Are any of these Prince products (strings and overgrips) ever be available in the U.S.A.?

[d-quik]

(WARNING: A LOT OF QUESTIONS) I didn't want to make seperate threads for each question so here goes:

I never understood why the American Prince line-up differs so much from the Japanese line. Why is it like this? Is it a licensing problem? Supply-chain problem? Some other unspecified bureaucratic reason? Tariffs?

Anyways, I would love to know of any of these following products below will ever be available in the U.S.A. and if it is not, is it just because it simply is renamed into something else?

Strings:
1) Prince Synthetic Gut w/ Duraflex but in 18g
2) Prince Lightning XP 17g (not Lightning XX)
3) Prince Emblem Touch 17g
4) Prince Emblem LT 17g
5) Prince Emblem Touch 17g
6) Prince Harrier Respnse 17g
7) Prince Harrier Power 16g
8) KLIP Power
9) KLIP Kicker
0) KLIP Armour Pro

Overgrips:
1) Prince OG111 or OG113
2) Prince OG031 or OG033
3) Prince OG001 or OG003
4) Prince OG021 or OG023
5) Prince OG201 or OG203
6) Prince OG041 or OG043
7) Prince OG301 or OG303

Footwear:
1) Prince Pro Lite II/III/IV/V/...any generation

(non-Prince related questions below):

Shoe weight updates needed:
1) HEAD Motion Pro https://www.pickleballwarehouse.com...kleball_Shoes_White_Red/descpage-HMMPWHR.html
2) Acacia Proshot https://www.pickleballwarehouse.com..._Royal_Pickleball_Shoes/descpage-ASPSBKR.html

Lastly (and least importantly, because it really is none of my business):
Some of the men's K-Swiss shoes, specifically the Ultrashot 4 and Hypercourt Supreme 2, have been getting some pretty discouraging reviews. I never tried the US4 but my experience with the Supreme 2 has been very good. The feedback from the HCS2 thread also has been generally positive. It for sure is a better shoe than that oddly placed 2.5 stars that is there. This makes me suspect that someone is intentionally bombing the reviews for some nefarious/trecherous reason (co-ordinated attack? ). Is there any way for you guys to detect if the reviews are even genuine? Because it feels like something is a bit off. Again, I have not tried the US4 yet but other than a few members on the boards here complaining about durability/cushioning, I have only heard good things about them, including Dr. Thomas' ratings. Maybe they are just genuine opinions but 1.8 stars seems comically low. The ratings for the previous generations were good so it is not like K-Swiss has problems making quality shoes. There are some really crappy shoes elsewhere and even those don't have a rating as low as 1.8 stars! https://www.tennis-warehouse.com/KSwiss_Mens_Tennis_Shoes/catpage-MSKSWISS.html

Anyways, I don't expect you to answer literally all of this stuff in one fell swoop, as it is quite a bit to dump onto someone all at once, but I do hope I can get some clarification. The stuff about the KLIP stuff, the Prince stuff, the weights of the pickleball shoes, and the opening question at the very beginning are more important to me. The last bit is just conspiratorial speculation, with no actual evidence other than my "gut feeling".

I know this is a lot but please just give it a try. Try to make it make sense please.

Thanks

 

[TW Staff]

Ok, I will give it my best.

Long story short on Prince- Prince US and Prince Japan are two different licensees of the Prince brand and have control over what they bring into their separate markets as well as creating their own products.
Tennis Warehouse gives feedback on what we think Prince US should bring in and give feedback on upcoming products, but it is ultimately up to the Prince US.

As far as Prince products, we are not expecting any listed above. If there is a demand, we can certainly ask Prince US to look at bringing them in (example- Twistpower racquets). However, there is no guarantee.

As far as KLIPP, I can follow up with our hard goods buyer but at this time it does not look like we are bringing those in.

Shoe weights, I will follow up with our other warehouse if they can weigh them and get that updated.

Lastly, reviews. I wish I had a concrete answer for you.In my opinion, most times, people only feel compelled to right a review if they have had a negative experience. So while there may be many positive experiences, only the negatives actually post reviews. This is why they could give skewed ratings. We are currently playtesting the Ultrashot 4s and are definitely not experiencing what the current reviews are showing. We still need a couple more weeks to fully test durability. Unfortunately, there is no way to detect is someone is trying to skew the ratings on purpose.

Ok, I hope for the most part that answers your questions.

Brittany, TW

 

[d-quik]

Very thorough answer

 

[d-quik]

Shoe weights, I will follow up with our other warehouse if they can weigh them and get that updated.

The weights have not appeared

 

[TW Staff]

It will take a couple days, I will remind them again! Thanks for your patience!

Brittany, TW