seems to be more intermediate friendly which most companies are trending towards so that they may cater to a larger demographic
@Papa Mango why dont you replace stock grip and/or add some lead tape to get that SW up?
So 1mm extra beam thickess is felt in how the frame moved through the air...?the new VCP97 moves slightly slower through the air than previous generations due to slightly thicker beam. Yes it has more power and stability but less whippiness…
yes, thinner beam cuts through air faster. I love the whippiness of the 2020 VCP97 much more than the newer edition
So 1mm extra beam thickess is felt in how the frame moved through the air...?
[terminology: in what follows i’ll refer to the 2021 demos as 97 (for the 2021 VCP 97 310) and 97H for the heavier 2021 demo. I’ll refer to my 2018 and 2019 VCP 330’s as 330].
Yesterday I had a chance to log a couple solid hours on the VCP 97 and 97H demos. I warmed up with the 97H and by comparison with my blue and green 330’s, it mostly just felt like home. In warming up I could feel a bit of additional heft but the difference was not huge to me. I’d say the racquet felt familiar and very comfortable.
Then I played two competitive sets. For the entire first set I used the 97. My initial impression from my abbreviated hit the other day continued; I found the 97 really nice to play with. It had none of the “anemic” feeling that I remember from my demo of the 2018 VCP 310. I definitely feel the contrast in plow-through and how much free power I get from the 330’s additional mass, but the VCP 97 is giving me enough that I didn’t feel like there was something “missing” (if that makes sense). On a few occasions when I felt rushed by either a fast ball or (more often) my bad footwork and prep, I felt like I was able to get the 97 around and get the strings on the ball somewhat close to the right strikezone where I thought maybe I wouldn’t have gotten the 330 there and maybe would have framed a miss-hit.
In the second set, on each switchover I swapped back and forth between the 97, the 97H, and one of my 330’s, and this is where the play-test got interesting for me. I found that when I was hitting with either the 97H or the 330, I was looking forward to getting the 97 back in my hand again.
As I originally suspected it might, the 97H felt very much like the RF97 to me; a really nice, super-stable frame that rewards you for getting it to the right place at the right time by blasting a flat ball through the court seemingly kind of effortlessly at the point of contact. But the work you have to do to get it to the right place and time so its heft can take over and move the ball that way is a big deal for me. I find that I have to prepare extra early and well and also just swinging that heavy a frame around is quickly fatiguing to my arm. It does the work on the ball kind of by itself, but getting it there to do that magic is just too much work for me. I ruled out the 97H for myself pretty quickly. It’s a great racquet, but just too demanding weight-wise for me.
So the main comparison for me is between the 97 and the 330, and when switching back and forth between them, without really thinking about why or trying to analyze it at all, I just found myself preferring the lightness of the 97. On reflection, what I think I like about it is that it felt like it was costing me a lot less to get pretty close to the same work on the ball as with the 330. And also, in contrast to my first impression from the other day, switching back and forth between the two frames during competitive play, I definitely noticed that the 97 feels more nimble in my hand than the 330. To my probably not-very-sensitive sensibilities, it’s not a huge difference, but it was definitely feel-able and consistent. When I switched to the 330, by comparison with the 97, it felt kind of “doggy” or “sloggy” (how’s that for precision tennis frame adjectives?).
A few years back, when I switched to the VCP 330 from the Babolat pure strike 98 (the original project one 7 frame), the two main reasons I switched were that the feel of contact with the ball was totally different in the sense of what I think people mean when they say “plush” or “buttery”. At the time, that feel was kind of a revelation to me and made my pure strike feel like a wooden board. The other thing I loved about the VCP was that the thin beam made the racquet feel so much more maneuverable to me. I’m sure there are a ton of other player’s style frames that have those same qualities, but I happened to demo the VCPs and fell in love and stopped looking.
In terms of these two main qualities, I cannot feel any difference between my 330’s and the new 97 and 97H. To my level of sensitivity, the new frames have that same plush, buttery feel and the same feeling of thin-beamed maneuverability. I know the beams are slightly wider, but I cannot feel that making any difference. Not saying it doesn’t make a difference; just that whatever difference it may be making is below my radar.
I still have another 4 days of demo left, so I’ll be hitting with the 97 a lot during that time. Then the demos will go back where they came from and I’ll be left to ponder whether I want to buy a set of 97s to replace my 330s. After my short first hit my impression was that it wasn’t enough of an upgrade to warrant it. Right now I’m squarely on the fence.
@Power Player. Agree. For sure the "whippiness" is more SW related than aerodynamics related...
Not sure if I like if they've changed the "perfect for me" balance of the previous gen.
What tension did you have for the Yonex PTP 16G yellow strings?sore arm after 2hrs playing with the 97 310..
and i'm used to playing with a RF97 and a weighted down '04 APD
next up 97D and 97H.
Played with DR98 + full poly before, and had some TE issues. I find VCP 97 more confortable, nicer balance for me (with 1H BH) and with a hybrid setup a good blend of power and confort.Yeah I can see where some will be turned off if they really love the prior eversion. The Vcore 95 actually has that whippy formula still and plays like a 98. The only thing is that the feel is firmer and the racquet plays with more pop than the soft Vcore Pros.
That said, may be worth a demo if you don't mind a more direct feeling frame. I have not had any arm pain from it.
Yeah I can see where some will be turned off if they really love the prior eversion. The Vcore 95 actually has that whippy formula still and plays like a 98. The only thing is that the feel is firmer and the racquet plays with more pop than the soft Vcore Pros.
That said, may be worth a demo if you don't mind a more direct feeling frame. I have not had any arm pain from it.
This is interesting to me, 11.5 strung with 320 swingweight & 7 pts headlight should be a whippy racket based on specs.
Yep I would typically say the same but the vcore 95 is a lot whippier to me.
The Vcore Pro plays heavier and more stable than I expected.
Pure Storm followed by Pure Control were nice sticks, even if a bit underpowered. No similar Babolat in the current line unfutonatelly...
So the new VCP has a more aero-style beam shape?Here are some side-by-side beam comparison images between the 2019 (green) VCP97 330 and the 2021 VCP 97
All this changing of racquet specs within a given line makes me want to go all in on Angel or Zus. At least that way I can consistently get the same product that I am used to.
Based on specs it should be almost as whippy and maneuverable as Ezone 100. Both are 4HL, 300 gr and around 318SW. So why would any be different?VCore Pro 100 seems like a happy medium between Wilson Clash 100 and the Ezone 100. I got the Wilson Clash primarily because I had TE but struggled with control.
While the Vcore Pro 100 might not be as whippy or maneuverable as the Ezone 100 it certainly is more solid, has a tad more control, and is more comfortable than the Ezone. No sore hands. I always felt the Ezone 100 is too powerful and this Vcore to me has the perfect amount of power. It also felt very stable. I really like this update so far. It's currently strung with Yonex PTP @ 50 lbs and that's the only thing I would change i.e. strings. It's too muted for a racquet that in itself is muted . I'll update once I put in more hours with it.
I currently play with VCORE 95 (2021). I only have one and need a second racquet for tournaments. Overall, I'm happy with my VCORE, but want to get a bit more feel and plough through. I feel I can swing a slightly heftier racquet without any problem. I used to play with Dunlop 200G, 350g strung, but it got too heavy for me as I got older. Would it be a good idea to buy the new VCORE PRO 310 as my second racquet? As I understand, the static weight and SW are pretty similar. I feel that my ideal swing weight is around 325-330. My current setup: Wilson Pro OG, Kirschbaum Pro Line 2 1.25, 338g static weight, no dampener. I hit 1BH.
No, Vcore 95 is a unique beast and I doubt you'll like the VCP 310 as much. I have 3 VC95's and a 2020 Green VCP 97 310. They don't play similar at all despite similar weight/balance/swingweight. The VC95 is a way faster/easier to swing frame.
So you've played with both VCP 310 (green) and VC 95. How can you compare the confort on those two?
Thanks!