Bobby Jr
G.O.A.T.
For the benefit of Wilson Tour/90 frame lovers I thought I'd get to the bottom of the: do they/don't they contain kevlar? topic for the most recent four Tour/90 frames produced by Wilson.
The frames:
K 6.1 Tour (2008-ish)
Six.one Tour BLX (Dec 2009/early 2010)
BLX Pro Staf Six.One 90 (2013-ish)
Pro Staff 90 (2014)
Popular belief previously suggested that all of these frames were effectively the same with only minor differences in composition. Racquet fanatics have debated this topic for a long time.
Marketing material for these frames has been a bit unreliable, often conflicted by what is said in spec lists on retails sites/reviews. For example, the K6.1 Tour didn't say it contained Kevlar in its marketing material but it is well established that the frame did in fact contain kevlar (broken frames show the tell-tale yellow-ish fibres).
So, I thought I'd see if some definitive answers could be found for the benefit of future discussions. I contacted the Wilson Innovation Centre who were more than happy to pass my queries onto people who has been involved in the design of the frames.
Here is the outcome:
- Only two of the previous four previous 90 sq in frames have contained Kevlar. Fact.
These racquets did not contain kevlar in their composition:
These frames did/do contain kevlar:
So, there you have it. Finally some good info which explains both why these frames played so differently and why Wilson have been so clear in the marketing of the 2014 PS90 frame to state a return to the use of kevlar in the composition of the frames.
This demonstrates perfectly how, sometimes, it pays just to ask. Companies are generally happy to dispel myths about their products (especially long-since out of production ones).
The frames:
K 6.1 Tour (2008-ish)
Six.one Tour BLX (Dec 2009/early 2010)
BLX Pro Staf Six.One 90 (2013-ish)
Pro Staff 90 (2014)
Popular belief previously suggested that all of these frames were effectively the same with only minor differences in composition. Racquet fanatics have debated this topic for a long time.
Marketing material for these frames has been a bit unreliable, often conflicted by what is said in spec lists on retails sites/reviews. For example, the K6.1 Tour didn't say it contained Kevlar in its marketing material but it is well established that the frame did in fact contain kevlar (broken frames show the tell-tale yellow-ish fibres).
So, I thought I'd see if some definitive answers could be found for the benefit of future discussions. I contacted the Wilson Innovation Centre who were more than happy to pass my queries onto people who has been involved in the design of the frames.
Here is the outcome:
- Only two of the previous four previous 90 sq in frames have contained Kevlar. Fact.
These racquets did not contain kevlar in their composition:
- Wilson Six.one Tour BLX
- Wilson BLX Pro Staff Six.One 90
These frames did/do contain kevlar:
- Wilson K6.1 Tour
- Wilson Pro Staff 90 (2014)
So, there you have it. Finally some good info which explains both why these frames played so differently and why Wilson have been so clear in the marketing of the 2014 PS90 frame to state a return to the use of kevlar in the composition of the frames.
This demonstrates perfectly how, sometimes, it pays just to ask. Companies are generally happy to dispel myths about their products (especially long-since out of production ones).
