Review of the Head YOUTEK IG Prestige Midplus

The Head Prestige line of racquets has always been known as a solid line with many professionals wielding them. Personally, I haven’t played Head racquets much and have never owned any. My normal preference is for a small head, flexible racquet (I play the 93 sq in Volkl PB10 Mid). Still, these brand new offerings for 2012 have me intrigued mainly due to their outstanding lineage. I took this racquet out for several hits to see why they are so highly touted. This racquet was strung with a poly in the mid-range.

Groundstrokes

I have tested and played many, many racquets and this is the first one that I have picked up and had NO adjustment period. It felt like I had played with this racquet my whole life from the first hit. Balls were going exactly where I asked them to and with nice pace. My strokes flattened out (due from the 18x20 string pattern, I suspect) over my typical semi-looping, topspin groundies. The beautiful thing about it is that I didn’t hit balls long as a result, they just got to their destination sooner. This did feel a tad bit stiffer than my regular racquet (Volkl PB10 Mid, but it’s a very flexible stick). I never felt arm or shoulder pain from using this racquet. The slightly stiffer feel helped in the overall great stability, too. The result is a combination of power, control, spin, touch and comfort. Literally, the Prestige MP had it all. Keep in mind, this is a player’s stick and so a degree of skill is needed to play it. I found that if I babied the ball, it would land short. With the guys I play with, short balls relate to a fuzzball sandwich in a hurry! However, if I hit out on both sides, I could control points and feed my opponents the meal instead. Slice backhands were sick as the ball buried into the court and stayed low. Overall, this is the best groundstroke racquet I have ever tested. The only negative is that it has a bit of a tinny sound coming from the stringbed. A dampener helped, but didn’t cure it. Frankly, I forgot about it quickly when I hit great shots!

Volleys/Overheads

Both of these shots were smooth as silk. Volleys felt controlled, stable and the touch was outstanding. I really felt as though I was directing the shots and not hitting them. I think the weight is perfect for the combination of power, control and stability. Not too light or too heavy. Overheads felt as solid as a rock. This racquet was at home at the net no matter whether I was volleying or putting away an overhead. You could easily feel comfortable with this racquet if you are a serve and volley player.

Serves/Returns

Serves were very controllable but power is not its strong suit. I was able to get plenty of pop when I needed it but I had to rock back and let it rip to do it. You won’t get a lot of help in the power department, for sure. But, power was adequate. On returns, the 98 square inch head allowed me to meet every ball squarely but, just like the serve, you must help generate the power back to your opponent. When you do, returns were solid and dependable.

If you have an aggressive game and like to take big cuts at the ball, this is your racquet. At times, I felt like I could swing as hard as I wanted and the ball would stay in. That is a great feeling because it builds confidence. On the flipside, if you don’t take full strokes, the ball can land short and your lunch will be served back to you! This is a versatile racquet in that you can play baseline, serve/volley or an all-court game and not have to sacrifice anything. I love this racquet so much that that this is going to be my racquet of choice going forward. The Head YOUTEK IG Prestige Midplus is a low-powered, control racquet that is best suited for aggressive, 4.0+ baseline, serve and volleyers and all-court players.

Keep hittin!

Dan

Kirschbaum Pro Line Evolution Review

Today, I have a guest reviewer reviewing a brand new string from Kirschbaum called the Pro Line Evolution. Thanks to one of my customers, Eric Berner (college player), for his insight on this test. Kirschbaum has several excellent strings and one that I actually played for several months was the Pro Line II.

The Evolution's claim to fame is that it is pre-stretched (as are all Kirschbaum's poly strings) and that it is 10% lighter than typical poly strings. However, the real test is how it performs. That's where our playtest comes in.

The playtest:

Kirschbaum Pro Line Evolution is the newest offering from Kirschbaum. This new string is an update to their popular Pro Line II string. Bring a huge fan of Pro Line II, I couldn’t wait to try this new string out. Coming in a bright blue color and a new technology that reduces the mass of the string by 10% to enhance spin and power, this string is a must try. I strung this up in my Dunlop Biomimetic 200 at 58 lbs. I must say, the string looks great in this racquet.

My first hit with the Evolution was less than pleasing. My serves were flying long, my groundstrokes had very little spin and lacked pace and depth, and my volleys would sit up for my opponent to easily put away. After the first few hours with these strings I was ready to cut them out. There was hardly any feel, power, or spin potential to be found.

The second day I went to hit with these, my mind was changed. The strings seemed to soften up a bit which allowed from great ball pocketing. I could take huge cuts at the ball with confidence that they would drop in. I felt like my serves had more kick and slice when needed, but I could hit a strong flat serve with ease, too. The power was an added bonus once these got broken in.

Volleying with these strings is probably one of my favorite aspects about them. They feel soft like a multi, but allow me to have the control of a poly. When hitting drop volleys it feels like the strings just catch the ball and allow you to do as you please with it.

There was a little drop in tension after the first few hours that I played with these strings. That sort of softening of the string bed allowed me to feel the ball pocketing characteristic in which I enjoy in my strings. I felt that on the second day of hitting the spin, power, and feel of the string were all as advertised and even better.

I have been playing with this same set for two weeks now and there is minimal notching and absolutely no string movement at all. This string has felt the exact same as the second time I stepped on court with it. This is definitely one of my favorite poly strings that I have ever hit with.

Thanks again Eric for your review!

Keep hittin'

Dan

Tourna Big Hitter Blue Rough 16ga Review

This is an "older" string and not one of the latest strings to come out but I thought it was time to report on this poly string. After all, it got a ton of hype (to us nerd string aficionados!) when it came out a year or so ago. After the Racquet Sports Industry had tested it, they said it was the 2nd best string they tested, losing out only to a premium natural gut. With this in mind, it was way past time to try this string out.

My test racquet and setup are as follows: Volkl PB 10 Mid, Tourna Big Hitter Blue Rough string (BHBR) 16 ga @ 58#. I usually string poly at a little lower than this but I have read that this is a softer string and produces more power than usual polys so I decided to string it up for more control. I had about 1 1/2 hours on court playing indoors on a medium fast hard court.

The Test:

For serves, there's one word, WOW! I felt complete control over every shot (sure, they didn't all go in but it felt like they were going to!). On the deuce and ad sides, I could hit the outside corners better than my beloved Genesis Twisted Razor setup that I have played for 8 months. Spin was better than average and I could kick it with ease.

Running crosscourt forehands were remarkably successful with 2 or 3 outright winners on shots that are usually just "keep 'em in play" shots. I left my opponent looking at me with a "did you really just hit that shot?" look that was completely satisfying. Shots that usually would have been a few inches out landed inside the lines. The feel was excellent and there is absolutely no jarring or shock to my arm, even on mishits. This really IS a soft playing poly. Lots of strings claim softness - BHBR delivered. Power was equally impressive as I hit several balls past my opponent on forehands and backhands. Touch is better than most polys but still not as good as a natural gut or even some synthetics. I dropped a ball over the net that my opponent had no chance in retrieving. I could generate lots of spin and really pin my opponent back with a high spin, looping shot that was difficult to handle. This is definitely in the "spin string" category.

I only hit 1 overhead but it was solid and penetrating. If serves are any indication of how the overheads would go, then I see no reason why this string wouldn't be just as good. This is a soft string with good power and so the ball felt nice on the strings. I felt in complete control and could slice and dice the volleys as well. I'm no longer play a serve and volley game but the time I spent there was pleasant.

I experienced no arm pain but to be fair, I only played less than 2 hours with it. Also, I don't know how long this string will last or how long it will play this well. That's a question to be answered in the days and weeks to come.

But for now...

I loved this string test. It's a soft, powerful poly that gives excellent control, too. Lots of strings claim power and control as their attributes but few deliver. I would rank these in my top 3 polys I have ever played. They would be (in no particular order), Luxilon ALU Power, Genesis Twisted Razor and this string, BHBR. If you want spin, BHBR delivered. If you want power, BHBR delivered. If you want control, BHBR delivered again!

I tried BHBR when it originally came out and liked it but I strung it too low for maximum benefit. This time, I strung it at the proper tension and the result is fantastic. Now I see why this string was rated so high when it first came out. I think that I will be keeping this string in my racquet for a while. At least until something better comes along. However, it's going to take quite a lot to get Big Hitter Blue Rough out of my stick.

Keep hittin'
Dan