Bottle Rocket
Hall of Fame
I figured I'd throw in a little review of the Pure Drive Roddick versus the Prince Hybrid Tour. (how else can I celebrate my 600th post?) Anyone considering one of these should definitely give the other a demo. The PDR is pretty well known, the Hybrid Tour isn't talked about too much anymore. This should give you guys a good idea of what the Hybrid Tour has to offer in comparison. Its too bad someone like Roddick isn't out there using the Hybrid Tour because I think it suits the games of a lot of players that may be overlooking it.
Feel-
I've found that most racket these days play pretty well from all areas of the court, although, mostly from the baseline. I think the feel you get from the racket and how it makes you feel when you hit the ball is one of the biggest differences among rackets.
The PDR is extremely crisp. It is stiff and you can feel it. You feel the strings reacting to the ball, not the racket. It makes a very unique sound. It also has a very unique feel, the only thing that comes close is the nSix-One 95 (also stiff). It doesn't communcate with you too well unless you really smack the ball. I have to say, when you do smack the ball, it has the most satisfying feel of any racket I have ever used. The issue of feel is one of personal preference, but few "modern" rackets provide what people would call "good feel", so its not that big of an issue to me. When everyone is using poly strings anyway, it takes even more away. Both do a good job of dealing with frame vibrations, even on complete mis-hits.
The ball doesn't really "pop" off the string bed of the Pure Drive. It is not what I would call real lively, it just get's the job done, extremely well, from all areas of the string bed. I'll talk about this a little more in a minute.
The Prince on the other hand plays very different. It is extremely lively. The ball does pop off the strings. It is arguably a more comfortable racket and better for your arm. It lacks ball feel. I don't know it is worse or better than the PDR, it depends on the person. It is not as crisp, but very firm. It feels nice.
If you spend a lot of time at the net, the Prince has a tremendous advantage.
The Prince feels real easy to whip around. The PDR is bigger, feels bigger, and is not as easy to manuever.
Off the ground-
The PDR wins for forehands. It let's you get away with more. Both offer a ton of power and as much spin as anyone could ask for. The PDR seems better for flatter shots with semi-western forehands, but the Prince is still good. For full western forehands, both are incredible. For people that want to hit extremely heavy balls, both of these rackets are about as good as it get's. Both offer good diretional control, maybe with a slight edge to the Prince in that area.
For someone that really wants to whack the felt off the ball, I'd recommend the Pure Drive to you.
The Prince is easier to manuever. It also feels much lighter when you're swinging. I get the feeling there is more weight behind my shots with the PDR and it is a little easier to produce a penetrating shot.
I have a one-handed backhand and what I think is sometimes a good slice. Both of these rackets slice well, the PDR seems to get a little more bite. I think the PDR also provides more feedback for slices. For the top spin one hander (extreme eastern grip), the Prince is better. Its manuverability is an advantage here and it really gives me a lot of confidence on my backhand. I still haven't been able to consistantly hit my backhand well with the Pure Drive. I don't know if it has something to do with the grip shape or what, but I haven't quite figured this out yet. Edit: Since I wrote this, I've changed my mind. The Pure Drive is fantastic for backhands, it was all me. Now it is one of my favorite shots with this racket.
It is an interesting compromise. I can hit nice forehands and great backhands with the Prince. I can hit great forehands with the PDR and nice backhands. I haven't decided if using a racket that improves your strength or a racket that improves your weakness is better.
Serves-
The PDR is the best serving racket I have ever used. It offers tremendous power for flat serves and a surprising amount of spin for kick and slice serves.
The Prince is also a great serving racket. For me though, I could never really get as consistent a flat serve as with the PD. It is great when you're using spin though and possibly easier to control than the PDR. You can get a ton of kick with the Prince. For someone who really likes to slice a serve or kick it around the box, the Prince is great. Both are comfortable on serves.
Other things-
I have played with a Pure Drive with a bunch of different strings including natural gut, synthetic gut, and poly. I have also used one at many different string tensions and it never makes much of a difference. I enjoy the frame regardless of string. It is also easy on strings, they last forever. My favorite setup is Luxilon ALU at 54 lbs. Currently I am using Gosen 16 gauge synthetic gut at 59 lbs on the mains and 62 on the crosses and even that plays very well.
The Prince is a little pickier. It benefits from a poly to "calm" it down a little bit. Luxilon ALU (52-54 lbs) or a Luxilon hybrid gives excellent performance (crosses strung higher). At the moment I have Ashaway Monogut in mine at 54 lbs and enjoy it, but the Monogut is a little too springy for this racket.
When you first get your hands on the Prince, if you've never seen one in person before, you will be very surprised at just how elongated the head is. It is more stretched out than any other racket I've held.
The PDR has a very thick beam. The Prince has a constant thickness beam that is much thinner than the PDR. It also has a much more "square" grip, sort of like Fischer grips (possibly giving the advantage to the one handed backhand). The Babolat grip is more rectangular, a little more so than Wilsons.
The PDR is good about strings as I mentioned. The Prince eats them up, it was the first racket I ever broke Luxilon in. The Prince is easier to string though, for those of you that string your own rackets.
Overall-
They are both very powerful. Both are perfect for the modern game of tennis. The Prince volleys better and is more manueverable. The PDR is a little more solid and crisp and is better for forehands and probably two handed backhands. It is a baseliners dream. The Prince is more friendly to one-handed backhands and an all-court game (doubles?). The Prince has the advantage of not being a racket that all your friends have.
I think the Babolat is extremely deserving of its position in the market.
I think the Prince is extremely underrated.
I hope at least a few people found this useful...or at least interesting!
Feel-
I've found that most racket these days play pretty well from all areas of the court, although, mostly from the baseline. I think the feel you get from the racket and how it makes you feel when you hit the ball is one of the biggest differences among rackets.
The PDR is extremely crisp. It is stiff and you can feel it. You feel the strings reacting to the ball, not the racket. It makes a very unique sound. It also has a very unique feel, the only thing that comes close is the nSix-One 95 (also stiff). It doesn't communcate with you too well unless you really smack the ball. I have to say, when you do smack the ball, it has the most satisfying feel of any racket I have ever used. The issue of feel is one of personal preference, but few "modern" rackets provide what people would call "good feel", so its not that big of an issue to me. When everyone is using poly strings anyway, it takes even more away. Both do a good job of dealing with frame vibrations, even on complete mis-hits.
The ball doesn't really "pop" off the string bed of the Pure Drive. It is not what I would call real lively, it just get's the job done, extremely well, from all areas of the string bed. I'll talk about this a little more in a minute.
The Prince on the other hand plays very different. It is extremely lively. The ball does pop off the strings. It is arguably a more comfortable racket and better for your arm. It lacks ball feel. I don't know it is worse or better than the PDR, it depends on the person. It is not as crisp, but very firm. It feels nice.
If you spend a lot of time at the net, the Prince has a tremendous advantage.
The Prince feels real easy to whip around. The PDR is bigger, feels bigger, and is not as easy to manuever.
Off the ground-
The PDR wins for forehands. It let's you get away with more. Both offer a ton of power and as much spin as anyone could ask for. The PDR seems better for flatter shots with semi-western forehands, but the Prince is still good. For full western forehands, both are incredible. For people that want to hit extremely heavy balls, both of these rackets are about as good as it get's. Both offer good diretional control, maybe with a slight edge to the Prince in that area.
For someone that really wants to whack the felt off the ball, I'd recommend the Pure Drive to you.
The Prince is easier to manuever. It also feels much lighter when you're swinging. I get the feeling there is more weight behind my shots with the PDR and it is a little easier to produce a penetrating shot.
I have a one-handed backhand and what I think is sometimes a good slice. Both of these rackets slice well, the PDR seems to get a little more bite. I think the PDR also provides more feedback for slices. For the top spin one hander (extreme eastern grip), the Prince is better. Its manuverability is an advantage here and it really gives me a lot of confidence on my backhand. I still haven't been able to consistantly hit my backhand well with the Pure Drive. I don't know if it has something to do with the grip shape or what, but I haven't quite figured this out yet. Edit: Since I wrote this, I've changed my mind. The Pure Drive is fantastic for backhands, it was all me. Now it is one of my favorite shots with this racket.
It is an interesting compromise. I can hit nice forehands and great backhands with the Prince. I can hit great forehands with the PDR and nice backhands. I haven't decided if using a racket that improves your strength or a racket that improves your weakness is better.
Serves-
The PDR is the best serving racket I have ever used. It offers tremendous power for flat serves and a surprising amount of spin for kick and slice serves.
The Prince is also a great serving racket. For me though, I could never really get as consistent a flat serve as with the PD. It is great when you're using spin though and possibly easier to control than the PDR. You can get a ton of kick with the Prince. For someone who really likes to slice a serve or kick it around the box, the Prince is great. Both are comfortable on serves.
Other things-
I have played with a Pure Drive with a bunch of different strings including natural gut, synthetic gut, and poly. I have also used one at many different string tensions and it never makes much of a difference. I enjoy the frame regardless of string. It is also easy on strings, they last forever. My favorite setup is Luxilon ALU at 54 lbs. Currently I am using Gosen 16 gauge synthetic gut at 59 lbs on the mains and 62 on the crosses and even that plays very well.
The Prince is a little pickier. It benefits from a poly to "calm" it down a little bit. Luxilon ALU (52-54 lbs) or a Luxilon hybrid gives excellent performance (crosses strung higher). At the moment I have Ashaway Monogut in mine at 54 lbs and enjoy it, but the Monogut is a little too springy for this racket.
When you first get your hands on the Prince, if you've never seen one in person before, you will be very surprised at just how elongated the head is. It is more stretched out than any other racket I've held.
The PDR has a very thick beam. The Prince has a constant thickness beam that is much thinner than the PDR. It also has a much more "square" grip, sort of like Fischer grips (possibly giving the advantage to the one handed backhand). The Babolat grip is more rectangular, a little more so than Wilsons.
The PDR is good about strings as I mentioned. The Prince eats them up, it was the first racket I ever broke Luxilon in. The Prince is easier to string though, for those of you that string your own rackets.
Overall-
They are both very powerful. Both are perfect for the modern game of tennis. The Prince volleys better and is more manueverable. The PDR is a little more solid and crisp and is better for forehands and probably two handed backhands. It is a baseliners dream. The Prince is more friendly to one-handed backhands and an all-court game (doubles?). The Prince has the advantage of not being a racket that all your friends have.
I think the Babolat is extremely deserving of its position in the market.
I think the Prince is extremely underrated.
I hope at least a few people found this useful...or at least interesting!
Last edited:
I am surprised that the prince - 340g with 337 SW feels more manueverable than the 332g/330 SW PDR. Is the PDR - manueverability-wise in the nSix One 95 and FXP radical tour category or even higher?
