Prince VORTEX?

Tenny

Tenny

Professional
Hi all,
I have a Vortex by prince. I am yet to try it. It seems it was one of the prince's CTS models (I read Constant taper system on the inside of throat) but I couldn't find the name in the recent CTS related thread (Precision, approach...thunderstick). Does anyone know about this racquet? It has very strange looking grommet system, zigzag pattern! For what?

Thanks,

Tenny
 
If memory serves, this racquet came out shortly after the CTS line of racquets. I believe there was a straight beam version as well. The zig-zag grommets were a sweet spot enhancing gimmick. The cool thing about the Vortex series was that they were made of a rubberized compound rather than graphite.
 
The Vortex is opne of the racquets I prefer not to any vibration damper installed. It's very sweet to play. I have recently acquired the mid-plus version, and from my memory the oversize seems to be nicer to play with. In fact, I also have the Benetton Prince oversize, both me and my friend think that it's very easy in playing topspin.
 
The staggered grommets do quicken the problem of split grommet barrels because of all the sideways stress!

This is an example of new technology and awards (and legal actions) which probably one a technical award and within a couple of years vanishes from the scene.
 
The original vortex was Prince's 1st racquet to break the $300 retail MRSP I believe, or close to it. It uses a stagger pattern that was nixed b/c I believe Wilson sued them. It has a CTS shape though and the MP came in 100 sq inches.

I had a MP. Not a bad racquet per se, but it's a bit sluggish to use so I ditched it.
 
The prince vortex was a exciting racket. It intro price was expensive because they had to pay for the research & manufacturing costs updates. It was not the first be be in a rich persons price league, remember the Prince Boron ? The Vortex use of staggered grommet stringing enabled greater spin control and was enjoyable to play with. Unfortunately, this staggering resulted in stresses on the frame and stringbed near the beam that could cause frame damage and string breakage. I remember breaking strings just about every time I played with this rackets with offcenter hits.
 
Found this info in the March 1992 and 1993 issues of Tennis. The Vortex was introduced in 1992. All I have on the 1992 model is info on the OS. 107 sq in. head. Had a 28-24-21 CTS taper beam. Weighted 12 1/8 oz. and was 5 pts HL. 16 x19 pattern. Used a visco-elastic adhesive instead of hardened epoxy resin to hold the graphite fibers in place. Best suited for intermediate to advanced baseliners. Original list was $345.

In 1993, they had three versions: the Vortex Lite OS, Vortex SB OS and Vortex SB MP (97). They all had 25mm straight beams. The Lite weighed 10 oz and the other two were 11.5 oz. All were slightly HH.
List was $275.

So yours must be an original from 1992
 
The Prince Vortex OS is the most comfortable racquet I've ever used. It's been several years since I've played with one and the one I had is now broken, but from what I remember it had a muted or dampened feel that was unlike any other racquet I had ever hit with.

I think the title of most expensive Prince racquet ever still belongs to the Prince Boron, though.
 
Thanks!

Hi all,

Last night I had a chance to test it. It was great! It was powerful so the balls went long but I found I like it, especially, because...

it was for free!

I was returning home from a party but as a good tennis boy, dropped by our local public court to hit backboard. For the last 2.5 yrs I have been doing racquet research myself and bought/cell many. My collection has reached over 20 ('OK, I can sell these whenever I want on-line' phase) but I managed to make it to several ('Now, I know what I like' phase) before it grew to 11 ('Well, I like this and that. Don't I need to have at least two of each' phase) again. And after I got my 2nd PS6.0 95, I decided not to spend any more (at least for a while). But I got Vortex


Thanks for all the excellent information. I appreciate!

Tenny
 
Sweet~

netman said:
Found this info in the March 1992 and 1993 issues of Tennis. The Vortex was introduced in 1992. All I have on the 1992 model is info on the OS. 107 sq in. head. Had a 28-24-21 CTS taper beam. Weighted 12 1/8 oz. and was 5 pts HL. 16 x19 pattern. Used a visco-elastic adhesive instead of hardened epoxy resin to hold the graphite fibers in place. Best suited for intermediate to advanced baseliners. Original list was $345.

In 1993, they had three versions: the Vortex Lite OS, Vortex SB OS and Vortex SB MP (97). They all had 25mm straight beams. The Lite weighed 10 oz and the other two were 11.5 oz. All were slightly HH.
List was $275.

So yours must be an original from 1992
Click to expand...

I agree with netman, I think it is the original. It has varying width (Tip of the racquet is the widest and gradually get smaller to handle side. Staggered string pattern. Heavy but feels good in my hand. First of all, I was impressed with its 'feel' and comfort. Kinda luxuriously sweet feel. Maybe due to the unique construction materials used. Thanks for all the inputs, guys.

T.
 
Since it play so soft and plush, I wonder why Prince dropped the visco-elastic adhesive? Maybe too heavy for the new lightweight era?
 
I think that you will find that the Prince Sovereign was the most expensive Prince to exist.It was made to order (they copied your signature onto the frame to really make it yours).It was around at the time of the Wilson excalibur which used to sell here in Spain for +- 1200 dollars.The Sovereign was over double the price of the excalibur.
All the best
 
There seems to be construction problems about any Vortex racquet. Every single racquet sold to power player was resulted in neverending claims. If Prince make more Vortex, they broke.
 
Richard Parnell said:
If you are not used to stringing a vortex then this should help.Use a "hard" weave for the first top cross.
All the best,
Click to expand...
:shock:

Hard weave? Educate me Richard. Regarding the construction, the Vortex's top edge seems a little bit flattened a la Ti radical OS ( they look like short eggs, especially flat top/edge). BTW, $1200 racquet????
 
Hi Tenny,
I know this should go in the stringing section but if you look at the stringing pattern you will find that the top string goes against the weave and is locked in place and is hard to move.This results from the two plane string bed.If the string for your top cross comes out of a grommet that is on the lower plane then this string will go over the first main it meets and vice versa.If you do a search in the stringing section you will find a number of posts concerning hard weaves.

The top of the frame should not be flat as this is a round frame, as is the radical OS ( the radical will go egg shaped if strung bottom to top).

I think that you will find that the Wilson excalibur and the Prince Sovereign are/were the two most expensive production frames.
Hope this helps,
Richard
 
^ That was a great explanation Richard. My dad's racquet is the old Graphite Extender with the staggered stringing and the hard weave actually makes it easier to string because you can't misweave the first and last cross strings. You know you're doing it right when the cross string is touching the first main.
 
hello,

i've played the original vortex for years.
the best was the special material. the harder you hit the stiffer it gets (said prince ;-)).

however, it's VERY comfortable and smooth. maybe not that good if you like ps 6.0/6.1 like clubs
but it was/is an extraordinary one.
 
netman said:
Found this info in the March 1992 and 1993 issues of Tennis. The Vortex was introduced in 1992. All I have on the 1992 model is info on the OS. 107 sq in. head. Had a 28-24-21 CTS taper beam. Weighted 12 1/8 oz. and was 5 pts HL. 16 x19 pattern. Used a visco-elastic adhesive instead of hardened epoxy resin to hold the graphite fibers in place. Best suited for intermediate to advanced baseliners. Original list was $345.

In 1993, they had three versions: the Vortex Lite OS, Vortex SB OS and Vortex SB MP (97). They all had 25mm straight beams. The Lite weighed 10 oz and the other two were 11.5 oz. All were slightly HH.
List was $275.

So yours must be an original from 1992
Click to expand...

Does not this sound to you like a knock off system of the injection moulding used by Dunlop for the making of the legendary Dunlop MAX 200G? It seems to me that Prince tried to make a racquet with the same qualities and for that reason it needed a similar way of production. Now, having in mind that injection moulding was and still is very expensive, Prince came up with thtis visco-elastic adhesive in order to achieve what Dunlop did with mixing nylon with carbon fiber through the injection moulding process. I have never tried the Prince Vortex, but from the explanations of people here, I assume that it feels almost identical to the Dunlop MAX 200G. Furthermore, the claim from Prince that "the harder you hit, the former the racquet becomes" seems to be lifted straight from the Dunlop description of the qualities of an injection moulded frame (Dunlop MAX 200G, MAX 300i, MAX500i, MAX 800i). That is so interesting to me, because I have been searching for a racquet that would come close to the Dunlop MAX 200G for years, but as many others, I have been proven that there is no other that comes close to the Dunlop. Well, it seems like I may have found the answer... This could also be a hint for manufacturers of tennis racquets to try and come up with a system that will produce a racquet like that other than the so expensive injection moulding. I need to find this Prince Vortex and give it a try!
 
netman said:
Found this info in the March 1992 and 1993 issues of Tennis. The Vortex was introduced in 1992. All I have on the 1992 model is info on the OS. 107 sq in. head. Had a 28-24-21 CTS taper beam. Weighted 12 1/8 oz. and was 5 pts HL. 16 x19 pattern. Used a visco-elastic adhesive instead of hardened epoxy resin to hold the graphite fibers in place. Best suited for intermediate to advanced baseliners. Original list was $345.

In 1993, they had three versions: the Vortex Lite OS, Vortex SB OS and Vortex SB MP (97). They all had 25mm straight beams. The Lite weighed 10 oz and the other two were 11.5 oz. All were slightly HH.
List was $275.

So yours must be an original from 1992
Click to expand...
Thanks to inflation, $345 in 1992 is equivalent to $775 in 2024 dollars. Even today, it’s rare to see a racquet priced over $270. The Vortex was very expensive at the time of its release.
 
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