What's up with Volkl and their rackets?
- Thread starter Garet Jax
- Start date
Not to derail Garet's threat too badly here, but what do you think the C10 Evo gives you over your PSVS's, that make it (already made it?) switchable for you?
There's not a ton of daylight there, really. I can switch back and forth without a problem. I like the feel a bit more, and think it's more precise on the control front. The string pattern is 16X19 vs. 16X20, but is less open. I think I serve better with it also, though again, it's a bit of a wash/splitting hairs. I serve well with the PSVS too. C10 Evo is just a bit faster through the air, I think, at similar specs. Love that svelte 20mm beam.
I think it's mostly a wash, but I have the EVOs a bit lower in SW (330 vs. 335 on the PSVS). The power levels feel pretty similar at that spec.
ReopeningWed
Professional
I just strung 3 different Volkls for my coach and they are gorgeous, super high quality paint jobs. I also measured them on my kitchen scale and they’re within a gram of the static weight. He used to play with a leaded up Prestige mid while he was in college and played on the tour, says the Volkls are similar to his competing rackets for feel and plow through.
Crocodile
G.O.A.T.
Price wise the only racquets going for a song are some of the older V Cell frames and some models from the ICON silo where they are only available in small grip sizes ( which off course can be RE-palleted to your own preferences if you are happy to do so)
As to what’s happening to the company I could probably find out - I would expect something to happen in 2027 as the Vostra range nears the end of its cycle.
From a personal perspective if the owners of Volkl had some creative license and cash I would be doing something with their icon range. Volkl have some decisions to make. Volkl are a heritage brand in that many of their advocates are the older players and those who value arm safety and injury protection so they need to appease those customers. At the same time they also need to focus on the younger generation of players as that’s the future moving forward.
As an interesting initiate I think Volkl should do a limited run on the various ICON frames they made both in the Volkl period and Becker period so that those fans can stock up on them. Yes they have the V1 EVO and classic, the 2 C10, the V8 and PB 10 Mid and I think that those who have wanted one of these have already bought them. What I’m thinking is that they look at some of the other ones that people miss such as the Tour 10 V Engine and V10 catapult, the Melbourne and the like and do a limited run of these and sell them off. While they are doing this they should be spending some time behind the scenes developing their new technology and new generation of frames and cosmetics and then release them to the world with all the old ICON stuff sold and buried. You do this to get people to focus on their new tech front and centre.
Volkl need to reclaim their supremacy in feel, comfort and quality they had over the other brands like they did in the late 90’s and early 2000. During those times Volkl were way ahead of the brands that dominate today where’s today they are kind of on par or in deficit - definitely in deficit with some of their cosmetic designs. They really need to go with modern yet simple sophisticated elegance. This is only hard to do if the people at Volkl don’t believe enough, and easy to do if they have the passion to make better racquets.
As to what’s happening to the company I could probably find out - I would expect something to happen in 2027 as the Vostra range nears the end of its cycle.
From a personal perspective if the owners of Volkl had some creative license and cash I would be doing something with their icon range. Volkl have some decisions to make. Volkl are a heritage brand in that many of their advocates are the older players and those who value arm safety and injury protection so they need to appease those customers. At the same time they also need to focus on the younger generation of players as that’s the future moving forward.
As an interesting initiate I think Volkl should do a limited run on the various ICON frames they made both in the Volkl period and Becker period so that those fans can stock up on them. Yes they have the V1 EVO and classic, the 2 C10, the V8 and PB 10 Mid and I think that those who have wanted one of these have already bought them. What I’m thinking is that they look at some of the other ones that people miss such as the Tour 10 V Engine and V10 catapult, the Melbourne and the like and do a limited run of these and sell them off. While they are doing this they should be spending some time behind the scenes developing their new technology and new generation of frames and cosmetics and then release them to the world with all the old ICON stuff sold and buried. You do this to get people to focus on their new tech front and centre.
Volkl need to reclaim their supremacy in feel, comfort and quality they had over the other brands like they did in the late 90’s and early 2000. During those times Volkl were way ahead of the brands that dominate today where’s today they are kind of on par or in deficit - definitely in deficit with some of their cosmetic designs. They really need to go with modern yet simple sophisticated elegance. This is only hard to do if the people at Volkl don’t believe enough, and easy to do if they have the passion to make better racquets.
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Yes. These are the frames to which I am referring. They are the only manufacturer that TW has in abundance selling for a huge discount. The implication being the V-Cell rackets were never popular. They are supposed to be comfortable for an arm, but they have an RA of 68.
Crocodile
G.O.A.T.
My impressions of the V Feel and V Cell iteration was that they moved away from the traditional Volkl feel and yes that is due to the increased stiffness but also the change in material that made the frames less sweet.
They went from sweet, flexible and comfortable to muted, stiff and somewhat comfortable and Volkl traditionalists didn’t like it - preferring to pick from the ICON series which is not good for Volkl and a rejection of their newest stuff of the time,
The Vostra is a move in the right direction and the design of the Vostra 10 320 with its V Engine is a good one. Head went through a similar thing when they got rid of twin tube and introduced their first generation of the graphene technology which many thought did not feel very nice, They then continued to make adjustments to where we are now with the boron fibres and sound grommets which is working for them for some people.
I think what Volkl needs to do to have a distinct advantage is to rediscover their distinctive feel or build a nicer feel than what the other brands are offering. It’s the reason why there was a lot of passion for the Fischer and then Pacific racquets that had this addictive feel that no other brand could replicate.
Back in the late 90’s Volkl’s marketing line was “You can feel the difference “, and you certainly could. The C10 which is now 27 years old is testimony to how good the design was, a true original masterpiece and they also achieved greatness with the PB 10 Mid and original V1. Volkl need to get those engineers working to produce the next master piece:
stephenpinkus
Rookie
I’ll throw in my 2 cents. First - as far as optics - I love the cosmetics. The stripes are unique and, and In my opinion, more tasteful than the horrible Head options and the Yonex blue. Re playability, my experience is limited to the V1 MP. I love the Vostra iteration, but actually prefer the VCell because of increased feel. Finally, one of the commentators made references to the V10 Catapult. Great frame - I have one in the closet. Only problem, it is a 5 and I have gravitated to a 4 with a thin Babolat OGG and I don’t think that the current Volkl handles correlate with the V10.
That's my understanding too, but I have looked and can't find Volkl ones.
Crocodile
G.O.A.T.
Yes the V10 catapult was interestingly only initially available in certain markets such as Australia and Europe and the US did not get them until right at the end of their run. The US however did get the V8 catapult that Australia did not receive. Incidentally quite a few Volkl sponsored pros were testing the V 10 catapult under experimental paint at the AO and lead up tournaments at the time ( late 90’s)
As far as changing the handle you can use all the pallets but you have to select the right butt cap ( sensor tour or twin absorber and not bio sensor or Reva). As with many pallets you might have to saw the length down to fit the length of the handle but that’s about it. I have one in grip 5 and always on the lookout for these frames as they were quite innovative frames.
I really believe that back around 25 years ago Volkl was very innovative and heavily involved in testing racquets with the professional community and competitive players. I feel now they are quite removed from that and I don’t think that the same passion or involvement is ther.
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I think the issue is they make a ton more money from skiing and they don't want to invest heavily in tennis to get a top 100 pro on their frames (and iircmaybe Volkl tennis is licensed out anyway to a company who probably cant afford much marketing etc)... but yeah basically if they don't invest in a pro, they're not AS iconic/legacy as Prince so they will likely just stay in their little niche, so it'll be run on a fairly low budget without much ambition
Crocodile
G.O.A.T.
Unfortunately Volkl tennis and Volkl ski brand are separate entities, only sharing origins in name but otherwise went their separate ways in the 1990’s. The tennis company got bought by Klipspringrer USA but still have their R & D department in Germany.
GravitysElbow
Rookie
As someone noted in another thread, their website has disappeared, are they still in business?
Their "presence" really gives that impression. I am switching rackets to try and find a way to play this great game even with major shoulder problems. My only hesitation in buying V-Cell rackets (since they are so inexpensive) is whether or not Volkl is still making rackets. At the end of the day, I decided it really didn't matter if Volkl was still in the racket business for me to make the purchases.
JonathanShefftz
Rookie
Maybe you're in another country, but the Volk Tennis website in the U.S. works for me.
JonathanShefftz
Rookie
Volkl Tennis is owned by Klip America, based in CA.
The famed (for better or worse) Klippermate stringer is owned by Klipper USA, based in IL.
(As for whether anyone has ever strung a Volkl tennis racquet with Klip natural gut on a Klippermate stringer, probably not!)
GravitysElbow
Rookie
Yes, in Europe. Tried from both the UK and France and no response for several days now
JonathanShefftz
Rookie
I tried the European website just now from the U.S., and it works for me.
(As for response to inquiries, I sent an email to the U.S. website asking about the differences between their various OG models. Never heard back anything. Although my order for string was fulfilled promptly.)
(As for response to inquiries, I sent an email to the U.S. website asking about the differences between their various OG models. Never heard back anything. Although my order for string was fulfilled promptly.)
JonathanShefftz
Rookie
@Garet Jax Yes, that is discouraging. Ya'd think they could get a summer intern for something like that. Or even an initial AI reply with a subsequent human follow-up. Definitely makes me appreciate TW even more!
GravitysElbow
Rookie
JonathanShefftz
Rookie
@GravitysElbow, so surprising for me as a skier, since Volkl's market presence (and high-end reputation) in skiing would seem to give Volkl tennis (even if now an entirely separate business) such a big advantage.
Then again, I recall from my youth the tennis popularity of Rossignol (especially the F-200) plus (to a far lesser extent) Fischer and Kneissl.
Head is of course now one of the surviving big four, but it already was big dating back to the Arthur Ashe Competition (and I still do admire him as a player, even though that was such a horribly mistaken racquet for me, as well as perhaps for anyone other than him).
Then again, I recall from my youth the tennis popularity of Rossignol (especially the F-200) plus (to a far lesser extent) Fischer and Kneissl.
Head is of course now one of the surviving big four, but it already was big dating back to the Arthur Ashe Competition (and I still do admire him as a player, even though that was such a horribly mistaken racquet for me, as well as perhaps for anyone other than him).
Yes it is. It is the same for those wait lines on the phone too. My experience is that I wait far longer if I let them "keep my place in line and call me back when it's my turn rather" than just waiting on hold.
JonathanShefftz
Rookie
@Garet Jax I'm also skeptical of those call-back options -- especially since if I'm unavailable when they call me back, I probably have to start all over again!
BTW, speaking of skiing tie-ins, although Wilson still has a distinct U.S. base and ball-sport image, its Finnish corporate parent owns many ski brands, from Austria, Canada, America, and France.
BTW, speaking of skiing tie-ins, although Wilson still has a distinct U.S. base and ball-sport image, its Finnish corporate parent owns many ski brands, from Austria, Canada, America, and France.
GravitysElbow
Rookie
Great, thanks, that works for me too. I guess they have changed their address but some search engines are still directing to the old one.
stephenpinkus
Rookie
I’ve found Volkl very responsive. I had a question on the thickness of a replacement grip and received a quick answer.
