Chris: perspective on Pure Drive Tour vs XT Extreme Pro vs Pure Ero Tour

[blackpearl2007]

Chris,

Title correction: meant Pure Aero Tour. Sorry! Assuming you have hit with all three, what would your perspective be as it relates to control, comfort and power / plow through with these racquets? Meaning, out of the three what do you find most control oriented, most comfort, etc....appreciate the insight as I have hit with the Pure Drive Tour and XT Extreme Pro and find the XT more plush but more plow with the Pure Drive Tour. For me, control was pretty even between the two. I haven't hit with the Pure Aero Tour yet....appreciate your insight on these racquets. Thanks!

 

[Keith]

Chris,

Title correction: meant Pure Aero Tour. Sorry! Assuming you have hit with all three, what would your perspective be as it relates to control, comfort and power / plow through with these racquets? Meaning, out of the three what do you find most control oriented, most comfort, etc....appreciate the insight as I have hit with the Pure Drive Tour and XT Extreme Pro and find the XT more plush but more plow with the Pure Drive Tour. For me, control was pretty even between the two. I haven't hit with the Pure Aero Tour yet....appreciate your insight on these racquets. Thanks!

I am trying to decide between these 3 racquets as well: PD, AeroPro and the Head XT Extreme Pro. Thanks!

 

[TW Staff]

I've not hit the Head XT Extreme Pro enough to really comment at this point. However, I'm hitting with Marco this afternoon and will take all three out for a little comparo. Stay tuned . . .

Cheers,
Chris, TW

 

[TW Staff]

Ok, just off court. Easiest to maneuver is the Head, but it lacks the plow through of the 2 Babolat racquets. I liked the spin I was getting from the Extreme Pro and I also liked its power delivery. It has a nice even drop off in power as you move out the sweetspot so I didn't have any hot spots or dead spot surprises in the stringbed. Depth didn't come quite as easily but all things considered it still has decent power.

I love the feel of the Pure Drive Tour. Just a super solid feeling racquet. The weight goes a long way to making the Pure Drive frame design feel really solid and there's a plushness to the response you'd never guess possible if you'd only ever hit stock regular Pure Drives. I love the easy power and the solid feel connects me to the ball. I can be very consistent and accurate with it as I can let the racquet do the work leaving me to focus on my targets. The Pure Aero Tour takes it a step further. The power is more pronounced. I think that comes mostly from a slightly higher launch angle. It only takes about 3 swings to make the adjustment and it opens up the opportunity to hit with more spin and a resulting heavier ball. I love the feel of the Pure Aero Tour as well. It just feels super solid and the put away power is addictive. When you want to step up and absolutely kill the ball with everything you've got, this is a great racquet to have in your hand.

With all said and done, I'd opt for the Pure Drive Tour out of these 3. I used to use the Pure Drive Roddick, now use the Pure Drive Plus, and the feel of the Pure Drive Tour really feels at home for me. I could just as easily use the Pure Aero Tour, but I have to pick an order so the Pure Aero Tour moves (barely out of first) to second.

The XT Extreme Pro is a nice racquet, but it's the one out of the three I'd be customizing. Whereas the others in stock form feel dialed in to what I like, this one falls just short of its potential to fit my game. I think with a little more weight it would plow through like the other two and it'd be right in there.

Overall, it's not a bad place to be picking between these three racquets. Each one offers great power, spin, control and improved comfort over their lighter weight siblings thanks to the additional weight. You could throw in a Volkl Super G 8 315 and you've got yourself a great 4 racquet demo.

Happy hitting,
Chris, TW

 

[blackpearl2007]

Ok, just off court. Easiest to maneuver is the Head, but it lacks the plow through of the 2 Babolat racquets. I liked the spin I was getting from the Extreme Pro and I also liked its power delivery. It has a nice even drop off in power as you move out the sweetspot so I didn't have any hot spots or dead spot surprises in the stringbed. Depth didn't come quite as easily but all things considered it still has decent power.

I love the feel of the Pure Drive Tour. Just a super solid feeling racquet. The weight goes a long way to making the Pure Drive frame design feel really solid and there's a plushness to the response you'd never guess possible if you'd only ever hit stock regular Pure Drives. I love the easy power and the solid feel connects me to the ball. I can be very consistent and accurate with it as I can let the racquet do the work leaving me to focus on my targets. The Pure Aero Tour takes it a step further. The power is more pronounced. I think that comes mostly from a slightly higher launch angle. It only takes about 3 swings to make the adjustment and it opens up the opportunity to hit with more spin and a resulting heavier ball. I love the feel of the Pure Aero Tour as well. It just feels super solid and the put away power is addictive. When you want to step up and absolutely kill the ball with everything you've got, this is a great racquet to have in your hand.

With all said and done, I'd opt for the Pure Drive Tour out of these 3. I used to use the Pure Drive Roddick, now use the Pure Drive Plus, and the feel of the Pure Drive Tour really feels at home for me. I could just as easily use the Pure Aero Tour, but I have to pick an order so the Pure Aero Tour moves (barely out of first) to second.

The XT Extreme Pro is a nice racquet, but it's the one out of the three I'd be customizing. Whereas the others in stock form feel dialed in to what I like, this one falls just short of its potential to fit my game. I think with a little more weight it would plow through like the other two and it'd be right in there.

Overall, it's not a bad place to be picking between these three racquets. Each one offers great power, spin, control and improved comfort over their lighter weight siblings thanks to the additional weight. You could throw in a Volkl Super G 8 315 and you've got yourself a great 4 racquet demo.

Happy hitting,
Chris, TW

Great perspective Chris. Many thanks!

 

[ksmn]

Ok, just off court. Easiest to maneuver is the Head, but it lacks the plow through of the 2 Babolat racquets. I liked the spin I was getting from the Extreme Pro and I also liked its power delivery. It has a nice even drop off in power as you move out the sweetspot so I didn't have any hot spots or dead spot surprises in the stringbed. Depth didn't come quite as easily but all things considered it still has decent power.

I love the feel of the Pure Drive Tour. Just a super solid feeling racquet. The weight goes a long way to making the Pure Drive frame design feel really solid and there's a plushness to the response you'd never guess possible if you'd only ever hit stock regular Pure Drives. I love the easy power and the solid feel connects me to the ball. I can be very consistent and accurate with it as I can let the racquet do the work leaving me to focus on my targets. The Pure Aero Tour takes it a step further. The power is more pronounced. I think that comes mostly from a slightly higher launch angle. It only takes about 3 swings to make the adjustment and it opens up the opportunity to hit with more spin and a resulting heavier ball. I love the feel of the Pure Aero Tour as well. It just feels super solid and the put away power is addictive. When you want to step up and absolutely kill the ball with everything you've got, this is a great racquet to have in your hand.

With all said and done, I'd opt for the Pure Drive Tour out of these 3. I used to use the Pure Drive Roddick, now use the Pure Drive Plus, and the feel of the Pure Drive Tour really feels at home for me. I could just as easily use the Pure Aero Tour, but I have to pick an order so the Pure Aero Tour moves (barely out of first) to second.

The XT Extreme Pro is a nice racquet, but it's the one out of the three I'd be customizing. Whereas the others in stock form feel dialed in to what I like, this one falls just short of its potential to fit my game. I think with a little more weight it would plow through like the other two and it'd be right in there.

Overall, it's not a bad place to be picking between these three racquets. Each one offers great power, spin, control and improved comfort over their lighter weight siblings thanks to the additional weight. You could throw in a Volkl Super G 8 315 and you've got yourself a great 4 racquet demo.

Happy hitting,
Chris, TW

Chris,
How would the Wilson Burn 100S fit into the mix with the other racquets mentioned above. I'm interested in your thoughts comparing power, plow, forgiveness, etc. Appreciate your insight.

 

[droliver]

I'm still trying to get my head around Chris going from the Slazenger PB/Volkl c10/Youtek IG Presige group to switching to the Pure Drive. It is a head spinning 180 on the type of racquet

 

[TW Staff]

The Burn 100S has the ball really jumping off the stringbed thanks to its open pattern and stiff beam. That response gives it a much livelier feel especially on compact and medium length swings. On a full swing the ability to get more spin helps tame the power. I love how big I can hit the ball with that racquet, however it is just too stiff and jarring feeling for me.

@droliver
I used to use the Pure Drive Roddick for a couple of years so it was an easy transition back. I made the move to that from the Yonex RDX 500 Mid which was a very soft and plush feeling racquet -- a massive jump. It was a move based on results over silky smooth feel. Bigger serves and more forehand winners were too hard to ignore. After using the SIx.One 95S for the last two years it was a much easier transition this time around to the Pure Drive Plus. The Six.One 95S offers a pretty crisp feel and its string pattern is lively and very spin friendly. Plus, the fact that part of my job is to constantly test racquets with varying specs means I'm used to transitioning into a different feel/playability all of the time. Of course there are still racquets I play better with and have more confidence with and the Pure Drive Plus is most definitely one of them.

Cheers,
Chris, TW.

 

[beltsman]

Ok, just off court. Easiest to maneuver is the Head, but it lacks the plow through of the 2 Babolat racquets. I liked the spin I was getting from the Extreme Pro and I also liked its power delivery. It has a nice even drop off in power as you move out the sweetspot so I didn't have any hot spots or dead spot surprises in the stringbed. Depth didn't come quite as easily but all things considered it still has decent power.

I love the feel of the Pure Drive Tour. Just a super solid feeling racquet. The weight goes a long way to making the Pure Drive frame design feel really solid and there's a plushness to the response you'd never guess possible if you'd only ever hit stock regular Pure Drives. I love the easy power and the solid feel connects me to the ball. I can be very consistent and accurate with it as I can let the racquet do the work leaving me to focus on my targets. The Pure Aero Tour takes it a step further. The power is more pronounced. I think that comes mostly from a slightly higher launch angle. It only takes about 3 swings to make the adjustment and it opens up the opportunity to hit with more spin and a resulting heavier ball. I love the feel of the Pure Aero Tour as well. It just feels super solid and the put away power is addictive. When you want to step up and absolutely kill the ball with everything you've got, this is a great racquet to have in your hand.

With all said and done, I'd opt for the Pure Drive Tour out of these 3. I used to use the Pure Drive Roddick, now use the Pure Drive Plus, and the feel of the Pure Drive Tour really feels at home for me. I could just as easily use the Pure Aero Tour, but I have to pick an order so the Pure Aero Tour moves (barely out of first) to second.

The XT Extreme Pro is a nice racquet, but it's the one out of the three I'd be customizing. Whereas the others in stock form feel dialed in to what I like, this one falls just short of its potential to fit my game. I think with a little more weight it would plow through like the other two and it'd be right in there.

Overall, it's not a bad place to be picking between these three racquets. Each one offers great power, spin, control and improved comfort over their lighter weight siblings thanks to the additional weight. You could throw in a Volkl Super G 8 315 and you've got yourself a great 4 racquet demo.

Happy hitting,
Chris, TW

This is a great breakdown, thank you.

 

[Balaji_R]

Ok, just off court. Easiest to maneuver is the Head, but it lacks the plow through of the 2 Babolat racquets. I liked the spin I was getting from the Extreme Pro and I also liked its power delivery. It has a nice even drop off in power as you move out the sweetspot so I didn't have any hot spots or dead spot surprises in the stringbed. Depth didn't come quite as easily but all things considered it still has decent power.

I love the feel of the Pure Drive Tour. Just a super solid feeling racquet. The weight goes a long way to making the Pure Drive frame design feel really solid and there's a plushness to the response you'd never guess possible if you'd only ever hit stock regular Pure Drives. I love the easy power and the solid feel connects me to the ball. I can be very consistent and accurate with it as I can let the racquet do the work leaving me to focus on my targets. The Pure Aero Tour takes it a step further. The power is more pronounced. I think that comes mostly from a slightly higher launch angle. It only takes about 3 swings to make the adjustment and it opens up the opportunity to hit with more spin and a resulting heavier ball. I love the feel of the Pure Aero Tour as well. It just feels super solid and the put away power is addictive. When you want to step up and absolutely kill the ball with everything you've got, this is a great racquet to have in your hand.

With all said and done, I'd opt for the Pure Drive Tour out of these 3. I used to use the Pure Drive Roddick, now use the Pure Drive Plus, and the feel of the Pure Drive Tour really feels at home for me. I could just as easily use the Pure Aero Tour, but I have to pick an order so the Pure Aero Tour moves (barely out of first) to second.

The XT Extreme Pro is a nice racquet, but it's the one out of the three I'd be customizing. Whereas the others in stock form feel dialed in to what I like, this one falls just short of its potential to fit my game. I think with a little more weight it would plow through like the other two and it'd be right in there.

Overall, it's not a bad place to be picking between these three racquets. Each one offers great power, spin, control and improved comfort over their lighter weight siblings thanks to the additional weight. You could throw in a Volkl Super G 8 315 and you've got yourself a great 4 racquet demo.

Happy hitting,
Chris, TW

Quite frankly Chris, don't you feel PD and PDR or plus are all stiff and non arm friendly racquets? Curious to know how does your arm tolerates them, more so when you have to try out different frames and strings as part of your job.