Advice on grip-size / weighting (Prince PCG 100)

volley collie

New User
Advice much appreciated :-?

I want a Prince PCG 100 in grip size 5 but nowhere in Europe sells that size, seemingly.

What are my options? The only solution I'm aware of is buying grip size 4 and using heat-shrink sleeves to make it 5. Is that a bad idea with this racquet? According to the TW Learning Centre this adds 14-16g (0.47-0.543oz) and increases head-lightness by 2-4pts (1/4-1/2inch).

TW says the PCG is:

Strung Weight: 11.7oz / 331.69g
Balance: 12.75in / 32.39cm / 6 pts HL
Swingweight: 319

Using the larger figures for the sleeves, adding 4pts makes the racquet 10pts HL. But subtracting the inches gives a balance of 29.8cm (11.74in) which is 14pts HL. No stock racquets are 14pt HL but why? How would it feel? Would I be wanting to add lead in the hoop to reduce it? HL can be good but how much is too much?

The weight would be 345.7g (11.7oz). I've demoed a Yonex VCORE Tour G 330 which was a similar weight. I don't know how similar as TW says "Strung Weight: 12.2oz / 345.86g" but 12.2oz is actually 360.8g. (Anyone?)

The Tour G was nice but a bit heavy. But it's 7pts HL, not 14.

My plan was to buy a 5 grip then add a little bit of weight and keep the balance similar. With the 4 grip and sleeves how much lead would I need to add to bring the balance back to 7HL from 14?
 

Lukhas

Legend
http://twu.tennis-warehouse.com/learning_center/customizationReverse.php
http://twu.tennis-warehouse.com/learning_center/customization.php
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=309803

Here you go. Note that this much lead will increase the weight and SW quite a bit. Which means that even if the balance is the same, the manoeuvrability will not be the same because of the weight difference. My opinion being that instead you maybe should demo it in size 4 or/and experiment with building/thickening the buttcap of the racquet. Thickening the buttcap allowed me to use smaller gripsizes when bigger sizes were not available.
 
Last edited:

Shroud

Talk Tennis Guru
Advice much appreciated :-?

I want a Prince PCG 100 in grip size 5 but nowhere in Europe sells that size, seemingly.

What are my options? The only solution I'm aware of is buying grip size 4 and using heat-shrink sleeves to make it 5. Is that a bad idea with this racquet? According to the TW Learning Centre this adds 14-16g (0.47-0.543oz) and increases head-lightness by 2-4pts (1/4-1/2inch).

TW says the PCG is:

Strung Weight: 11.7oz / 331.69g
Balance: 12.75in / 32.39cm / 6 pts HL
Swingweight: 319

Using the larger figures for the sleeves, adding 4pts makes the racquet 10pts HL. But subtracting the inches gives a balance of 29.8cm (11.74in) which is 14pts HL. No stock racquets are 14pt HL but why? How would it feel? Would I be wanting to add lead in the hoop to reduce it? HL can be good but how much is too much?

The weight would be 345.7g (11.7oz). I've demoed a Yonex VCORE Tour G 330 which was a similar weight. I don't know how similar as TW says "Strung Weight: 12.2oz / 345.86g" but 12.2oz is actually 360.8g. (Anyone?)

The Tour G was nice but a bit heavy. But it's 7pts HL, not 14.

My plan was to buy a 5 grip then add a little bit of weight and keep the balance similar. With the 4 grip and sleeves how much lead would I need to add to bring the balance back to 7HL from 14?

I had the pog mid and built up the handle to what I think would be a size 12 if it kept going (5 1/2") The way I did it, it added a lot of weight. I did this too with the PS85. Those rackets were 16pts or higher headlight. They were playable and I liked them. One POG was over a pound. Nowadays to combat the nearly 100gs I add to the handle, I buy a racket that us really light and head heavy so I end up with something that isnt so head light but I think I am still over 10pts.

The tubing is lame and its heavy. You would be better off searching for "balsa" and following one of the threads that increases the handle size with balsa wood IMHO.
 

Irvin

Talk Tennis Guru
How much weight you add to the handle depends on how you add it. I like a tapered grip and what I have is similar to what you're looking for. I added about a 4 cm piece of heat tube to the butt cap then another 9 cm of heat tube on top of that then installed a leather grip and an overlap. I also added lead tape to the head to achieve the feel I liked. I actually did that in the reverse order adding weight to the head first then the grip. Then matched my other racket to the same specs. But I also have a one handed backhand so buildup at the top of the grip is not necessary.
 

Lukhas

Legend
My demo was a 4. I used loads of overgrip but lost the handle definition that I like.
I meant making the buttcap bigger, not using many overgrips.
Does it maintain the handle definition well? Why is it lame?
I don't find it lame myself. :) But you'll indeed loose definition and it weights easily between 10 and 15 grams. As mentioned before you could try using balsa wood to make the handle bigger, but I personally have no experience on the patter.
 

Shroud

Talk Tennis Guru
Does it maintain the handle definition well? Why is it lame?

I recall losing some definition of the bevels. YMMV. For me, its a lot of weight with no benefit.

Doing something like using a shockshield grip instead of a thinner one gets you similar weight IIRC but you get some cushion and some shock protection and that probably adds a similar size as the tubing.
 

volley collie

New User
Thanks all for the advice: very helpful. I've considered the options and (despite the strange allure of balsa!) I've decided that the sensible solution in this instance is paying the import VAT/postage for size 5. I suspect I'll still need to build up the grip size using one of the suggested techniques but given the great price of these racquets right now I should start off as close as possible.
 

B Cubed

Semi-Pro
I've slightly tweaked size/shape, using electrical tape strips on certain sides of the palette. I too use a leather grip as my only additional weight. It feels awesome, plow through, etc. with the leather.
 

robbo1970

Hall of Fame
I would use just a bare leather grip if I could, I can't stand overgrips (sorry about that).

The problem is, I have such dry hands in all conditions that I can never get sufficient tack on the leather to get a decent hold on the racquet. And I've searched everywhere for castor oil.

P.S. Well done VC on going for the 5. It makes sense to try and get the right size if you can, rather than trying to enlarge a smaller one.
 

volley collie

New User
That's nice to hear. I probably do deserve the right grip size - I've not had a new racquet since 1985. The PCG 100 succeeds a blue metal fellow called 'Teckno' which my parents favoured over the vastly more expensive POG. But let it be known that dear Teckno served me well.

Fully agree with both of you about leather grips. Last summer I played with my parents wooden Wilson's from the '50s and felt so much more connected.
 
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