Racquet Playtest Comparison:
| About the play tester | About the racquets |
Name: Michael Chaho on the Talk Tennis Message Boards
Playing Level: 5.5
Regular racquet, string & tension: Head Pro Tour 630 with anything less than 1.20mm at low tension 48-54 lbs
Tell us about your game: Aggressive all court with continental 3/8 grip. Big serve, long and fast forehand, with one hand backhand.
Head LiquidMetal Radical Tour Mid Plus 18X20: 343grams and 32.75 cm balance.
A heavy solid racquet that can be demanding, the LM Radical Tour can take massive flat swings and really punish the ball. The ball had lots of weight behind it. My opponents commented on how the ball I was hitting felt like they were returning a steal ball. Angle shots were very easy to hit. Again there was "substance" behind every shot I was hitting. The weight distribution felt like you were swinging a sledgehammer. Groundies were penetrating deep and had massive kick. If my shots were landing on the service line they would kick to well behind the baseline. This racquet was a bit on the stiff side and even though I fancy flexible racquets, I really liked this one very much. Volleys were awesome and solid. Serves were very big with amazing kick. Only gripe with this racquet is touch and comfort. If you can handle the weight and do not care much about touch/feel, then this is the best racquet on the market. |
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Volkl Tour 9 V-Engine 18X20: 323grams and 32.25 cm balance.
You can get into the grove with the V-Engine. It grew on me and before I knew it, I was hitting very consistent and comfortable groundstrokes. Surprisingly, I enjoyed hitting with this racquet. As the level of consistency increased so did my confidence. Do not be turned off by the design or cosmetics, it really hits much better than it looks. The ball was pocketing in the stringbed and the sweetspot was expanded due to the design and technology of the racquet. Even though it felt light at first, the racquet was stable. I was still able to hang and rally with heavy hitters. A little underpowered, the V-engine served ok. Slice backhands were nice and low. My gripe with this one was volleys.
Wilson nSix-One Tour 95 18X20: 350grams and 31.50 cm balance.
The specs on this racquet reminded me of Wilson's Pro Staff 6.1 Limited Edition, Hyper Pro Staff 6.1 Stretch, and Pro Staff 6.6 95 Tour Stars and Stripes. It had a nice traditional balance and played surprisingly softer than I would have imagined but I struggled a bit with consistent groundstrokes. Maybe because it was too head light that it felt a little unstable on off center shots. The racquet was powerful for 18X20. Even though this racquet had good weight, it did not feel heavy due to the 31.5cm head light balance. It was very maneuverable and nice on net. First serve had lots of pace and seconds had lots of kick. My slice backhand was floating a little high.
Head LiquidMetal Prestige Mid Plus 18X20: 338grams and 32cm balance.
I could sum up the LM Prestige Midplus with one word, mediocre. It is your standard players Mid Plus racquet with 18X20.
LiquideMetal vs Intelligence Prestige Midplus
I would like to compare the NEW LiquideMetal Prestige Midplus with its predecessor, the Intelligence Prestige Midplus. TW states 63 RDC for the flex on both the LM Prestige Midplus and I.Prestige Midplus. The LM prestige Midplus is more flexible than the I.Prestige Midplus, even though both have Intellifibers?! The i.Prestige Midplus has a crisp clean response while the LM Prestige Midplus has a bit mushier feel. Giving the LM prestige Midplus a 63 might be on the high side IMO. It felt more like 61 during playtesting. Miss-hit balls were jarring on the LM Prestige Midplus. On the other hand, the i.Prestige Midplus was tight and more stable, so much for the LiquideMetal Prestige's Total Stability Construction or TSC. The i.Prestige Midplus, did not have that jarring feeling on miss-hits.
Surprisingly, Head reintroduced the full CAP grommet system and flattened out the shoulders at the throat ala Prestige mids, giving it a retro look. Head also brought back the twin tube technology supposedly for added feel. Which brings me to Technologies. Head missed the boat with the LiquidMetal Prestige Midplus. They introduced LiquidMetal and Total SweetSpot Construction. IMO two unproven technologies, which I feel are just as questionable as Intellifibers, found on both the i.Prestige Midplus and LM Prestige Midplus.
I agree that the feel from the baseline was that the stock LM Prestige Midplus played light. But, I liked hitting my slice backhands with this racquet much better than the i.Prestige Midplus. I agree with fellow TW playtesters and was very impressed with the amount of spin I can generate on slice and topspin serves. I liked first serves with the i.Prestige Midplus (more consistent first serve bombs) and seconds with the LM Prestige Midplus - had more kick. I agree with fellow TW posters: "In comparison with the I.Prestige MP, the LM Prestige MP was too light, not powerful enough, and not as stiff. The i.Prestige Midplus felt more of a solid hit than the LM Prestige Midplus, and definitely had what I would call 'instant power'. To try and get any real power off the LM Prestige Midplus, one really had to muscle the ball". When I tried to muscle the ball, I ended up hitting out - supposedly the LiquidMetal was kicking in, making my shots go long. I did not like the grip - it felt a little hollow.
I did not use the 0-100 scale used by TW. I gave them scores between 78 and 81 since they all played comparably well. Surprisingly, I liked the LM Radical Tour. If you can handle the weight, this is the one to swing. I also liked the Volkl Tour 9 V-Engine only it needs a little lead. The LM Prestige Midplus and the Wilson nSix-One Tour 95 (18X20) were ok, no wow factor except for graphics.
| Groundstrokes | |
| LM Rad Tour MP | 81 |
| Tour 9 V 18X20 | 80 |
| LM Prestige MP | 79 |
| nSix-One 18X20 | 78 |
|
| Control | |
| LM Rad Tour MP | 81 |
| Tour 9 V 18x20 | 80 |
| LM Prestige MP | 79 |
| nSix-One 18X20 | 78 |
|
| Comfort | |
| Tour 9 V 18x20 | 81 |
| LM Prestige MP | 80 |
| nSix-One 18X20 | 79 |
| LM Rad Tour MP | 78 |
|
| Power | |
| LM Rad Tour MP | 81 |
| nSix-One 18X20 | 80 |
| LM Prestige MP | 79 |
| Tour 9 V 18x20 | 78 |
|
| Stability | |
| LM Rad Tour MP | 81 |
| Tour 9 V 18x20 | 80 |
| LM Prestige MP | 79 |
| nSix-One 18X20 | 78 |
|
| Maneuverability | |
| nSix-One 18X20 | 81 |
| Tour 9 V 18x20 | 80 |
| LM Prestige MP | 79 |
| LM Rad Tour MP | 78 |
|
| Topspin | |
| LM Rad Tour MP | 81 |
| nSix-One 18X20 | 80 |
| Tour 9 V 18x20 | 79 |
| LM Prestige MP | 78 |
|
| Slice | |
| Tour 9 V 18x20 | 81 |
| LM Prestige MP | 80 |
| LM Rad Tour MP | 79 |
| nSix-One 18X20 | 78 |
|
| Volleys | |
| LM Rad Tour MP | 81 |
| nSix-One 18X20 | 80 |
| LM Prestige MP | 79 |
| Tour 9 V 18x20 | 78 |
|
| Touch/Feel | |
| Tour 9 V 18x20 | 81 |
| LM Prestige MP | 80 |
| nSix-One 18X20 | 79 |
| LM Rad Tour MP | 78 |
|
| Serves and Overheads | |
| LM Rad Tour MP | 81 |
| nSix-One 18X20 | 80 |
| LM Prestige MP | 79 |
| Tour 9 V 18x20 | 78 |
|
| Serve Returns | |
| LM Rad Tour MP | 81 |
| LM Prestige MP | 80 |
| nSix-One 18X20 | 79 |
| Tour 9 V 18x20 | 78 |
|
| Overall | |
| LM Rad Tour MP | 81 |
| Tour 9 V 18x20 | 80 |
| LM Prestige MP | 79 |
| nSix-One 18X20 | 78 |
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| Playtest date: October, 2004. |
| All content copyright 2007 Tennis Warehouse. |