Head Extreme Tour vs other head models

marclind1234

New User
Hi, ive recently got back into the game after playing at a high level 20 plus years back. Been an adventure trying to adapt to the modern game, figure out racquets, strings etc.

After buying a bunch of used racquets to try out (ezone,vcore, head gravity mp and tour, pure strike etc), ive started using an extreme tour strung at 55lbs that I love the spin on and depth, its also the one racquet ive played that i feel i can take a full cut at and get enough spin to keep in play which has helped my confidence.

My one issue is, i believe as the strings loosen just a bit, my trajectory is going to be too "ballooning"/high as this seems to be my go to miss now. I had this issue with the gravity MP i bought that i really should of replaced the strings on and given it more time, im thinking now it was strung near 50lbs. My other issue is being at 55lbs with a poly. I quit years ago because of arm issues and concerned 55lbs may cause the same issues now that im much older.

Any recommendations in a Head to try out? I want to try and stick with a 16x19 string pattern.
 

TwinCinema

Semi-Pro
I love the Extreme Tour too. You can go for a Radical MP which has a lower launch angle than the Extreme and is better for flat shots.
 

marclind1234

New User
Yes, thank you for response. I was kind of leaning in that direction, i believe it has a bit less power which should also give me the ability to drop the string tension down a bit.
 
Try the extreme with a low powered poly like solinco confidential. Have mine at 50lbs, absolutely love it! First 8 hours are great.
Especially with some weight in the hoop, you can flatten out shots
 

Fighting phoenix

Professional
I was in your same situation about 2 years ago when I came back to playing competitive tennis again after about a 20 year hiatus! I know these racquets well - agree with others that the Extreme Tour and Radical MP are great modern player sticks. If you want to lower the launch angle of the Extreme Tour and lessen the chance of hurting your arm, I'd recommend a Gut/Poly or Multi/Poly hybrid; if you are going to use a full bed of Poly, 55 is way too high (education for me too, since 55lbs used to be my go-to tension in the old days when I played exclusively with Gamma TNT Syn Gut - 45-50 lbs is a good range, and softer polys like Tour Bite soft, Toroline Wasabi, etc. are the way to go. The Radical MP is less of a spin monster, slightly less power, but in general not that different than the Extreme Tour.

One other arm-health related piece of advice - as an old schooler, I always played with my syn gut till it broke, which worked just fine. Poly will take longer to break, but will "die" after 10-15 hours (ie lose its stretchiness and snap back), and if you leave it in past that as a general rule it will be really hard on your arm. So you'll likely need to cut it out before it breaks to help avoid arm issues.
 

t_pac

Semi-Pro
Sound similar to me, stopped playing for 20 years having been a pretty decent junior and on-going arm issues! For me personally if I want to use FB poly it has to be lower tensions (somewhere in the 40s) but tbh I've settled on a gut/poly hybrid as it lasts well, has better feel and touch at net and still plenty of spin.

For Head frames personally I love the Gravity Tour and Pro (although not tested that many tbf). Perfect launch angle, enough spin but can flatten the ball out great, good control, but as you said you've already tried the G Tour I'm guessing it wasn't to your taste.

All that said I do quite fancy giving the Extreme Tour a test
 

born_hard

Rookie
The Auxetic Head Extreme is my racket also. Its a soft racket for the arm what regarding stiffness and RA. But additionaly its a very versatile racket with a denser 16x19 , so flat balls are not a problem. Cause it has a good amount of power yoi dont have to swing like a maniac.
 

marclind1234

New User
I was in your same situation about 2 years ago when I came back to playing competitive tennis again after about a 20 year hiatus! I know these racquets well - agree with others that the Extreme Tour and Radical MP are great modern player sticks. If you want to lower the launch angle of the Extreme Tour and lessen the chance of hurting your arm, I'd recommend a Gut/Poly or Multi/Poly hybrid; if you are going to use a full bed of Poly, 55 is way too high (education for me too, since 55lbs used to be my go-to tension in the old days when I played exclusively with Gamma TNT Syn Gut - 45-50 lbs is a good range, and softer polys like Tour Bite soft, Toroline Wasabi, etc. are the way to go. The Radical MP is less of a spin monster, slightly less power, but in general not that different than the Extreme Tour.

One other arm-health related piece of advice - as an old schooler, I always played with my syn gut till it broke, which worked just fine. Poly will take longer to break, but will "die" after 10-15 hours (ie lose its stretchiness and snap back), and if you leave it in past that as a general rule it will be really hard on your arm. So you'll likely need to cut it out before it breaks to help avoid arm issues.
Yeah thats something i really dont like with the poly. Back in the day it was easy to know when strings were cooked..they just broke! I picked up a cheap drop weight stringer and have some soft poly i may try or do a hybrid. My big issue with going lower lbs is with the 55lbs im getting perfect depth, not wanting to have to adjust my swing to compensate for putting on lpwer tension with more pop.
 

marclind1234

New User
Sound similar to me, stopped playing for 20 years having been a pretty decent junior and on-going arm issues! For me personally if I want to use FB poly it has to be lower tensions (somewhere in the 40s) but tbh I've settled on a gut/poly hybrid as it lasts well, has better feel and touch at net and still plenty of spin.

For Head frames personally I love the Gravity Tour and Pro (although not tested that many tbf). Perfect launch angle, enough spin but can flatten the ball out great, good control, but as you said you've already tried the G Tour I'm guessing it wasn't to your taste.

All that said I do quite fancy giving the Extreme Tour a test
I struggle with 18x20 string patterns. When you say gut/poly. Ru doing a natural gut or synthetic?
 

born_hard

Rookie
Dont waste your time with multis. A poly/softpoly is enough with this racket. The racket is so soft already, Go , try the bulletproff Yonex Poly Tour Pro or MSV Swift first, which are both soft polys. If this gives you arm pain, then you think about multis.
 

Hawks9451

Semi-Pro
My very specific recommendation is to try Poly Tour Pro 1.30 at 50lbs. Nice and soft, still controlled, lower launch angle.

The MP Rad, while denser in the center, has a stiffer flex.

Also, you get the wild highlighter mode if you put PTP yellow in there, which you should.
 
Last edited:

marclind1234

New User
Thanx for all the advice. Just update, strung the radical MP at 50/48 with some yonex strike strings. Plays great, less spin, similar power and control as the extreme at 55. (Head power cpi 400 compared to extreme tour at 500). Also much nicer on my arm. :)
 

TwinCinema

Semi-Pro
Thanx for all the advice. Just update, strung the radical MP at 50/48 with some yonex strike strings. Plays great, less spin, similar power and control as the extreme at 55. (Head power cpi 400 compared to extreme tour at 500). Also much nicer on my arm. :)
Good to hear - I too just scooped up a 360+ Rad MP for cheap and strung it up with Lynx Touch at 48. If that doesn’t work I’ll try this PTS at 50.
 

marclind1234

New User
Oh yeah, i tried it with lynx touch at 56 and didnt like the feel of the string. Too soft for me, had bought some packs on sale, may try it as a cross next time.
 
Top