My Thoughts on the Pro Staff 97 (315)

[time_fly]

I've had two sessions with the PS97 now. The first was a singles match. The other was friendly hitting, and in that one I switched back and forth between the Yonex Ai98 and the PS97 several times. It's amazing how similar these frames are -- I required no noticeable adjustment in making the switches.

Focusing on the differences, I would say that the PS97 feels stiffer (higher frequency vibration on contact) and has a bigger sweet spot. Contact within the sweet area causes little frame vibration, so I'm not really concerned about elbow problems with it. I felt like the PS97 is slightly more maneuverable and forgiving at the baseline when I am forced to rush a shot, but the Ai 98 feels a bit more stable when blocking or volleying the ball. The Ai98 feels a bit more crisp, while the ball seems to pocket more in the string bed on the PS97 and the impact is more smooth than crisp. As I mentioned in my previous post these frames are supposed to be strung identically, but the strings in the PS97 are of course much younger so that could be part of the difference here. My hitting partner said he couldn't really tell any difference in my shots or serves on the receiving side based on which frame I used.

These differences are very minor, however. I'm sure I will do a few more sessions comparing the two but right now, since I already have two Ai 98s, I doubt I will bother to pick up a second PS97 and officially switch. I might experiment with a leather grip and lead on the PS97 just to differentiate it a bit and see how it plays.

 

[Freedom M.D.]

Could you guys please compare this racket to the BLADE 98 18x20?

I'm very happy with blade now except its spin territory.

How about Prostaff 97 (vs blade98) ?

I'd like to gain decent spin but DON'T want to lose some control.

 

[time_fly]

I demoed the Blade 98 18x20 a while ago. It is a bit lighter with a more head-heavy balance than the PS97, and yes it's one of the only frames that I felt I had to work at spin production even with a semi-western grip. Both are around the same stiffness in terms of RA, but my opinion is that the big sweet spot helps the PS97 play softer than it really is. I recall the Blade feeling pretty stiff.

My opinion is that the Blade 98 is a good frame for flat hitters who want some pop from the racquet. The PS97 offers much easier spin access as well as some power. With extra topspin easily available, keeping the ball in the court is not a problem. The racquet has a lively string bed that makes it slightly less precise than a densely strung 95 or smaller head, but it's still pretty easy to hit touch shots and angles.

With the substantially headlight balance, however, the PS97 will probably feel a lot different than your Blade at first.

 

[parasailing]

Okay strung up the PS 97 with Head Hawk last night at 50lbs tension. First impressions, I should have up the tension by at least 4lbs. Balls were flying off the racquet but I went with this tension because a few members here had mention how stiff it was at higher tensions. I guess coming from the Graphene Speed Pro, stiffness won't be an issue. I did feel the pocketing effect people were talking about and definitely has more feel than my GSP.

My racquet came to 11.7oz fully strung. I probably will need to add some weight to this racquet to get to the ideal weight for me at around 12oz.

Those of you who are wondering how this compares to the AI 98 and Blade 98. This is definitely not as raw as the Blade 98 and has some cushion but not as much as the AI 98. I think this kinda falls in between the Blade 98 and Ai 98 which I think is a good thing.

So now I need to spend some quality time hitting with this racquet to see how well it responds.

 

[prosealster]

I've had two sessions with the PS97 now. The first was a singles match. The other was friendly hitting, and in that one I switched back and forth between the Yonex Ai98 and the PS97 several times. It's amazing how similar these frames are -- I required no noticeable adjustment in making the switches.

Focusing on the differences, I would say that the PS97 feels stiffer (higher frequency vibration on contact) and has a bigger sweet spot. Contact within the sweet area causes little frame vibration, so I'm not really concerned about elbow problems with it. I felt like the PS97 is slightly more maneuverable and forgiving at the baseline when I am forced to rush a shot, but the Ai 98 feels a bit more stable when blocking or volleying the ball. The Ai98 feels a bit more crisp, while the ball seems to pocket more in the string bed on the PS97 and the impact is more smooth than crisp. As I mentioned in my previous post these frames are supposed to be strung identically, but the strings in the PS97 are of course much younger so that could be part of the difference here. My hitting partner said he couldn't really tell any difference in my shots or serves on the receiving side based on which frame I used.

These differences are very minor, however. I'm sure I will do a few more sessions comparing the two but right now, since I already have two Ai 98s, I doubt I will bother to pick up a second PS97 and officially switch. I might experiment with a leather grip and lead on the PS97 just to differentiate it a bit and see how it plays.

thanks for the comparison, very helpful indeed... can I please ask what level you play at? cheers

 

[Blitzball]

I bought my PS 97 the other day and immediately put on a leather grip. I got it strung with a full bed of Luxilon 4G at 58lbs, which is a higher tension than what I usually do, but when I demoed it, the balls were flying.

I think, however, I overcompensated in my response to the racquet's liveliness. With a leather grip giving the racquet a more head light balance (taking away some plow through) and a high tension with full poly, I found my serve lacking pop and my groundstrokes landing short. Only my volleys were decent, really. The demo actually felt a lot better in hindsight, and I'm guessing that's because there was a hybrid of multi/poly albeit the estimated tension of 52lbs.

The racquet performs great overall, but it does seem string sensitive and tension sensitive for sure. I personally think the hybrid is the way to go, but make sure to use thick gauges (1.30) since this is about as open as 16x19 string patterns go. And stringing it around 57lbs, with a hybrid, would probably be perfect. I'm also going to add a bit of lead tape in the hoop.

 

[parasailing]

Yeah I might have to go with some lead in the hoop to make it a bit more solid. As far as string goes, this might be one of those things that you got to keep playing with. I am thinking about maybe 56lb gut mains and 52lbs poly crosses to see if that will work for this racquet.

 

[atatu]

Just adding my .02 here, I bought a PS 97 to see if it could unseat my Donnay Pro 1 as my primary frame. I was going to do a new thread PS97 vs. Donnay P1 but once I hit the PS 97 I haven't picked up the P1 much.

Anyway, a few preliminary things, everyone says the grip size runs large, but I didn't really notice that. The frame just feels "bigger" to me than my P1, the headsize, length, etc. but when I put it on top of the Donnay they look the same.

I initially put a leather grip on mine and with two gamma supreme overgrips and a dampener it weighed in at 12.5, which was a bit too heavy, so I swapped in a gamma synthetic.

Overall, it's a stiffer, more powerful frame than my Donnay. Not as comfortable, but it is just a step up from the P1 otherwise. If I can handle the stiffness, I'll switch to this one.

 

[JackB1]

Just adding my .02 here, I bought a PS 97 to see if it could unseat my Donnay Pro 1 as my primary frame. I was going to do a new thread PS97 vs. Donnay P1 but once I hit the PS 97 I haven't picked up the P1 much.

Anyway, a few preliminary things, everyone says the grip size runs large, but I didn't really notice that. The frame just feels "bigger" to me than my P1, the headsize, length, etc. but when I put it on top of the Donnay they look the same.

I initially put a leather grip on mine and with two gamma supreme overgrips and a dampener it weighed in at 12.5, which was a bit too heavy, so I swapped in a gamma synthetic.

Overall, it's a stiffer, more powerful frame than my Donnay. Not as comfortable, but it is just a step up from the P1 otherwise. If I can handle the stiffness, I'll switch to this one.

Hard to believe you would prefer the PS97 to the Pro1, but you are certainly entitled. I think the P1 has one of the sweetest impact feel's around and power certainly isn't in short supply. The PS97 doesn't have the touch and feel of the P1. Like you said, it is stiffer and more powerful, but I don't feel like it has anything else over on the P1.

 

[Pavlos]

Can anyone compare this racquet to the Wilson Pro Staff 95?
(this one and its predecessor)

I saw some posts about this in the first page but I'm interested mostly in terms of power/maneuverability vs the PS95. If anybody has specific input on that, it'd be great..

 

[EasternRocks]

^ The only thing I can tell you is that its more powerful for sure. I hit with the PS95 for a day and it is more muted, less power.

 

[JackB1]

Can anyone compare this racquet to the Wilson Pro Staff 95?
(this one and its predecessor)

I saw some posts about this in the first page but I'm interested mostly in terms of power/maneuverability vs the PS95. If anybody has specific input on that, it'd be great..

97 has more power, less feel...stiffer.
95 has more control, nicer feel, and more accurate.

 

[radu]

PS95 is in my opinion a big waste of time/money for a 4-4.5 rank player. If you can't hit a long ball with some power, with all the control give by the PS95 you will lose point after point because your balls will land very short. And when you will be in defense your ball will be weak and will cross the net only if you are a lucky guy
About the feel , PS 97 has a lot of feel and the stiffer feel is perfect for control and stability and the power is just as it should be.
And maneuverability, wow you will be surprised how agile is. Maybe not as maneuverable like PS95, but don't forget the low SW of PS95 with all the consequences .
Also the PS97 is way more stable than PS95

 

[JackB1]

PS95 is in my opinion a big waste of time/money for a 4-4.5 rank player. If you can't hit a long ball with some power, with all the control give by the PS95 you will lose point after point because your balls will land very short. And when you will be in defense your ball will be weak and will cross the net only if you are a lucky guy

I think there are some big hitting 4.5s that could successfully wield the PS95.
I agree though, it takes a long swing to maximize depth with the PS95. You also have to be able to hit the sweetspot consistently. The accuracy of the racquet is a result of the small sweetspot. The PS97 on the other hand, has a large and rather "vague" feeling sweetspot. It will bail you out of trouble much moreso than the 95.

 

[parasailing]

Another hour hitting with the PS 97 and getting a better feel for the racquet. I finally started to get a feel for how to serve well with this racquet. I had to adjust my service motion to include a longer delivery and this greatly helped improve power and accuracy on my serve.

The only thing I still trying to figure out is where the sweetspot of this racquet is. I guess I need a few more hours hitting with it to figure this out. At 50lbs tension, I definitely get a good amount of feel on the racquet and it does feel plush.

In addition, I am still trying to figure out the right string and tension to use to bring out the best in the racquet.

 

[MasturB]

This is second day I've played with it.

I played 4 sets yesterday, and 5 sets today.

I initially strung it at 52lbs with Topspin Blue full stringed and balls were flying on me yesterday and serves were meh.

Today though after the tension dropped the second go around I was bombing my serves in, and my groundstrokes were improved. It's taking me time to adjust to hitting backhands and flick backhands on the run because with my old Pure Storm Tour it was very easy to do it, with this I have to put a bit more of my own action on the ball. Running backhand slices are also an adjustment, as I have to cut under the ball more with this racket.

It feels very smooth, no arm or shoulder pain. Volleys are ok, getting more and more used to hitting them with this racket.

 

[JackB1]

Another hour hitting with the PS 97 and getting a better feel for the racquet. I finally started to get a feel for how to serve well with this racquet. I had to adjust my service motion to include a longer delivery and this greatly helped improve power and accuracy on my serve.

The only thing I still trying to figure out is where the sweetspot of this racquet is. I guess I need a few more hours hitting with it to figure this out. At 50lbs tension, I definitely get a good amount of feel on the racquet and it does feel plush.

In addition, I am still trying to figure out the right string and tension to use to bring out the best in the racquet.

What string and tension have u tried so far?

 

[parasailing]

What string and tension have u tried so far?

I strung up Head Hawk 17g which is a lower powered poly at 50lbs as a starting point. I might have to go with Solinco Tour Bite 19G and up the tension to say 54-56lbs for the next setup.

Right now, it's just a bit too much power at the lower tension and I know you mentioned it being stiff at higher tension but coming from the GSP, hopefully it won't be an issue since the stiffness is about the same.

 

[atatu]

Hard to believe you would prefer the PS97 to the Pro1, but you are certainly entitled. I think the P1 has one of the sweetest impact feel's around and power certainly isn't in short supply. The PS97 doesn't have the touch and feel of the P1. Like you said, it is stiffer and more powerful, but I don't feel like it has anything else over on the P1.

Well unfortunately the P1 is getting too hard to find and who knows how much longer you'll be able to get one...i wasn't aware you were such a P1 fan, you stated a few times that it was too sluggish and didn't you object to the fact that you couldn't find two identical P1 frames ?

 

[counterpuncher]

Well unfortunately the P1 is getting too hard to find and who knows how much longer you'll be able to get one...i wasn't aware you were such a P1 fan, you stated a few times that it was too sluggish and didn't you object to the fact that you couldn't find two identical P1 frames ?

I'd be keen to hear more of your thoughts on the comparison to the P1. I am in the same boat and have given up sourcing another that has a head light enough balance and low enough sw to match my preferred specs.

 

[Xonemains]

Well unfortunately the P1 is getting too hard to find and who knows how much longer you'll be able to get one...i wasn't aware you were such a P1 fan, you stated a few times that it was too sluggish and didn't you object to the fact that you couldn't find two identical P1 frames ?

atatu buddy!!

I have not posted here in a long time.

Any chance you can compare the P1 to the PS97 with alittle more detail?

Have been using the P1 for ages, just want to see if PS97 is a huge upgrade or not,

cheers,

 

[Pavlos]

Thanks for the PS95 comparisons guys. Helpful information.
Any ideas regarding PS97 vs. Pro Staff 95S?

I've used the 2012 PS95 but it's now time for change, and I'm in between the PS97 and the PS95S...

 

[AYone]

The ai98 has a feel of modern meets classic. It is interesting. I really liked it.

Honestly, I don't expect the new PS97 to have a classic feel. If you want a pro staff style frame that is more modern and has classic feel, you want the tour G 310.

I am really hooked on frames with the classic feel and my picks are the PS95 and the Tec 315. Can't go wrong with them, but they are low powered frames.

I've had my eye on the Tec 315 for a while. Waiting for it to pop up on the boards or bay. What string set up did you use for that one?

 

[JackB1]

Well unfortunately the P1 is getting too hard to find and who knows how much longer you'll be able to get one...i wasn't aware you were such a P1 fan, you stated a few times that it was too sluggish and didn't you object to the fact that you couldn't find two identical P1 frames ?

just because a racquet isn't the best choice for me personally, doesn't mean I can't appreciate it. Yes, the P1 is a little too head heavy-ish for me and yes, its tough to find any that are at or below spec, but it's still a very nice feeling racquet.

 

[EasternRocks]

I'm using the PS 97, but am afraid that I won't get used to the power of the frame, since I'm coming from the Speed Pro. Maybe I overlooked the Yonex Ezone AI 98.

 

[Fxanimator1]

PS95 is in my opinion a big waste of time/money for a 4-4.5 rank player. If you can't hit a long ball with some power, with all the control give by the PS95 you will lose point after point because your balls will land very short. And when you will be in defense your ball will be weak and will cross the net only if you are a lucky guy

OK, this is just a load of crap right here.

 

[Power Player]

I've had my eye on the Tec 315 for a while. Waiting for it to pop up on the boards or bay. What string set up did you use for that one?

Always the same, Poly mains (usually polybreak) and forten sweet crosses.

OK, this is just a load of crap right here.

Yes, agree.

 

[EasternRocks]

Can anyone talk about the control level between the AI and the PS and whether or not there is a huge margin here? I am using the PS but the slight lack of control is sometimes felt. Is the AI around the same level? Or is it that much higher?

 

[time_fly]

Can anyone talk about the control level between the AI and the PS and whether or not there is a huge margin here? I am using the PS but the slight lack of control is sometimes felt. Is the AI around the same level? Or is it that much higher?

What do you mean by control? The Ai 98 has more feel and is more "crisp" than "plush" with comparable stringing. Because of that, I feel more confident with the Ai98 on touch shots but I've still hit a few good ones recently with the PS as well.

However if you are taking a big cut at the ball and it's going long, it will probably also go long with the Ai 98. The power level and inherent topspin produced by the frames are about the same.

 

[EasternRocks]

So you wouldn't agree with the TW playtest team that the AI has more control than the Pro Staff? The ratings they have seem to imply that there is a slight differential in control

 

[radu]

OK, this is just a load of crap right here.

Crap? Are you sure ? I played with both and ..... I realy don't have time to start a discution about what is crap and what is not. And if you can read, I say that is "my opinion" .

 

[atatu]

atatu buddy!!

I have not posted here in a long time.

Any chance you can compare the P1 to the PS97 with alittle more detail?

Have been using the P1 for ages, just want to see if PS97 is a huge upgrade or not,

cheers,

Yeah, let me try and get out this weekend with both frames side by side and I"ll start a new thread.

 

[Xonemains]

Yeah, let me try and get out this weekend with both frames side by side and I"ll start a new thread.

many thanks in advance

 

[time_fly]

So you wouldn't agree with the TW playtest team that the AI has more control than the Pro Staff? The ratings they have seem to imply that there is a slight differential in control

I would generally agree that the Ai 98 has a bit more control in the sense of precision, mainly by virtue of having more feel and better head stability. My only point is that if you have a tendency to swing big and hit balls long, neither frame will save you ... you need a lower-powered control racquet than either of these for that purpose.

 

[chizzle]

I had my best session yet with the PS97 yesterday.

My only mods continue to be only this: replaced synth leather grip with real leather grip about 8g difference. To my surprise, it's *only* 7pts head light. SW was 324. Strung Static weight was 11.9. This is without damper and overgrip (which brings static weight to 12-12.1 range).

Strung with Lux 4g in mains, Sensation 16 in the crosses. Feels old school (which is good for me). Soft and plush.

Finally got the FH going (which Is always going to be me in most cases vs a stick). I think it's just a trust issue when moving to a new stick. I had a only 1 dud last week where really I struggled to find the FH. My league match was a struggle with the FH as well, but I just played consistent enough to win (had to back off of the aggressive FH, it was just out of sorts). Yesterday, just focused on good fundamentals and a nice shoulder turn (and actually tracking the ball to the stringbed )

But, it was all working yesterday. Probably 8 aces (while I have a big serve, I'd don't get that many aces). BH slice has gotten the biggest lift for me. my 2HBH is also a weapon (CC and opening the DTL shot). Anyway, I lost just 7 games in 3 sets. I was ecstatic; was in attack mode too, which helps keep the points short, and me dictating. While I can grind, I don't want to do that if I don't have to...

I think it's interesting to note that I've had moments like this with most every racquet I've tried. But, those have been control sticks (Rebel 95, Graphene PMP and GPP.....but ultimately I'd always get pushed around every other match so that left me feeling unsure.... Heck, even the PS90, but it's hard to play with that everyday (which I just about do).

So, right now it's all coming together.

I also tried Sensation int he mains, and it lasted just over 2 sets. Not gonna work. But, I do think the hybrid opens up the stick to be more effective from all over the court. And obviously full sensation would last longer...

Just my feedback after about 6 singles matches and 2 doubles matches.

 

[Curryinahurry139]

I had my best session yet with the PS97 yesterday.

My only mods continue to be only this: replaced synth leather grip with real leather grip about 8g difference. To my surprise, it's *only* 7pts head light. SW was 324. Strung Static weight was 11.9. This is without damper and overgrip (which brings static weight to 12-12.1 range).

Strung with Lux 4g in mains, Sensation 16 in the crosses. Feels old school (which is good for me). Soft and plush.

Finally got the FH going (which Is always going to be me in most cases vs a stick). I think it's just a trust issue when moving to a new stick. I had a only 1 dud last week where really I struggled to find the FH. My league match was a struggle with the FH as well, but I just played consistent enough to win (had to back off of the aggressive FH, it was just out of sorts). Yesterday, just focused on good fundamentals and a nice shoulder turn (and actually tracking the ball to the stringbed )

But, it was all working yesterday. Probably 8 aces (while I have a big serve, I'd don't get that many aces). BH slice has gotten the biggest lift for me. my 2HBH is also a weapon (CC and opening the DTL shot). Anyway, I lost just 7 games in 3 sets. I was ecstatic; was in attack mode too, which helps keep the points short, and me dictating. While I can grind, I don't want to do that if I don't have to...

I think it's interesting to note that I've had moments like this with most every racquet I've tried. But, those have been control sticks (Rebel 95, Graphene PMP and GPP.....but ultimately I'd always get pushed around every other match so that left me feeling unsure.... Heck, even the PS90, but it's hard to play with that everyday (which I just about do).

So, right now it's all coming together.

I also tried Sensation int he mains, and it lasted just over 2 sets. Not gonna work. But, I do think the hybrid opens up the stick to be more effective from all over the court. And obviously full sensation would last longer...

Just my feedback after about 6 singles matches and 2 doubles matches.

What was your Tension?

 

[chizzle]

What was your Tension?

48 mains (Lux 4G 16g)
50 crosses (Sens 16g)

 

[DanFuller]

Is anyone putting luxilun Alu in there rf 97?

 

[gplracer]

My son put gut on the mains at 58lbs and alu power on the crosses at 55lbs and did not like. He then tried rpm blast full bed at 52 and loves it.

 

[prjacobs]

Trying the Ai98 and the prostaff 97 tomorrow! Really looking forward to it!

 

[EasternRocks]

^ I'm also going to be comparing the AI 98 with the PS 97. I made a premature switch over to the PS, but I'm giving the AI a shot... seeing how it stacks up

 

[seekay]

Is anyone putting luxilun Alu in there rf 97?

I've got one of my Pro Staff 97's strung up with ALU spin @ 50lb. I like it quite a bit.

 

[JackB1]

Trying the Ai98 and the prostaff 97 tomorrow! Really looking forward to it!

looking forward to your comparison.

To me, the difference that really stands out is the feel off the stringbed.
The AI98 is flexy and smooth, whereas the PS97 is crisp and firm.

 

[parasailing]

looking forward to your comparison.

To me, the difference that really stands out is the feel off the stringbed.
The AI98 is flexy and smooth, whereas the PS97 is crisp and firm.

I think you pretty much sum up the difference between the two racquets. As much as I like how fast you can generate racquet head speed with the AI 98, for me, the PS 97 feels more solid against heavy hitters.

The AI 98 does a good job of absorbing pace and has a more predictable and larger sweet spot than the PS 97. Crisp and firm are racquets that suit me more given my past racquet was the PSTGT and my current one is the Graphene Speed Pro.

Right now, with about 3 hours of hitting, I am trying to find where the sweet spot is on the PS 97. For serves, the PS 97 feels more solid than the AI 98.

 

[EasternRocks]

I will be posting my comments on the AI vs the PS in both this and the AI thread. I thought I was set with the PS, but lately I've had some doubts. I have been on a whirlwind journey of trying to find the right string setup for the PS (Full Lux, Lux/Gut, Full Solinco), but everything I've tried has given me one issue or another. I have strung my PS's back up with the setup I started with, which is a Gut/Poly (my normal setup), and the tension is currently in between a tension I thought was a little too powerful/jumpy exposing the hot spots on the frame (Yep they are there on this frame) and a tension that I thought was too boardy. I'm not exactly optimistic that this new tension is going to garner any significant changes only because the hot spot exposing tension was 56/54 and the boardy tension was 59/56, which doesn't really give me any options. If I go 57 on the mains, it's a negligible increase from the hot spot inducing setup and if i go 58 on the mains, it's a negligible decrease from the boardy setup. I decided on 58/55, but I have yet to try these newly strung frames up. Eventually I might just have to chalk it up to the racquet not being the best fit for me. I'm not at that point yet, because there are good things I can say about the PS. With all that being said, I have opted to give the Yonex frame a shot to see if it can make a last minute impression on me. (I have multiple PS's so you can imagine how frustrating it will be if I actually fall in love with the Yonex)

 

[prjacobs]

looking forward to your comparison.



To me, the difference that really stands out is the feel off the stringbed.

The AI98 is flexy and smooth, whereas the PS97 is crisp and firm.

Jack, I got the Ai 98 and the PS97 from two different stores and the PS 97 had much fresher strings - so that may be a big factor in my play test ... But - to me, the PS97 felt way more powerful than the Ai98. The PS97 also was much better responding to pace. I did have much better control with the Yonex (maybe because of its lower power) and I was able to take bigger swings and keep the ball in play, but it may require too much effort on my part. I also felt like the PS 97 was a bit all over the place . I felt like the serves were about equal, with neither being ideal for me.
I actually liked the 6.1 95S better from the baseline than the PS97.
So far, I've liked the Head Graphene Radical Pro the best of all the frames I've tested. I may need to look at other polarized frames..
I seem to like 11.5 - 11.8 ounces, about 6 points head light and 320 - 335 swing weight....
Frankly, I'm a bit confused right now ? ....

 

[EasternRocks]

^ Is the AI 98 not a frame you can see yourself using? Do you like it more than the PS ?

 

[KingGrayskull]

DanFuller:

Yes, I am. Full bed at 52lbs. I enjoy it quite a bit, and I normally use a syn gut main/poly cross hybrid. Decent spin, good power and control typical of Alu power. I will likely try NXT mains or gut/alu power rough next.

 

[prjacobs]

^ Is the AI 98 not a frame you can see yourself using? Do you like it more than the PS ?

I don't string myself so I may have to get an Ai 98 demo restrung and try it again.
I played better with the Head Graphene Rad Pro than the PS 97. The G Rad Pro is a completely different frame. 11.6+ ounces, 334 SW, 6 pts head light...
May be a little too sluggish on defense for me....

 

[JackB1]

Jack, I got the Ai 98 and the PS97 from two different stores and the PS 97 had much fresher strings - so that may be a big factor in my play test ... But - to me, the PS97 felt way more powerful than the Ai98. The PS97 also was much better responding to pace. I did have much better control with the Yonex (maybe because of its lower power) and I was able to take bigger swings and keep the ball in play, but it may require too much effort on my part. I also felt like the PS 97 was a bit all over the place . I felt like the serves were about equal, with neither being ideal for me.
I actually liked the 6.1 95S better from the baseline than the PS97.
So far, I've liked the Head Graphene Radical Pro the best of all the frames I've tested. I may need to look at other polarized frames..
I seem to like 11.5 - 11.8 ounces, about 6 points head light and 320 - 335 swing weight....
Frankly, I'm a bit confused right now ? ....

sounds like you just need more time to formulate a clear opinion on each.
I agree that the PS97 has more power than the AI98. I also found the PS97 a little harder to swing than the AI98.