XFactorer
Hall of Fame
I tried Hyper G in mine at 45 or something... hated it. I have some Tecnifibre Razor Code in it right now. It's stiffer than my preferred PolyTour Pro 120, but it's growing accustomed to it.
CodyZzZ
Rookie
Well if they followed the formula from the DR series, it would be a Blue one around this time to winter next year, then followed by a plus 6 months later, so about June 2019 would be my guess.
That said, if the Blue plus sold really well, maybe they'll come out with a green plus first 6 months from now. If only they could just tell us!
DJ-
Hall of Fame
Still a great frame, just needs the SW bumped, I have about 5-6grams of lead under the bumper ad it plays great. My first Yonex
I heard the release has been delayed until next week
It appears that way. It seems like a good move Yonexs part since a lot of people liked the XI to begin with and apparently Kyrgios is using an XI with a paint job
DJ-
Hall of Fame
Yeah they have, I have owned / own all the shapes and iterations, this one is like the original ezone and XI series. Some Japanese yonex guy said they could afford to reduce weight due to the shape. If you look at this video you can see how less rounded they look at the top half ! The squarer shape is great IMO
DJ-
Hall of Fame
I used the Ai98 for a long time, recently hit with both new 100 and 98 ezones and they feel bigger than their head size, sweetspot feels huge and stable. Can't wait to test my own strings and configs.. I have always felt the squarer shaped Yonex's are more forgiving and have better feel... we shall see
DJ-
Hall of Fame
After a while you don't even notice the shape, you just reap the benefits! I used to use a Rossignol with an inverted bridge for many years as a junior and ppl were like wtf is that... after a while you get used to it and so do others
I like the back to basics approach in tennis, this will be an interesting line from yonex
Tordne
Semi-Pro
My order now has a status of shipped but not yet got tracking number. Not sure if FedEx picks up from TW on a Saturday. Guess worst case will ship Monday.
Ah ok, i'm in North America so it might be distributed differently. Please do share your reviews ASAP!
After a while you don't even notice the shape, you just reap the benefits! I used to use a Rossignol with an inverted bridge for many years as a junior and ppl were like wtf is that... after a while you get used to it and so do others
The reason I never considered Yonex before was because of the square head shape, but ever since I switched to the AI I doubt i'll ever go back to any other brand.... quality speaks volumes
DJ-
Hall of Fame
Made in JAPAN, you can't go wrong ! Angell racquets are also top notch along with some pacifics...
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
kimguroo
Legend
I am not sure about many people liked Ezone XI.
XI did not do well.
Vcore XI had some fans but not Ezone XI.
AI/DR saved Yonex. My local stores decided to not carry Yonex rackets because of slow sales but after AI/DR for 4 years, finally those stores bring back Yonex.
A little surprised movement by Yonex... to go back XI like head shape...
New Ezone might be very different from AI/DR.
Federerkblade
Hall of Fame
True xi didn't do well but in reality was a legendary frame noone hardly recognised at the time including myself
Subaruvich
Semi-Pro
Considering to sell my Ezone 98. Located in EU. Will be up for grabs in couple of hours if anyone is interested.
No signs of wear, only hit a few serves.
No signs of wear, only hit a few serves.
DJTaurus
Hall of Fame
Can't you write a few words on how it compares with dr98 ?
Subaruvich
Semi-Pro
My comparison will not be fair, as I switched from DR to Angell more than a year ago and my memories are fading. But I find the new Ezone definitely easier to use, whippier, the power, spin and control about the same. Less static weigh will give more room for customization.
My coach has new Ezone and DR blue edition in his bag, and new Ezone is much more comfortable. But he says green DR was better than blue one. Go figure.
1990's Graphite
Hall of Fame
That was quick!
topspn
G.O.A.T.
Lol..should i ask then how it compares to the Angell?
Subaruvich
Semi-Pro
It's different. I only tested it on serve against TC97 18x20 and decided to stick with my Angells [emoji4]
Ezone apparently has higher spin potential as the string pattern is slightly more open. Control is great with both. Power and feel is better with Angell. Stability about the same. Ezone is whippier, easier to use probably, because the SW is lower. Obviously string sensitive, my coach has his Ezone strung with new Yonex PTGD string and I like that setup more than my VS Touch/RS Lyon hybrid.
topspn
G.O.A.T.
What's PTGD???
There's a thread debating whether the green DR hits better than the blue DR. I was looking at getting a blue one, but i might have to reconsider seeing that there may be some truth to this.
Subaruvich
Semi-Pro
The string came in transparent package together with Ezone demo racquets. Look at the picture, you can see "PTGD 125" written on the string. Local Yonex rep said "D" stands for Drive. That's all he new about it. When stringing, stringer said its elasticity was like RS Lyon's.
Sorry for the picture quality.
topspn
G.O.A.T.
Very interesting, thanks for pic!The string came in transparent package together with Ezone demo racquets. Look at the picture, you can see "PTGD 125" written on the string. Local Yonex rep said "D" stands for Drive. That's all he new about it. When stringing, stringer said its elasticity was like RS Lyon's.
Sorry for the picture quality.
TennisManiac
Hall of Fame
Are you comparing a custom Angell to a stock Ezone 98? What is the weight and balance of your Angell? That means a lot.
Casius_Juventus
Rookie
The string came in transparent package together with Ezone demo racquets. Look at the picture, you can see "PTGD 125" written on the string. Local Yonex rep said "D" stands for Drive. That's all he new about it. When stringing, stringer said its elasticity was like RS Lyon's.
Sorry for the picture quality.
Love the colour of this new YPTGD string. Can't wait to try it out when it comes out.
It is only 5 grams lighter than the DR 98.
Powderwombat
Semi-Pro
The only change between those was the colour scheme. Everything else is exactly the same. More likely he had slightly different rackets and preferred the specs of his green one.
galapagos
Hall of Fame
5 grams lighter than the already light racquet ;p well I still remember some amazing 300gram racquets so wont give up on this one. I really dont understand the move from yonex to make it lighter. Thats the lightest racquet from their "players" category I think. Rest are 310 grams or higher. Maybe Dr was too demanding for an intermediate players and too light for advanced one. Would like to see yonexes sales charts because new ezone smells a bit like a business plan rather than improving the line. The only thing that can save the line is construction(maybe more square shape makes it more stable?) and weight distribution.
Lets look at the numbers:
to make 315 balance->310 balance we would have to add about 10 grams across the whole handle. Which would make the racquet actually 315 grams 310 balance so 5 grams more than dr. I guess putting it on the buttcap we would need like 5 grams. Lower TW specs and lower SW than the dr suggests that they might have shifted the mass more towards 10 and 2 o'clock from 12,3 and 9. Just speculations... 5 grams isnt much but can make a huge difference if placed in a right spot.
From this thread and other Ezone 98 threads it seems like most posters will be customizing it to some degree.
Should get more interesting once people get their racquets from TW and post their thoughts/customizations.
Anton
Legend
I add weight on my DR98s but it came in too headlight stock, so I had to remove the trapdoors to take off some handle weight...really glad Yonex fixed that on the new one.
Adding weight is easy, taking it off from stock frame is a pain in the ass.
junk
Semi-Pro
305g is fine. add a leather grip, a bit of lead in the hoop and you get a perfectly weighted racket (unstrung ~320-325g)
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XFactorer
Hall of Fame
The Strikes are 305g and they're pretty popular.
Classic-TXP-IG MID
Hall of Fame
More room to play with customization... More important to me will be how it plays and feels, because if it's stiffer or harsh, or too muted and there is less feel... then mods won't necessarily help... then they've ruined it... For example, in the Fukky Lafino review, they lowered the string tension from 50 lbs (DR98) to 40 lbs (new Ezone 98)... why?... did it feel too stiff at 50?
The DR98 felt great to me ... it was/is (as I've still got it) plush and flexible (but not noodly), and it had great feel so that I could incorporate nuances into my game... its flaws, at least in my opinion, of slight instability against very hard hitters and insufficient mass to produce very heavy weight of shot, could all be improved with some slight modification... Which is what I did... and now it's an absolute monster...
downs_chris
Professional
i'm getting my ezone 100 tomorrow...i'm curious to see how it stacks up against the ai100 / dr100 lines....
XFactorer
Hall of Fame
Let us know! I played with the DR100 for a bit. It was light, but felt like a clunky compared to the 98. I liked it for hitting even though it was a lot stiffer than the 98.
Casius_Juventus
Rookie
Exactly the right point.
A lighter racquet provides more room for customisation. That's why pros are provided with extra light "Hair-pin" racquets by manufacturers so as to provide them with the maximum room for their own bespoke customisation.
Casius_Juventus
Rookie
Would love to hear your thoughts and comparisons.
Casius_Juventus
Rookie
Agreed.
I think these days, almost every tour racquet requires some for of customisation for the advanced player.
Those who are uninformed or are not able to customise are beginning to lose out.
Classic-TXP-IG MID
Hall of Fame
I agree with you in that it is impossible for a company to make a racquet that will suit everyone. If you understand what the customization will do, then you can tweak and enhance the racquet, thereby improving on the faults and enhancing the already present positives, according to your liking and preferences. The racquet has to have the right fundamentals or properties, to begin with... the base, or "platform", is therefore what you build on.
For someone that might be a flexible racquet with a low RA and a tight string pattern, for others, it might be the opposite
