Had a hit with a PS 85":

[bluegrasser]

I strung this baby up with ' Wilson Extreme" at 50 lbs, and wow, was I spanking my forehand, it brought me back to the 80's when I was using this stick, also hit my backhand ok, but had trouble with the slice, and if I was off the sweetspot just a little, the ball just died.

I then deicided to pick up the 03 tour, and that racquet gave me what the ps couldn't, greater margin for error, and the tour felt great with a different string other than the hybrid I tried before. I can see why so many still hit with the ps 85, solid indeed.

 

[vkartikv]

The best thing is feeling the weight of the ball strike the racquet. After using a 100 sq.in. racquet, pick up an 85 and you'll instantly 'feel' the ball in the strikezone because that's how small it is. It was designed with a volleyer in mind (IMO), so don't forget your netiquette

 

[Rasta]

I have found that I hit great flat shots with the 85 and I can serve well. But, I can't hit my slice backhand consistently with it. And my forehand topspin is weak. This is why reality finally set in for me and I changed back to a midplus.

 

[vkartikv]

In reply to the slice comments, I loved the way the racquet cuts through the air, especially in comparison with my 23 mm PR 660 or 21 mm 6.1. It just takes some time to adapt to it, you need to spend more time with it to realise its true potential.

 

[stevewcosta]

While I am a fan of the 6.0 85 (own 3), it's unfortunate that this is one of the only frames these days with these qualities. Go back to the 80s and you had even "better" racs (thin, box beams galore with plow through ability and > 85 sq. in.). Racs. these days simply suck and are cheaply constructed = more margin for the manufacturers. 99% of current frames are big hollow tubes w/no feel, just terrible.

 

[armand]

and if I was off the sweetspot just a little, the ball just died.

No way Blue! One of the best features of the 85 is that the ball won't die when you miss the sweetspot! It's just so solid+heavy. I don't understand, perhaps you have a different version, perhaps the Taiwan version?

 

[vkartikv]

No way Blue! One of the best features of the 85 is that the ball won't die when you miss the sweetspot! It's just so solid+heavy. I don't understand, perhaps you have a different version, perhaps the Taiwan version?

Excuse me?? I have three Taiwan prostaffs tucked away for once a week use and they are in no way of a lower quality than the China makes!! They are closer to even balance which seems to be the way to go with the 85s.

 

[armand]

Wilson tried to make the rackets in Taiwan using an all uni-directional layup. However, the racquets didn't have the same feel as braided construction and they are now producing frames with braided product.

Just saying that some of the ones made in Taiwan aren't the same. I tried one and I didn't like it at all.

 

[vkartikv]

Just saying that some of the ones made in Taiwan aren't the same. I tried one and I didn't like it at all.

I guess we will have to live with our disagreements - you prefer the Chinese makes over the Taiwanese. You also like the rdx 500 which I couldn't stand to use at the net

 

[rooski]

Excuse me?? I have three Taiwan prostaffs tucked away for once a week use and they are in no way of a lower quality than the China makes!! They are closer to even balance which seems to be the way to go with the 85s.

Ummm...the 6085's (all verions) are all very head light (7-8+ pts)...not remotely close to even balanced. That's one of the many reasons why they volley so well.

 

[vkartikv]

Ummm...the 6085's (all verions) are all very head light (7-8+ pts)...not remotely close to even balanced. That's one of the many reasons why they volley so well.

I didn't say they were even balanced, they are a lot less HL than the China makes. Mine (without lead and with an 18 gauge poly) came out to only 3 pts HL. And secondly, a racquet does not necessarily have to be HL to make it great at the net. If I recall correctly, the slaz. Pro braided (black and white) was even balanced but exceptional at the net.

 

[Lakoste]

Just saying that some of the ones made in Taiwan aren't the same. I tried one and I didn't like it at all.

I always thought that the very early versions of Tawain 6.0s were uni-directional, after they found out they suck, they switched back to braided. All my taiwan 6.0s are braided, and I prefer them over my chinese 6.0s

 

[basil J]

I hit some balls last night and there were 2 teenage kids on the next court over. One using an ncode and one using a PS 6.0 85". The kid using the PS was hitting some nasty topspin forehands and some beautiful 1hbh's. There was a distinct difference in sound when the ball came off of each frame. The PS was a lot more of a loud Thud, where as the ncode was a much more of a typical "twang" that you get from a modern frame. I have never seen a young kid using an old frame like this. He said that his usual frame was a head radical, but he trained with the PS to help hone his strokes. I thought this was interesting, since this frame was probably older than he was. I guess there is a very good reason why this frame is still in production.

 

[darkaug]

i dug up my dad's old racquet . it is called a wilson pro matrix graphite . it looks like the pro staff . anyone heard of this racquet ? apparently i think it is older than the pro staff because there is no weighting at 3 and 9 oclock and does not even have a head guard .

 

[Lakoste]

i dug up my dad's old racquet . it is called a wilson pro matrix graphite . it looks like the pro staff . anyone heard of this racquet ? apparently i think it is older than the pro staff because there is no weighting at 3 and 9 oclock and does not even have a head guard .

I'll take a wild guess and say its mainly black with red, am I right?

 

[darkaug]

yup . it looks like this , but the stripes are white and red , and no PWS . no head guard as well , and comes with leather grip . just wondered if anyone heard about it before .

 

[Ripper]

What I understand the OP meant to say is that PS85s suck, Chinese or Taiwanese, when compared to an O3 Tour. Hummm or maybe what he meant to say is that Mids suck, when compared to MPs. Anyway, it looked very familar; like something I've read here a hundred times, but with different words. Nice.

 

[Davai]

I strung this baby up with ' Wilson Extreme" at 50 lbs, and wow, was I spanking my forehand, it brought me back to the 80's when I was using this stick, also hit my backhand ok, but had trouble with the slice, and if I was off the sweetspot just a little, the ball just died.

I then deicided to pick up the 03 tour, and that racquet gave me what the ps couldn't, greater margin for error, and the tour felt great with a different string other than the hybrid I tried before. I can see why so many still hit with the ps 85, solid indeed.

Whenever I start playing with my 85, even though it's not a prostaff, my backhands seem to suffer significantly. However my fhs feel a lot smoother. The big difference that I have noticed between mids(85) and bigger mids (92) is the power when you need it. I mean when your eyes slowly turn black and you are ready to unleash the power, the mid seems to say "try harder next time" every time while the 92 works with you. Since I couldn't decide which one is the best for me I decided to compromise and go with a 90 - Head Classic Mid.

 

[DavaiMarat]

Oddly enough

the small head of the Prestige Classic 93' provides ample spin on my backhand. I'm not sure why.

 

[BreakPoint]

What I understand the OP meant to say is that PS85s suck, Chinese or Taiwanese, when compared to an O3 Tour. Hummm or maybe what he meant to say is that Mids suck, when compared to MPs.

How did you get that ^, from this? :

I can see why so many still hit with the ps 85, solid indeed.

 

[vkartikv]

the small head of the Prestige Classic 93' provides ample spin on my backhand. I'm not sure why.

Thats because of the flexy throat that lets you slice with loads of spin.

 

[bluegrasser]

No way Blue! One of the best features of the 85 is that the ball won't die when you miss the sweetspot! It's just so solid+heavy. I don't understand, perhaps you have a different version, perhaps the Taiwan version?

Not the stick, it's the age factor - I could hit forehands all day, but the other side is another story + I never served with it.