Review: EXO3 Tour vs BLX 6.1 95

[DustinW]

new frame: Prince EXO3 Tour 100 16x18 strung w/ Tecnifibre Black Code 16
normal frame: Wilson BLX 6.1 95 18x20 w/ Tecnifibre Black Code 16
me: 4.5 single and doubles player, 34 years old

I've been playing with the BLX for about 8 months now, but I played with the Prince Ozone Pro Tour before that... so I've been anxious to try out Prince's new Tour frame. The first few hits with the Prince didn't make me think "wow, this is awesome". But I played 3 sets with it today, and by the end I was settling in nicely.

Overall feel:
These two frames are totally different when it comes to feel. The BLX has a great crisp feel to it, which I love. Crisp is definitely not a word I would use to describe the EXO3. Not that that's bad, but I like the crisp feel of a stiffer frame. The EXO3 did feel good though. It had a very addictive feel to it on groundstrokes which I can only think to describe as a THWAP. I felt that I was getting a lot more off-center hits with the EXO3, which I was not expecting with the bigger head size and usually large Prince sweetspot.

Flex:
I would never have guessed the EXO3 was a 52 rating. I only noticed the flex a few times, and I was never able to put my finger on what was causing me to feel the flex. I played with the EXO3 Rebel just the other day, and it felt way more flexy than the Tour.

Power, control, spin:
The two frames are pretty comparable in power. Overall, I think the BLX has a bit more pop to it. But power with the EXO3 is definitely there if you are willing to take a big cut at the ball. Both frames have excellent directional control. I had some trouble with depth control on the EXO3, but I really think its just not being used to the frame... because it got better the longer I played. The EXO3 definitely wins in the spin category for both groundstrokes and serves.

Serves and volleys:
I was able to get more of a kick on 2nd serve with the EXO3, but I like the BLX more for serving. I never felt like I could hit a bomb first serve with the EXO3, but hopefully that will come with time. I generally don't like volleying with flexy rackets but the EXO3 felt good. The BLX still had more pop to it at the net, though.

 

[Bhagi Katbamna]

Thanks for the review. For some reason, I have noticed that Wilson rackets give me more pop on my serve even though the flex rating is the same as the racket from some other company.

 

[DustinW]

I've had some more time to play with the EXO3 tour in the last week... both singles and doubles.

The more I play with it, the more I like it. Groundstrokes are beginning to groove and serve is feeling better. This frame just has amazing control on groundstrokes and serves. And it seems to perform better with the more that I go for my shots. There's so much more spin available than the BLX, which sure is nice especially while serving.

The feel and 52 flex rating still perplexes me. It has such a unique feel to it. I would describe it as soft but not flexy, while still being very solid. And it has such a rewarding response when you do everything right.

 

[DustinW]

Well... I spent about 20 hrs of total court time with the EXO3 Tour, and last night I switched back to the BLX.

For me, some nights the flex/softness of the EXO3 feels great and other nights it doesn't. The crisp/responsive feel of the BLX always feels great to me. And I just never served as well with the EXO3.

 

[cork_screw]

Yeah, that seems to be the consensus with the exo3 tour. In fact people have noted that they actually get a bit more pop with the older version but this has slightly more feel, so you do get those trade offs.

But I really enjoyed hitting with the BLX 95 18x20 and after all the racquets I'm putting up on the bay this summer, that one is one racquet I'll be retaining. The racquet has so many positives that fits for an overall good players frame. It does almost anything that it's asked and it's a dynamite doubles stick. I prefer it way more than any head I've tried. Good review

Well... I spent about 20 hrs of total court time with the EXO3 Tour, and last night I switched back to the BLX.

For me, some nights the flex/softness of the EXO3 feels great and other nights it doesn't. The crisp/responsive feel of the BLX always feels great to me. And I just never served as well with the EXO3.

 

[ptr]

I'm going to demo EXO3 Tour and EXO3 Tour Team. Team can be perfect for lead modifications...

good review, racquet for sure good, for some even perfect.

 

[cayzi]

I'm going to demo EXO3 Tour and EXO3 Tour Team. Team can be perfect for lead modifications...

good review, racquet for sure good, for some even perfect.

Can you give us some feedback about that testing?
Thx.

 

[Ross K]

Yeah, that seems to be the consensus with the exo3 tour. In fact people have noted that they actually get a bit more pop with the older version but this has slightly more feel, so you do get those trade offs.

But I really enjoyed hitting with the BLX 95 18x20 and after all the racquets I'm putting up on the bay this summer, that one is one racquet I'll be retaining. The racquet has so many positives that fits for an overall good players frame. It does almost anything that it's asked and it's a dynamite doubles stick. I prefer it way more than any head I've tried. Good review

Sorry but I don't know much about this line of frames... which exact older version is being referred to here? Thanks,

R