EXO3 Rebel 95 vs. EXO3 Graphite 100 vs. MG Prestige Mid vs. MG Prestige Pro

S

samster

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I am really looking forward to my TW demos that are arriving today:

Prince EXO Rebel 95
Prince EXO Graphite 100
Head Microgel Prestige Mid
Head Microgel Prestige Pro

To come also is a free Prince EXO T-shirt for demoing the new Prince frames. I will let everyone know how the T-shirt fits as well. :)

Will report back tomorrow evening after a hitting session with Bolt.
 
I have an EXO Rebel 95 arriving today as well.

Unfortunately I jumped the gun and ordered the Rebel before they put up the Graphite and when I called to add the graphite they had already shipped my Rebel.

I will have to count on your report tomorrow on how the graphite compares to the Rebel.

Ill report back with my thoughts on the Rebel as well.
 
samster said:
I am really looking forward to my TW demos that are arriving today:

Prince EXO Rebel 95
Prince EXO Graphite 100
Head Microgel Prestige Mid
Head Microgel Prestige Pro

To come also is a free Prince EXO T-shirt for demoing the new Prince frames. I will let everyone know how the T-shirt fits as well. :)

Will report back tomorrow evening after a hitting session with Bolt.
Click to expand...

I currently own and hit with the mid and the pro, expecting a demo of the rebel and graphite later this month. Look forward to your take on the above four.
 
Prince Exo3 Rebel 95

Review:

Probably one of the best Prince rackets I have tried so far. (Only Prince I have tried so far ) The racket felt so solid at contact. Groundies were good, although the swing weight was pretty high, it took some time to get used to. The main knock I have on the racket is the poor balance. I stuck my finger in the throat and immediately noticed the racket started to tilt (forget to which side). Volleys felt solid, nothing special. Slice was normal. On serving, I felt I got some extra pop, which was a positive with the racket. I also used my normal racket during the drill to try to get myself a comparison and it was sort of similar in terms of the fact that they are control oriented rackets. It had some green strings, but the owner told me that they weren't new strings , I think they were Lightning when I tried to identify the string. Overall , I was able to generate a heavy ball and got some good pace at the baseline. I don't think I would switch to the racket because it might be too heavy for my taste, but definitely for someone who can handle the 12+ weight and 95 sq inch head, think I am better off at 98. Overall, great racket and I hope I answered some people's question on the racket. If you have any questions , please feel free to ask.

And I want to also mention that I didn't enjoy the grip thickness. A bit too thick for a 4 3/8
 
Here comes the box:

a9tugy.jpg


The goods:

wwn3ue.jpg
 
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Prince weights without dampeners or overgrips:

NOTE: ALL THESE WERE 4 1/2 GRIPS

Rebel 95 = 345 grams strung

Graphite 100 = 325 grams strung
 
mrmo1115 said:
Prince Exo3 Rebel 95

Review:

Probably one of the best Prince rackets I have tried so far. (Only Prince I have tried so far ) The racket felt so solid at contact. Groundies were good, although the swing weight was pretty high, it took some time to get used to. The main knock I have on the racket is the poor balance. I stuck my finger in the throat and immediately noticed the racket started to tilt (forget to which side). Volleys felt solid, nothing special. Slice was normal. On serving, I felt I got some extra pop, which was a positive with the racket. I also used my normal racket during the drill to try to get myself a comparison and it was sort of similar in terms of the fact that they are control oriented rackets. It had some green strings, but the owner told me that they weren't new strings , I think they were Lightning when I tried to identify the string. Overall , I was able to generate a heavy ball and got some good pace at the baseline. I don't think I would switch to the racket because it might be too heavy for my taste, but definitely for someone who can handle the 12+ weight and 95 sq inch head, think I am better off at 98. Overall, great racket and I hope I answered some people's question on the racket. If you have any questions , please feel free to ask.

And I want to also mention that I didn't enjoy the grip thickness. A bit too thick for a 4 3/8
Click to expand...

Thanks for the brief feedback. I am taking these out tomorrow for a hit.
 
Got my demo's today. But NO shirt?!
C'mon dudes. Which one of you Warehouse munchkins got my shirt?
Initial impression of the Rebel is that it's a Prestige clone. I really like the Resi grip with the crossweave pattern. Reminds me of the Davis Duke I played in High School in the late 70's.
I'm curious about the Graphite 100. Balance feels better than specs suggest.
I got the Prince Graphite Oversize and Mid for a real Prince-fest.
Can't wait 'till Sat morning hit.
Robby C
 
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robby c said:
Got my demo's today. But NO shirt?!
C'mon dudes. Which one of you Warehouse munchkins got my shirt?
Initial impression of the Rebel is that it's a Prestige clone. I really like the grip with the crossweave pattern. Reminds me of the Davis Duke I played in High School in the late 70's.
I'm curious about the Graphite 100. Balance feels better than specs suggest.
I got the Prince Graphite Oversize and Mid for a real Prince-fest.
Can't wait 'till Sat morning hit.
Robby C
Click to expand...

You will have to call them and have TW add the shirt to your demo order. Otherwise, they don't know what size shirt to send.
 
Rebel 95: One of the best racquets I have ever used. Everything just clicked with it in my hand. I pretty much agree with Mrmo on all accounts, except that the high swingweight, in my opinion, was unbelievably beneficial in maintaining stability when returning hard-hit balls (return of serve, especially).
 
bad_call said:
may i ask which one u prefer and why?
Click to expand...

My stick is the prince hybrid tour (have love/hate relation with it). I have been hitting with both the pro and the mid for about a month now. I like the mid a tad more than the pro especially on my flat serves. To me, The MID has More power and more control but less forgiving (keep in mind the strings and tension are different on those different raquets). You can't be late with the mid compared to the pro. Keep in mind that I never played with a mid before except for 2-3 hours with an RDS001 which I did not like at all. So I am getting used to the small head size. If I have to make a choice now, I will choose the MID. I also had some lead tape added to the mid on 3 & 9. Both have the weight and both are stable and you really do not feel the weight on those sticks. Both are good on ground strokes but I volleyed slightly better with the MID especially when I played few sets of doubles. I will add some lead tape to the pro and see how things change. If you are in very good shape and like Mid racquets, you will definitely like the MG mid. Both are very nice frames and do all things well. BUT I am leaning more towards the mid NOW. I also tried the MG midplus and did not like at all (way too light).

The MID is strung with K-GUT 16G at 48 lbs
and the PRO is strung with VS at 56 lbs.

I can't wait to try the MID with my favorite VS string. Sorry for the long response. It is almost midnight and I am doing this after playing three hours of Tennis (1 set of doubles and 3 singles).
 
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have had my demo's last two days Rebel95 and graphite 100, rebel fairly solid but a little too flexible in the head for me and not quite as solid feeling as my racket and the graphite. Graphite much more solid imho, rock solid on groundies and felt great at the net, serves felt good, but couldn't get true gauge of pop because it's been super cold at night when using. Love the balance on the graphite good for all court play. will swing more of next two days.
 
Hi Samster,

Could you please measure the string bed width between 9 & 3 and 12 & 6 of the Rebel 95 and the Prestige Mid? From the pics, the head-shape ratio of the Rebel looks kind of promising to me.

Thanks in advance.
 
For what it's worth......

I did a mini demo of the Rebel 95 and Graphite 100 last night (played 1/2 hour with each). I currently use a Speedport Tour which I like, but I play mostly doubles and in quick volley exchanges around the net, the SPT will lag behind. I'm a 4.0; only been playing 5 years, playing mostly with Wilson and Prince sticks; before the SPT, I had the SP Black which I never really liked--too much uncontrollable power. I prefer a headsize around 98 to 100, even balance, maneuverable stick, and thin beam. Just by chance the pro at my club had both of these sticks available for demo. Now, on paper I didn't think the Rebel would be a good fit for me because of the headsize and because I thought it would play like the KBlade 98 which was too demanding for my game and quite frankly I didn't think I could handle a stick like the Rebel if I couldn't handle the K98. On the warm up I started with the 95 and liked the way it felt, but I was having a hard time with the small head size so I switched to the Graphite. What a plush feeling racquet from the ground that is! Nice feel at contact, no problems getting it around at all. Only at net it wasn't so maneuverable and that's my favorite place to be. Fifteen minutes into using it I could feel the weight of the racquet on my shoulder. I'm a small gal at 5'2" so this stick was really too much heft for me although it felt great. So, I switched back to the Rebel 95 although by then I was in a match and very reticent about playing with it in the match since I didn't like it in the warmup. After hitting with it for 10 minutes I found no problem with the headsize. I was confidently taking big cuts and the ball was staying in the court with precise control (and I'm looking for a more control oriented stick since I've developed my technique to generate my own power). I was able to generate more spin on groundies than my SPT. It was incredibly maneuverable around the net (much better than my SPT). The only issue was I'm going to have to bring my own spin and pace serving...but that's my technique that needs work which I feel I can accomplish as I continue to work on and refine my technique on a weekly basis since I started playing. The Rebel felt like an extension of my arm, rather than my arm holding a stick. Anyway, I'll demo the Rebel again since I'm looking to replace my SPT. In the meantime, I was very satisfied with the performance of both sticks (but the Graphite is too much heft for my size). I thought both were high quality gear. (But I haven't played with anything but Wilson and Prince in order to compare to other makers either.) BTW--the Rebel 95 had that Resi grip on it----I really liked it.
 
10sbune said:
For what it's worth......

I did a mini demo of the Rebel 95 and Graphite 100 last night (played 1/2 hour with each). I currently use a Speedport Tour which I like, but I play mostly doubles and in quick volley exchanges around the net, the SPT will lag behind. I'm a 4.0; only been playing 5 years, playing mostly with Wilson and Prince sticks; before the SPT, I had the SP Black which I never really liked--too much uncontrollable power. I prefer a headsize around 98 to 100, even balance, maneuverable stick, and thin beam. Just by chance the pro at my club had both of these sticks available for demo. Now, on paper I didn't think the Rebel would be a good fit for me because of the headsize and because I thought it would play like the KBlade 98 which was too demanding for my game and quite frankly I didn't think I could handle a stick like the Rebel if I couldn't handle the K98. On the warm up I started with the 95 and liked the way it felt, but I was having a hard time with the small head size so I switched to the Graphite. What a plush feeling racquet from the ground that is! Nice feel at contact, no problems getting it around at all. Only at net it wasn't so maneuverable and that's my favorite place to be. Fifteen minutes into using it I could feel the weight of the racquet on my shoulder. I'm a small gal at 5'2" so this stick was really too much heft for me although it felt great. So, I switched back to the Rebel 95 although by then I was in a match and very reticent about playing with it in the match since I didn't like it in the warmup. After hitting with it for 10 minutes I found no problem with the headsize. I was confidently taking big cuts and the ball was staying in the court with precise control (and I'm looking for a more control oriented stick since I've developed my technique to generate my own power). I was able to generate more spin on groundies than my SPT. It was incredibly maneuverable around the net (much better than my SPT). The only issue was I'm going to have to bring my own spin and pace serving...but that's my technique that needs work which I feel I can accomplish as I continue to work on and refine my technique on a weekly basis since I started playing. The Rebel felt like an extension of my arm, rather than my arm holding a stick. Anyway, I'll demo the Rebel again since I'm looking to replace my SPT. In the meantime, I was very satisfied with the performance of both sticks (but the Graphite is too much heft for my size). I thought both were high quality gear. (But I haven't played with anything but Wilson and Prince in order to compare to other makers either.) BTW--the Rebel 95 had that Resi grip on it----I really liked it.
Click to expand...

How so? Isn't the Graphite supposed to be a bit lighter than the Rebel?
 
jhusein said:
How so? Isn't the Graphite supposed to be a bit lighter than the Rebel?
Click to expand...

Hey, you're not the only one asking how so. I was asking that myself when I was using the sticks. How could a heavier racquet play much lighter than a lighter stick? I don't know the answer.

You are right...the Graphite is lighter at 11.6 than the Rebel which is 12.3. Perhaps the difference is that the Graphite is 2 pts head light and the Rebel is 9 points head light. There's also a difference in the head size; Graphite is 100; Rebel is 95. Anyway, the Graphite was too heavy for MY shoulder; I felt no strain on my shoulder using the Rebel. But that is ME and could obviously be very different for everyone else.
 
I really liked the Rebel 95. very comfortable frame when I tried it out - and indeed it has a low flex rating (60).
 
I've played a good amount with both the rebel and the graphite.

Both great hits. I just posted a thread with my opinions on them. Both solid racquets
 
10sbune said:
Hey, you're not the only one asking how so. I was asking that myself when I was using the sticks. How could a heavier racquet play much lighter than a lighter stick? I don't know the answer.
Click to expand...

I got the demo rackets yesterday and I did not have a chance to hit yet.
I swang the rackets and I realized that the rebel felt lighter. I thought I am the only person think that way :)

rebel felt better than my SPT. I was very worry that the extra 10g weight of rebel. Actually, I want to have a slightly lighter racket than SPT and I was a little disappointed that we will not get 310g Japanese version.
I think I can handle US version of rebel 95.
Now I can't decide that whether I should get Japanese version or US version......
 
kimguroo said:
I got the demo rackets yesterday and I did not have a chance to hit yet.
I swang the rackets and I realized that the rebel felt lighter. I thought I am the only person think that way :)

rebel felt better than my SPT. I was very worry that the extra 10g weight of rebel. Actually, I want to have a slightly lighter racket than SPT and I was a little disappointed that we will not get 310g Japanese version.
I think I can handle US version of rebel 95.
Now I can't decide that whether I should get Japanese version or US version......
Click to expand...

hey kim....post your thoughts after your hit about the Rebel compared to your SPT. As a fellow SPT user and I just demo'd the Rebel, I'm interested in other people's comparisons too. It's a good thing I didn't look up that weight on the Rebel before I tried it, otherwise I would have never picked it up as I would have instantly thought too heavy for me. I found the Rebel much, much nicer all-around than the SPT. A different class of racquet altogether.
 
kimguroo said:
I got the demo rackets yesterday and I did not have a chance to hit yet.
I swang the rackets and I realized that the rebel felt lighter. I thought I am the only person think that way :)

rebel felt better than my SPT. I was very worry that the extra 10g weight of rebel. Actually, I want to have a slightly lighter racket than SPT and I was a little disappointed that we will not get 310g Japanese version.
I think I can handle US version of rebel 95.
Now I can't decide that whether I should get Japanese version or US version......
Click to expand...

Be careful with Japanese version because BP is 15mm above the US version...
 
My Rebel 95 demo came in yesterday as well and I took it out for a 3 hour hit.

I am a long time speedport black user which weighs in at 11.3 oz strung so when I picked up the Rebel it felt noticeably heavier. While it was very headlight I was not able to generate nearly the swingspeed I can with the speedport black. This was both good and bad for me. Good because I was able to control my shots much more with the heavier more stable frame and smaller headsize but bad because I found myself constantly getting through the contact zone late and my shots had less zip on them.

The Rebel is definitely not a usual Prince racquet. I immediately noticed the head shape was completely different from normal prince racquets. My hitting partner uses a Head LM Radical MP and we put the racquets up next to each other and the head shape was an exact match. Its obvious that Prince is using/copying a head mold.

Overall impression of the racquet is good even though it may be a little too much weight for me. Cosmetics were appealing even though pictures dont really do any favors for it. Everyone who saw it were fine with how it looked. This frame was more stable and had more control than any other Prince frame I have ever picked up.
Sweetspot was smaller than I had hoped and when making contact in the upper part of the hoop I could really feel it. But when I did hit the sweetspot it was a feeling of sheer joy, better than any racquet Ive played with since my old KSixOne 95.
Spin generation was not as high as Id hoped but still good. It will be hard to match the speedport black in that category especially with the dense string pattern of the Rebel.
Volleys are much improved over previous prince "O" tech racquets and finally equal the feel of normal racquets.

Im going to play 3 or 4 matches over the weekend with it to get a better idea of if I will be able to play with this frame or not.

I really wish I had demo'd the Exo Graphite Mid+ but from a few of the posts Ive read here it seems that racquet does not feel as light the specs indicate?
 
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BobFL said:
Be careful with Japanese version because BP is 15mm above the US version...
Click to expand...

that is my question right now.
I like the feeling of US version despite of 20g more weight than Japanese version and I think 15mm BP makes it different feeling.
I am not a racket guru and In my opinion, rackets are all about personal preference.
 
I've demo'd all 4 of the new prince player racquets. I'll do a quick reply, due to time restrictions:

Rebel Team
My favorite racquet of the four. A light racquet (I play with a 12.8 ounce racquet) with a balance I thought I would hate and I LOVED it. Powerful enough, stable, nice on my elbow. More spin than I thought it would have. I normally play with a weighted nCode 90.

Rebel
This racquet felt very heafty. It was stable and solid, but felt flimsier to me than the team. I also didn't like the balance, even though it is headlight and I thought I would. This was pretty demanding, almost as demanding as my nCode.

Graphite Mid
Felt very similar to the old one. Heavy, stable, lots of spin, less power than the Rebel line. Softer than the rebels, felt really similar to my nCode, which I'm trying to switch away from.

Graphite 100
I liked the stick. Very flexy in the throat, good power and spin. It wasn't very demanding compared to my nCode.


Prince did a great job on this line of player's frames, I like the way they are going. All of them felt good, and I could switch from my nCode to any. But play the Rebel Team, it was great!
 
10sbune said:
Hey, you're not the only one asking how so. I was asking that myself when I was using the sticks. How could a heavier racquet play much lighter than a lighter stick? I don't know the answer.

You are right...the Graphite is lighter at 11.6 than the Rebel which is 12.3. Perhaps the difference is that the Graphite is 2 pts head light and the Rebel is 9 points head light. There's also a difference in the head size; Graphite is 100; Rebel is 95. Anyway, the Graphite was too heavy for MY shoulder; I felt no strain on my shoulder using the Rebel. But that is ME and could obviously be very different for everyone else.
Click to expand...

Thanks:). I will be getting these two at the end of the month.
 
I loved the rebel. I was very suprised because I tend to like more open string patterns. The feel was just fantastic off of the ground and the bh slice was my favorite shot with it. Generating spin was pretty easy with this racquet as well. The serve was okay, I was able to hit fairly hard but not as much pop as other racquets. Overall, I felt like it was a great control racquet. I am really considering buying a few.
 
samster said:
You will have to call them and have TW add the shirt to your demo order. Otherwise, they don't know what size shirt to send.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll give them a call.
I called. Shirt due in Monday week.
Thanks,
Robby C
 
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I just tested about 40 min.
I started with rebel and felt really stable than SPT.
but I am not really sure about the spin because of string.

then I tried graphite 100.
going from heavy to lighter racket, I felt I could have better controls and made good swings. actually, I hit better groundstroke than rebel.

then I tried rebel again. I noticed that if opponent hit fast shot, I felt my swing was slightly late. that's what I concern with my SPT.

I will receive new ball machine on Monday so I will be able to test more.
I think I will demo rebel team and if that's too light for me then I will get Japanese version of rebel.

liked new grip on rebel too :)
 
I hit with all of the racquets in the EXO3 line today, except the EXO3 Silver.

I'm torn between the Graphite 93 and the Rebel 95. At first, I really favored the Graphite, but after hitting a little longer with the Rebel, it started to grow on me. I'm a SP Tour player as well, and after a couple of minutes with the Rebel, I started swinging out like I was playing with my usual stick (to be fair, my SP Tours are weighted to 12.8 ounces, so the heft of the Rebel was actually appealing to me). The Rebel served well too. Out of the box, the Rebel would be my choice.

Of course, the Graphite 93 is appealing due to it's slighter higher stiffness and more open string pattern. It too feels great from everywhere on the court, but it didn't move through the ball like the Rebel did. So...I think with a little lead, the Graphite 93 will be amazing. Choices...

I would like to say that the Graphite 100 was very nice as well. Very comfortable, easy to swing, nice feel and pop on the ball. I think it'll sell very well.
 
that microgel prestige pro is one sweet racquet.

the graphite 100 felt a little too whippy for me while I was swinging it... And the originial felt ok but not as good as the original. Some people will really like it but the original graphite is still the only real nice graphite i believe by prince.

i did not much care for any of the rebel series.. but that's just me personally

anyone playing the futures next week in tampa?
 
anirut said:
Hi Samster,

Could you please measure the string bed width between 9 & 3 and 12 & 6 of the Rebel 95 and the Prestige Mid? From the pics, the head-shape ratio of the Rebel looks kind of promising to me.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Prince Rebel 95

23.5 cm Width (inside the hoop)
32.6 cm Length (inside the hoop)

Microgel Prestige Mid

22.7 cm Width (inside the hoop)
31.7 cm Length (inside the hoop)
 
Detailed reviews to follow but tonight I was most impressed with the EXO3 Rebel 95.

It was strung with Prince Poly EXP 1.25mains and Prince Premiere 16 g in the crosses. Bolt and I thought it was going to play like a brick because of the poly and the 18x20 stringbed. (We both dislike polys).

To our surprise, the Rebel 95 was a very responsive stick with good comfort and controllable pop. It was a very easy midplus racket to use with large sweetspot. We thought this stick was a winner.
 
Hey Samster - playtested the Rebel here tonight as well. Very, very impressed as well. Looking forward to your more detailed review.
 
Thanks for the measurements, Samster.

From the pics it seems the Rebel head shape is kinda long oval. Is it really that way?
 
Played with EXO Rebel 95 and Graphite 100 - liked the Rebel much more - it felt similar to Prestige Mid only more forgiving - swing was lighter and I didn't have to commit as much. Rebel felt stable, comfortable and with slightly muted feedback.

P.S. I switched to Babolat Pure Drive Team a few months ago :)
 
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Has anyone beside Vasz hit with the EXO3 Rebel Team - are they available for demo yet from TW, b/c it doesnt look like it, but from the few people who have hit it, this sounds like a real winner also... decisions, decisions - I dont know, from what i hear I think the exo3 rebel Team racket might be a great fit for me.
 
vasquez90 said:
Has anyone beside Vasz hit with the EXO3 Rebel Team - are they available for demo yet from TW, b/c it doesnt look like it, but from the few people who have hit it, this sounds like a real winner also... decisions, decisions - I dont know, from what i hear I think the exo3 rebel Team racket might be a great fit for me.
Click to expand...

I hit with it very briefly, with both port and hole inserts. With the port inserts, it was just was too sloppy...too much give in the stringbed. The hole inserts made a huge difference. I thought it played pretty nice, but I wasn't truly considering it to be my replacement stick, so I really didn't over analyze it's strengths and weaknesses. A lot of the other pros thought it was a great mid-weight racquet and some preferred this to the heavier version.
 
According to the Prince reps I spoke with recently, the Rebel 95 was conceived as racquet for Blake when he was still with Prince.
 
I recommend EXO3 Rebel 95 demo to anyone who is seeking more pop from their existing control-oriented frame. This is one special stick.
 
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