Any demo suggestions?

buzz

New User
I am looking to replace my Yonex Vcore Dual G 330. It’s a little heavier than I want, not very maneuverable and I regularly struggle with volleying, but I love it’s stability on groundstrokes and returns. I’m a 4.0 college club player out west. I’ve liked Yonex but would be open to a new brand. I’m young and have never had arm issues so that’s not a problem either.

My current demo list needs to be narrowed down to four. I am looking at

Babolat Pure Strike Project One7
Babolat Pure Drive
Wilson Blade(maybe? Possibly a burn. Never played Wilson)
Yonex Vcore 310
Head Graphene 360 Speed Pro.

They are all in the 310-320 range, a little stiff and hit a hard ball. Any thoughts or suggestions?
 

fuzz nation

G.O.A.T.
I am looking to replace my Yonex Vcore Dual G 330. It’s a little heavier than I want, not very maneuverable and I regularly struggle with volleying, but I love it’s stability on groundstrokes and returns. I’m a 4.0 college club player out west. I’ve liked Yonex but would be open to a new brand. I’m young and have never had arm issues so that’s not a problem either.

My current demo list needs to be narrowed down to four. I am looking at

Babolat Pure Strike Project One7
Babolat Pure Drive
Wilson Blade(maybe? Possibly a burn. Never played Wilson)
Yonex Vcore 310
Head Graphene 360 Speed Pro.

They are all in the 310-320 range, a little stiff and hit a hard ball. Any thoughts or suggestions?

I also prefer a rather stable racquet and I only get that from something that has "enough" heft to stand up to the ball. If you like that Dual G 330, you might get it to work better around the net for you if you add some weight to the handle and give it maybe two more points of head-light balance. I've done this more than once with my own rigs by simply placing 1/2" lead tape under my overgrips - easy enough to peel off if that doesn't work for you. There are also other methods for weighting a racquet handle.

Since the weight is added to the frame's handle, this really doesn't make the racquet more cumbersome like it can when adding only a few grams out on the hoop. My favorite frames weigh 12.8 oz., but they have about 10 pts. HL balance and maneuver with ease. They're lethal around the net. Yes, I tuned them myself. I've even let a couple of kids - 10-12 year old boys and girls of average ability - borrow these in recent years and they were fine using them for over an hour.

By comparison, I've noodled with Pure Drives and also have a pair of the 2015 Blade 98. Much lighter than my frames, but also significantly less head-light. While they're fine for lots of folks - and that's great - they're not for me. Not so stable and also not too maneuverable for me. So before you get rid of your current Yonex, consider a simple experiment to adjust the balance and see if you can get a better fit with it.

As far as arm issues are concerned, I don't think you need to worry about a racquet selection so much as a choice of strings. Any frame can become much more harsh when strung with a full bed of poly. If you're playing a hybrid at reasonable tension (and maybe one that includes a light gauge poly main), you may be just fine with that if you really want to rip on the ball. If you don't need poly - not many of us really do - you might get a great combo of performance, comfort, and cost using a 16 ga. syn. gut.
 

buzz

New User
Another vote for the TT100P


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Wow that all white paint job too

Thanks everyone. I still need to narrow it down one more it looks like

Pure Strike
Pure Drive
TT100P
Vcore Pro 310 (probably eliminate this one, I want to try something not Yonex I think)
Graphene Speed 360
 

DanS

Semi-Pro
Wow that all white paint job too

Thanks everyone. I still need to narrow it down one more it looks like

Pure Strike
Pure Drive
TT100P
Vcore Pro 310 (probably eliminate this one, I want to try something not Yonex I think)
Graphene Speed 360
I've heard good things about the Speed Pro 360 as well so I think that's a good choice. Pure Drive is too stiff, and since you are coming from a more flexible frame, I'm not sure you'll like that one either (well, either you or your arm! lol)
 

buzz

New User
Finally got my demos and wanted to let you know how it went. Because the TT100P wasn’t available for a few more weeks I decided to do something else. I went with
Head Graphene Pro 360
Babolat Pure Strike
Wilson Ultra Tour
Yonex Ezone 98+ (based on TW demo guy suggestion)

The Yonex has more pop off the racket than anything I’ve ever felt before. Absolute cannon. Unfortunately it was too heavy and not maneuverable at all. I would have thought more about it if I knew I’d never play doubles again. Wouldn’t go with the extended version if I had to get more demos.

Wilson Ultra tour was disappointing to say the least. The PJ was turrible. It seriously looked like it had been run through a wood chipper, expect the bumper guards which were in nearly perfect condition. They really screwed that up. The racket felt dead, unstable, and slow.

The Pure Strike is nice, I enjoyed it and hit a heavy ball, but it felt very head heavy and just prefer more maneuverability.

Graphene 360 Pro was practically love at first sight. I’ve never just picked up a racket and thought, oh wow this feels right. I was seriously impressed how stable and solid it felt, it feels incredibly head light too, super fast. After my first session hitting with that I spent the rest of my time convincing myself I had to actually use the other rackets. So it looks like I’ve found my winner. Thanks for the suggestions, does anyone know how you get the coupons from TW for discounts on the racket after you demo?
 

TennisHound

Legend
I wouldn’t discount the 360 Speed MP, since you don’t have arm issues. With just a little weight (heavier grip and about 1-2g at 12) it’s a sweet racquet.
 

DanS

Semi-Pro
I wouldn't make your final decision until you've tried the TT100P either, but if you really think you've found "the one", then by all means go for it!
 

buzz

New User
I wouldn't make your final decision until you've tried the TT100P either, but if you really think you've found "the one", then by all means go for it!
I don’t know if I want to wait another couple of weeks just to demo it, especially if I am pretty convinced on this one already. I do love that all white PJ tho
 

fundrazer

G.O.A.T.
Finally got my demos and wanted to let you know how it went. Because the TT100P wasn’t available for a few more weeks I decided to do something else. I went with
Head Graphene Pro 360
Babolat Pure Strike
Wilson Ultra Tour
Yonex Ezone 98+ (based on TW demo guy suggestion)

The Yonex has more pop off the racket than anything I’ve ever felt before. Absolute cannon. Unfortunately it was too heavy and not maneuverable at all. I would have thought more about it if I knew I’d never play doubles again. Wouldn’t go with the extended version if I had to get more demos.

Wilson Ultra tour was disappointing to say the least. The PJ was turrible. It seriously looked like it had been run through a wood chipper, expect the bumper guards which were in nearly perfect condition. They really screwed that up. The racket felt dead, unstable, and slow.

The Pure Strike is nice, I enjoyed it and hit a heavy ball, but it felt very head heavy and just prefer more maneuverability.

Graphene 360 Pro was practically love at first sight. I’ve never just picked up a racket and thought, oh wow this feels right. I was seriously impressed how stable and solid it felt, it feels incredibly head light too, super fast. After my first session hitting with that I spent the rest of my time convincing myself I had to actually use the other rackets. So it looks like I’ve found my winner. Thanks for the suggestions, does anyone know how you get the coupons from TW for discounts on the racket after you demo?

You should get an email with a discount code around the time the demos are due back.
 

J D

Semi-Pro
I really recommend for you get the specs of the demo you like before you send it back. Call TW when you place your order to get your demo discount and to request those specs be matched (a $10 fee applies).

Otherwise, you may be in for a rude shock when new frame arrives and feels and plays nothing like the demo.
 
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