Prince Response 97 - initial impressions

[smalahove]

Just played a training session and a short match with the Response 97 and I thought I'd post my initial impressions.

First of all, I bought the racket to see if it could replace or perhaps complement my other Prince rackets: Tour 100s (16x18 and 18x29), Rebel 95, Rebel 98 Team and Graphite Pro 90. Lately I've really been impressed with the GP90.

I love the cosmetics of the Response, but I feel the beam width of 23 mm doesn't fit the racket, esp. compared to the Tour 100s and the GP90. The beam size is important for my playing style it seems, as I feel a fatter beam gets in the way of my playing. Somehow I have more volley shanks on the Response than on the GP90.

The response 90 is a solid stick from the baseline. Solid heft, but easy to manouevre. More solid than the Tour 100, easier than the Rebel 95. It kinda reminds me of the pure drive roddick I used to own, but in a good way. I never got along with the PDR - I thougth it felt dead and had too little power; the response fills these criterias.

What I do find strange is all the hype the response gets as a volley racket. This is the area I actually think it has shortcomings. The Tour 100s are def better. That being said, my old GP90, crushes everything I've tried so far at the net.

 

[rlau]

I never got along with the PDR - I thougth it felt dead and had too little power; the response fills these criterias.

I've never heard anybody complain about a lack of power when talking about the PDR.

 

[jayserinos99]

Wow. I felt that the Response felt very good at net, provided your volley stroke itself is very compact and you let the mass of the frame do the work for you. IMO, it's a very solid frame at all areas of the court, but you have to have some good racquet head speed and sound strokes to get the most out of it. What's odd for me, is that these older Prince frames (POG100, Response 97) seem to suit old school synthetic gut.

 

[boinz]

anyone with elbows or shoulder pains after playing with the Response97?

 

[galain]

I played with the original for 2 years but put it down due to elbow pain. Resurrected it very briefly a few summers ago with a multi but my elbow was starting to ache a little when the strings went and I went on to something else.

Shame - I think it's a fantastic stick.

 

[smalahove]

Mine cam prestrung with syntgut is seems. It's feels very comfortable to play. For comparison's sake, the two most stiff rackets I've played (and hardest on the arm) have been the PDR and a Radical MP, both high strung with poly (I didn't bother giving them a second "string" chance which might have changed my opinion).

Looking forward to playing with the Response again today