Volkl V-Feel 8 315g Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 77

First things first, the V-Feel 8 315g's stiff beam and open string pattern offered our team loads of pop and spin off the ground. During his initial hitting session with this racquet, Troy found good power on tap, but had a tough time controlling it. He explained, "The 8 series from Volkl has always provided easy access to power, but I noticed even more heat on the ball when hitting groundstrokes with this V-Feel update. This racquet's 315-gram unstrung weight felt even easier to whip around on my groundstrokes compared to the previous V-Sense 8 315g. The combination of the fast feel and the open 16x18 string pattern allowed me to unload heavy topspin off the ground. There was a lot of spin potential here. Initially, I tended to spray my shots long and didn't feel very confident with this racquet. It took me a few hitting sessions to dial in my range, but I was eventually able to develop good consistency. I found that I had to add more topspin on my groundstrokes to keep the ball in the court. Flatter drives from the baseline were hard to control, so I didn't feel comfortable playing an attacking style. The firm layup, combined with the dampened feel, left me feeling disconnected from the ball. When I was working my opponents from side to side I had to aim at big targets. When I tried to hit the ball in the corners or close to the lines I would often miss my target. I would have liked some added mass in the racquet's head when I hit my backhand slice. When I was facing hard-hit shots I found a lack of plow through, and the racquet would flutter in my hand."

"Hello, power!" exclaimed Michelle. "The V-Feel 8 315g came loaded with power from the baseline. I found easy depth right away, but I also felt that the stringbed played a bit erratically. The racquet was super fast through the air, and the stiff, thick frame provided lots of power, but it was more than I needed. Because of this, I had to compensate by stringing the racquet with a stiff poly in the high 50s to reel in that powerful response. The racquet is already on the stiffer side, so I probably wouldn't recommend that to anyone else. Also, when I was playing against bigger hitters and trying to redirect pace I had some small stability issues and struggled to feel the sweetspot, as the response was a bit muted. With some customizing I could get this frame dialed in and working better for my game, but as is, it just was too unpredictable for me — especially because I like to play aggressively and go for small targets. I'd like a bit more weight in the hoop and some dead poly strings in there to reel in the unpredictable stringbed and power."

Hannah found the V-Feel 8 315g easy to swing. It offered her some serious access to power, but it also had some surprises in store. She said, "I think the baseline player who likes to be rewarded for aggressive swings will really appreciate the lively response this racquet offers. At 315 grams, I liked how easy it was to swing this racquet. The 16x18 string pattern was one of my favorite parts of this playtest, as it complemented the frame's maneuverability well. The open string pattern lent itself to ramping up the spin on my shots. This really came in handy when I was pulled out wide; I could target shorter angles and flick the ball back into the court. This racquet did fall short for me from the baseline in some aspects. Although the stringbed was lively and responsive, the feel itself was stiff and not as solid on contact as I had hoped it would be. The follow through on my forehand wavered slightly, and I wanted the upper hoop to feel more stable and comfortable in these moments. Lastly, the stringbed was erratic at times, making it difficult for me to dial in a solid rally ball. The feeling off the stringbed was muted to the point where I couldn't locate the ball on the strings to know when I was out of position. I found success stepping inside the court and flattening out the ball, but going for a mixture of depth, height and spin proved unpredictable."

With its higher stiffness rating, thick beam and open string pattern, the V-Feel 8 315g's power was its defining characteristic for Sean. He offered, "From the ground, I never had trouble generating pace or blocking balls back — whether it was trading heavy groundstrokes or digging a shot out at my feet. However, I had to aim at large targets to make sure the ball wouldn't spray on me, because the response coming from the open stringbed felt erratic, and there was too much depth variance. This made it difficult for me to feel settled in and comfortable or develop a sense of rhythm when playing; I was better off unloading on shots with a ton of topspin and hoping they would land in, or rolling the ball safely, but this made me play more one-dimensionally than I like. Thanks to the 319 swingweight and open 16x18 pattern, it was easy to generate racquet head speed and the necessary spin to drop the ball in."

Volleys - Score: 80

Volleying with the V-Feel 8 315g was fairly intuitive for our team of playtesters. "It was simple to point and shoot and find success at net," began Michelle. "The racquet also felt relatively stable to me, more so at the net than off the ground. It was super maneuverable up there and allowed me to put the ball away aggressively with volleys."

Sean enjoyed volleying with the V-Feel 8 315g significantly more than hitting groundstrokes with it. He explained, "The middle of the stringbed felt pretty solid, which made it sweet for aggressive first volleys and for blocking pace, and the swingweight was low enough to make the racquet easy to maneuver. It was a little lacking in the feel department, but that forced me to keep it simple, and I thought I volleyed really well with this stick compared to the rest of the playtest."

Hannah added, "Despite this racquet's stiffness, I still wasn't sensing a strong or sturdy quality when it came to point-and-shoot volleys. Rather than the V-Feel 8 315g feeling like an extension of my arm at net, there was a slight disconnect where I lost some precision on my volleys. With that said, just like at the baseline, I was really hooked on this racquet's maneuverability, and the lively feel of the strings was rewarding on my attempts to end points at net."

The inherent power of the V-Feel 8 315g helped Troy achieve easy depth on his volleys. He said, "Coming to net and ending the point with an aggressive put-away volley was a go-to play for me with this racquet. Although this racquet has V-Feel technology, I wasn't actually all that enamored with the feel. I was better off keeping my volleys deep and hitting them with good pace. I was often off my target when I tried to get crafty and go for a drop volley or sharp angle. The ease of maneuverability helped me react quickly with this racquet, which was especially appreciated in doubles. When trying to fend off hard-hit shots aimed at my body, I could move the V-Feel 8 315g with little effort to help me get the ball back. I did find some instability against harder hitters at net, though, which was definitely a drawback. When I was facing powerful groundstrokes this racquet got pushed around more than I'd prefer. Some lack of stability, combined with a stiff feel, made this racquet feel a bit jarring on my arm when I made contact outside the sweetspot."

Serves - Score: 82

For the most part, power and speed stood out when our playtesters served with the V-Feel 8 315g. Troy felt that this racquet's easy access to pace made it a lot of fun to serve with. He said, "I loved attacking with a flat first serve. I don't think my first serve percentage was at an all-time high, but I was bringing the heat (at least by my standards). This racquet didn't supply quite as much power as the Pure Drive Tour Plus, but I was still pleased with my pace. Spin serves came with ease due to the combination of the open string pattern and easy maneuverability. Compared to my racquet of choice and the other control-oriented racquets I tend to use, this racquet wasn't as precise. I was consistent when aiming at big targets within the service box, but when I picked targets close to the lines I often missed. I enjoyed hitting my heavy spin kick serve, but the lack of placement made it less effective than usual. Missing my targets meant that my opponents were getting better looks at my serves, which would put me in a tough position early in the points."

On the other hand, Hannah was hoping for the same free power she found at the baseline. Unfortunately, she was left somewhat let down. She explained, "It felt like I had to work really hard just to attain my average power levels, and my serve seemed to stay in the medium power range even when I swung harder. The control wasn't great, especially on more precise serves like wide slice. As far as usability, the V-Feel 8 315g was really easy to swing up and over my head, and it was easy to generate racquet head speed for some effective slices and kicks."

Serving was one of the brighter spots of this playtest for Michelle. She said, "I think that the easy access to power and the open stringbed really benefited my serves. I felt like I could blast bigger first serves. Then there was a bunch of spin for hitting kick and slice on second serves. I tend to pick bigger targets when serving, and I really focused on big body serves with this racquet in my hands."

"Two racquet qualities I shy away from on serve are thick beams and open string patterns," said Sean. "Unfortunately, with a beam that moves from 22 to 24 mm and a 16x18 string pattern, I didn't particularly enjoy serving with this racquet. I thought hitting spin serves was fine, although the beam tended to rear its ugly head occasionally, but I could get the ball to kick up pretty high sometimes. Hitting flat serves was a gamble at best; there was too much power and too few strings for me to feel like I could reliably spot the ball."

Returns - Score: 77

While most of our team hit toward bigger targets when using the V-Feel 8 315g, some still struggled with the unpredictable stringbed when attacking returns. "This racquet was literally hit or miss for me on returns," said Michelle. "It played a bit erratically. There were times when I would hit a brilliant return that was fast and deep and penetrated the court. Then there were times when I practically hit the back fence. It was tough finding a middle ground. This is the type of racquet that really takes a toll on my stroke speed and technique. I can't get away with hitting out and have to start hitting up and brushing the ball in a more modern way, which works for some but isn't how I like to play. On a positive note, I was able to stick balls defensively when pulled out wide by a big first serve, and I could get the ball back deep in the court. But when I had time to set up and take a crack at the ball, I experienced some issues with predictability."

The easy power and maneuverability helped Troy get a lot of returns back into play with good depth. He said, "As long as I was able to get the V-Feel 8 315g on the ball, my returns were likely to land in consistently. I was able to get into a lot of points and could battle it out from the baseline. With little effort, I could strike the ball and achieve easy depth into the opponent's court. When stretched out, I could flick the racquet and muster enough power to get the ball back. The downside was that this racquet didn't feel smooth on contact, especially when facing big serves. When I step in and try to hit my returns on the rise I prefer a plusher feeling racquet, such as the Prince Phantom Pro 100P. Since the V-Feel 8 315g lacked some plow through and had a firm feel, it could feel a bit jarring at times. Some added weight in the hoop would likely help with plow through and stability. A softer string could help with the firm feel, but at the same time, it would make this racquet harder to control. I generated easy pace on my slice returns, but I didn't love the feel of the V-Feel 8 315g when I was driving through the ball. Some added mass and a plusher response would also have been appreciated when I was carving through the ball on my slice returns."

Sean found that the V-Feel 8 315g was fine for returning, as long as the situation didn't demand precision. He said, "For me, there were two obvious options when returning with this racquet: I could either block the ball back to a big target or swing big to a large area of the court. In either scenario I had to aim conservatively, so I think it's better suited for returning in singles, where precision isn't as important."

For the most part, Hannah liked returning with the V-Feel 8 315g. "Because I could whip the racquet around and redirect power easily, I found success and gained control of the point on my return games," she said. "It felt like I never caught the ball behind me, and I could always hit out in front of me. As previously mentioned, I do feel like there was some instability during contact and follow through, especially on my forehand."

Overall - Score: 76