Playtest: RF97 vs PS97 vs PS97 LS

Automatix

Automatix

Legend
Firstly I'd like to thank Wilson and Tennis Warehouse Europe thanks to whom during the next two weeks I'll have a fantastic opportunity to do a side by side comparison of the upcoming 97 frames from the new Pro Staff generation, that is:
The RF 97 Autograph
Pro Staff 97
Pro Staff 97 LS

All frames are strung with Luxilon 4G. As soon as I get more info I'll update the tension and gauge.

If anyone wants me to take pictures of any specific parts of any of these racquets, do a side by side picture etc. Please write here and I'll do my best to help you out.

I'll also try to address the potential issue how much the PS97 differs in playability from the RF97 Autograph - this poped up a couple of times in other threads about these racquets.

Cheers,
one happy TT board member

Reviews:
RF97 Autograph
Pro Staff 97
Pro Staff 97LS
 
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How did you manage that Automatix ? from TWE

please take pics of the LS and im really interested in the review for the 315 and the LS
 
I was picked for the playtest. Goes to show you that it is worth to post your thoughts and share on TT. :)

I'll try to be as thorough in my playtest as possible.
The racquets are strung with the same string so the comparison should be accurate.
 
well done automatix. if you were picked you surely deserve it. pls describe your playing style too as well as level . will you be posting any videos?
 
I'd consider the lighter one, but it would need lead tape everywhere to match the specs I like, 320SW at 11 oz.
But it appears to be too stiff, at RA68, for my needs. I already own 3 Aero500's that flex.
 
Cool....I'd be interested in a review of the PS97 and how it plays compared to the PS95 also. Would imagine it might offer better stability and plow through.
 
Well now that a thread is up, I can announce that I'm on the train as well. :) I'm pretty excited honestly. I hope the 315 doesn't end up with a 300SW like the PS95... :lol:
EDIT: That said, now that I have lead tape home and if TWE only ships size 3 (I hope not), I can say that modding the LS would be interesting. A heat sleeve to bring it to size 4 and plus 10 to 15 grams; the rest under the buttcap... I'll try it stock first though.
 
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Lukhas said:
Well now that a thread is up, I can announce that I'm on the train as well. :) I'm pretty excited honestly. I hope the 315 doesn't end up with a 300SW like the PS95... :lol:
EDIT: That said, now that I have lead tape home and if TWE only ships size 3 (I hope not), I can say that modding the LS would be interesting. A heat sleeve to bring it to size 4 and plus 10 to 15 grams; the rest under the buttcap... I'll try it stock first though.
Click to expand...

Yes, post reviews and comparisons without modification. Post a follow up review if you decide to mod. Its better to compare without customisation as something like a heat sleeve will drastically change its balance/weight/SW
 
Sander001 said:
Luxilon 4G what gauge? And the tensions?
Click to expand...
When I asked about it after a demo of a PSLtd. with it's as tight as possible pattern I was told that more often than not it's 16G in the middle of the tension recommendation and the string depends of the racquet manufacturer. Babs are in Bab, Wilson in Luxilon (IIRC Wilson owns Luxilon), ect. Given that it's 4G we're talking about, ouch. :lol:
 
This is something I'm very interested in ... in particular, how the PS 97 compares to the PS 95 and if it makes sense, even the 6.1 95S.
 
First of, congrats Lukhas.

Lukhas said:
...I was told that more often than not it's 16G in the middle of the tension recommendation and the string depends of the racquet manufacturer. Babs are in Bab, Wilson in Luxilon (IIRC Wilson owns Luxilon), ect. Given that it's 4G we're talking about, ouch. :lol:
Click to expand...
For us it's 24kG.
 
Got the mail earlier today; it's indeed 24kg. Tension range is 22-27kg, so (almost) right in the middle. We shall see. :)
 
Congrats!!!!
I´m very interested how the Pro Staff 97 plays the SW, the balance. i use Blade 98 16x19 with leather but i think i need more weight and a lower SW and PS 97 looks very promising
 
Automatix said:
Lukhas, what do you currently play with?
Click to expand...
Pure Drive Plus Cortex with a leather grip. You know, that thing that has a SW reported at 338 by TW. :lol: Maybe not totally a bad thing that they reduced the SW in the latest versions. What about you?
 
Lukhas said:
Pure Drive Plus Cortex with a leather grip. You know, that thing that has a SW reported at 338 by TW. :lol: Maybe not totally a bad thing that they reduced the SW in the latest versions. What about you?
Click to expand...
Yonex Pro RD70 Long 95 cut down to 27,5 inches long.
16x17 string pattern, 330g unstrung, 16-19mm beam.
 
Racquets received this morning. What would you want me to photograph? Phone quality only unfortunately.
 
Click to enlarge.

Family picture.


ProStaff 97LS, ready for the court. The racquet doesn't look any thicker than the other two.


Taking them to the court this afternoon if possible. I'll MAYBE be able to obtain better pictures this evening/night.
 
Wow lukhas.I didn't realise you were getting all the racquets like automatix too? How did you manage to get all three ? Pls report back how the 315 plays v the L's?
 
Federerkblade said:
Wow lukhas.I didn't realise you were getting all the racquets like automatix too? How did you manage to get all three ? Pls report back how the 315 plays v the L's?
Click to expand...
We all got them from TWE, and I did announce it on previous page. The basic playtest was about the Autograph version only; only recently before they shipped the frames TWE said all three racquets would ship.
 
Any information on the swingweight of the Wilson Pro Staff 97?
How much weight difference is between the original basic grip (synthetic leather) and a wilson leathergrip?
 
Federerkblade said:
There are reports the grip 3 that you guys received feel bugger ? Any truth to that ?
Click to expand...
It feels like regular size 3 to me. I usually use size 4; I usually add a medium strip of old OG to the buttcap to make the racquet feel bigger.
Automatix said:
Still waiting for mine. My guess I'll get them on monday.
Click to expand...
Well TWE has a French address very close to the German frontier; my package was sent from France. They also have a German address, the two addresses barely separated by few kilometers and the frontier. So this explains that.
 
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Federerkblade said:
There are reports the grip 3 that you guys received feel bugger ? Any truth to that ?
Click to expand...

I'm not allowed to post images(but I can send it through e-mail) but you will be shocked of the differences in gripshapes and size of five same(or supposedly so) kblade rackets. The gripshape and size are all over the place.

The quality control of wilson is more than horrible!! The RF97 won't be any different.
 
I'm back from the courts. I played them in order of weight as i had rust to shake. First, let's say one thing: I didn't like 4G 16G at 24kgs. :lol: The comfort isn't as terrible as I though, but I dislike non-shaped strings. The ball feels like it slides on the stringbed. I prefer when the strings grab the ball more.

The LS: Well it wants more weight and I do believe it'd make a damn nice platform racquet. The sweetspot feels nice, but if you swing too fast you may overhit and lack control, if you swing too slow the ball doesn't go very far away from the service line. In some ways it reminds me of the 95: good sweetspot, nice feel, but lacks weight. The huge difference being that it isn't 330/5 grams and that there's actually room to do something with it without having a 345+gr club to swing.

The 315: Honestly, I believe it's the best update the 95 could have. With the 95 the feel was nice but the ball didn't cross the service line. Now the feel is nice, and the ball do cross the service line. Stock it feels really that nice honestly, good plow, good feel, good depth, balanced weight, really fine. Overall a nice frame and IMO a better offering than the 95 in terms of specs.

The Autograph: It's as tough to use as the 90, but for slightly different reasons. The 90 has an unforgiving sweetspot and a small beam, so anything outside of it is bad news. The 97 has better power and forgiveness but swings like a truck. Punching the ball back isn't going to work, you really have to convince yourself to crush the ball at all times, swing fast no matter what It sounds nice on paper, but the racquet just plows the ball so you may be hesitant at times to really commit. Else it's going to be ugly. Since it's the last I played I was tired and less focused. However the combination of high static weight, poly strings, firm leather grip, a grip too small for me and bad timing didn't exactly do nice things to my wrist. Now I really know why it's so good to play with. That racquet could be named Gilda.

I'll go hitting tomorrow again.
 
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Thank s Lukhas. Tekk us more abt the 315. What are it's major strengths and weaknesses . will you be switching ? Do you have a rough idea what the swingweight feels like mentally
 
Lukhas..awesome review. Everything makes sense to me. questions -

What if you are able to hit deeper with the PS95 (I lead mine up close to 345), would the 315 have too much power?

Since you are familiar with the PS95, what is your guess at the SW of the 315?
 
Federerkblade said:
Thank s Lukhas. Tekk us more abt the 315. What are it's major strengths and weaknesses . will you be switching ? Do you have a rough idea what the swingweight feels like mentally
Click to expand...
I find it rather balanced. The sweetspot size is good, the plow is good, not uncomfortable. Well If I had to nitpick the base grip isn't that cool but I always use an overgrip so I honestly don't care. As for SW, see below.


Power Player said:
What if you are able to hit deeper with the PS95 (I lead mine up close to 345), would the 315 have too much power?

Since you are familiar with the PS95, what is your guess at the SW of the 315?
Click to expand...
1) Well I play with a Pure Drive, so my answer to everything is "use more spin". :) But I don't think so, it's fairly controlled IMO. It just has nice plow, the ball gets somewhere compared to the 95. The racquet doesn't twist too much in your hands either despite the smaller gripsize.

2) I'm familiar by proxy. It is/was the racquet of someone I knew. So my souvenirs are more faint. I believe it's higher than 310, it's quick but you can feel the mass in the head. Tough to judge because my current racquet has huge SW but low (relatively speaking) static weight, so most racquets that are more even in SW and static weight can throw me off in my estimations.
 
I think anything you can *** you hit more will be useful.

What s it like to serve with ? How does it slice ? Volley ?
Do you have a two hander ?

How does it return ? Anything to boost your initial findings
 
EDIT: I did get to play today, but I was in an awful form, so it would be wise for me not to report too much.
 
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Hi Auto, they really picked you? they must be desperate at TWE
Just kidding of course :)

Hope all is well
 
My frames arrived. I'm waiting for my camera to charge up, in the meanwhile I took the liberty of specing out the frames. Sadly I don't have access to an RDC machine.

Basic strung (Luxilon 4G 1,41mm @ 24kG) specs...
The RF 97 Autograph
Weight: 361g / 12.73 oz
Balance: 313mm / 9.29 HL*

Pro Staff 97
Weight: 330g / 11.64 oz
Balance: 321mm / 6.77 HL*

Pro Staff 97 LS
Weight: 310g / 10.93 oz
Balance: 335mm / 2.36 HL*

* - Length measurements resulted in 685mm for all frames.

Beam thickness...
No digital calliper, however the RF97 and PS97 are slightly thicker than 21mm so the 21,5mm can be accurate.
The beam of the PS97 LS from my measurement is slightly more than 23mm so I wouldn't be surprised if TW measurements show 23.2-23.5mm in beam thickness.

I've only hit these for 30-40 minutes against a wall and done some shadow swinging. Playing tomorrow.
 
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very interesting your racquets have come bang on spec ?????


Automatix said:
My frames arrived. I'm waiting for my camera to charge up, in the meanwhile I took the liberty of specing out the frames. Sadly I don't have access to an RDC machine.

Basic strung (Luxilon 4G 1,41mm @ 24kG) specs...
The RF 97 Autograph
Weight: 361g / 12.73 oz
Balance: 313mm / 9.29 HL*

Pro Staff 97
Weight: 330g / 11.64 oz
Balance: 321mm / 6.77 HL*

Pro Staff 97 LS
Weight: 310g / 10.93 oz
Balance: 335mm / 2.36 HL*

* - Length measurements resulted in the result of 685mm for all frames.

Beam thickness...
No digital calliper, however the RF97 and PS97 are slightly thicker than 21mm so the 21,5mm can be accurate.
The beam of the PS97 LS from my measurement is slightly more than 23mm so I wouldn't be surprised if TW measurements show 23.2-23.5mm in beam thickness.

I've only hit these for 30-40 minutes against a wall and done some shadow swinging. Playing tomorrow.
Click to expand...
 
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