Anyone compare the Steam 99 to the 99s or the Juice 100?

JackB1

G.O.A.T.
I am curious about the regular Steam 99? I had a fling with the 99s for a while and didn't like the fact that I needed to restring in about half the time than normal with full poly. I also played with the Juice 100 for a good while and liked it, but moved onto the Steam 99s. Now that I am done with the 99s, I am curious about trying the regular 99 or the Juice again. There doesn't seem to be much discussion about the regular 99 at all, but it appears to be a nice powerful tweener in the Juice mold. My main concerns are the stiffness. The Juice was rather high in stiffness, but with a poly/syngut hybrid, wasn't uncomfortable to me.
 

Dgdavid

Professional
I did. Played a lot with both (matches). I really liked the Non-S. Had a really cool blacked out version. Non-S is still very spinny of course but allowed me to hit flat shots better and get more consistent depth.

I left a fair few sitters with the S when they sat up rather than kicked up (due to my RHS dropping under pressure - my issue not the racket) but this was less pronounced with the non-S.

I mentioned this a few times in the Diary thread. If you liked the S but worried about having to keep consistent high RHS throughout the game (my issue), non-S is well worth a demo. Irrespective of the pattern, I liked the way the frame felt to me.
 

JackB1

G.O.A.T.
I did. Played a lot with both (matches). I really liked the Non-S. Had a really cool blacked out version. Non-S is still very spinny of course but allowed me to hit flat shots better and get more consistent depth.

I left a fair few sitters with the S when they sat up rather than kicked up (due to my RHS dropping under pressure - my issue not the racket) but this was less pronounced with the non-S.

I mentioned this a few times in the Diary thread. If you liked the S but worried about having to keep consistent high RHS throughout the game (my issue), non-S is well worth a demo. Irrespective of the pattern, I liked the way the frame felt to me.

Thanks for that David. How about the stiffness and the way the racket felt on impact? The 99 s has a nice pockety feel. I am guessing the 99 doesn't have that same feel but is it close? Does it feel harsh?

Also did you ever try the steam 100 and how does the 99 compare?
 

LeeD

Bionic Poster
I tried a regular 99 the same day I used an AeroStormGT. Felt similar to me, heavier and softer than my Aero500's, much less pop but a longer dwell time, as to be expected.
Couldn't get a good feel because the grip sizes were 3/8th when I use 5/8ths with an overgrip atop.
 

Dgdavid

Professional
Never tried the 100 Jack so can't compare.
The Non-S was actually the most spinny racket I have owned apart from the S counter part. It is still pretty open at 16x18. Felt similar to me in the hand, I definitely didn't get the feeling it was more sluggish as some others have reported. Certainly not harsh. Had it restrung twice in the time I had it (RPM Blast 17) but the final time just before sale. About 20 sets played with it.

A big thing for me was I actually liked the frame itself. Felt nice, didn't feel like a tweener to me, a cross over maybe. Felt solid on impact. Ultimately, I was more consistent with it and left fewer high sitters. Give it a go, well worth it.
 

YesTennis

Semi-Pro
Hi Jack. I started a thread asking about the standard Steam 99 a long while ago. Got almost no feedback. Let me know if you get a chance to play with it. I think that I'm also going to demo the racquet. The specs do make it seem like the perfect racquet between tweener and player stick. The TW playtesters did seem to like it. Jason mentioned the slightly higher SW. There's been some talk in the other threads about trying to make "things easier." That's where I'm at now. Think this racquet might fit the bill. I'm a little scared about the stiffness and SW, but no comments from anyone to date seem to think it's a problem. Wondering if you strung it with something like full bed NXT Control would soften it a little bit, but still give the needed control.
 

JackB1

G.O.A.T.
Hi Jack. I started a thread asking about the standard Steam 99 a long while ago. Got almost no feedback. Let me know if you get a chance to play with it. I think that I'm also going to demo the racquet. The specs do make it seem like the perfect racquet between tweener and player stick. The TW playtesters did seem to like it. Jason mentioned the slightly higher SW. There's been some talk in the other threads about trying to make "things easier." That's where I'm at now. Think this racquet might fit the bill. I'm a little scared about the stiffness and SW, but no comments from anyone to date seem to think it's a problem. Wondering if you strung it with something like full bed NXT Control would soften it a little bit, but still give the needed control.

I will let you know if I get to try one. They are hard to find at the moment and I'm not shelling out 200 bills to do a playtest on one. I am hoping to find a demo soon to test out. I don't think I would use a full bed of NXT on it, but my usual copoly/Nvy hybrid. I was fine with that using the Juice. so I would think the 99 wouldn't bother me.
 

acura9927

Semi-Pro
To me the Juice 100 had lots of stiffness and very poor control and to boot one of the ugliest PJ ever known. There has to be tons better 100 Sq inch racquet out there unless you really just to launch bombs. I am being serious here.
 

loeuf

New User
I compared the Steam 99 with the 99s quite extensively before settling on the 99.

I had s the same problem with the the 99s that the OP mentions, namely, that if you don't swing hard, the ball just sits. It's hard to hit off-speed shots, or to mix up the pace. Also the strings die too fast and I can't be paying to string every week or 10 days.

The Steam 99 is a good compromise. It is open enough to provide more spin than my old racket (IG Rad Pro) and I find it quite manoeuvrable and easy to swing. I can bomb away on the serve, and it's no problem to get the racket around in time even when facing balls with pace. In the end I don't find the swingweight or the stiffness to be a problem. It plays very similarly to the 99s, except that there's a bit more control, less spin, and less wear on the strings.

-- N
 

JackB1

G.O.A.T.
To me the Juice 100 had lots of stiffness and very poor control and to boot one of the ugliest PJ ever known. There has to be tons better 100 Sq inch racquet out there unless you really just to launch bombs. I am being serious here.

The Juice is a VERY GOOD racquet, not too different from the Pure Dive or Head Extreme. True about the paintjob, but disagree with your other comments.
 

JackB1

G.O.A.T.
I compared the Steam 99 with the 99s quite extensively before settling on the 99.

I had s the same problem with the the 99s that the OP mentions, namely, that if you don't swing hard, the ball just sits. It's hard to hit off-speed shots, or to mix up the pace. Also the strings die too fast and I can't be paying to string every week or 10 days.

The Steam 99 is a good compromise. It is open enough to provide more spin than my old racket (IG Rad Pro) and I find it quite manoeuvrable and easy to swing. I can bomb away on the serve, and it's no problem to get the racket around in time even when facing balls with pace. In the end I don't find the swingweight or the stiffness to be a problem. It plays very similarly to the 99s, except that there's a bit more control, less spin, and less wear on the strings.

-- N

thanks. You said everything I wanted to hear :)
 

YesTennis

Semi-Pro
Looking forward to your thoughts after playing with the regular Steam 99. I just got a new Graphene Speed MP to demo, and going to try the Steam 99 next.
 

Ross K

Legend
To me the Juice 100 had lots of stiffness and very poor control and to boot one of the ugliest PJ ever known. There has to be tons better 100 Sq inch racquet out there unless you really just to launch bombs. I am being serious here.

Well, it's all about opinions I suppose, each to their own, etc, but I don't agree at all. Also (and this illustrates the point), I couldn't help notice your Extreme Pro signature. I played that today (version before 2.0) and found it just absolutely dreadful... weird head, horrible balance, sluggish as hell... yes, each to their own.:)

The Non-S was actually the most spinny racket I have owned apart from the S counter part. It is still pretty open at 16x18. Felt similar to me in the hand, I definitely didn't get the feeling it was more sluggish as some others have reported. Certainly not harsh. Had it restrung twice in the time I had it (RPM Blast 17) but the final time just before sale. About 20 sets played with it.

A big thing for me was I actually liked the frame itself. Felt nice, didn't feel like a tweener to me, a cross over maybe. Felt solid on impact. Ultimately, I was more consistent with it and left fewer high sitters. Give it a go, well worth it.

I compared the Steam 99 with the 99s quite extensively before settling on the 99.

I had s the same problem with the the 99s that the OP mentions, namely, that if you don't swing hard, the ball just sits. It's hard to hit off-speed shots, or to mix up the pace. Also the strings die too fast and I can't be paying to string every week or 10 days.

The Steam 99 is a good compromise. It is open enough to provide more spin than my old racket (IG Rad Pro) and I find it quite manoeuvrable and easy to swing. I can bomb away on the serve, and it's no problem to get the racket around in time even when facing balls with pace. In the end I don't find the swingweight or the stiffness to be a problem. It plays very similarly to the 99s, except that there's a bit more control, less spin, and less wear on the strings.

Pretty compelling posts re if the 99 is worth checking out... but I've got enough frames on my plate though!
 
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