I used pure storm tours for years and even got some pro stock control molds from a buddy who used to be high up with Babolat. They’re too anemic for me now, even at my specs. So the strike vs might be just what I need. It’s crisper for sure. And lowering the tension and adding weight probably alleviates the deadness of the tip. Would be fun to experiment!
Victor Supreme I believe. VS was the final version of their gut that was the best.
That's strange. What does a racket have to do with a natural gut string?
My best guess would be denoting a line as "VS" like PAVS, PDVS, and PSVS signals that it is meant for top performers, with the "supreme" need for "victory."
After reading your post, when the reality kicks in that even the 90s was 30+ years ago....
Well, I wasn't talking about racquets. I was talking about the origin of term 'VS'Yep. But we are talking about racquets rather than strings. So VS means "Special Version".
There is no suggestion that any VS version in the racquet model line is a "superior" version. Just different ... and special
There’s similarity for sure. Hitting side by side with one of my old pure storm tours, there was more pop, spin, and whippiness from the new one - expected being 10g lighter or whatever. Crisper in feel to me. It’s a player’s stick for sure but with a couple modern comforts in the form of a plusher sweet spot and more outgoing power. It’s still a feel-oriented players’ stick that puts out what you put in, though. I only spent 15-20 minutes with it, so hoping to get on the playtest and really put it through its paces.
Have you hit with the Swirly Controls (old circa 2001 Controls from before Storms) by any chance? Would love to hear your feedback and comparison with these new ones.
The swirly’s and team from ‘03 were stiffer and provided more pop than the storms and controls that followed. Hurt my wrist but were crazy nice. The new one has a little bit more of that but it’s by no means stiff. It’s most like the ‘07 carbon xtreme storms - played it next to one of those and a gt. But only for 20 minutes and not with the same strings or specs.
Thanks. Yeah, true. I got my first Swirly back when I loved Gonzalez and his forehand. Have two of those Controls custom painted and still in my collection. Far more stiffer and pop than Storms. Would absolutely obliterate the ball. Never liked the one generation of Control that followed after Storms though. They changed the name to Strike after that. Anyway, thanks for the feedback. Guess I need to get a demo of these PSVS 2022. Cheers.
Spot on, it is further allocation of a known Bab trademark in strings to racquet lines.Well, I wasn't talking about racquets. I was talking about the origin of term 'VS'
And for racquets, I disagree. VS is just a moniker. It does not stand for 'Special Version' - that is a misconception. Babolat have not changed what VS stands for when it comes to racquets. Nowhere does Babolat or its reps suggest that is the case. In fact, use of VS in racquet line basically just means that Babolat has continued to use the designation it used originally for top quality strings, and has simply moved it for its racquet lines as well. All of this, frankly, is marketing.
But yes, the VS lines are geared more for performance oriented players. They are more player's frames (denser, smaller heads) than regular line frames offered and aimed at generally higher level players.
Directly from Babolat website:
Also, when asked directly, the Babolat rep mentioned that:
Yep it was gonzo for me too. The swirly’s and the 03 were amazing and crushed the ball but were too scarce for me when I discovered them. Played all of them through juniors and college. The control re-name from storm was nice for me. But the strike vs which was reportedly just a paint job didn’t get the job done. Stiff and uncomfortable with little feel. I want some more time with the new strike vs for sure. Here’s hoping it’s what I’ve been looking for.
Yeah, I used the Swirly + for over 4 years (still have no idea how I swung that thing...ah, to have a 30 yr old shoulder...). I'd say even the version of the Control that followed the Swirly was not as good. They took 10g out of it, and made it a tad softer (71 vs 68 for the '+' line).
I remember you mentioning that in the past. Yeah those + length ones were even bigger beasts. I mean 350+ swing weight on a stock stick does all the talking for sure.
My friend, I know you have been a fan of the Pure Storms as well. Think you purchased a pretty expensive NOS too from overseas didn't you a few years back? We were both rekindling our PSTGT affairs at the time. Now I'm tempted to dust off mine and see what the fuss was about! Holic woes, haha.
Yeah the 98 molds are all the same. Just layup changes through the years. The pure strike vs grommets fit the older models and everything too.
Oh, for some reason I thought they changed the mold once they brought the Strike VS in those PO7 colors. Good to know, thanks.
Nah. Still fits. Requires a little elbow grease but the dumb 2-piece babolat grommets always have been hard
Yeah, I had played with the PSTGT when the racquet came out probably a couple of years. I can't remember anymore why I moved on. Then 4 years ago or so I grabbed a pair of NOS from Germany, you're right
Same here. Customized mine to my specs, 327 grams unstrung, Swingweight 306. Wondering about the strings set up, my regular string is the Head lynx tour 1,25 but I would like to try something different for this frame, maybe an hybrid with nat gut..
Right now I use Prestige MID (93 sqi, 16x19) with no intention to switch. It doesn’t even have the lowest launch like six one 95 18 or even blade 18 or RS305. I was a bit suprised how high arched ball PSVS shot, more spin and angle than APD.
This is not my experience. The L3 PSVS feels like an L3.
The syntec base grips used to run really large...not as much anymore. They compact down pretty quickly too. This one with the leather is definitely true to size and will feel slightly smaller once it forms to the handle a bit.
I demoed the racquet with an L3 grip for about a week and it seemed like a standard L3 to me.
In my past experience the babolat leather has been very good. All of my pure storms had babolat leather added and I really remember liking the feel.
Can you post that picture of the buttcaps again? I'd like to see it.
Also a part of this Playtest!! Looking forward to seeing what these Babolat Pure Strike VS 2022s are all about! I have dabbled in a lot of Babolat racquets and truth be told - I have found things I like about them all. The thing I don't like is usually the stiffness, which is why I am particularly interested in these VS models.
Rub it in
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