Graphene 360+ Prestige MP vs Graphene XT Prestige MP. Stats, according to the TW racquet comparison tool: Same static weight (360+=11.9/337g, XT=11.9/336g), same balance (12.6=32cm), but SW is 360+=323, XT=317. Why? Is this measurement off? Also, the 360+'s RA=61 and the XT's RA=65, but the Power % is 360+=41 and the XT=40. This also does not add up to me. Doesn't stiffer equal more power? They both have a 16 sq in sweet spot, so that's even. Now, I know these stats are fairly close and with quality control issues may be statistically irrelevant, so what is the real difference between how these two racquets play? Do spiral fibers make that much difference? If I can find a used XT, why should I buy a 360+ Prestige MP? What accounts for the difference and if you could, theoretically, do a blind play test, what would you feel different about each racquet? Are they different at all?
Graphene 360+ Prestige MP vs Graphene XT Prestige MP
- Thread starter JamesV
- Start date
Villain
Professional
The answer for the swingweight difference is weight distribution. Two racquets can have the same static weight and balance but have different swing weights due to one racquet being more polarized than the other. In this case, the average 360+ is slightly more polarized than the XT, but I wouldn’t call either racquet polarized in the general sense.
All else being equal, stiffer racquets are more powerful but there’s more to power than just stiffness. The XT is actually a 95 head size while the 360+ is a “real” 98. The slightly bigger head size will give more power. The slightly higher SW also means slightly more power. Higher Twistweight will also lead to more power on off-center shots and the 360+ has a higher TW than the XT. The Power Potential that TWU measured is only a 0.5 percent difference between the two racquets which probably isn’t noticeable IMO.
All else being equal, stiffer racquets are more powerful but there’s more to power than just stiffness. The XT is actually a 95 head size while the 360+ is a “real” 98. The slightly bigger head size will give more power. The slightly higher SW also means slightly more power. Higher Twistweight will also lead to more power on off-center shots and the 360+ has a higher TW than the XT. The Power Potential that TWU measured is only a 0.5 percent difference between the two racquets which probably isn’t noticeable IMO.
Maybe you're more of an expert than me, but same static weight and same balance mean same weight distribution. If not, how is the balance, equal if weight distribution is not equal, or am I misunderstanding the physics of gravity? Now, I agree with the 95 vs 98 thing, but again, you may be more of an expert than me, but I think it's the graphene touch that measures the prestige as a 98 that's really a 95, not the XT. We would have to defer to TW experts on that one since I don't have one to measure. I also don't know if a 0.4 difference on the twist is significant, any more than power % 40 vs 41. Remember the focus of my question is, HOW ARE THEY DIFFERENT? IF THEY ARE SO SIMILAR, WHY BUY A NEW 360+, IF THE XT IS SO SIMILAR?
mhkeuns
Hall of Fame
All Prestige MP before the G360+ Prestige MP were 95” but marketed as 98”. Head used to measure the Prestige by measuring the outer, instead of the inner.
As far as the weight, balance & weight distribution, TW numbers are calculated by the average of many frames they measure. I guess that can have some effect on the numbers,
As far as which Prestige MP to play, it all depends. All Prestige MP play extremely accurate. The feel is where people have been asking Head to improve since the introduction of the Graphene. The Graphene, XT & the Touch versions all play well. Their feel, to me, were terrible - compared to the IG version or the classic version. The new 360+, which still isn’t as buttery as the classic or even the IG version, is a huge jump in the feel dept. It finally feels nice to hit.
As far as the weight, balance & weight distribution, TW numbers are calculated by the average of many frames they measure. I guess that can have some effect on the numbers,
As far as which Prestige MP to play, it all depends. All Prestige MP play extremely accurate. The feel is where people have been asking Head to improve since the introduction of the Graphene. The Graphene, XT & the Touch versions all play well. Their feel, to me, were terrible - compared to the IG version or the classic version. The new 360+, which still isn’t as buttery as the classic or even the IG version, is a huge jump in the feel dept. It finally feels nice to hit.
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guilhermefdc
Semi-Pro
I’m not 100% sure, but I don’t think that’s correct - I’ll exaggerate here, but bear with me.
Let’s say you have a frame that has three parts, “top”, “middle” and “bottom” and that it will weight 300g. If you distribute that weight evenly - 100/100/100 - the frame will have a given SW and an even balance. You can, however, also distribute it 110/80/110 and it will still have 300g and the same balance, but SW will be higher, as those 10 grams have now been moved to a point more further apart from the handle, increasing the SW, while keeping the same BP and static weight.
(I may be totally wrong on this, so please correct me if I’m mistaken)
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taydbear7
Professional
I did a hitting session with Graphene XT Prestige MP and really like it a lot. Great depth on my shots. I didn't do any volleys. Slice backhand really dies which was great but couldn't depth on those. Serve and return serve was pretty good with it.
I demoed the 360+ a couple weeks back and it had great control. I struggled with groundies on it though. I think whatever string that was on there was not very good. It was moving all over the place. It was a hybrid of some sort. One of the string was Laserfibre I think it was and I couldn't find a name on the other one. Ultimately I passed on it because I played two matches and lost both times lol so I blamed the racquet.
I demoed the 360+ a couple weeks back and it had great control. I struggled with groundies on it though. I think whatever string that was on there was not very good. It was moving all over the place. It was a hybrid of some sort. One of the string was Laserfibre I think it was and I couldn't find a name on the other one. Ultimately I passed on it because I played two matches and lost both times lol so I blamed the racquet.
TennisHound
Legend
Yep, you want to go with what you like and what you feel you can win with.
Just nitpicking here - but the outer-inner measurement myth is just that - a myth.
Head is a European company and the engineers are used to the decimal system. So the head sizes they used for their racquets are "nice and round" figures: 600 - 630 - 660 - 690 - 720 cm². However, these nice figures mainly serve a marketing purpose and are not intended to be precise. And by the way, if you convert 98 in² into cm² you end up with 632.26 cm², so 630 would be a rounded figure as well.
Now if the current Prestige Mid, for instance, is a "true" 600 cm² racquet, they need to come up with a story why the older generations were not "false" 600 cm² racquets, right? In comes something like "now we use a different measurement approach", which is just to appease customers. You can be assured that the engineers at Head knew all along the "true" head sizes of their sticks.
Oh, and btw, that's true for all Head racquets (of past and present).
Dragy
G.O.A.T.
Imagine a platform racquet with 315g static weight and 4pts HL balance. Now let's weight it up with 20g of lead tape, but consider 2 options:
- Put all lead to the balance point (13" location). This will buff the SW with 10.6 pts.
- Distribute the weight: put 9.5g at the tip (27") and 10.5g under the butt cap (0.5"). Balance stays the same. SW goes 33.4 pts up.
So we can get over 22 pts of SW difference by redistributing 20g of added mass.
mhkeuns
Hall of Fame
Thanks! That was really informative. I was just relaying what I’ve heard over the years. I wonder how accurately other companies represent their racket sizes.
2-Step-Q
Rookie
Sooo have Head racquets always been true 98s then?
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