Is there more than one Prestige mid frame/mold?

[djinni999]

among the 6 classic prestige mids i have, two of them are clearly different regarding hoop shape: Prestige Tour 600 (made in czech r.) and Prestige Classic 600 (non-Trek font, Made in Austria).

I have two Prestige Pro 600s and two Prestige 600s. The pros have the most oval, elongated hoop; that is, longer and narrower. the P600s seem quite similar or just a tad wider, i may be mistaken.

The latest incarnations of the Pretiges i have are, however, much more circular, with bulges around the shoulders, at the 10 and 2 o'clock positions.

stringing and/or string seems to have a negligible effect, as one of my PP600s is unstrung; it is exactly the same shape as the strung one, which is strung pretty high (w/poly) for a mid frame.

anybody else notice this? one of my PP600 has seen a lot of use with heavy wear, whereas the Prestige Tour 600 is very clean, with obviously little court time. therefore, head deformation is not the culprit (besides, the other PP600 is mint-like, considering its age and has the exact hoop shape as its overworked twin).

I personally have disliked the latter two racquets from day one; they just seemed awkard and not stable, reliable enough. The PP600 however induced ecstacy from the very first hitting session. I just love that oval narrow head shape. Am I on to something here?

Wondering what others are thinking...

 

[vsbabolat]

among the 6 classic prestige mids i have, two of them are clearly different regarding hoop shape: Prestige Tour 600 (made in czech r.) and Prestige Classic 600 (non-Trek font, Made in Austria).

I have two Prestige Pro 600s and two Prestige 600s. The pros have the most oval, elongated hoop; that is, longer and narrower. the P600s seem quite similar or just a tad wider, i may be mistaken.

The latest incarnations of the Pretiges i have are, however, much more circular, with bulges around the shoulders, at the 10 and 2 o'clock positions.

stringing and/or string seems to have a negligible effect, as one of my PP600s is unstrung; it is exactly the same shape as the strung one, which is strung pretty high (w/poly) for a mid frame.

anybody else notice this? one of my PP600 has seen a lot of use with heavy wear, whereas the Prestige Tour 600 is very clean, with obviously little court time. therefore, head deformation is not the culprit (besides, the other PP600 is mint-like, considering its age and has the exact hoop shape as its overworked twin).

I personally have disliked the latter two racquets from day one; they just seemed awkard and not stable, reliable enough. The PP600 however induced ecstacy from the very first hitting session. I just love that oval narrow head shape. Am I on to something here?

Wondering what others are thinking...

There is only one head shape to the HEAD Prestige Mid (600). I have every version. They are very susceptible to distortion if not strung and mounted in the stringing machine correctly. Always make sure that you string the crosses from head to throat. I prefer the mounting system on the Prince Neos stringing machine. As I find that it prevents the least amount of deformation (rounding) or the best support of the HEAD Racquets. I can see no difference between strung and unstrung when I string on the Prestige on the Neos. Here are some photos of a Prestige Pro 600 on top of a Last production run of the Prestige Classic 600 labled Made in Czech Republic.

They are identical. I was really able to line the racquets up perfectly in this photo. You can bearly tell that the Prestige Pro 600 is under the Prestige Classic 600.
Also as you can see from the photo that the Prestige Classic 600 from the last production run has no bulges at the shoulders and at 10 and 2.

 

[djinni999]

thanks for the pics and clarification. they do seem identical. i guess the ones i have were not strung properly. i'll try post pics for comparison; potential buyers can know what to look for then.
also, i've noticed minute differences in beam width, with my pc600 (aus) having a slightly lower profile at the neck.

 

[vsbabolat]

thanks for the pics and clarification. they do seem identical. i guess the ones i have were not strung properly. i'll try post pics for comparison; potential buyers can know what to look for then.
also, i've noticed minute differences in beam width, with my pc600 (aus) having a slightly lower profile at the neck.

Again I don't know what you are talking about here. The beam width on all of my frames is 19mm. There is no lower profile.

 

[Thepowerofchoice]

Would stringing the crosses tighter help restore back the original head shape (oval)? Thanks

 

[Virginia]

VSB wil be able to answer that, but I can tell you that mine had a similar problem regarding deformation and restringing by my (expert) stringer has brought it back to normal proportions (as measured against my Prestige Pro.

 

[joe sch]

There is only one head shape to the HEAD Prestige Mid (600). I have every version. They are very susceptible to distortion if not strung and mounted in the stringing machine correctly. Always make sure that you string the crosses from head to throat. I prefer the mounting system on the Prince Neos stringing machine. As I find that it prevents the least amount of deformation (rounding) or the best support of the HEAD Racquets. I can see no difference between strung and unstrung when I string on the Prestige on the Neos. Here are some photos of a Prestige Pro 600 on top of a Last production run of the Prestige Classic 600 labled Made in Czech Republic.

They are identical. I was really able to line the racquets up perfectly in this photo. You can bearly tell that the Prestige Pro 600 is under the Prestige Classic 600.
Also as you can see from the photo that the Prestige Classic 600 from the last production run has no bulges at the shoulders and at 10 and 2.

Have you been able to detect any playing diffs between the classic vs pro vs tour models ?
BTW, which were the new youtek cap grommets that I thought you mentioned were usable on these older models ?

 

[pshulam]

Would stringing the crosses tighter help restore back the original head shape (oval)? Thanks

Would that make it less oval - making the racket longer?

 

[vsbabolat]

Have you been able to detect any playing diffs between the classic vs pro vs tour models ?
BTW, which were the new youtek cap grommets that I thought you mentioned were usable on these older models ?

The MG/YT Prestige Mid C.A.P. Grommets fit in the these older Prestige mids. The Prestige Tour is a different animal with that Suspension Grip.