SmilinBob's Racquet Reviews

SmilinBob

Rookie
Bob

Anymore time spent with/thoughts on the Graphene MP? Had a long outing with it yesterday (mini-"review" in diary thread).

In brief, I'm still not convinced by it somehow, possibly find it a little more APD-like than I'm presently looking for, plus it doesn't quite swing right for me, but I actually played pretty well with it and what it basically does suits my basic game (haha), so will continue looking at it.:)

Hey Ross...Yes I've had a little more time with the Graphene, but not a lot as I've been on "vacation" for the past 10 days (more on that later.) I'm starting to get the impression that it plays like a slightly toned down version of the 99S, in that it responds much better to a full swing than short swings and volleys. While control is OK for me, it's merely just that. I still haven't dialed in the right lead setup either, but still haven't been able to give my 9:30/2:30 setup a try.
 

ArliHawk

Hall of Fame
Hey Ross...Yes I've had a little more time with the Graphene, but not a lot as I've been on "vacation" for the past 10 days (more on that later.) I'm starting to get the impression that it plays like a slightly toned down version of the 99S, in that it responds much better to a full swing than short swings and volleys. While control is OK for me, it's merely just that. I still haven't dialed in the right lead setup either, but still haven't been able to give my 9:30/2:30 setup a try.

If you like the Speed Graphene MP, the Instinct offers a little more free power without seeming overly stiff.
 

SmilinBob

Rookie
Well, my vacation time demo with the three racquets from TW failed to materialize. I had two full mornings where tennis was the agenda, but instead it went like this:

Last Thursday:
  • Fill outboard boat motor gas tank up. Drive back to resort, find gas tank has ruptured and is leaking all over the place. Replace gas tank (which required a 30 mile round trip drive).
  • Pick up rental boat at dock. Rental guy forgot to put the transom plug in. Spend next hour pulling boat off the bottom of the lake.
Last Friday:
  • Outboard motor dies. Backup electric motor battery dies. While in the middle of the lake. Paddle back.
  • Spend all morning at repair shop.

So the demo racquets sat next to the door of our rental condo and were not hit once. I had to return them a few days ago but have a somewhat free schedule in the next few weeks and will order them up again, adding the Blade 104 and possibly swapping the Formula 100 for a Technifibre.
 

JackB1

G.O.A.T.
Well, my vacation time demo with the three racquets from TW failed to materialize. I had two full mornings where tennis was the agenda, but instead it went like this:

Last Thursday:
  • Fill outboard boat motor gas tank up. Drive back to resort, find gas tank has ruptured and is leaking all over the place. Replace gas tank (which required a 30 mile round trip drive).
  • Pick up rental boat at dock. Rental guy forgot to put the transom plug in. Spend next hour pulling boat off the bottom of the lake.
Last Friday:
  • Outboard motor dies. Backup electric motor battery dies. While in the middle of the lake. Paddle back.
  • Spend all morning at repair shop.

So the demo racquets sat next to the door of our rental condo and were not hit once. I had to return them a few days ago but have a somewhat free schedule in the next few weeks and will order them up again, adding the Blade 104 and possibly swapping the Formula 100 for a Technifibre.

:)...............
 

Ross K

Legend
Well, my vacation time demo with the three racquets from TW failed to materialize. I had two full mornings where tennis was the agenda, but instead it went like this:

Last Thursday:
  • Fill outboard boat motor gas tank up. Drive back to resort, find gas tank has ruptured and is leaking all over the place. Replace gas tank (which required a 30 mile round trip drive).
  • Pick up rental boat at dock. Rental guy forgot to put the transom plug in. Spend next hour pulling boat off the bottom of the lake.
Last Friday:
  • Outboard motor dies. Backup electric motor battery dies. While in the middle of the lake. Paddle back.
  • Spend all morning at repair shop.

So the demo racquets sat next to the door of our rental condo and were not hit once. I had to return them a few days ago but have a somewhat free schedule in the next few weeks and will order them up again, adding the Blade 104 and possibly swapping the Formula 100 for a Technifibre.

Haha, love it Bob... :)

Which TF? They have a few frames that interest me and not least the TF 295 and 305... 315 Ltd too, but doubt that would quite work for me.
 

SmilinBob

Rookie
Which TF? They have a few frames that interest me and not least the TF 295 and 305... 315 Ltd too, but doubt that would quite work for me.

Looking at the specs the one that stands out the most to me is probably the 315 LTD 16M. The others have stiffness ratings that scare my elbow a little bit. Also after my tourney I'm debating going up a few 1/10ths of an ounce in static racquet weight from where I am at now, which is the very low 11's to somewhere around the 11.5 oz mark. The 315 seems to fit the bill.

Word on the street though seems to be that the TFights need a healthy amount of lead in the hoop to really bring them alive. Not sure how much highter than 11.6 ounces I'll want to go. Regardless, it doesn't hurt to try, right?
 

Ross K

Legend
Looking at the specs the one that stands out the most to me is probably the 315 LTD 16M. The others have stiffness ratings that scare my elbow a little bit. Also after my tourney I'm debating going up a few 1/10ths of an ounce in static racquet weight from where I am at now, which is the very low 11's to somewhere around the 11.5 oz mark. The 315 seems to fit the bill.

Word on the street though seems to be that the TFights need a healthy amount of lead in the hoop to really bring them alive. Not sure how much highter than 11.6 ounces I'll want to go. Regardless, it doesn't hurt to try, right?

Go for it!:wink:

FWIW I've had a side-project going on with a new TFight 280 - thinking being it would be a great 'platform' frame and initially I was really liking swinging all out and the RHS aspect etc. But have to say the heavier hitting opponents I've played against in last few weeks have made me have my doubts...
 

Torres

Banned
I had a go with the Head Graphene Speed MP last night. It belonged to one the coaches at my club.

Nice stick. Fantastically forgiving hoop and its a racquet that really flatters your game. I was hitting shots that I wouldn't normally be able to generate with my normal sticks. Terrific amount of spin from that string bed (strung with a loose poly), light enough to allow you get the racquet around quickly and take top spin rips at everything off both sides, and some of the drop shots you can produce with this are just insane in terms of backspin and the ball dying on contact with the court. It's a stick that's very easy to pick and play without much adjustment. I preferred it to the G-Pro, principally because of the more open pattern.

Slightly more of a HH orientation (or should I say less HL) than I'm normally used to but that potentially could be tweaked with some weight in the handle. Would like to give it a more extensive playtest against a big hitter to see how it stacks up.
 
Last edited:

Torres

Banned
People...give more stars to this thread. Where else can you get an honest real world user opinion of range of racquets? Give the OP some credit!
 

Ross K

Legend
I had a go with the Head Graphene Speed MP last night. It belonged to one the coaches at my club.

Nice stick. Fantastically forgiving hoop and its a racquet that really flatters your game. I was hitting shots that I wouldn't normally be able to generate with my normal sticks. Terrific amount of spin from that string bed (strung with a loose poly), light enough to allow you get the racquet around quickly and take top spin rips at everything off both sides, and some of the drop shots you can produce with this are just insane in terms of backspin and the ball dying on contact with the court. It's a stick that's very easy to pick and play without much adjustment. I preferred it to the G-Pro, principally because of the more open pattern.

Slightly more of a HH orientation (or should I say less HL) than I'm normally used to but that potentially could be tweaked with some weight in the handle. Would like to give it a more extensive playtest against a big hitter to see how it stacks up.

Well said again. :)
 

RollTrackTake

Professional
The Pacific frames are another story. One is strung with a natural colored multi but there is ZERO writing on it. It's a 16g, but I have no clue what it is. The other however, is something entirely different. It's strung up with something that feels almost like a poly, but isn't. It's got a strange color, somewhere between brown and pink, and the cut end looks like it's solid core. It looks a lot like the picture of Monogut ZX natural, but I gotta think TW wouldn't string up a demo with that in it.


It slides back into place like a poly when moved. Any thoughts on what it could be?

I'll see if I can get a picture hosted up somewhere to show you.

I just got a demo of a Pacific X Force Comp & the string in it is similar to the pinkish one you described here. Did you ever find out what it was? I think it may be Pacific X Force Poly Original (salmon color).
 

mawashi

Hall of Fame
Super post SmilinBob!

There is one stick missing from your list that I always thought of as a S&V stick, the Wilson Blx 95 18x20 I was wondering if you had the chance to hit with one.

Cheers.
 

Torres

Banned
Some further thoughts on the Head Graphene Speed MP....

Super easy racquet to play with in stock form but it lacks a bit of beef in the hoop on flat serves. Been experimenting with adding some lead. Added a load of lead to the handle to bring it to ~ 320mm balance (7HL) and also some in the lower hoop. Really beefs up flat serves but for some reason makes the racquet feel very sluggish on groundstrokes. Doesn't feel quite right on groundstrokes so have stripped it off again for some further experimentation.

Racquet itself is very soft, comfortable and arm friendly. Even strung with Lux Alu, it feels soft. I wouldn't mind if they 'crisped' this racquet up a bit in terms of stiffness as that drill pattern is very open, so even with a slightly higher RA, I can't imagine it would be arm unfriendly.

Nice swinging racquet, just needs a bit more solidity and mass in the hoop (somewhere).
 
Last edited:

Ross K

Legend
Some further thoughts on the Head Graphene Speed MP....

Super easy racquet to play with in stock form but it lacks a bit of beef in the hoop on flat serves. Been experimenting with adding some lead. Added a load of lead to the handle to bring it to ~ 320mm balance (7HL) and also some in the lower hoop. Really beefs up flat serves but for some reason makes the racquet feel very sluggish on groundstrokes. Doesn't feel quite right on groundstrokes so have stripped it off again for some further experimentation.

Racquet itself is very soft, comfortable and arm friendly. Even strung with Lux Alu, it feels soft. I wouldn't mind if they 'crisped' this racquet up a bit in terms of stiffness as that drill pattern is very open, so even with a slightly higher RA, I can't imagine it would be arm unfriendly.

Nice swinging racquet, just needs a bit more solidity and mass in the hoop (somewhere).

Got to confess I finally abandoned this frame. Just never quite gelled with the very open pattern, big power, slight hollowness, and polarised feel. I could've gone on with the mods experiments but I reckon after a few months of toying, tweaking, different set ups etc, that should be long enough to find a suitable level of contentedness.
 

Torres

Banned
Got to confess I finally abandoned this frame. Just never quite gelled with the very open pattern, big power, slight hollowness, and polarised feel. I could've gone on with the mods experiments but I reckon after a few months of toying, tweaking, different set ups etc, that should be long enough to find a suitable level of contentedness.

I have to admit, it wouldn't normally be my type of stick either. I bought it with the intention of simply trying it out but was surprised how easy and forgiving it played. There also seemed to be alot of adjustabillity offered by the hoop and drill patter. I prefer it to the Graphene Pro.

There's no way that I can firm up the beam - I suspect that ultimately it might be too soft for my liking - but I'd be interested to see where it can be taken with different weight mods. Racquet head speed seems to be key with this stick, but I'd still like a bit more mass and solidity in the hoop without changing its stock balance or the way it swings.

What lead mods did you try?
 
Last edited:

haveheart

New User
Bob, got the v98 team based simply on your review. Played exactly like you said. It is indeed a very fun stick to hit with. My daughter liked it as well and took it off my hands. She used to use the prince exo team, but can finish points easier with the slazenger. One minor issue is the v98 team is bit too light for me. I guess I could lead it up, but was wondering if you have play tested the v98 pro (not team)?
 

Torres

Banned
Where's SmilinBob gone? I like his reviews - they get straight to the key point with just the right amount of detail and no flim flam. I hope he hasn't been eaten by the fishes.... :shock:

Been playing with the Graphene Speed MP 16x19 on and off for the last couple of months. I think there's a really good racquet in there trying to get out. Swings fast, super forgiving, comfortable on the arm, very manoueverable, nice feel but just lacks a bit of mass. I'm at 333g with only a couple of grams of additional lead in the hoop and it feels fractionally too light and slightly insubstantial. I suspect that the hoop must be quite flexible as it doesn't feel like a RA66 racquet at all - it feels softer and flexier than that. I find that I get the best out of it by staying as loose as possible and getting that racquet tip speed as high as possible with as long as swing as possible. Played with it strung with Alu and also with BHBR16 and it was magic on both occasions but still felt it needed a small amount of additional weight in the throat and handle. It actually reminds me a bit of a lighter, more comfortable, less HL and less solid version of my Angell TC100 (345g).

Bob, if you're at the bottom of the ocean but somehow reading this, I'd love to hear a review from you on the Graphene Radical Pro.....
 
Last edited:

SmilinBob

Rookie
Back from the dead!

I'm SmilinB and I'm back from the dead,
Chillin' at the beaches down at Club Med,
Make another record 'cause the people they want more of this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftDNCVd3e4k

Well tennis had to take a back seat for a few months while I had to deal with an unexpected move (found out the day I got back in town from vacation) and a health issue that cut me down for about six weeks.

No worries though! Move is complete and I'm back to 100%. So of course you know what that means......TW demo orders! I'm back with three fresh reviews and a fourth in the hopper that I'm hitting tomorrow.

Here's what I've got:

Wilson Pro Staff 95S
Wilson Six.One 95S
Prince Tour 98 ESP
 

SmilinBob

Rookie
Wilson Pro Staff 95S

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Wilson_Pro_Staff_95S/descpageRCWILSON-PS95S.html

First Impressions:

After my first go with the BLX version of the Pro Staff 95, I was very intrigued to find out if the newer version with a much more open string pattern would have more power and spin. The return to an older layup in the material also had me interested. It came strung with Wilson NXT 16.

Groundstrokes:

The 95S was very similar to its predecessor in that it was a low powered frame from the back of the court, yet the more open pattern did give it a little bit more pop. With a bit more power from the string bed, I found depth control was much better and I was able to keep the ball deeper in the court. Directional control (and control in general) was outstanding. The open string pattern, even with a multi, delivered noticeably more spin and I found it let me be more aggressive than the BLX version and still keep the ball in play.

Volleys:

The 95S was even better at the net than the BLX version, especially when it came to power and feel. The super low swing weight made it feel very maneuverable and quick. I never felt like I was slow to a ball. Where I found the open pattern in the Steam 99S to be unpredictable, the 95S was consistent and I don't really feel like it gave up any control compared to the prior BLX 95. The open pattern also really opened up the sweet spot. The box beam with the older graphite/kevlar layup gave the 95S a wonderful feel and I noticed it most at the net, especially when hitting some touch volleys. In terms of feel, it came closest to the IG Prestige MP. Wonderfully plush yet still with some firmness.

Serves:

First serves were easy to control directionally but the results were very similar to the older BLX version when trying to flatten serves out: The swing weight was just way too low to get some real heat on serves. Moving the ball around the box was easy and I was having some really good success on slices out wide to the ad court and the open pattern made the kicker into the body a real weapon when mixed with a slicer out wide.

Second serves (more spin than power) were good but it took me a little while to adjust. When I first started serving I was dumping them into the net, and even after I wasn’t getting the ball very deep into the box. The spin (again, even with a multi) was fantastic though and even though serves were landing short, they were still jumping off the court well. The super low swing weight did make it difficult to feel where the tip of the racquet was though and it felt a bit lost through my motion.

Serve Returns:

Despite the low swing weight, I found the 95S had enough static weight to really make my chip/block return game effective. The racquet was super maneuverable and I felt I was reacting to serves well and getting the racquet to the ball well. I also found taking a bigger cut at some returns worked well too as the “S” string pattern really let me take a cut if I wanted to and keep it in. Slice returns were very unique though: They didn’t float at all in the air but when they hit the ground, they just died. No skid, no sit-up, it was like the ball just gave up. At first I thought that would be a bad thing, but it only generated weak replies.

Overall:

To me, the Pro Staff 95S was a real improvement over the previous version and the more open pattern really brought the frame to life yet the response stayed pretty consistent, unlike the Steam 99S. The power was better (although still pretty low) and the feel of the racquet was divine, very plush yet just firm enough. This frame is just crying for some lead tape in the hoop to get the swing weight up. Others have said the only difference between this and the new Six.One 95S is $50. Well guess what? The feel and control are worth every penny.
 

SmilinBob

Rookie
Wilson Six.One 95S

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Wilson_SixOne_95S/descpageRCWILSON-61S.html

First Impressions:

After spending a few months away from the game, the Six.One 95S really caught my eye with a pseudo-S spin pattern in a lighter version of the Six.One frame (which I enjoyed previously but found a bit beefy) so it was the first racquet I added to my most recent TW order. It came strung with Wilson NXT 16.

Groundstrokes:

I was finding good depth control with the Six.One 95S and was able to keep the ball deep in the court pretty consistently. Directional control was pretty good, but I was having some trouble turning my backhand up-the-line, which is probably due as much to transitioning to a one-hander as the racquet. Slices were good and stayed low and penetrating, although I had one sit up on the bounce and get crushed back at me. I was expecting a little more from the “S” pattern on the strings, but I’m blaming that more on me choosing the multi strung version instead of poly. Feel on the racquet was very tinny though and didn’t resemble the solidness of the prior version at all. It felt a lot more like a Babolat (a feel I really don’t care for) with a hollowness to it.

Volleys:

Directional control on volleys was really good and the Six.One 95S had good pop for volleys deep into the corners. I found that despite being lighter weight than the prior version, it had enough mass to feel pretty stable. While not as maneuverable as the Pro Staff 95S, it didn’t feel sluggish at all. The more open pattern felt consistent. The feel of the frame at the net was unpleasant though, with a tinny-ness to it I just didn’t like. It made the sweet spot feel small.

Serves:

I was having some good success with serves and found flattening out first serves up the T to work well, with the string bed seeming to play consistent even on slight mishits, unlike the Steam 99S. I had OK directional control however I found getting a serve wide into the deuce court (lefty) a little tricky, but it’s the serve I struggle with the most.

Second serves were OK, but I wasn’t noticing the ball to have any more spin on it than many of the 16x18 or 16x19 patterns I’ve hit, although again that probably has as much to do with the fact I chose the multi string in the demo as anything else. I was keeping the ball deep in the box but my second serve kicker was pretty ordinary. In some ways, a lot like the Rebel 98: Reliable, but not extraordinary.

Serve Returns:

The Six.One 95S was a decent returning racquet and it had enough mass to it that my chip/block return style was playing well. Slices stayed relatively low with some decent skid on them. Maneuverability was somewhat middle-of-the-road but I wouldn’t call the racquet sluggish. I had a little bit of trouble going after some returns as the “S” pattern felt like it played somewhat dense, again with the caveat that I chose the multi and yes, I know it still has 18 mains.

Overall:

The feel of the new Six.One 95S really took away a lot of what I think this racquet could offer. The more I think about it, the more I think it’s a good jack-of-all-trades racquet, much like the EXO3 Rebel 98, with a little bit more power and swing weight. The tinny-ness though was off-putting to me particularly when I think with a poly, which the “S” pattern was designed for, would improve the racquet a lot. With the hollow feeling, there’s no way I would play with a full bed of the stuff. I think it would feel too harsh. While I liked the on-paper changes to the racquet (pattern and weight) I think they traded it for worse feel and performance than the BLX version.
 

SmilinBob

Rookie
Prince Tour 98 ESP (THE SAVAGE BANANA)

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Prince_Tour_98_ESP_Racquets/descpageRCPRINCE-PT98.html


First Impressions:

I enjoyed hitting the previous version of this racquet, the EXO3 Rebel 98, but felt it was missing that “something” to make it go from good to great. With the new 16x16 pattern offered, I figured it was worth a try. It came strung with Prince Premier Touch 16.

Groundstrokes:

The big ports on the 98 ESP gave the racquet a wonderful feel on ball contact, something I’ve really grown to like in the Prince racquets. I found the open pattern gave the 98 ESP more power than the Rebel 98 and keeping the ball deep in the court was much easier. Even with a multi, the open pattern really upped the spin (the Rebel 98 was a 16x20) and I felt like I could take a much bigger cut at the ball and it would still dip in, improving my new one-handed backhand quite a bit. The two downsides to the 98 ESP from the baseline were that slices tended to float and sit up on the bounce, and weak shots had a very fluttering, almost “airy” flight to them. Hit flush, topspin shots from both wings were great though.

Volleys:

The feel of this racquet with the open pattern was great, and if I had any complaint, it might be that it trended towards slightly soft, even for my tastes, but that’s a petty complaint. Feel was really good. I found directional control was good but not great however both power and touch, even with the open pattern, were very good. The absolute standout for the 98 ESP was on low and half volleys though, where the soft feel of the string bed made it seem as if I had extra time to think about what to do with the ball. The dwell time on the string was fantastic. As a serve-and-volleyer I play a lot of shots at my feet and those low volleys are important. The top of the sweet spot felt a little narrow though, something that after a little visual study made me think was due in part to what appears to be a slightly elongated head shape.

Serves:

The open ESP pattern really improved the spin of the racquet from the rebel 98 and I found slices out wide to the ad court to work much better than with the Rebel. I found control was good as long as I kept the swing speed up and let the open pattern and ball spin do the rest. When it came to pace though, I found the racquet to still be lacking. I wasn’t getting a lot of heat on the ball on serves up the T and the 98 ESP felt very head light.

Second serves were good though and the spin really helped the kicker jump off the court. Despite the lack of pace, I noticed my opponent was still playing relatively far back, letting the ball come down more into his strike zone for his return. As a serve-and-volleyer, this gave me one if not two extra steps into the net. While not really forcing the issue, spin serves definitely proved a good “setup” for the volley allowing me a much better position at the net.

Serve Returns:

The 98 ESP was an effective returner and felt very maneuverable. My chip/block return game was OK with it, finding good depth. The only problem was that slices tended to float and sat up a bit. When I had the chance to take a cut at the ball though, the 98 ESP was very good and the open pattern let me be more aggressive than I normally am.

Overall:

The feel of the 98 ESP was wonderful and picking up low and half-volleys was a true stand-out. The open pattern brought much more life to the frame than it had with the Rebel 98 and I felt like I could be more aggressive with it. The racquet felt soft enough I would have no worries putting a poly in the crosses to liven up the spin even more. The only downside was the lack of pace on serves, and I might try to fix that with some lead tape at the top of the hoop. If the prior version was nicknamed the Banana, the improved ESP version definitely deserves the Savage Banana title others have applied.
 

kaiser

Semi-Pro
Great reviews, thanks! Did you get a chance to try the PS 95S with some lead? How do you think it would play with 10-12g of lead under the bumper counterbalanced at the butt?
 

SpinToWin

Talk Tennis Guru
by the way, what I forgot to add:
You might want to look at depolarized lead customizations. This means adding lead at 3/9 and the bottom of the throat/top of the handle. The result is a large increase in stability and power and it is the lead customization used by serve and vollyers (it is very good for flat groundstrokes).

On the other hand, lead at 12 (and in the handle) is what we call a polarized customization. This increases swingweight a lot without increasing weight a lot. There is in fact less power with this setup and more spin. As a result, people using such customizations usually string lower to compensate for the lack of power. The result is a racquet which generally is not suited to flat shots and volleying, due to a large loss in control. Such customizations are used by baseliners most of the time. The Graphene racquets are polarized racquets, so this may explain some of your concern up at net.

I strongly recommend giving the Pro Staff 95 (S) another chance with depolarized customization. It's a beast at serve and at net.
Cheers
 
Last edited:

SmilinBob

Rookie
interesting... so what do you prefer, the PS 95S or the savage banana? :lol:

Tough to say...They are more similar than different. I would say the open pattern in the 95S has a little more control while the 98 ESP has a little more power. Both aren't stellar servers, especially with power, but good with kicking the ball in.

I'm having another go with both of them leaded up. I think the 95S needs more attention with lead but could also benefit more. Only one way to find out!
 

SmilinBob

Rookie
Great reviews, thanks! Did you get a chance to try the PS 95S with some lead?

One...
95_S_1.jpg


Step...
95_S_2.jpg


Ahead.
98_ESP_1.jpg


The lead brings the swingweights of both sticks up to the north side of 320, more where I prefer it. The 98 ESP didn't need as much to get it there so the static weight didn't change much. The 95S is weighing in at 339 grams (11.95 oz) now while the 98 ESP is only at 326 grams (11.5 oz).

This is a higher static weight than my Graphene MP or V98 Team, but what I found in that last tournament is my return game didn't benefit from the light weight, despite serving well. The extra static weight in the stock 95S had me up two breaks when I played the other day. I think going up to the 11.6/7 range will help me.

Both are still head light, the 98 ESP about 4-5 points, the 95S 2 points.

Hitting both of these bad boys in about an hour, with the fourth yet-unnamed racquet that still gets a review.
 
by the way, what I forgot to add:
You might want to look at depolarized lead customizations. This means adding lead at 3/9 and the bottom of the throat/top of the handle. The result is a large increase in stability and power and it is the lead customization used by serve and vollyers (it is very good for flat groundstrokes).

On the other hand, lead at 12 (and in the handle) is what we call a polarized customization. This increases swingweight a lot without increasing weight a lot. There is in fact less power with this setup and more spin. As a result, people using such customizations usually string lower to compensate for the lack of power. The result is a racquet which generally is not suited to flat shots and volleying, due to a large loss in control. Such customizations are used by baseliners most of the time. The Graphene racquets are polarized racquets, so this may explain some of your concern up at net.

I strongly recommend giving the Pro Staff 95 (S) another chance with depolarized customization. It's a beast at serve and at net.
Cheers

Thank you. Good description. Was curious about this. Have always played my racquet in stock form (Dunlop 4d 200 - no need for lead - at least for me)...playing around with the PS 95...definitely needs lead...going to try the polarized customization. Thanks!!
 

SpinToWin

Talk Tennis Guru
Thank you. Good description. Was curious about this. Have always played my racquet in stock form (Dunlop 4d 200 - no need for lead - at least for me)...playing around with the PS 95...definitely needs lead...going to try the polarized customization. Thanks!!

good luck with that! It's my current racquet of choice and it plays extremely well with a polarized setup.

Mine is modded up quite extensively with a leather grip and an overgrip, 8g of lead tape at 3/9 (for some more stability for hard hitting) and lead at 12 and on the buttcap to bring the racquet to a swingweight around 355 and 368g static weight with a 6 Pts HL balance.

The spin, precision and penetration you get with this racquet should be illegal :lol:
 
good luck with that! It's my current racquet of choice and it plays extremely well with a polarized setup.

Mine is modded up quite extensively with a leather grip and an overgrip, 8g of lead tape at 3/9 (for some more stability for hard hitting) and lead at 12 and on the buttcap to bring the racquet to a swingweight around 355 and 368g static weight with a 6 Pts HL balance.

The spin, precision and penetration you get with this racquet should be illegal :lol:

I like it! :)
 

SmilinBob

Rookie
interesting... so what do you prefer, the PS 95S or the savage banana? :lol:

So I played earlier this evening getting about two hours in with the Savage Banana and the Pro Staff 95S, both leaded up to get the swing weight up a bit, and I noticed two things:

Two grams of lead at 12 o'clock on the Savage Banana (that's too good a name for the 98 ESP to call it anything else) really helps with keeping slices from floating. I noticed the extra tip weight drove through the ball much better. The only downside I noticed with the Banana was a tendency for shots to fly if the tip speed wasn't up. Without the lead it wasn't as noticeable because the racquet is pretty whippy, but even just two grams was enough to catch a few flyers.

As for the 95S, as predicted, it takes lead like it was made for it (hell, they painted the frame with marks for it.) I originally started with two grams at 12 and three grams each at 3 & 9. With all that lead, it really improved my serving bringing the heat back without sacrificing a thing. The S pattern still kept the spin up well. I did notice though that all that lead made it more sluggish and my return game was suffering, so I peeled off the stuff at 12, and with the lead left at 3 and 9 it played very well. I ended up catching two service breaks against a good player, and we went to deuce on every other game he served. While it doesn't serve like the Graphene MP (yet) or anything close to the Juice or Pure Drive Roddick, it has enough pop to be effective with good control and excellent spin.

Short answer to your specific question, I'm liking the 95S more, but the Savage Banana is a great racquet too. They fixed everything that was wrong with the Rebel 98 while keeping the great soft and flexy feel. As for the 95S, the open pattern makes it much livelier, although it still is pretty low powered, but the control remains fantastic and I feel like I can be pretty aggressive with it. The extra lead really helps on serve and when playing defensively.
 

SmilinBob

Rookie
Wilson Pro Staff 100L

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Wilson_Pro_Staff_100L/descpageRCWILSON-PS100L.html

First Impressions:

I had very much wanted to demo the prior version Pro Staff 100 with a bunch of lead in the hoop (see earlier posts in this thread) to see how the extra ¼” and larger head size would play. I went with the non-S pattern and threw over 10 grams of lead in the hoop bringing the swing weight from 303 to over 325 and a static weight of 11 ounces (from 10.6). It was strung with NXT 16 and like the others, appeared to be new. I did not hit this frame unleaded.

Groundstrokes:

From first contact is was obvious that this was a different Pro Staff: The feel of the racquet was much livelier and less plush than the 95S. While I’m sure some of it was due to a tighter string pattern, the beam also felt a little stiffer. (I did check and the grips on the 100L and 95S were the same.) I was getting merely OK depth on shots but control was good. I was expecting a little more power from the extra length and ever-so-slightly thicker beam than I got out of it. It didn’t have nearly the spin of the 95S, but it was still good. Directional control was good but slices were a bit floaty. It felt like it needed some lead in the handle as well.

Volleys:

Of any place on the court, the 100L performed best at the net. From the ground the 100L didn’t feel any longer at all, but from the net I felt like I was catching the ball in the sweet spot a little better (my common miss is high on the string bed.) The extra ¼” seemed to help. Directional control was good but the feel again was firmer than the 95S. It wasn’t harsh, but what I would call “brighter”. In some ways, the 100L felt a lot like the Slazenger V98 Team, without the grin-inducing contact you get from the V98. Maneuverability was good, but I would probably move the lead around lower in the hoop. Stability was good, something I would expect given the lead at 3 and 9. I would speculate that unleaded, the racquet would be pretty unstable at the net.

Serves:

Flat serves worked pretty well with the 100L however I found it difficult to cut a big slicer out wide to the ad court (for whatever reason.) Unlike at the net, I really didn’t notice the extra length when serving, except when trying to turn a serve wide to the deuce court (lefty) where it felt like I was higher at contact and had a better angle. Overall control was OK, but I did give up a break.

Second/spin serves were good, but for whatever reason my opponent was really dialed in on his returns and hit some true lasers past me. I felt like I was getting good hop on the ball but not anywhere near the 95S. When really trying to spin the ball in I didn’t notice the extra length at all.

Serve Returns:

Returns were…OK. For whatever reason, the brighter feel of the frame was slightly off-putting when I was trying to return a hard serve and I noticed that some returns where I was reaching and caught the ball outside of the sweet spot there was a noticeable lack of pop, more so than on many other racquets I’ve demoed. My chip/block returns were not getting as deep as I would have liked, but I think it was more a matter of me expecting more given the amount of lead I put in the hoop. Slices floated a little bit and sat up a little on the bounce, but it didn’t seem like they were getting crushed back at me.

Overall:

It was a fun experiment to try a leaded up 100L and compare it to the 95S (which I also leaded up, see earlier in this thread) and I was surprised how different the two Pro Staff frames felt. The 100L felt firmer and livelier. I’m tempted to try the 100LS to see if the spin pattern plays a little softer and has better spin (I imagine it would) but I think I would need to tinker with the lead placement. If I could find the right way to weight the hoop to keep volley performance up (but softer) and keep returns and slices more penetrating, it could be a winner. A 100LS leaded up is probably a future demo. For those of you that hit the 95S and want something with a livelier feel, give the 100L (or LS) a try.
 

MikeHitsHard93

Hall of Fame
Hey Bob, love your reviews and we seem to enjoy similar rackets. Out of all my testing, I've figured out that I enjoy rackets with low power but an open pattern with powerful strings, such as the prestige s, Dunlop m3.0, prostaff 95, and possibly the organix 9. Which racket in this class of rackets was your favorite?
 

SpinToWin

Talk Tennis Guru
I'm not married to any "category" of racquet, however I am no longer willing to demo racquets with an RA rating that creeps above 65-66-ish. Instinct MP is listing out at 70. Sorry, ain't gonna hit it.

that's what I was implying, you had said so in a previous post (about the stiffness). This category of racquet is stiff, hence something you're not looking for ;)
 

SmilinBob

Rookie
Hey Bob, love your reviews and we seem to enjoy similar rackets. Out of all my testing, I've figured out that I enjoy rackets with low power but an open pattern with powerful strings, such as the prestige s, Dunlop m3.0, prostaff 95, and possibly the organix 9. Which racket in this class of rackets was your favorite?

Well, all pretty different sticks. The Dunlop M3.0 is nice, but I'll tell ya, if you can somehow find it, the Slazenger V98 Team, which is the exact same mold with more weight in the hoop, is vastly superior. Still one of my faves. However the Dunlop/Slaz stick's string pattern isn't overwhelmingly open in the center of the stringbed. The Graphene Speed MP is MUCH more open. The M3.0 is more head-light, so if you like a whippier racquet, it's worth hitting. I'd also recommend you go either multi or hybrid in it. The frame has a very "bright" feel and while I haven't hit it with poly, I'd be worried that shots outside the sweet spot might get harsh on you with some stiff strings in it.

As for the Pro Staff 95, the BLX version was OK, stellar control but too little power. Good stick, but the new 95S with the more open pattern is a LOT better. The S pattern really opens up the sweet spot and gives the racquet a little more power but maintains the control.

On to the Prestige S, I know a lot of folks say it isn't really a Prestige because of the weight and some other things, but I thought it was pretty good. I'd take the others over the Prestige S as it wasn't a great racquet for me on serve, but it feels good and has more pop than the Pro Staff 95. Much like the 95, despite the weight I found it to be an excellent volleying racquet with great control, but not quite to the level of the Prestige MP.
 

SmilinBob

Rookie
that's what I was implying, you had said so in a previous post (about the stiffness). This category of racquet is stiff, hence something you're not looking for ;)

Understood. I just don't want anybody to think they won't be seeing a Gamma Big Bubba review in this thread soon. :)

Speaking of new reviews...................

I have FOUR MORE sticks arriving from T-Dub tomorrow that I'm very excited to hit. Stay tuned...
 
Top