PS97 v10, 11, 12, CV, 13

 Not much different other than materials and addition/removal of countervail; I might like this CV but might not considering v10 with multi was hard to control.

PS97 (leather grip, Gasquet overgrip)

 After taking the leather grip off from my PS97. I put it back again, I just couldnt find the groove on the PS97 with synth grip, the balance and grip size seems off. So, I put it back again so that it can look good and better in storage; synth grip deteriorates overtime. It has Prince SGD strings and started to fray, rather than cut them, see if I can play to break. With leather grip that adds weight, can only put one overgrip on it. To contained the shocks and vibration of leather grip, I wrapped the overgrip layered like Gasquet, works well on the CX tour. 

So, I brought to practice yesterday, along with F30T. For warm up, I play with the PS97. It feels OK, string was a bit stiff, but control and spin was good, just feels right; stable, control, spin, and comfort. Switched to F30T and could not control it better, so switched back to PS97.

In the end, won both doubles games and a single game with PS97. Played outdoor, ball not as fast as in indoor. I see, it feels like playing with CX 200 Tour. Next is to wait for PS97v13 but still way overprice now.

 

Bio F3.0T 2nd review

 I had 2 doubles sets playing with Bio F3.0T. In comparison with my regular AG300 was that BF30T because of its thick beam, cant get a topspin backhand; I shanked them. With BF30T, the serves had more power, groundstrokes more power and plush (less spin prob due to string pattern and string selection), volleys were plusher, slices were OK, and overhead were OK. The weight is just right, not light or heavy and at 308g unstrung, no need for lead tape or other customization, just rubber dampener for that ping sound. This is one of those racquet that I be comfortable just bring it to the court. My pinky was still sore but not as bad. 

Syn gut stiffness

 About last year, I experienced sore wrist unlike ever before on the same racquet (Pro Staff 97) but with a different string. I had a really bad wrist pain before but it was from using a light but stiff racquet (Six One Lite). On the PS97, I previously strung it with Prince Topspin, then Babolat multi, and the latest with Prince SG Duraflex. I never had any problem using syngut before (mostly Wilson or Babolat SG). The Prince SGD was thought to be the best, but after reading the TW string comparison, PSGD rates high for stiffness (188 compare to Babolat at 162). Touching by hand, PGSD feels stiff compare to Gamma or Babolat which are strung on my other racquet. PGSD due quite durable, the one in the PS97 had frayed but still unbroken.

Dunlop Biomimetic F3.0 Tour (1st tries)

 Have been using my new or mint Dunlop Biomimetic F3.0 Tour over several practice hours. The string was vintage Gamma syntgut 17g at 52; the string is smooth at first. The first hitting session were not good, did not connect at all, the backhand was terrible; ball landed on net.

The second time was on game practice, brought also a CX 200 Tour 18x20. Practice game with it and the serves were good, forehand still trying to figure it out (not hugging the ball like AG300), the power was there, volley was OK, backhand drive is still struggling but the control and comfort was OK. Add 1.5grams on 3 and 9. I dont like the porsche-cadillac analogy below, cadillac seems slow and powerless; the author must meant powerful but comfortable.

Note: edited this blog and bold the author comment on modern grip; no wonder, played better with AG version

From tennis.com:

According to Bruce Levine, Racquet Advisor for Tennis Magazine, the F3.0, compared to last year’s Biomimetic 300 Tour, is “clearly a different racquet. Due to its wider head size and throat, the F3.0 felt much more stable than older generations, and played comfortably all over the court without negative vibrations. To take an analogy: It looks and smells like a Porsche. But when you drive it, it has a lot of the characteristics of a Cadillac.” Several of our 4.0 and 4.5 playtesters agreed, claiming that, on groundstrokes as well as volleys, the racquet struck a nice balance between power, maneuverability, and plowthrough. Although baseline grinders might find the racquet’s spin potential lacking due to the closed string pattern—and old-school players may miss the heftier, more traditional feel of the 300 Tour—all-courters with modern grips should profit from the 3.0’s ample, control-oriented pop.