Pure Control Tour-WOW!

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Dasol

Rookie
I have been playtesting the Pure Control Tour for two weeks and I am very much impressed!

My main frame was/is the Pure Storm Tour but I have been looking for a something lighter due to my fatigued shoulder after matches. I playtested various frames such as the Speed Pro, the Vcore Tour 97, the F3.0 Tour, and the Prince Tour 98 ESP, and although I liked them all, I was not 100% sure to switch to any of these.

The Pure Control Tour feels definitely lighter and less powerful than the PST, which is actually good for me; I always felt that the PST, as a control oriented racquet, has a surprising inherent power when swung fully, and due to the power and somewhat sluggish feeling, on some occasions during a match, I fould myself a little hesitant concerning the power/speed that I should input on the ball.

With the Pure Control Tour, you should definitely swing "fast and full" :) I do not want to say the power level of the Pure Control Tour is similar to the PSLtd, but it is definitely less powerful than the PST, so you should swing fast and fully and it will reward you with very precise and yet powerful shots.

Control, as the name indicated, is exceptional and it still has the classic players' frame feel that even the Graphene Prestige lines are loosing IMO. Due to the increased maneuverability, I think it is easier to serve and volley than the PST. Also, with the PCT, I feel less vibration when I hit outside the sweetspot.

If you like a control-oriented frame, which is a little light and yet has some power with full swing, the Pure Control Tour is worth demoing IMO.:)
 
Thanks for the review, I'm getting a demo tomorrow and I'm excited to use this frame this weekend, I need a replacement for my Donnay Pro one.
 
Dasol,

How was comfort compared to the PSTGT?

The new Pure Control line is being described as playing "crisper" and even "stiffer" than Pure Storms. On paper they should be the same or even lower flex than the Storms but that doesn't seem to be how they're playing.

I had hoped to test them this week but the weather is crummy in ATL so I'm waiting for improved weather.
 
they are similar. the new one does play stiffer to me. but i will say it is also a very string sensitive racquet. PST, PSTLtd, and now PCT are all a very customizable setup for weight and string types and tensions... IMHO
 
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tennixpl said:
they are similar. the new one does play stiffer to me. but i will say it is also a very string sensitive racquet. PST, PSTLtd, and now PCT are all a very customizable setup for weight and string types and tensions... IMHO
Click to expand...

Agreed. I also feel like the new ones play stiffer. I hit with the frame for a week or so and felt like it lost its stability from the pure storm tour that I loved. I regularly play with a Dunlop 200 tour so I am used to heavier frames. I thought about leading up the pure control tour but decided against it. Good frame just wish it was more stable. Just my opinion though.
 
WOW !
Dasol using the new racket equals Dasol with his old Storm.
New racket buyers honeymoon period, that's all.
 
I am NOT saying the Babs PCT is a bad racket.
In fact, I use a racket within 4 points of stiffness, same 320 SW, and 11 oz for my serious tennis.
Every single racket company makes a racket with close to those specs.
Just a middle of the road spec, for most tennis players not pro level.
Basically, pick a company, and the color you like.
This is no magic stick, as every stick is magic for someone, and a pile of trash to someone else.
 
atatu said:
Thanks for the review, I'm getting a demo tomorrow and I'm excited to use this frame this weekend, I need a replacement for my Donnay Pro one.
Click to expand...

Sure, I have not used the Donnay Pro One before but heard that it is a great frame too. I hope you enjoy your demo this weekend!
 
For me, the feel of the PCT is "cleaner" than the PSTGT. Not sure whether cleaner is equated with crisper and stiffer, but I felt less vibration when hitting outside of the sweet spot. Not uncomfortable in any sense but probably less plusher than the PSTGT? :)

TimothyO said:
Dasol,

How was comfort compared to the PSTGT?

The new Pure Control line is being described as playing "crisper" and even "stiffer" than Pure Storms. On paper they should be the same or even lower flex than the Storms but that doesn't seem to be how they're playing.

I had hoped to test them this week but the weather is crummy in ATL so I'm waiting for improved weather.
Click to expand...
 
LeeD said:
WOW !
Dasol using the new racket equals Dasol with his old Storm.
New racket buyers honeymoon period, that's all.
Click to expand...

LeeD, maybe you are totally right!:) I have been using the Pure Storm Tour for almost two years now, and I just feel that the PCT is lighter, whippier, and easier to use, but less powerful than the PST. Maybe this is just a honeymoon experience that you are talking about. :)
 
Actually, the specs is about what I would like.
But knowing our needs change, our body's change, maybe I'll stick with an 11 oz racket with a 320 SW and a flex around 69, with 47 lbs tension, at 98 sizing and a 16x19 string pattern.
I have a Bio300T also, 11 oz, weighted to 317 or so SW, and the stiffness at 64 can feel very good when hitting against hard hitters.
 
I received one courtesy of Babolat/TW playtest and found the Pure Control Tour to be sluggish and lower powered than the PSTGT. The racquet I got weighed 12.3oz. I struggled serving with it and felt about the same as the PSTGT on serves and ended up sticking with the Graphene Speed Pro.

However, I got a demo of the Pure Control and I found it to be the better racquet. My came strung at 11.1oz and found it better than the Pure Storm GT. It was very easy to maneuver and felt pretty solid for a 11oz racquet. I guess mine came over the spec weight of 10.9z on TW's site but it felt really solid.

Serves were solid and I could generate a good amount of racquet head speed. I didn't get a chance to hit groundstrokes and will post back when I get a chance to hit with it.
 
I did not measure the weight but for me the PCT feels lighter than my two PST (one is 2009 version and the other is 2011). Maybe what I have is lighter than the average spec but I definitely feel that the swingweight of the PCT is lighter and thus not sluggish. Yes, the PCT is less powerful than the PST (and also the Speed Pro) but I found no issue with stability.

parasailing said:
I received one courtesy of Babolat/TW playtest and found the Pure Control Tour to be sluggish and lower powered than the PSTGT. The racquet I got weighed 12.3oz. I struggled serving with it and felt about the same as the PSTGT on serves and ended up sticking with the Graphene Speed Pro.

However, I got a demo of the Pure Control and I found it to be the better racquet. My came strung at 11.1oz and found it better than the Pure Storm GT. It was very easy to maneuver and felt pretty solid for a 11oz racquet. I guess mine came over the spec weight of 10.9z on TW's site but it felt really solid.

Serves were solid and I could generate a good amount of racquet head speed. I didn't get a chance to hit groundstrokes and will post back when I get a chance to hit with it.
Click to expand...
 
Dasol said:
For me, the feel of the PCT is "cleaner" than the PSTGT. Not sure whether cleaner is equated with crisper and stiffer, but I felt less vibration when hitting outside of the sweet spot. Not uncomfortable in any sense but probably less plusher than the PSTGT? :)
Click to expand...

You hit the nail on the head. I've played with the pure storm tour since the black and red version, through the 2 gt versions and now just demo'd and bought myself the pure control tour. I don't think it's stiffer at all, in fact it feels less stiff than the GT storm tours. But the feel of when you hit the ball is just so much cleaner. It also has a completely different sound. Instead of a dull feel and a thud, you get a clean, crisp feel with a crack-like sound. But at the same time it feels less stiff than the tour GT. I think it's a big improvement!
 
duffman said:
You hit the nail on the head. I've played with the pure storm tour since the black and red version, through the 2 gt versions and now just demo'd and bought myself the pure control tour. I don't think it's stiffer at all, in fact it feels less stiff than the GT storm tours. But the feel of when you hit the ball is just so much cleaner. It also has a completely different sound. Instead of a dull feel and a thud, you get a clean, crisp feel with a crack-like sound. But at the same time it feels less stiff than the tour GT. I think it's a big improvement!
Click to expand...

I agree with you. The PSTGT has still a typical babolat feel in a plusher way due to the woofer systerm, but IMO the PCT has much more cleaner feel, which is actually closer to the Prestige lines or to the Volkl frames that I previously demoed. Sure, the PCT also has the woofer system, but it feels definitely sharper and cleaner to me than the PSTGT. I do not use a dampner and thus feel is very important for me to pick a frame, but personally I like the feel of the PCT more than that of the PST. :)
 
How is the stability of the PCT? With the reduction in static weight and swingweight compared to the PSTGT, I'm concerned about this aspect of the stick.

I like that the PCT seems more maneuverable than the PSTGT, but does this come at the cost of significantly lower stability? How does the PCT do against hard hitting and heavy spin? Does it get pushed around or is it solid like the PSTGT?
 
Too many opinions based on the past (you hit differently than 2 years ago), and not based enough on strings and tension.
"this racket twists and has a tiny sweetspot" can be polar opposite with strings 15 lbs softer.
 
mateencleaves said:
How is the stability of the PCT? With the reduction in static weight and swingweight compared to the PSTGT, I'm concerned about this aspect of the stick.

I like that the PCT seems more maneuverable than the PSTGT, but does this come at the cost of significantly lower stability? How does the PCT do against hard hitting and heavy spin? Does it get pushed around or is it solid like the PSTGT?
Click to expand...

I personally thought it was not that stable. Certainly less than the pure storm tour. Needs lead but just my opinion.
 
Artanis said:
Thanks!

Dasol, do you share the same opinion?
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For me both of them are arm-friendly but as I said above they have different feel IMO. The Pure Storm, whether tour or regular, feels very plush and even dull and still has the typical babolat feel due to the woofer system. For me, the Pure Control Tour has the feel closer to the prestige mp, c10 pro, or organix 10 mid that I previously demoed. The PCT has the classic players frame feel that I like (sharp, clean, and yet smooth).

Concerning the stability, I do not find a serious issue with the PCT. It is definitely less powerful and maybe softer than the PST and therefore may feel less solid/hefty. Yet, you should swing full and fast to take the full potential out of the PCT. When I hit the sweetspot, it produces heavy balls as the PST does.
 
If ithe control had the same spec as the storm it might be easier to discern the differences, but too many things seem to have changed.
 
I think people are mistaking the clean, crisp feeling for being not as arm friendly. I also don't feel like it's any lighter than the storm tour. Even the printed specs on the racquets are the same. 11.3 oz unstrung with a balance of 310.
 
I agree with almost everything the OP says.

After demoing the PCT for almost a week I also think it's a easier to swing compared to the PST, with more "direct" feedback. You need to swing fast and full to bring up the full potential of the frame and I also had the feeling that the upper part of the hoop could be a bit more stable.

It's like PST and the Ltd had a child or something, which inherited a crispness gene from someone further in the bloodline, ha ha

I liked the overall stability of the Strike Tour better though; I am generally more used playing with heavier frames.
 
duffman said:
I think people are mistaking the clean, crisp feeling for being not as arm friendly.
Click to expand...
Don't know. The reason I'm asking about comfort level is because I played PS (non GT generation) for about five years now, and I would like to make an "upgrade" without switching the brand. Problem is that I had some shoulder issues last year and I don't want to risk more with a new (stiffer) racquet.
 
Dasol said:
For me, the feel of the PCT is "cleaner" than the PSTGT. Not sure whether cleaner is equated with crisper and stiffer, but I felt less vibration when hitting outside of the sweet spot. Not uncomfortable in any sense but probably less plusher than the PSTGT? :)
Click to expand...

You are right on- The Pure Control is just better. It is easier to use in every way. I would add just a little weight to that frame. I currently use the Pro Staff 95s and I think that frame is great for my game, but I feel like I can switch to the PCT and easily make the adjustment.
 
Pure Storm is more arm friendly agreed. Of course if you want arm friendly PSGTLtd is a great frame.

leaded up Pure Control and it is more to my liking now. Will see..... if that holds over a few more matches.
 
Dasol said:
The Pure Control Tour feels definitely lighter and less powerful than the PST
Click to expand...

Thanks for your feedback on this racket. Could you comment more on its power level? You mentioned that you feel it is less powerful than the PST. How much less powerful would you estimate? In terms of power level, what other rackets does it compare to?

Also, does this racket lean more toward demanding player's stick or tweener?
 
mateencleaves said:
Thanks for your feedback on this racket. Could you comment more on its power level? You mentioned that you feel it is less powerful than the PST. How much less powerful would you estimate? In terms of power level, what other rackets does it compare to?

Also, does this racket lean more toward demanding player's stick or tweener?
Click to expand...

Even though the spec weight is same between the Pure Control Tour and the Pure Storm Tour, the Pure Control Tour has lighter swingweight and thus feels less powerful/plowthrough than the PST GT IMO. However, it produces heavy shots with fast and full swing. If you are able to produce the power with good swing mechanism, it would be no problem at all.

Also, the Pure Control Tour is definitely a demanding player's stick.
 
Demoed this racket along with a few other rackets over the weekend and I really enjoyed this racket. Tons of control with a comfortable feel. Serve was the only thing I felt any need for extra weight. Good racket for someone with good footwork and a fast swing.
 
I had a chance to hit for five minutes with this racket last week. I felt that the PSTGT was a better racket. The PCT's upper hoop is dead, and the sweet spot feels like it's right on top of the bridge. In contrast, the PSTGT had a livelier hoop and larger sweetspot. I also felt that the PCT lacked the plowthrough of the PSTGT.
 
Maybe 5 minutes of testing was not enough.
According to TW University, if you compare the power-zones for the two racquets you may find them pretty similar.
 
Maybe. I'd love to hear your feedback on the PCT from the perspective of one who uses the non-GT Pure Storm.
 
5 minutes isn't exactly a ton of time to spend with a racquet, but I'm generally in the camp that you can tell whether you'd like a racquet pretty quickly right off the bat. The racquets that I've really liked over the years are the ones that I felt a "click" or connection with immediately. I always feel that if you have to constantly play with/force yourself to like a new racquet (for whatever reason), come up with justifications on why the stick is good and you should continue to play with it, or try your adjust your game to suit a racquet, it really isn't the right racquet for you. But that's just me.

While the location of the sweetspot didn't feel that different from the PST to the PCT, I do agree that the perhaps the feel of the sweetspot of the PCT might be a tad smaller than the PST. I think a lot of that is attributable though to the lesser plow-through/stability of the PCT, so if you don't hit too clean, the racquet's not going to help you out at all. It's something that I feel can be helped out with some lead though. While in stock form, I prefer my old Storms more than the new Controls, I could honestly easily switch and play pretty much the same with the Controls without much of a hitch.
 
Being using it for the last three weeks, it is very arm friendly, yet feels crisp at the same time. Tried it first with a full multi, and had another stick strung with cyber flash mains at 50 and Isospeed Axon Multi Crosses at 54. Both are among the softest strings in their category, and like the title said Wow! It does everything very well and never served that well before. I am actually selling my other sticks in order to get me another pair.
 
I played with the PCT last night and what an amazing stick. I have a few PSTGT+s and they are great raquets but have a little too much power IMO. The other thing I hated about them is it felt like string tension goes south in them faster than any other racquet, and I never quite understood why the same string set up seemed to last a quarter of the time in the pstgt compared to my pdrgt...string pattern? Regardless, the PCT is just right in terms of power, and you get our of it what you put into it. I really enjoyed serving with this Raquet, I could let it rip on both serves. Volleying, overheads, and my one handed backhand were great too. The stick I had didn't feel too light, hopefully that's not a QC issue, but I am a bad on to make a comparison since the tour plus is a bit clunky.
 
PCT with Prince Premier Touch

I am now using the Pure Control Tour strung with the new Prince Premier Touch mutifilament 16 gauge at mid-tension- 57 lbs- and love the performance and comfort of it. I think this suits me because I hit fairly flat and my elbow and shoulder have had issues with stiffer frames and/or strings.
 
So I spent a good bit of time with this racquet over the weekend. Probably over 5 hours or so. My opinion of this racquet is changing as I am starting to like it. I like the spin I was getting and the specs are pretty good for my one hand backhand really allowing me to get some racquet head speed into the shot. Still think it needs some lead in upper hoop probably to make it a bit more stable. I was pretty critical of the stability earlier but it might have been he day I was having not hitting it in the sweet spot or the strings strung too tight. The one thing that bugged me a little was that I felt like the grip was fatter than it should be. I was playing with a 3/8 grip. Is the new grip thicker than skin feel? I may put skin feel on it and see how that works.
 
blackpearl2007 said:
So I spent a good bit of time with this racquet over the weekend. Probably over 5 hours or so. My opinion of this racquet is changing as I am starting to like it. I like the spin I was getting and the specs are pretty good for my one hand backhand really allowing me to get some racquet head speed into the shot. Still think it needs some lead in upper hoop probably to make it a bit more stable. I was pretty critical of the stability earlier but it might have been he day I was having not hitting it in the sweet spot or the strings strung too tight. The one thing that bugged me a little was that I felt like the grip was fatter than it should be. I was playing with a 3/8 grip. Is the new grip thicker than skin feel? I may put skin feel on it and see how that works.
Click to expand...

Sorry, iPad having issues. Replace he with the in the 7th sentence or so.
 
Thanks to everyone who posted on this thread and I'm real interested to hear how similar the PST is to the Prest MP and which Prest Mp in particular?

My issues with previous versions of the PS series was the quirky 16x20 pattern which made it a bit erratic and the lack of feel. Felt disconnected from the shots and the frame felt dead for a lack of a better word. Someone mentioned dull.
 
mawashi said:
Thanks to everyone who posted on this thread and I'm real interested to hear how similar the PST is to the Prest MP and which Prest Mp in particular?

My issues with previous versions of the PS series was the quirky 16x20 pattern which made it a bit erratic and the lack of feel. Felt disconnected from the shots and the frame felt dead for a lack of a better word. Someone mentioned dull.
Click to expand...

The PCT has a much crisper feel. The feel of the PST was dull.
 
I am contemplating adding one to my inventory :)

Has anyone changed grommets on these frames or the PST? Do we loose the flared part if we replace the grommets? Never done it myself..
 
Here's my review of the PCT!

I demoed the PCT extensively for about three weeks and I'm happy to say I just ordered one. I played with the PSGT for about a year and although I liked it, it seemed too much of an "all-rounder". It was good from all aspects from the court but wasn't ever great, and I longed to find a racket that would highlight my strengths. I demoed many rackets and almost settled on the Prestige Graphene MP until I tried the PCT. Just when I thought I was done with Babs!

Bio: 28 years old, NTRP 4.5, semi-western grip, 1HBH, baseliner mainly when I play singles, like volleying in doubles. I probably hit with less topspin than most people my level, I enjoy using pace and angled shots

Previous racket: PSGT 6g lead from 10-2, 8g in handle, RPM blast@51#
Demo racket: PCT RPM Dual@58#/Gamma TNT2@55#

Serves: 9/10; Serves have never been my strong point but I found serving with this racket very, very easy. I was confident and my second serve had a very nice kick that threw a lot of my opponents off. How much of this improvement was from the added heft of this racket and/or the string combination I don't know, but it was a big plus for me.

Returns: 9/10; stable as a rock. I don't usually play against very hard servers but the crisp response of this racket allowed me to re-direct serves using their pace well.

Groundstrokes: 10/10; I loved playing aggressive baseline tennis with this racket. The control was as good as it gets and again, my confidence was sky high. The response was very tight and the crispness of the PCT is what really did it in for me. My PSGT was a little too plush and pillowy for my liking, so this added feel really did it in for me. My BH slices were decent, topspin was easy to access, don't really have any complaints in this department.

Volleys: n/a; I didn't get to volley as much as I'd like to, but the few volleys I did put away with this racket, I see no real problems or stability issues

Notes: Although I thoroughly enjoyed this racket and would like to attribute everything to the improvements between this line and the previous PS line, there were a few differences between the testing controls. For one, I have never played with a multi/poly combo, nor have I ever strung any of my rackets over 55#. Maybe the higher tension in my demo is the reason for the higher crispness and feel I felt? I strung up the PCT I got with the same specs as the demo anyway, maybe that's all it takes to take my game to the next level?

And one last thing, my experiences recently with RPM Dual has been awesome!
 
Thank-you Babolat for finally releasing an arm-friendly version of your APD racquet! Going to buy a second one now...
 
Had the pleasure of being selected for the Bab playtest of the PureControl non-tour, nice platform stick, and it lead me to demo the Tour version. Hit with it last night.

Liked it across the board, my only gripe would be the un-responsive upper quarter of the string bed. Other than that, a really great racquet that could come alive with a leather grip, did everything well.
 
klementine79 said:
Had the pleasure of being selected for the Bab playtest of the PureControl non-tour, nice platform stick, and it lead me to demo the Tour version. Hit with it last night.

Liked it across the board, my only gripe would be the un-responsive upper quarter of the string bed. Other than that, a really great racquet that could come alive with a leather grip, did everything well.
Click to expand...

That seems to be the same prob with the storm series as well.

Btw, how does it feel compared to other mp like the prest mp and wilsons?
 
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