Classic-TXP-IG MID

Hall of Fame
Curiosity has gotten then better of me. I've placed an order for a VCORE 98 305 as well.

LOL... we are all such addicts... I say to myself that I don't need any more racquets, that I'm happy and satisfied, and yet I constantly find myself trawling the bay like a hungry shark in search of the next prize... I tell myself that I'm just looking... then when I see it, I tell myself I'll just get a closer look... then just a sniff... a little bite... then before I know it I've bagged another one... I'm full, satiated, smirking... then the pangs begin again... and I'm trawling...
 

Tordne

Semi-Pro
LOL... we are all such addicts... I say to myself that I don't need any more racquets, that I'm happy and satisfied, and yet I constantly find myself trawling the bay like a hungry shark in search of the next prize... I tell myself that I'm just looking... then when I see it, I tell myself I'll just get a closer look... then just a sniff... a little bite... then before I know it I've bagged another one... I'm full, satiated, smirking... then the pangs begin again... and I'm trawling...

I know man. i should go see a doctor about this serious affliction! I was so happy with my recent purchase of the 4 Angell TC95s. For a long time I've been a Head fanboy so I couldn't resist trying a Head Graphene Touch Radical Pro. Did one serve that was huge and took it staring into a comp match. Served amazing all day with it, and was hitting huge groundstrokes and awesome touch around the net. Now for some reason this Yonex VCORE 98 has my attention. If it has Radical power, with what seems to be the feel of a lower than advertised RA, play spin it could be pretty nice. But I'm sure, like you say, there will be another thing for me to chase in another couple of weeks. Amazingly my wife is supportive of my disease.
 

EasternRocks

Hall of Fame
I know man. i should go see a doctor about this serious affliction! I was so happy with my recent purchase of the 4 Angell TC95s. For a long time I've been a Head fanboy so I couldn't resist trying a Head Graphene Touch Radical Pro. Did one serve that was huge and took it staring into a comp match. Served amazing all day with it, and was hitting huge groundstrokes and awesome touch around the net. Now for some reason this Yonex VCORE 98 has my attention. If it has Radical power, with what seems to be the feel of a lower than advertised RA, play spin it could be pretty nice. But I'm sure, like you say, there will be another thing for me to chase in another couple of weeks. Amazingly my wife is supportive of my disease.

Expect a racquet too light. I skipped playing it stock at 305.
 

Tordne

Semi-Pro
Expect a racquet too light. I skipped playing it stock at 305.

I'm likely to also string with Cyclone 18L so the SW will be lower than average spec. I'll definitely play it in stock form and assess if it needs weight (the weight has to translate into so tangible benefit). Generally I like my SW around the 330 mark, but like anything else it's just a spec and can feel different on different frames.
 

topspn

Legend
I know it's early....but can anyone compare this new vc98 to the pure strike p17?
I have p17s weighed up to 12oz an they play like an extensions of your arm, just perfect if it weren’t for how jarring they can be. So really curious for some feedback on that myself. I will eventually demo and compare myself
 

Paul Y

Rookie
From my experience is that the Vcore 98 swings like an Aero but has the precision of the strike. I have been looking for a racket like this for the last two years and have placed my orders in after demoing it for about a week.
 

jklos

Professional
I’d like to hear a comparison to the Beast 98. Anyone try both?
Yep. It swings similar to the Beast but the Beast has way more power off the strings. Kind of like a Pure Drive. I found the Beast too hard to control. The Vcore has less power but much more control. The feel is better on the Vcore as well.
 

DJTaurus

Hall of Fame
Project one is very soft and plush on contact compared to all other stiff babolats. I am talking only about feel on touch not arm stiffness. I like that ball lags a little bit on the strings of pure strike. If v core 98 is close to the stiffness in contact of previous sv line then I don’t even want to demo it. I hated the feel of sv98.....so hard and stiff.
 

Pleb123

Semi-Pro
Can someone who plays with the SV95 do a detailed comparison with the VCore 95?

Sent from my MHA-L09 using Tapatalk
 

jklos

Professional
Project one is very soft and plush on contact compared to all other stiff babolats. I am talking only about feel on touch not arm stiffness. I like that ball lags a little bit on the strings of pure strike. If v core 98 is close to the stiffness in contact of previous sv line then I don’t even want to demo it. I hated the feel of sv98.....so hard and stiff.
I didn’t like the SV98 either for the reasons you mention. The Vcore 98 plays much softer. I bought two.
 

Sardines

Hall of Fame
I really thought this video is probably the most "interesting": The court is an indoor low ceiling mixed court and these guys flail serve with the VC98/100 and a radar gun and compare speeds, irregardless of whether the serves are in! Then they hit groundies and pronounce the winner of the raw power competition is the VC100, but the VC98 won for spin, control etc.


 

Andrew Park

New User
I really thought this video is probably the most "interesting": The court is an indoor low ceiling mixed court and these guys flail serve with the VC98/100 and a radar gun and compare speeds, irregardless of whether the serves are in! Then they hit groundies and pronounce the winner of the raw power competition is the VC100, but the VC98 won for spin, control etc.


LOL, what kind of review is this...
 

hoodmaxi

New User
I'd demo the VC98 with the poly tour strike string for like 6 hours now. I rly like the power and spin of this racket and the feel is nice aswell. But coming from my VCP 330g I rly miss some mass.
Besides the mass I feel like they aren't dat different. kinda similar feel, but with some lack of mass. more control for the VCP 330g but more power and spin with the VC98.
Dunno if i should switch. I feel like I can hit some rly nice pace with the VC98 but I trust my shots of the VCP more
 

Tour_G

Semi-Pro
Sorry for doing this question (a bit off topic but I don't want to start a thread just for this): I'm concerned about the stiffness and confort of the SV 98, is it that harsh on the arm? If I'm fine with a PA or PD I guess it will be ok, right?
The thing is, prices here are raising crazily and the new V Core 98 will not be the exception, so that's because I'm so eager to buy the SV.
Edit: Also, something that makes me doubt is the customer review section of TW. None of them mention pain or discomfort playing with the SV.
Thanks.
 
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Hi i have 15 years and i use prince tour exo3 tour 100 team and a apd lite modified. I want a similar racquet but a head size in 98 or 95. I'm a player that likes to stay in baseline attack a lot i go To net when the i can surely won the point. My backhand is better than my forehand. My forehand is semiwestern little bit flatter but when i need topspin i do it, my backhand is 2 handed.my service is good because im 6.13ft of tall but i want a new racquet because i think is time for a change, i want a racquet with the similar spin same power or less but no oports and fast like ports throught the air. Please help me i think in Yonex vcore 98,95 and head mp 360 or pro
 

XFactorer

Hall of Fame
I'm switching!
Coming from an Ezone 98 with 3 3/8 grip; string Hyper-G @ 50 M / 48 C. Before that the DR 98
Going to the Vcore 98 305 with 3 1/4 grip; string Poly Tour Fire @ 50M / 48 C.

Currently -- I liked the Ezone but never enough to ever feel fully satisfied or confident with it. Had thoughts over the last year of going back to the DR but liked the power of the Ezone and didn't want to give up. Biggest issues were the harsh feel, seemingly small sweet spot and the feel of very little dwell time. Those are all just my feelings... not necessarily facts.

Tried the Vcore 98 at the specs above. Instantly felt like a whole new game. Vs. the Ezone, the biggest differences:
  • More power -- racquet felt easier to swing (although I think the swing weight is actually higher)
  • Very plush / great dwell feel
  • Bigger sweetspot
  • Fast swing feel / more head lite feel (don't know the specs... just felt like it)
  • The smaller grip size (went down from 3/8 to 1/4 may be contributing to some of the feel changes)
  • Spin -- More spin / heavy ball vs Ezone
  • Forehand -- Much better than Ezone
  • Backhand -- Much much better than Ezone
  • Volley -- Not as good as Ezone
  • Serve -- Same as Ezone
Like golf clubs, I expect this honeymoon period to end some time soon but again, the differences vs. the Ezone 98 are very noticeable.
You sound just like me. Also with an EZONE and haven't been happy with it fully for the last year... but it's better than the DR and that's why I kept using it. Mine comes tomorrow!
 
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time_fly

Hall of Fame
Yep. It swings similar to the Beast but the Beast has way more power off the strings. Kind of like a Pure Drive. I found the Beast too hard to control. The Vcore has less power but much more control. The feel is better on the Vcore as well.

Interesting, I don't find the Beast 98 to be much like the Pure Drive. The Beast 100 with the bigger head and more open string pattern matches the Pure Drive better. I wonder if the strings were dead in the Beast when you tried it (I'm going to guess you're not a regular user).
 

jklos

Professional
Interesting, I don't find the Beast 98 to be much like the Pure Drive. The Beast 100 with the bigger head and more open string pattern matches the Pure Drive better. I wonder if the strings were dead in the Beast when you tried it (I'm going to guess you're not a regular user).
I used the Beast 98 for about 3 matches. it's very likely that the strings were somewhat dead. But to me the Beast has a lot of power coming off the string bed, a lot more than the Vcore 98 IMO. The reviews state that the Beast can be uncontrollable at times as well. That's the experience I had. i'm sure a low power poly would help tame it somewhat.
 

tennistiger

Professional
For me quality control is not the best. On all 4 100 I had in my hands many holes were drilled not correct. Especially the six in the throat are not in the middle.
 

EasternRocks

Hall of Fame
For me quality control is not the best. On all 4 100 I had in my hands many holes were drilled not correct. Especially the six in the throat are not in the middle.

Yup, one of mine came a bit lower in SW than TW has measured. After getting the racquet up to 330 strung, the racquet swings at 319-320.
 

jklos

Professional
Yup, one of mine came a bit lower in SW than TW has measured. After getting the racquet up to 330 strung, the racquet swings at 319-320.
Out of the two I bought one weighed 323 strung and the other 322. But one had a SW of 319 and the other 315 strung.
 

Fa8io

Rookie
Sorry, our written reviews will not be available for a couple weeks.

But, feel free to ask us any further questions and we'll do our best to answer them for you until the full written reviews are available!

Michelle, TW

what happens?...recently you are a little late with all the written reviews
 

FlightDeck

New User
Played already two times with the VCORE 95.

The racket is simply amazing! Yonex nailed it with this one. I did not like the previous SV 95 much. Now the new one is perfect to me - not too flexy, not too firm. Huge sweet spot, no harsh vibrations, very stable, decent power, exceptional control, great spin potential.

It is slightly dampened/muted but just a bit nothing like CV. The drill pattern is more open than a regular 18x20 so it is very spin friendly. The head size doesn’t feel small/unforgiving like Six.One 95, 93P or PT57A as the most recent frames I played with.

It is the best frame from Yonex that I played with and I will be buying this frame, very impressive! I am wondering if more people liked the 95 as much as I did....
 

RoarTT

Semi-Pro
Played already two times with the VCORE 95.

The racket is simply amazing! Yonex nailed it with this one. I did not like the previous SV 95 much. Now the new one is perfect to me - not too flexy, not too firm. Huge sweet spot, no harsh vibrations, very stable, decent power, exceptional control, great spin potential.

It is slightly dampened/muted but just a bit nothing like CV. The drill pattern is more open than a regular 18x20 so it is very spin friendly. The head size doesn’t feel small/unforgiving like Six.One 95, 93P or PT57A as the most recent frames I played with.

It is the best frame from Yonex that I played with and I will be buying this frame, very impressive! I am wondering if more people liked the 95 as much as I did....
Nice to hear some feedback on the 95. What did you not like about the previous SV 95? I was thinking of getting one at TW Europe now because they’re so cheap.
 

lidoazndiabloboi

Hall of Fame
I got to demo the 95 and the 98 during a Yonex demonstration. Both were strung with Poly Tour Pro. I liked the 98 version more than the 95. I didnt feel much difference in the size of the racket. The 98 definitely felt more comfortable and forgiving on my wrist. I was getting some pain using the 95. Love the paintjob and the design. Hard to say how good each racket is in the long run, since i only got to hit with both for a total of 30 mins. Would love to really get a good hitting session with both.
 

XFactorer

Hall of Fame
Yup, I played with my new racquet out of the box yesterday... I'm undecided. Don't like the firmness - but don't mind it either. EZONE has a softer feeling, VCORE has the crisper feeling. I was getting more pop and stability, I think. More spin? I dunno about that. Just the feeling of the racquet seems to be the perceived difference in my mind. More to come.
 

EasternRocks

Hall of Fame
More hitting with it!

Got Poly Tour Strike 16L into the racquet at #46. 75% sure I want to switch. Racquet was a cannon, string was strung too loose. Balls were flying left and right if I didn't focus on getting more spin on the ball.

Biggest thing I like about it, however, is the power to control ratio. It gives you pop, but it never feels like you're swinging a Babolat. It doesn't slice or volley well, or hit drop shots as well, versus the VCORE Pro 97 310, but it fits my baseline style.

I will re-string it a bit tighter and test my luck again. Definitely feel positive about the frame just based on it's inherent characteristics.
 
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EasternRocks

Hall of Fame
Has anyone else tinkered with weight on this 98?

I have some at 3/9 now. Obviously everyone is unique, but would lead at 10/1 or 12 make this racquet uncontrollable unless you strung tight?
 

Tordne

Semi-Pro
My 98 305 arrived today. Will be very interesting to try it as it’s swingweight is way below what I usually play. My one came in a bit more HL than spec and lower SW (only 280 unstrung). So with overgrip and dampener it comes in at 329 grams, 319 mm (7HL) balance and 309 SW.
 

EasternRocks

Hall of Fame
My 98 305 arrived today. Will be very interesting to try it as it’s swingweight is way below what I usually play. My one came in a bit more HL than spec and lower SW (only 280 unstrung). So with overgrip and dampener it comes in at 329 grams, 319 mm (7HL) balance and 309 SW.

Interesting. Looks like TW got a high SW batch, they measure it at 322. Do you plan on adding weight anywhere? What do you plan on stringing it with?

I'm swinging 330 without grip and dampener (+9 or so with), 323 mm balance, and 319 SW (+1 or +2 with the grip and dampener), with the lead coming at the 3/9, and handle positions.
 

Tordne

Semi-Pro
Interesting. Looks like TW got a high SW batch, they measure it at 322. Do you plan on adding weight anywhere? What do you plan on stringing it with?

I'm swinging 330 without grip and dampener (+9 or so with), 323 mm balance, and 319 SW (+1 or +2 with the grip and dampener), with the lead coming at the 3/9, and handle positions.

I’m stringing with Cyclone 18L so it’s probably down 10 SW if I’d gone a 16 gauge string. I’ll hit it as is and see if it needs weight. I don’t just want to add weight for the sake of it. But I would be pleasantly surprised if it is as stable as I need for my level of tennis. I’m normally in the 330-335 region.

I also have the VCORE Pro 97 (both 310 and 330). I hit with the 310 Stock the other day and hated it. This feels more stable and comfortable to me despite being lower SW.

Anyway it’s raining here so I’m trying to see if I can get an indoor court time tonight just to hit some balls. I have a competition day on Saturday and I’d really like to take this 98 into that if I can find a quick grove with it :)
 

EasternRocks

Hall of Fame
I’m stringing with Cyclone 18L so it’s probably down 10 SW if I’d gone a 16 gauge string. I’ll hit it as is and see if it needs weight. I don’t just want to add weight for the sake of it. But I would be pleasantly surprised if it is as stable as I need for my level of tennis. I’m normally in the 330-335 region.

I also have the VCORE Pro 97 (both 310 and 330). I hit with the 310 Stock the other day and hated it. This feels more stable and comfortable to me despite being lower SW.

Anyway it’s raining here so I’m trying to see if I can get an indoor court time tonight just to hit some balls. I have a competition day on Saturday and I’d really like to take this 98 into that if I can find a quick grove with it :)

With 330-335, where are you adding your weight? Where would you add weight to the 310? To the 98? Things I have swirling in my head now, haha.

I'm assuming you will find the racquet to play easily, but you will want some more weight on the racquet to help it stay stable through contact against bigger hitters.

If you want, DM me and we can go offline with this chat.
 

Tordne

Semi-Pro
With 330-335, where are you adding your weight? Where would you add weight to the 310? To the 98? Things I have swirling in my head now, haha.

I'm assuming you will find the racquet to play easily, but you will want some more weight on the racquet to help it stay stable through contact against bigger hitters.

If you want, DM me and we can go offline with this chat.

I’ve not modified the 98 at all yet, so it will be trialed first in completely stock form.

For the 97 310 I don’t recall the weights now, but for me I found that it didn’t feel nice with just weight at 12. So I ended up with weight at 3, 9 and 12. Then I basically thought what I’m really doing here is creating the 330 so I got one to try. I found my arm getting tight (TE sufferer) so stopped playing with it/them. Lately I’ve been playing with Angell TC95s, and have been flirting with Head Graphene Touch Radical Pro.
 

EasternRocks

Hall of Fame
I’ve not modified the 98 at all yet, so it will be trialed first in completely stock form.

For the 97 310 I don’t recall the weights now, but for me I found that it didn’t feel nice with just weight at 12. So I ended up with weight at 3, 9 and 12. Then I basically thought what I’m really doing here is creating the 330 so I got one to try. I found my arm getting tight (TE sufferer) so stopped playing with it/them. Lately I’ve been playing with Angell TC95s, and have been flirting with Head Graphene Touch Radical Pro.

I think the issue with adding weight just at 12 with the 97 310 is that you're not addressing one of the frame's inherent weaknesses, the lack of stability and plowthrough. The lack of spin potential is there, but it isn't like a dense string pattern or anything. I can see exactly why you didn't enjoy it just there and needed to venture out to 3 and 9 as well.

I also get what you're saying about basically replicating the 330 if you have that much lead around the hoop. I played with it in 2 separate set up's with a variety of strings and the best it has felt has been with about 15-16 inches total of lead at 3 and 9 with some lead countering it, so didn't get close to 330...but when you add lead and there is a heavier option, you do think about it.

Interesting that you found some arm tightness with the 330 when you have been accustomed to 335 or so swingweight. The racquet itself isn't very stiff either. I just can't wield a racquet with that kind of pro spec. My strokes aren't solid enough or compact for that matter.

Not too familiar with either of those 2 racquets, but curious to keep up with your VC98 session and what you feel needs to be done to the frame.
 
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jklos

Professional
I’m stringing with Cyclone 18L so it’s probably down 10 SW if I’d gone a 16 gauge string. I’ll hit it as is and see if it needs weight. I don’t just want to add weight for the sake of it. But I would be pleasantly surprised if it is as stable as I need for my level of tennis. I’m normally in the 330-335 region.

I also have the VCORE Pro 97 (both 310 and 330). I hit with the 310 Stock the other day and hated it. This feels more stable and comfortable to me despite being lower SW.

Anyway it’s raining here so I’m trying to see if I can get an indoor court time tonight just to hit some balls. I have a competition day on Saturday and I’d really like to take this 98 into that if I can find a quick grove with it :)
I find it to be way more stable than the Vcore Pro 97. My Vcore 98's have a SW of 315 and 319 strung. Added a gram of lead at 12 on the one to match them up.
 
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