| Rating: | ★★★★ |
| Category: | Other |
Look: Volkl Tour 10 Mid is one of the sexiest racquets I have ever seen. It comes with yellow & black rubberized finished. Unfortunately, the black synthetic grip kind of ruin the overall look. So the first thing I did was replacing the grip with a Gamma leather grip. Actually, the racquet looks REALLY NICE! with leather grip on it. After that, I strung it up with multifilament string - Pro Supex Maxim Touch 17 and went out hitting.
First Hit: On the first hit, I was almost given up this racquet. It's so heavy and the balance is not head light enough to wield around comfortably. Even though it has a thin beam of a midsized racquet, but it swings like a mid plus. It's pretty awkward. Part of that is because of an odd head shape. Compared to other midsized racquets, Volkl's sweetspot is located in a lower position towards the throat of racquet. The result of this is definitely lower power. With low power level and small hit-zone, it's really hard to get the ball cross the net.
Feel: When the ball hit the stringbed, it feels pretty much like Head PC600. The way it pockets the ball before springing off is just like that and I can really feel that similarity. It even sounds the same. After hitting for a while, I started getting used to it and finding more juice from this stick. Volkl Tour 10 is great for both flat and spin with plenty of FEEL. It requires good swing technique and preparation to get the ball launched off the stringbed with good speed. Long swing and proper follow-thru is required to drive directional control! On groundstroke, the racquet is pretty stable on both forehand and backhand, especially flat shots. On volley or half-volley, Volkl is not so maneuverable due to its balance and weight, but again it's very solid and stable.
The Bottom Line: Now I understand how classic Volkl feel like :) The racquet is too heavy, so it's not really for a modern agressive game today. Rather it fits to those who stay pretty much in defensive mode. Compared to PC600, I like PC600 better. It's just more versatile.
