My racquet demoing diary

A

anewtypedude

Rookie
I recently set out to look for a new racquet that is better suited for my game after a brief affair with Dunlop AG4D 200. The racquet that I have used for the longest time is the Head Ti-Radical OS (yes, I was an Agassi fan). I purchased the 4D 200 without demoing after reading its glamorous review on TW. Bad idea. Long story short, the racquet is too heavy for me to transition from the Ti-Radical; I can't whip it and flick my wrist like I can with my Ti-Radical. I also did not like how unforgiving the 4D 200 is on miss hits, it is one of those racquets that makes you look better if you are good but makes you look worse if you are bad. I did like how staple it is and how comfortable it felt. But alas, I need something that is a little bit more manueverable with good control, so basically I am looking for a tweener with good control.

After some research, I narrowed down to 8 different racquets: BLX Blade, Youtek Extreme (not IG), BLX Tour, EXO3 Tour, BB London, Bio 300 Tour, Power Bridge 8, and V Core 100S. The thing that all these racquets have in common is........that they have all been reviewed by TW. My criteria was basically something that weighs between 10.8 and 11.6 oz and received an overall score of 80 or higher from TW review. I know some people may tell me that what is good for the playtesters might not necessarily be good for me, but I simply don't have the time to demo all the racquets and needed a simple way to narrow down my choices. I know I might have missed a potential racquet that may suit all my needs, but I needed to get a racquet fast!

So I headed down to my local tennis shop to see their demos. Turns out they don't have some of the racquets that I wanted, so I had to change some of my choices. My eventual demo lineup is: BLX Blade, Youtek Extreme, BLX Tour, Bio 300 (not the tour), EXO3 Tour 18x20, V Core 100S, Pure Drive GT, Aeropro Drive GT. Since I can only take out 2 racquets per demo session, I ended up doing something akin to a single elimination tournament: take out two racquets to see which one I hit with the best, eliminate the one I didn't like and take the better one out for another demo session against another racquet the next round.

Week 1: Wilson BLX Blade vs Head Youtek Extreme
I loved how stable the BLX Blade was. As staple as my 4D 200 but with more power! It seems to do everything well for me except one thing: my serve, it really hurts my arm serving with this racquet, especially when I go for a big flat serve. The racquet feels pretty stiff at times, which is something I can tolerate.
The Youtek Extreme I just didn't like at all. Just can't get any kind of control with this racquet, balls were flying all over the place. Has similar power level as the BLX Blade. The choice is easy
Winner: Wilson BLX Blade by a landslide

Week 2: Wilson BLX Tour vs Dunlop Biomimetic 300
First thing I noticed about the BLX Tour was its heavy swingweight. To me it just felt like a BLX Blade with less control. Its thick beam with small headsize also made me miss hit on the frame a couple of times. I did hit some pretty impressive groundstroke with it I must admit.
Since my local shop didn't have the Bio 300 Tour, I demoed the Bio 300 instead because it also has a TW review score of 80+. This thing feels like my 4D 200, but lighter so I could really whip it! This is what I had hoped my 4D 200 to be like. An excellent control racquet and I can generate plenty of controled power with my fastswing speed using this racquet. I did noticed the small sweetspot that everyone has been talking about, however. It was definitely a good fit for me. I would place leads on 2 and 10 o'clock to increase the sweetspot size and counterbalance that with a leather grip to bump the weight up to 11.4 ounce if I ended up buying this racquet.
Winner: Dunlop Biomimetic 300 easily

Week 3: Yonex V Core 100S vs Prince EXO3 Tour 18x20
The first time I hit with the EXO3 tour it was like...wow, I've never felt anything so soft like this before, okay maybe I have, but it wasn't a racquet:oops:. The softness and the long dwell time makes me feel like I can place my balls anywhere.:oops: I will go hit with it some more later this week.
I have been looking for a long time to demo the V Core 100S because my store didn't carry it so I had to borrow it from someone. And my first hit with it today was....disappointing. Everything just feels average. I will hit with it some more later this week to see if my opinion changes.

Week 4 (next week): PDGT vs APDGT
 
Sucks that you didn't like the V Core as much. I've been eyeing that and the BB London lately. Let us know more when you have more time with the V Core.
 
BB London was my pre-demo favorite based on specs alone, too bad my local store doesn't carry it so I had to drop it from contention. V Core was my next favorite pre-demo, right now the feel of the EXO3 Tour is just blowing it away, but I will need more time with both to be sure.
 
i bet (and i'm not a better!) you'll end up either with the blx blade or with the prince. fabulous frames, both of them. the one you will feel more comfortable with should be your choice.
good luck and happy hitting!:)
 
Update from Week 3:
Got more hits in today with the V Core 100S and EXO3 Tour, and I just don't know which one is better anymore. The V Core definitely take some getting used to, but once I did, it is an amazing racquet. It is by far the best volley racquet I have ever used. I play mostly doubles nowadays, and the touch and placement at the with this racquet is simply perfect. I had to make some adjustment on the groundstroke. I found that I really have to swing up with this racquet to get the accuracy, but once I did, the topspin is just wicked! I was hitting amazing shots all day with the stick.

The EXO3 Tour on the other hand, is just so consistent. The feel is amazing as usual. Both these racquets are the best ones I have demoed yet, it is unfortunate that I can only choose one.

Groundstroke: EXO3 Tour
Volley: V Core 100S (by a mile)
Serve: EXO3 Tour
Topspin: V Core 100S
Power: V Core 100S
Control: EXO3 Tour
Feel: EXO3 Tour

Winner: Prince EXO3 Tour 18x20

I can see myself play great with either of these racquets, but at the end of the day, I choose the consistency shots of EXO3 Tour over the amazing shots of V Core 100S because right now my weakness is consistency, and I think EXO3 Tour will help me more in that regard.
 
anewtypedude said:
Update from Week 3:
Got more hits in today with the V Core 100S and EXO3 Tour, and I just don't know which one is better anymore. The V Core definitely take some getting used to, but once I did, it is an amazing racquet. It is by far the best volley racquet I have ever used. I play mostly doubles nowadays, and the touch and placement at the with this racquet is simply perfect. I had to make some adjustment on the groundstroke. I found that I really have to swing up with this racquet to get the accuracy, but once I did, the topspin is just wicked! I was hitting amazing shots all day with the stick.
Click to expand...

You need to add the Head IG Instinct, Dunlop Bio 500 Tour and Volkl Organix 315 to your list. The Instinct is my current favorite and is a great all around doubles or baseline racquet. It's also a great platform for adding weight to.
Highly recommended and I am a former London user.
 
I am an EXO tour fan as well..just an incredible stick if you like flex.

If you want more spin, I'd recommend demoing the 16x18 version..that is the one I prefer.
 
Power Player said:
I am an EXO tour fan as well..just an incredible stick if you like flex.

If you want more spin, I'd recommend demoing the 16x18 version..that is the one I prefer.
Click to expand...

The EXO Tour is one of those love it or hate it sticks, due to the EXTREME soft and muted feeling at impact. I prefered the previous Ozone Tour model.
Same exact specs but a little crisper feeling at impact.
 
JackB1 said:
The EXO Tour is one of those love it or hate it sticks, due to the EXTREME soft and muted feeling at impact. I prefered the previous Ozone Tour model.
Same exact specs but a little crisper feeling at impact.
Click to expand...


Jack,


Which Speed are you using?
 
JackB1 said:
The EXO Tour is one of those love it or hate it sticks, due to the EXTREME soft and muted feeling at impact. I prefered the previous Ozone Tour model.
Same exact specs but a little crisper feeling at impact.
Click to expand...

Since I have recurring tendinitis I love that soft plush feel a lot. I can play tennis every day if I want and not have to worry about aggravating anything.

I will say that I got one with string hole grommets and the feel is a lot more crisp. Also, it is very classic to me, in which the harder you hit, the better it feels. I personally prefer the feel of the ports, but I am still going to test both out next to each other strung up the same before I decide.

I demoed the Ozone a couple years back and for some reason I much prefer the EXO. It is really the first Prince stick I have used that reminds me of the old ones in feel, yet plays like a new modern version in terms of performance.
 
Hi Power Player, how is the plowthrough level in the Exo100? A couple of years ago I tested the O3 Tour and it was great for clay players who play defensive game but I didn't feel it was so good for powerhitters who want to shorten points hitting winners.
Thanks
 
Well..with the string hole grommets and poly mains, over grip and dampener, the stick weighs 11.9 and hits a real big ball. Still swings very light for me.

If you have it stock with port holes, I would suggest 2-4 grams of lead at either 12 or 3 and 9, which should get it right about at the same playability.

Definitely heard that some have not experienced the same pace, but I think to really get a lot out of this stick, you need to be a spin hitter with a fairly fast swing. what I like is that the power level is controllable..I can hit powerful winners when they are there for me, but also can take my foot off the gas during a rally and not hit long.

This racquet is great if you like to use heavy angles to move the opponent off the court. I also have not had trouble hitting down the line winners or far corner winners either. Anytime I miss , it is simply due to my technique and not the racquet.
 
Week 4:

Went to my racquet shot this week and they didn't have either PDGT or APDGT available for demo this week. So I will wait until they get those back to demo them. Instead, I demoed BLX Blade and Bio 300 against each other.

When compared to the Blade, the Bio 300's small sweetspot becomes ever so noticeable. And for some reason, I can't seem to find the control when returning serve with this racquet. On the other hand, my experience for the Blade did not change from last time: amazing for groundstrokes and serve returns (best I've demoed) but horrible in serves (worst I've demoed). I just can't seem to do my usual kick serve with this stick due to the heavy swing weight and the dense string pattern, and I can really feel the stiffness when serving. Bio 300 on the other hand, is a sweet serving stick due to the headspeed I can generate. Other than the serves, the Blade simply does everything else better than the Bio 300.

Before declaring the Blade the winner, due to the obvious weakness in serving that I experienced with this stick, I feel obligated to put it to another test before moving it onto the final round. Previously I had some good demo session with the V Core 100S, even though I liked the EXO3 Tour more at that point, because I did not find any obvious weakness with the 100S, I will give it another chance by putting it to test against the BLX Blade in a few weeks.

But for this round,
Winner: Wilson BLX Blade
 
the secret for better serving with the blade is tossing the ball some 10cm more in front of you than you usually do. try this out next time you take it to court and see how it works.
 
assuming you are a "rightie", for the kicker you are supposed to toss the ball a little bit to the left but still in front of you. obviously not as much as on a flat first serve bomb, but still in front of you.
if i can do it you can do it too, and believe me, there are lots of players doing it. just give it a try.
 
a blade over the head is called a guillotine in remembrance to a french doctor who wanted to make life less miserable for the condemned.:)

try out that simple trick next time you take the guillotine to court.
 
Week 5:

Visited my racquet shot today. PDGT is still out (it's too popular of a demo in this area) while APDGT is back. I also saw a Volkl PB8 in the used bin, but they wouldn't let me demo it, oh well. So I decided to just forget about PDGT and pit APDGT against EXO3 Tour 18x20.

Babolat AeroPro Drive GT vs Prince EXO3 Tour 100 18x20:
I only got to hit groundstrokes today. The APDGT is obviously way more powerful while the EXO3 Tour has better control. The power that I got from APDGT is a controlled type of power, it also generates way more spin. However, my slice seemed to float.
Not much new about EXO3. Great control and comfort as usual. The sweetspot seems to be in the shape of a half circle. It extends to most area of the racquet face, but suddenly cuts off towards the top.
APDGT seems to be better at the net, at least when it comes to punch volleys. EXO3 Tour might be better with touch volleys, but I am not too sure at this point.

Will get more playing time tomorrow.
 
I was using the apdgt before the EXO. If you want more power from the EXO, try the 16x18.

I'm 3 weeks into ownership of EXOs and I can hit a lot harder with the EXO now than the APD. I believe the reason is the racquet head speed I can get is higher. So it does take a little time to get used to the stick, but for me it's worth it.

The Babs give that immediate free power, and that can be very addicting. Both are top tier sticks, IMO.
 
anewtypedude: thanks for the great analysis and write-ups. I just finished my racquet search, and it's fun to read about someone else's adventures. My hitting partner and I demoed a couple dozen frames all Summer, including a number of the ones you are playtesting.

I settled on the Biomimetic 200 (not the Plus or Tour), and my buddy picked the EXO3 Tour 18x20, for many of the same reasons that you are liking it. Both frames are very flexible and thin beamed (the biggest difference between the two is weight). We are both solid 3.5s working our way up to 4.0 after being away from the game for 20 years. (Search for "beeveewee" if you want to read some of his reviews, they're pretty insightful.)

My runner up was the Pacific X Feel Pro 95, and my second runner up was the Donnay X Dual Core 94 Platinum. You might check it out if you're interested in a round of demos from TW.
 
Hit with APDGT and EXO3 Tour some more today.

Started with the APDGT and played with it for 10 minutes, quietly put it down, and played with the EXO3 Tour the rest of the way.

Basically, the APDGT isn't a bad racquet by any means, just that it doesn't do anything special for me, while the EXO3 Tour fits like a glove.

Winner: Prince EXO3 Tour 100 18x20

I have narrowed it down to three finalists: Prince EXO3 Tour 100 18x20, Wilson BLX Blade, and Yonex V Core 100S. Tomorrow I will pit all three against each other and make my final decision.
 
Definitely interested in how the EXO3 Tour works out for you. I'm switching from my current base - tried the Babolat Pure Storm GT, Volkl Organix 8 (315g), Head Microgel Radical MP, and Rebel 95 Team so far - with the EXO3 Tour ( 16x18 ) and Solinco 8/10 being the next two real competitors.
 
excellent review, thanks. Unfortunately, I live in Russia, and we have no means for the demo. Otherwise, on my list would be Donnay XP-Dual Gold 99, ProKennex Ionic Ki 15 PSE and Kinetic Pro 5G, and Babolat Pure Storm Tour
 
Final Day: Wilson BLX Blade vs Prince EXO3 Tour 18x20 vs Yonex V Core 100s

This is the apex of my demoing journey. And I have finally made my decision after playing all three of my finalist racquets simultaneously. Here is what I found:

Best goundstroke: Blade > EXO3 Tour > 100S
Blade hits the heaviest ball. 100S also hits great but I find it hard to swing out due to excess power. EXO3 Tour is the most consistent of the bunch.

Best serve: EXO3 Tour > Blade > 100S
EXO3 Tour is the only racquet where I can hit flat, slice, or kick serve. Blade has trouble hitting kick serve while 100S has has trouble hitting flat serves.

Best volley: 100S >>>>>>> EXO3 Tour > Blade
100S is just magic at the net, so manueverable.

Best control: EXO3 Tour >>>>>>>> Blade > 100S
I can play the ball anywhere with EXO3 Tour. Some balls hit with Blade and 100S just sail.

Best power: 100S > Blade > EXO3 Tour
Having the most powerful isn't necessary a good thing. I found the balls sailing with both 100S and Blade, while EXO3 Tour's power level is "just right".

Best comfort: EXO3 Tour > 100S >>>>>>> Blade
I don't have any arm problems, but it is evident that EXO3 Tour is the panacea to TE. 100S was surprisingly comfortable too. Blade was killing my arm when serving.

And the racquet that I end up buying is.......

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Prince EXO3 Tour 100 18x20!!

This thing just does everything right. I literally did not find any fault with this stick. Just check around the board for all the topic on this stick, this thing should be a classic. I really wanted to choose the 100S because I will be the only person in the area using a Yonex. But alas, the consistency of the EXO3 Tour simply outweighs all my personal biases. As much I need a nice volleying stick for doubles, I just cannot overlook how many shots I launched out of bounds with the 100S. So it is the EXO3 Tour for me. As for strings, I am thinking about doing VS Tonic/SPPP hybrid at 57/52, think that will be a good hybrid?
 
Nice reviews.. thanks..
I really liked the vcore for its liveliness but in the end after trying all.. I found the blx blade, I had been using the kblade which I found to be a much better racquet, to be way to head heavy and cumbersome.

I settled with the Head instinct MP.. which I must say is amazing really. I had my qualms about it, but got it to 11.3 ounces at 2 pts head light and now it just performs well on all levels. I was very worried about it not handling my friends bombs.. you know the cont. forehand drives that just blister across the net, but no problems at all.

In fact this is the first racquet that I don't even need a dampener in.. not sure why, its not a muted racquet by any means but there really is only very slight or no rattle at all.. anyway, I'm happy with it and you should try it out also.
 
lwto said:
Nice reviews.. thanks..
I really liked the vcore for its liveliness but in the end after trying all.. I found the blx blade, I had been using the kblade which I found to be a much better racquet, to be way to head heavy and cumbersome.

I settled with the Head instinct MP.. which I must say is amazing really. I had my qualms about it, but got it to 11.3 ounces at 2 pts head light and now it just performs well on all levels. I was very worried about it not handling my friends bombs.. you know the cont. forehand drives that just blister across the net, but no problems at all.

In fact this is the first racquet that I don't even need a dampener in.. not sure why, its not a muted racquet by any means but there really is only very slight or no rattle at all.. anyway, I'm happy with it and you should try it out also.
Click to expand...

Is that the older gold one or the new blue IG Instinct?
 
I've been demoing many of the same group of racquets (or at least similar specs) for the last two months, so it's good to hear someone else's thoughts. My biases going into this were 1) I didn't want a Prince since I've only ever played with Prince and 2) I wanted a Yonex 'cuz they look cool and nobody around here has one. How's that for racquet science?

I've tried RDis 100 and 200, BLX Blade, Bio 200, Pure Storm Tour, Prestige MP, and IG Speed 300 (bad choice, too light for me)

My favorite so far has been the YT Prestige MP. I played a few hours with it. I could hit out from almost anywhere and the ball just landed it. I struggled, though, on serves. I've never used a closed string pattern and could not get enough spin on serve to drop them in. I don't have a flat serve. My first serve I come over the top and my second is a kicker. Maybe with time and some string changes I could make it work. But for now I'm going to try one more round of demos.

My hope is that the Prestige Pro with its more open string pattern helps my serve. So I'll try that. I feel I should try the exo3 tour 100 due to it's rave reviews even though I don't want to like it. I may try the IG Speed (regular weight) and I'm intrigued by the Donnays---maybe the platinum or gold. They seem like a longshot but you never know. After that, I have to stop demoing for the sake of the marriage. Any other thoughts? (on racquet choices, not the marriage!)
 
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