Sorry to thread-jack but I haven't heard a whole lot on the Exo Rebel 95 (not the lighter team version)... what were your impressions Jay?I didn't use the speedport tour but I did get a chance to hit a few with the graphite 100 (port mains, hole crosses); it was strung with 18g poly/syn hybrid at upper 50s tension. My previous EXO3 was the Rebel 95 (all hole setup) and now the graphite 93 (all hole setup). The biggest thing about the graphite 100 that I noticed was that I can really swing away from the baseline with it; I never really liked the specs on paper but it was definitely surprising. Definitely easier to get around than the 93; I was able to hit both good topspin/slice and a big flat ball with the 100. Serve wise, it took a little adjustment but I can crank it after a few serves. Volleys, the balance is where it got to me as I was caught late a few times but after a while I got used to it.
I've recently switched to the EXO3 Graphite 100 from the Fischer MPro 1 SL 98 (and prior to that the SL 105). I've also played extensively with the O3 Tour MP, Speedport Tour and the EXO3 Rebel 95 (which I also really liked a lot), and played with the original Graphite 110 as a junior.
I'm a consistent grinder from the backcourt, and I find the EXO3 Graphite 100 (currently using Polyfibre TCS 17) to be a spin monster from the backcourt, and all of my hitting partners have noticed a bigger and heavier ball on their end of the court. I feel I can grind consistently all day with the racquet, take some hefty cuts at the ball like jayserinos noted and have no fear of the ball flying because of the massive top you can get on the ball. The thin beam and the holes/ports (whatever you call them) in my opinion really do help racquet head acceleration despite the relatively high swingweight.
I absolutely love the buttery feel of my Fischers (which I've used for the last 4 years) and especially the control of the SL 98, but I can't deny the effectiveness the Graphite 100's been getting me, so I switched. I don't particularly love the feel of the racquet, but for the style of game I play, it's been getting me better results. The fact that I've been serving bigger with no added effort is also a nice benefit. The stick definitely isn't for everyone, but for my game, I like it a lot. My feeling about the stick is much like Danny's on the TW review.
Sorry to thread-jack but I haven't heard a whole lot on the Exo Rebel 95 (not the lighter team version)... what were your impressions Jay?
Thanks for the feedback, sounds like the EXO3 may be worth a demoShould mention that I was never able to serve well with the Speedport Tour for some reason (or the O3 Tour for that matter). I just felt like it didn't have much pop or weight behind them. Then again, I could barely feel anything on the stringbed with those sticks. The biggest issue I had with the Speedport Tour overall was that I thought the control just wasn't there for me on almost all the strokes -- unpredictable would be the better word. Sometimes ball flew on me unexpectedly or (more often) dropped very short with little on it, and the fact that the racquet has such a muted feel makes it even worse. The O3 Tour was better in that regard in terms of predictability, but that racquet felt like a wet noodle (and I like normally like very flexy racquets) with little stability. On my normal swing speed, balls just lacked pop and depth. As much as I tried to like them, I just never liked the old O3 and Speedport racquet line, but I do feel the EXO3 racquets (although I've only tried the Rebel (95) and Graphite (93, 100) lines) is a really nice improvement, at least for me anyways.
Just received my two new graphites in the mail, unstrung one is 4gms heavier than the other with the weight difference in the head.
Not happy about that as I was hoping if there was any difference it would be in the handle, so its easy to balance them. I cant afford to add weight to the lighter one as I am at my swingweight limit already and was hoping to receive racquets with my favorable balance. Oh well I will have to make do.
I am loving this frame with the string hole grommets. Does anyone like it better with the hole grommets?
check my post in the rebel thread for my set up with this stick... let me know when you get them all set up. pictures would be nice too
Hell yes, I do. Loving this frame. I added a little lead along the grip pallet to make it a tad more head light.
I see you added 10gm's in the handle, where did you distribute it? is it inside the trap door or under the grip? spread over the pallet or right at the butt etc?
What difference has it made?
I strung one of mine up with full blue gear "white colour" and the other with concept pure. I have a important semi final today so will stick with the white until after this comp, but will test the graphite in some social hitting.
My lighter racquet feels like it is going to be nice, I put the lighter string in that one as well to keep the weight down. It is 342 gm's with 1.24mm concept pure.
The heavier one is 348gm's with 1.28mm blue gear, both have a pro supex overgrip and factory dampener.
PS where did you source the string hole grommets?
Thanks Mastadon, I don't know if I would like the string holes as I hated them on the speedport black.
Does anybody know if the trap door comes off on the graphite? On my whites there is a slot there where you can pop the cap off with a screw driver but there is no slot on the graphite and I don't want to butcher it.