Happy 30th Anniversary HEAD Prestige On Tour Since 1986

vsbabolat said:
Its now the 30th anniversary of the 1986 launch of the Original Prestige Pro in Europe and the TXP in the USA. The first player I remember using the Prestige Pro was Henri Leconte at the 1986 French. He had a great run. The only Professional I remember using the TXP paint job was Derrick Rostagno. Its amazing how popular the Prestige became, the most popular racquet on the ATP Tour in the 90's with players such as Rosset, Ivanisavic, Muster, The Sanchez Brothers, Wheaton, Boetsch, Philippoussis, Goellner, Stoltenberg, I could go on and on with all the players that have used the Prestige in the 90's. In the 2000's it had tremendous success in the hands of Marat Safin winning the 2000 U.S. Open and 2005 Australian Open with his Prestige Classic 600. Even today the original Prestige Mid is seeing success in the hands of today's players such as Tobias Kamke and Robin Haase.
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Leconte's Semifinal run at the 1986 French Open with the Original Prestige Pro
http://plazbovo.free.fr/CHRONOPEN-french-open-1986.html

How many graphite racquets can say they have been in use continuously on the ATP since 1986.
Click to expand...
can you find pics of Rostagno playing with TXP? thanks!
 
I really love Graphene Prestige, Graphene XT Prestige and Graphene Touch Prestige paint jobs – especially XT.

Not sure if anyone realized that prostock TGT291.2 (IG Prestige Mid) has a bit different paintjob from retail version.
The same goes for PT57A/TGT293. Both look a bit worse from retail paintjobs of Prestige MP/Mid - they miss these deep burgundy shiny part.

As far as I remember Graphene XT pointjob for prostock was also different. However as good as retail one (black parts vs grey ones).
 
Below some of my beloved Prestiges Mids and Radical Tour 630 waiting for new strings and the change of pallets.

Meanwhile can't wait for Graphene 360 Prestige MP with 70RA. The delusion of HEAD about what their customer want is unbelievable.
I bought Wilson Blade – the first one since nBlade which I may actually really like.

I do love Mids, but still I know that I'm not getting any younger and 97-98" racket with stability, power and modern feel – which is again nice flex and good feedback from the frame – would be nice addition to my lighter rackets of choice which are TGT260's and TGT291.2. Unfortunately both very stiff in retail form needs quite a lot of silicon and lead to be stable.

NewRackets2019_A.jpg
 
Songs For A Dead Pilot said:
Below some of my beloved Prestiges Mids and Radical Tour 630 waiting for new strings and the change of pallets.

Meanwhile can't wait for Graphene 360 Prestige MP with 70RA. The delusion of HEAD about what their customer want is unbelievable.
I bought Wilson Blade – the first one since nBlade which I may actually really like.

I do love Mids, but still I know that I'm not getting any younger and 97-98" racket with stability, power and modern feel – which is again nice flex and good feedback from the frame – would be nice addition to my lighter rackets of choice which are TGT260's and TGT291.2. Unfortunately both very stiff in retail form needs quite a lot of silicon and lead to be stable.

NewRackets2019_A.jpg
Click to expand...
Whoa 70 RA? I hope the 360 prestige MP has a much bigger sweetspot than the current ones. I had the Prestige Graphine MP (red bumpered one) but had to drop them after that as the racquets felt completely dead.
 
SumYungGai said:
Whoa 70 RA? I hope the 360 prestige MP has a much bigger sweetspot than the current ones. I had the Prestige Graphine MP (red bumpered one) but had to drop them after that as the racquets felt completely dead.
Click to expand...

Of course I was joking – who will buy Prestige MP with so old-school stiffness? Modern frames are rather flexy – Clash, Blade, VCore HD, Phantom, etc.
 
Songs For A Dead Pilot said:
Below some of my beloved Prestiges Mids and Radical Tour 630 waiting for new strings and the change of pallets.

Meanwhile can't wait for Graphene 360 Prestige MP with 70RA. The delusion of HEAD about what their customer want is unbelievable.
I bought Wilson Blade – the first one since nBlade which I may actually really like.

I do love Mids, but still I know that I'm not getting any younger and 97-98" racket with stability, power and modern feel – which is again nice flex and good feedback from the frame – would be nice addition to my lighter rackets of choice which are TGT260's and TGT291.2. Unfortunately both very stiff in retail form needs quite a lot of silicon and lead to be stable.

NewRackets2019_A.jpg
Click to expand...
Beautiful Prestige 600 with the full green CAP system grommets!
 
I have some questions about the "Prestige Classic XL"

1. Did any of the XL version come with CAP grommets?
2. Did any of the XL version have "Made in Austria" printed on them, or are all of the XL printed Designed in Austria?

Thanks a bunch!
 
SumYungGai said:
What was the Graphene MP (red bumper) stiffness? I played with those for a while but don't have them anymore.
Click to expand...

It wasn't that stiff – it simply felt worse from IG or even YouTek/Microgel MP and sounded bad. The SW needed to be higher – as I remember it was way more powerful from IG.
Honestly as loyal HEAD fan I bought even Graphene Touch Prestige MP – I really like that dark red color of the hoop – played twice – the precision is still there, feels better from Graphene XT (worst ever Prestige MP with best ever paintjob) – but still it should be HEAD not ProStaff97.

I do hope they don't kill Prestige line and the competition will force them to make Prestige MP feel good again. However I don't think they will bring proper Prestige Mid again.
TGT312 feels so much different from older frames.
 
HeadClassic said:
I have some questions about the "Prestige Classic XL"

1. Did any of the XL version come with CAP grommets?
2. Did any of the XL version have "Made in Austria" printed on them, or are all of the XL printed Designed in Austria?

Thanks a bunch!
Click to expand...
The Prestige Classic XL came with TK10 traditional bumper guard and grommet strip.
2. I don’t recall. It doesn’t matter as all were manufactured in Kennelbach, Austria
 
vsbabolat said:
The Prestige Classic XL came with TK10 traditional bumper guard and grommet strip.
2. I don’t recall. It doesn’t matter as all were manufactured in Kennelbach, Austria
Click to expand...
Fantastic. As far as I can tell from reading old forums, and looking at auction sites, no Prestige Classic XL has "Made in Austria" printed on it, despite the fact that they were manufactured in Austria. All XL versions read "Designed in Austria" Thanks VS.
 
Reviving this thread after some months...
I know that much probably the following picture has already been posted...anyway, is there someone (maybe @vsbabolat?) who knows what Head model was using Leconte in this picture at Wimbledon 1985?
Possibly a Graphite Pro mould?

zZzsHqo.jpg
 
RF_PRO_STAFF said:
I'm getting one of these rackets this week. Can someone tell me which exact racket it is and maybe about the history, specs etc? I'm very new to classic rackets.

Head Prestige
Click to expand...
Prestige Classic is Prestige Classic. Head made some slight cosmetic changes but they were all made in Austria. Looks like yours is a Designed in Austria one which means it was manufactured in Austria and painted in Czech Republic which started in 1998. Also looks like you have a 1998-2000 or SMU from 2003 or 2006. The big giant barcode label on the hairpin to me suggest 2003 or 2006
 
vsbabolat said:
Prestige Classic is Prestige Classic. Head made some slight cosmetic changes but they were all made in Austria. Looks like yours is a Designed in Austria one which means it was manufactured in Austria and painted in Czech Republic which started in 1998. Also looks like you have a 1998-2000 or SMU from 2003 or 2006. The big giant barcode label on the hairpin to me suggest 2003 or 2006
Click to expand...
Sounds cool. So you mean this specific racket was likely manufactured in 2003 or 2006?

I will need to put on L2 pallets. Can I just order TK82 or TK82S pallets and it will fit? Or is there a specific one?

Sorry if I ask stupid questions. I'm just hardly know anything about classic rackets.
 
RF_PRO_STAFF said:
Sounds cool. So you mean this specific racket was likely manufactured in 2003 or 2006?

I will need to put on L2 pallets. Can I just order TK82 or TK82S pallets and it will fit? Or is there a specific one?

Sorry if I ask stupid questions. I'm just hardly know anything about classic rackets.
Click to expand...
Yes those pallets will fit. You will just have to make sure to trim them to the appropriate size to allow for the collar at the top of the grip.
 
RF_PRO_STAFF said:
Sounds cool. So you mean this specific racket was likely manufactured in 2003 or 2006?

I will need to put on L2 pallets. Can I just order TK82 or TK82S pallets and it will fit? Or is there a specific one?

Sorry if I ask stupid questions. I'm just hardly know anything about classic rackets.
Click to expand...
Yes, the big giant white label on the hairpin suggest 2003 or 2006. HEAD didn’t put that on the hairpin until around 2003. Before there was nothing on the hairpin. If you want a traditional shape HEAD pallet then TK82 is the one to go for. If you want a round pallet shape then TK82S is the one to go for.
 
PT630Wannabe said:
Yes those pallets will fit. You will just have to make sure to trim them to the appropriate size to allow for the collar at the top of the grip.
Click to expand...
vsbabolat said:
Yes, the big giant white label on the hairpin suggest 2003 or 2006. HEAD didn’t put that on the hairpin until around 2003. Before there was nothing on the hairpin. If you want a traditional shape HEAD pallet then TK82 is the one to go for. If you want a round pallet shape then TK82S is the one to go for.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the information guys. I will go with the TK82S then. Do you also have information about what specs these rackets approximately are usually? Or are there a lot of differences between them?
 
daddabompa said:
Reviving this thread after some months...
I know that much probably the following picture has already been posted...anyway, is there someone (maybe @vsbabolat?) who knows what Head model was using Leconte in this picture at Wimbledon 1985?
Possibly a Graphite Pro mould?

zZzsHqo.jpg
Click to expand...
I missed this. That’s the Comfort Edge
https://imgur.com/a/9KlQQnT
The Graphite Pro came out along with the Prestige Pro in 1986
 
taylor15 said:
I figured if it was happening we would see it. The 25th anniversary graphic was awesome
Click to expand...

At the end of the most recent TW podcast with HEAD, they hint at another retro coming this year. The Pro Tour 2.0 apparently did very well. Maybe we’ll see a 35th anniversary Prestige mid.
 
Well, which "classic" Head frames are there that would demand similar attention as the PT630/2.0?
I can only identify two, maybe three if you want to be generous with regard to differences in mold:
- Prestige 600/Mid - either with the "original" PT10 mold or with the i.Prestige Mid mold
- Radical Tour Oversize - this should be the Bumblebee, no? But with the correct (original) mold and specs.
Apart from that, I see no frames which could be relevant today, have a cult following, and are dissimilar enough to Head's current offerings. So a Radical Tour MP would not make sense.
 
Hey,
talking about i.Prestige, I go two of them, one with "Made in Austria" just like the above picture, and one without.
What would be the differences ?
Thanks.
 
Alex78 said:
Well, which "classic" Head frames are there that would demand similar attention as the PT630/2.0?
I can only identify two, maybe three if you want to be generous with regard to differences in mold:
- Prestige 600/Mid - either with the "original" PT10 mold or with the i.Prestige Mid mold
- Radical Tour Oversize - this should be the Bumblebee, no? But with the correct (original) mold and specs.
Apart from that, I see no frames which could be relevant today, have a cult following, and are dissimilar enough to Head's current offerings. So a Radical Tour MP would not make sense.
Click to expand...

I understand... but many have compared the PT 2.0 to an iPrestige MP because of the higher RA of the 2.0 in comparison to the original PT630... so an iPrestige MP may not make any sense on that reasoning either. I guess that leaves the other two according to you... and since Head just had such huge success with the Graphene 360+ Prestige Mid with an actual 93 sq. in. head, I don't see them releasing a 90 sq. in. version... but they might. So, I guess it's the Bumblebee Oversize to celebrate Agassi then...

Or... they've seen how well Wilson's release of the Pro Series racquets has gone, and their PT 2.0 has been successful... so they may expand the range themselves and put out a PT 2.0 16x19 in honour of Andy Murray or maybe even a Djokovic Signature racquet (a retail version of the PT131B)... which would compete with the Blade Pro and Ultra Pro offerings of Wilson.

Ultimately... only time will tell... Whatever it is... I hope it's great.
 
Unforced Winner said:
Hey,
talking about i.Prestige, I go two of them, one with "Made in Austria" just like the above picture, and one without.
What would be the differences ?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
No difference at all, the last i.Prestige production came with the “Made in Austria” sticker on the butt cap and the earlier had it written under “HEAD” at the side of the racquet.
 
Classic-TXP-IG MID said:
I understand... but many have compared the PT 2.0 to an iPrestige MP because of the higher RA of the 2.0 in comparison to the original PT630... so an iPrestige MP may not make any sense on that reasoning either. I guess that leaves the other two according to you... and since Head just had such huge success with the Graphene 360+ Prestige Mid with an actual 93 sq. in. head, I don't see them releasing a 90 sq. in. version... but they might. So, I guess it's the Bumblebee Oversize to celebrate Agassi then...

Or... they've seen how well Wilson's release of the Pro Series racquets has gone, and their PT 2.0 has been successful... so they may expand the range themselves and put out a PT 2.0 16x19 in honour of Andy Murray or maybe even a Djokovic Signature racquet (a retail version of the PT131B)... which would compete with the Blade Pro and Ultra Pro offerings of Wilson.

Ultimately... only time will tell... Whatever it is... I hope it's great.
Click to expand...

Well, I wrote i.Prestige Mid (not MP), and the reason I included this iteration of the Mid is its mold is slightly different from the original (PT10).
So I meant to say I think there are basically two racquets which make sense to consider classics worthy of a release as a "retro" stick (Prestige Mid and Radical Tour Oversize) - but what do I know (when it comes to Head's business decisions)? ;)
BTW: Neither a 16x19 PT630/2.0, nor any racquet Djokovic uses would qualify as "retro"...
 
Unforced Winner said:
Hey,
talking about i.Prestige, I go two of them, one with "Made in Austria" just like the above picture, and one without.
What would be the differences ?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
None, both were made in Austria. The one without made in Austria is just earlier production and had a small sticker on the butt-cap that said made in Austria. Why HEAD made this change mid production is a mystery to me
 
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