Short review of v core sv 95 playing time 6 hours of tournament matches and practice
I don't post on here but do regularly read with interest. As there is huge interest in this racket I thought I would help out and share my experiences. I will try to be comprehensive but please ask if there is anything I have not commented on. My current racket is a stock yonex v core tour g 330 with 1.3 gosen Og sheep micro mains/PTP 1.25 crosses and I have tried most rackets over the past few years my main racket before the yonex being a ps95 weighted up to 325 SW and 353 static with a 31.3cm balance.
SV 95 specs as tested:
Weight - 337 strung with base yonex grip, 347 as played with 2 Wilson pro overgrips
SW - 324 (tested on swingweight app)
Balance - 31.3cm
String - Dunlop revolution nt hybrid set 1.31/1.25 (I would guess at around 48-53)
Feel:
I am not a poly guy, normally just looking at a set of poly strings hurts my elbow but I didn't have one twinge or tight feeling during or after hitting with the sv 95 (poly mains in the v core tour g hurt my arm as a reference point for how sensitive it is!).
The feel is good, not plush but also not crisp just somewhere in a happy medium of both. It will definitely give no arm problems.
Control
Available in abundance. I am not sure if it was the frame feel or 95 head size but I felt very connected to the ball with this racket, way more so than the v core tour g in fact the side by side comparison was very surprising for me as I really enjoy the control and feel of the vcore tour g. I would go as far to say that the sv 95 is approaching the control level of the PS95.
@SpinToWin - I read your play test when trying to replace the ps95 with interest as it seems we had similar feelings about the racket. I would definitely recommend you demo this stick (there are also some available in Germany to demo)
Manoeuvrability
Like a whip. This thing is seriously quick through the air. I would have said it was as manoeuvrable as an unweighted PS95 (sw300, static 330, balance 7pts) yet obviously has more to it than a racket at those specs. I never felt that the tour g was as clubby as many people have commented until I played with it after using the SV95.
Stability
Solid enough. It does have a slight feel of being a little flimsy but I think that is more me being critical and also being used to the tour g which is a total rock of a frame. If people are looking to test and are worried about the stability I would say it won't be a problem and even if it is a problem the frame feels like it would take being weighted up pretty well as it is so manoeuvrable that you have a lot of scope to play with before the racket becomes sluggish.
Plow through/power
This is the only area where I feel things weren't conclusive. The spin from this racket is insane, really noticeable even over another yonex frame (though granted this wasn't a like for like string comparison). The one slight downside was I wasn't feeling the ball go through the court as much with that spin. It wasn't really sitting up to be hit but as the same time wasn't as penetrating as I would expect the shot to be. Side by side with the tour g I didn't feel I could hit as big a step up shot or push the players back in the court. That being said the control aspect overcame this and I won more with this racket by being able to pin point my shots with the control. I know this will be an area of concern for people so just to clarify it isn't PS95 unmodified lacking in power I just felt it was a little down on what I would expect from the SW and static weight. I also think with strings/lead you could tweak to the desired level pretty easily.
Result of the demo - I bought the frame, instantly!