Head Extreme Tour Review Official
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- čas přidán 31. 07. 2024
- Popular demand and the grommet system pushed me to review this racquet! An interesting one for sure...low power, good control yet good spin! Very light in stock form and easy to swing. With this somewhat unusual combination of traits, who is it for? Advanced players? Beginners? Both? Let's find out!
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⏱️TIMESTAMP⏱️
00:00 Intro
01:35 Dirty Car
02:58 Road Ramblings
04:31 Matte vs Gloss
05:54 Confusing Name System
07:02 Review Starts
10:29 Great For Beginners?
13:16 Clever Grommets
15: 00 Overall Feelings
16:28 Is Head Spread Thin?
18:48 Thanks for Walking!
Interesting how light yours is. Mine is 330g strung w a dampener. I've added 5 grams of lead, and at this weight, I'm playing the best tennis I've ever played at a 4.5 level. I have never felt that its unstable. I love the access to control and spin (full western) while also giving me moderate power. I'm switching to Toroline wasabi on my next re-string, based off of your review. Love your videos 💪🎾
Thanks for the info! Where'd you put all that weight? Do you have a couple of these rackets? Great to hear about toroline!! I am excited to hear what it does to/for your tennis haha. Lmk.
I have the same car, 2022 Model 3 Dual Motor and in BLUE as well. I love it!! I'm OCD, I had PPF installed for the entire car and ceramic coated. I also added a bunch of carbon fiber inside and outside the car. I had to get rid of that stock wood trim. I changed out to nicer looking wheels and added red brake caliper covers. As for fingerprint smudges, you can apply a screen protector on your monitor, there are aome that resists fingerprints and you can select matte or gloss.
I recently purchased the new Extreme Tour and really like it. I don't mind the paint color, it actually grew on me. By putting a white overgrip on it, I don't notice the avocado green as much. The new Extreme Tour is more stable than my 1st gen Gravity Tour. Volleys are much cleaner with the Extreme Tour. I actually think the string spacing on the Extreme Tour is pretty open...generates a lot of spin. Maybe it's because I'm used to my Gravity Tour, which is an 18x20...but still pretty open pattern for an 18x20. I string it at 52 # since its more of an open pattern than my Gravity Tour, which I strung that at 48#. My go to string for the Gravity Tour was RPM Blast or Head Hawk Touch. I went back and forth depending on how my body felt since Hawk Touch is a softer string. I'm currently experimenting with strings for the Extreme Tour...Head Hawk Touch works well on it, but liked Confidential better. Today, I tried it with the Medvedev string (Technifibre Razor Soft) and liked it. Its softer than Confidential, but more firm than Head Hawk Touch. My serves today were painting lines all day with this string.
I think they call it an Extreme Tour because its a 98 frame, while the remaining racquets in the Extreme line are 100 or more.
I also purchased the new VCore 98, which is nice too, but I feel I have more control/touch with the Extreme Tour. And the paint on the new VCore is so soft. That whole racquet is so easy to scratch, especially the grommets. The grommets are so transparent and thin. So if anyone owns this new VCore, make sure to purchase several sets of grommets.
Nice! We both made it our own in different ways haha. I'm tempted to do the caliper thing but I am done messing around until the Highland model is out. But upgrades coming up are exciting!
I also got PPF but only front end. Nano ceramic tint on all but the rear window, a little vinyl on interior as well but I actually extended that wood look to the center console haha. I kinda like it. But a matte carbon was on it before. Thanks for sharing!
You're probably 100% right about it being a tour for the 98 size. That's legit. I think the pattern is pretty tight compared to many but I suppose there are several with tighter patterns even for 16x19 and certainly more dense options with denser patterns.
I wonder what you'd think of the strings I often mention and did a video on.
While ET is light for some people say 4.0 or higher it was a tat heavy for me and my recently injured wrist. I sold them and now using radical mps. Otherwise it’s a great stick I had both 360+ and Auxetic versions and can confirm the Auxetic has more comfort while the previous has more feedback/control.
Understandable. Do you think the swingweight was off at all? Head can sometimes vary a lot haha. Like I bet some are high 320's
Love this vloggish 😅 format. Keep it coming pls
Haha vloggish is better than vloggy thank you!
I love the Extreme Tour. But I could have swore Berrettini and Gasquet used the MP version. I have tape at the 12 o'clock position. But of course the 3 and 9 give it a little more stability. It needs a little weight. But when I demoed it against the Ezone 98 and Radical Pro, the stock form of the Extreme Tour was enough to win me over. The reason I don't have lead tape @ 3 and 9 is that a lot of the people I play against don't usually hit the ball hard enough to make me need the extra stability. So I currently add it to 12 o'clock for a little extra forehand whip.
Nice. I like that follow through swing a little lead at 12 can bring. Too much can quickly make the racquet less whippy but depending on your style it might be what you want anyway. I'm more of an 11 and 1 guy than 12 haha just to get a little stability out of it.
Gasquet uses a pro stock PT161, customised to his preferred specs. The retail version was the HEAD Liquidmetal Instinct Tour XL, released in 2004 when HEAD was still manufacturing racquets in Austria. It had the same hairpin as the PT161; an excellent racquet indeed. However, it’s very tight 18x19 string pattern reflects the era of gut, syngut and multifilaments. Most retail racquets today are poly-oriented and have more open string patterns.
I agree about Head Marketing. We see that in prestige line were i thought Djokovic 95 racket is more like the prestige tour which now is the pro, which is a different racket to those djokovic qualities such as heavy precision balls finding lines on serves backhands and competening with v core 95
Good point. Yeah, it's even further from the real thing than other rackets in their lineup maybe.
Funny times for head but having Djokovic will always help a ton. Endorsement goes a long way haha.
But what about after? I wonder. They might be in Dunlop's position before we know it.
Unfortunately, HEAD has taken the “Djokovic plays a Speed Pro” marketing deception so far that it will be challenging for them to release his signature frame. HEAD’s highest selling silo by far is the Speed, and there’s no doubt that this is on the back of Djoker’s endorsement. In the UK, a Prestige can be had for as low as ~£100 when the line is about to be discontinued. The Speed line gets sold out well before it can even get that low.
I wonder if that will work for much longer because it means everyone will realize "oh it's never actually the one they use so why do I care"
Time, are those the slant boards from KOT guy? Vivo Primus Trails? Those look more durable than Primus Lites, but Lites look good. Wish they had the Trails lacing holes and laces. Yes...glossy paint jobs are sticky. And velvet jobs get awfully sticky when old. Matte or satin all the way. On the Extreme Tour, maybe lead from 10 to 2?
Haha you covered a lot! I discovered these slant boards on my own, I'm not sure who you're referencing (if somebody) but I do sometimes get ideas from the knees over toes guy.
I think you've got the shoes right! I feel the same way, I wanted a road version of that same shoe... So I went and got the other shoes I have on my storefront and they are actually so good! And so affordable lol. I've put hundreds of miles in them.
Glad we agree on paint. Might not mess with the extreme again but that's probably the right move. That and leather base grip probably.
Are the pallets the same for head and babolat? ❤
Head sometimes uses pallets. Babolat doesn't. So, no.
I feel like the MP versions, or the 100s in Babalot's case, embody the core of how they're differentiating these racquets - for example, the Extreme MP is really a power and spin racquet, but the Tour version mutes these qualities to the point where it's a spin control racquet, but less so on spin and power where it's not much different than other players racquets. Babalot PA23 is a spin and power monster, PA98 less so, Ezone is the same, etc.. The more "player" versions of these racquets end up being not that much different than each other across the different lines, more subtle.
That's a good point. I guess the player's versions are more likely to be alike since they all move towards a similar direction. Might depend but I can see that being the case generally.
U still enjoying the PA98?... or switching?... How about the Head Boom MP?... Hearing good things!
Still really enjoy it. Boom was kinda cool and not too far off from my style but pa98 does it better for me.
Does any Head pro actually play with the racquet they endorse? I’m not too sure about it.
Great question! I know Musetti, Djokovic, Andy Murray and...Gasquet do not! I can't personally confirm anyone who does use the one they endorse hahaha. I actually can't think of many from any brand that does except maybe Alcaraz and Rune at this time. But even then...however it must be much closer to the retail than these others which are so obviously not the same racquet at all. So it feels much more genuine. When Andy is out there with his fully capped grommets endorsing the Radical I feel like they're not even trying hahaha
Sasha and Rublev are really using the pro-stock version of the Gravity Pro (TGT334.4). Same hairpin as retail, just a different string drill pattern. In Sasha’s case, there’s less parallel drilling, probably because it’s based on the string pattern of his previous IG Speed MP.
Cilic (Prestige), Berrettini (Extreme) and Fritz (Radical) play what they endorse, but older models.
Oh I think I had that model for a bit! I'll have to look through my order history with ProStockTennis. Would have been interesting to catch other differences but I was not thinking on that level then. This was...4yrs ago? Something like that.
@@jerome_morrow Great info. Which Prestige does Cilic use? And perhaps a follow up might be why so many fewer pros play with a Prestige than 25 years ago when it seemed half the tour played with a Prestige.
@@BorisBecker1872 I’ve not followed Cilic for some time, but unless things have changed, he uses a TGT312.2. The closest retail equivalent is the TGT312.1 which was the Prestige Rev Pro (93sq in). The TGT312.2 is the Prestige Rev Pro mold with the TGK231.3 (Microgel Radical MP which Cilic used prior to the Prestige) layup in it.
The TGT312.2 is an(other) example of the length of personal customisation that HEAD is prepared to go to for its pro players. The last retail racquet that HEAD sold using the TK312 mold was the G360+ Prestige Mid, which was an excellent, though demanding racquet. It is unlikely that HEAD will release anymore sub-95 sticks moving forward. (The upcoming PC600 v2 re-release doesn’t count!)
HEAD pro-stocks are the most varied in the entire industry! Yet, also best defined because of the individual engineering codes assigned to each of them.
I can only surmise that the Prestige has fallen out of favour with the present day pros since they play with what they used when they were in their developmental years as teenagers. The most popular retail racquets in the last 20 years have been made by Babolat and Wilson.
I have been playing the ET for years now (360+ and now Auxetic) and what makes the frame is a lot of weight. Stock form is not good for higher level players. Strung with overgrip and dampener, all my frames are matched at 338g static, 7pt balance and 331SW. Plays heavenly. Just enough power, stability, control and plenty of spin.
Nice! Yeah I figured it could use a bump of 10 units for me of swingweight and I'd like it a lot more.
How'd you get the weight on? Lead under grommets? I always prefer to tuck them away.
@@time410s There is lead from 11 to 1 under the bumper. And a little silicone in the handle. Thanks to Head’s lack of quality control all 4 frames were a little different, so the amount of weight varies. The ET has always been a platform frame that leaves a lot of room for customization.
I thought you’d love this racquet… very interesting.. what was your sw, balance and weight?
I only recall the SW and the was about 315
@@time410s 315 won’t get you anywhere with that spesific frame. I’d suggest testing a healthier copy with Lynx Tour. You will be surprised.
I agree maybe 320-325 would be better. But, it was what it was. Not sure it's quite my style anyway. But it's not too far off.
I agree with your opinion on Head marketing. I think they did not improve on the Extreme Tour. The prior model has better directional control. The new one is just like a generic and conventional racket. I was expecting a more “mature” model to compete with rackets like the Vcore 95 or the Pure Aero 98, that is more of a weapon of a racket and not what it is right now. They missed their chance. Hope they can go back to their roots and make a respectful Extreme Tour next time. Also that mint avocado color is not my favorite. Black with some yellow or viceversa is the Extreme personality.
Funny to think the extreme name embraced a very plain color scheme. Good point there, it's kind of lost on the branding. I didn't consider that but I see it now haha. And the racquet is rather plain in every way as opposed to extreme. What's extreme about this? Nothing. It's very middle of the spectrum but lighter than you might expect with pretty good spin and control. Doesn't seem that extreme...
If I can give you my feedback on this new format : I don t really like the mixing between life blog / review with pretty no playing footage.
I prefer to see you playing while explaining yours thoughts on a specific topic.
Beside that, all you said was right. So I would say : ok for the content but not really for the form. 😉
Noted! I think the critique about not enough playing footage is solid. Do you think you'd enjoy it more if there was more playing footage in this type of content? I don't want to be bound to a chair and studio everytime but this doesn't mean I can't cut to and include a lot more hitting footage.
LMK :)
@@time410s In my inner opinion, I think that you have to enjoy what you make whatever the viewers think so that you Can be yourself. But it the title is not on point with the content, it could be a problem for the viewers. So, if maybe thé title could have been larger as : "Vlog n01 : extrême tour, my car, and various thoughts about...". But if it says : "head extrême tour", viewers may come only for that and if course playing footage to see you, thé racquet and what balls go off the string bed etc... It created crédibilité etc...
Hope this Can help but more than all : enjoy what you do ! 🤘😉
Good points. I'll keep this in mind and I agree/have felt a similar way and have been testing the waters a bit in several ways. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and constructive ideas
@@time410s you re welcome. Sorry for my "french auto-corrector"... It must have been difficult to read. 😅
Haha it's ok I think I got it! I just remembered to ask: did you see the intro that explained what the first 7 minutes would be like? I wrote in text you can cut to the review part. If not, that's ok. I can say it and write it in the future so there's no chance it's missed.
is the year 20xx yet?
The year is 20XX. Every final is US Open Djokovic vs Djokovic.
Marth main, would love to play over slippi sometime
As long as we aren't going to FD 🤣
But for real I don't have it on my PC anymore haha it makes sitting down and losing 3hrs of my day to melee way too easy. I freaking love that game to death but I rarely play because it's hard to justify the time
I keep it to CRT nowadays. But I'm not too rusty. I can still shield drop and shine grab etc. Shield pressure maybe a little suboptimal haha but not terrible. It's hard to stay polished. Very similar to tennis in many ways. I equate dash dancing to good footwork and split steps... The two things draw parallels in my mind often.
And on windy days I think of whispy on Dreamland 🤣🤣🤣
WHY THIS EXTREME DONT HAVE THE PRO VERSION
What's going through Head's head? IDK. Messy modeling
Murray uses the HEAD PT57A mold with a 16x19 string pattern
Good info!
Yes, that's the pro-stock code for the legendary Pro Tour 630 (280 in US) mold, which many other pros actually still use. And yes it's obviously some kind of "spin-off" or close relative at least to the Prestige line.
Djokovic is the one using the old Liquid Metal Radical actually. Only the mold is more accurately the Ti or iRadical (which is the same as the LM but without the "bumps" or ridges, that I guess would be too obvious), I think it's said he really uses the LM because it's the one he used in his junior/early pro years.
I got my hands on one recently and yes, it's a pretty thin beam with a 95 18x20 tight pattern, it definitely feels close to a prestige.
Stability is the worst word used in tennis as everyone has a different definition about that word.
Twist stability, impact stability, plow stability, high manoeuvrability as low stability, balance stability, vibration stability, shock stability, solid feel stability .....
Haha yeah. But I guess if I'm being positive, it points in the direction of something that's probably within these categories. So it's not nothing but it's interpretation of expression is sometimes almost offensively vague or meaningless. I totally get that.
@@time410s nah, just like finger prints matter or straight crosses, you cannot be vague with words.
Sucks my reply didn't go through but I said something like how it's ultimately the user-end experience that something is unstable. Or stiff, when they demo a racket but the strings are too tight, the racket still felt stiff! That's the reality for them.
Car people sometimes have a similar chip with terms like FAST because a fast car should be able to go like 200mph or more. A quick car isn't necessarily fast but has a great 0-60, yet nearly everyone I floor in my car would say that's FAST!
So I totally get the frustration but I think feel less bothered by that and more on the side of bridging the gap. I get the struggle to market things with limited terms and low expectations on consumers to understand/grasp. I get the user end reality being pretty simple and it takes a real investigation to understand what "unstable" really means in this case and until then, that's all it is!
@@time410s i agree, but in your case you want to convey your experience to your audience. In a video you have more value if you say that the car accelerates fast or has a high top speed in steas of just using the word fast. The same in conveying your test experience about a racket. If you add 1 to 3 words to stability to explain which you mean, your message is better.
Calf stretches are vital for tennis players to avoid gastroc tears.
A daily used muscle but really put to work for tennis!! So true. I sneak in calf stretches often haha.
@@time410s Absolutely, and that’s part of the problem. When the muscle strength exceeds the stretch compliance, that’s a prospective tear just waiting to happen!
What's your background in this stuff? Sounds like you know it pretty well. I'm an enthusiast but passionate about such things. I have a couple of friends in the industry or those peripheral to it as well as my own research here and there. I get into rants about how people get platar pain and are prescribed a high heel drop shoe to cushion the heel and it just keep the cycle going. IDK if rants like that make sense but I have a circle of friends and we always get triggered seeing that XD in addition to the narrow toebox of such a shoe causing more issues.
@@time410s I’m a surgeon as well as having higher degrees in anatomy and biomechanics. Also, have had two medial gastroc tears whilst playing tennis, one in each calf. Anyone who plays high intensity tennis needs to do more calf stretches than they probably realise. There’s a lot of bad advice out there when it comes to managing musculoskeletal injuries due to outdated teaching.
Oh that's awesome! The first part lol sorry to hear about the injuries. I agree but thankfully some good sources are starting to pressure the industry to speed it's progress up. And people can rise high leading with example like knees over toes guy. My calves were killing today after 2 heavy hitting days and a plane ride with maybe a night of sleep between the two. I took a lot of time to warm up, stretch, massage and get back to baseline with good rest. Back on my feet today but that care is so crucial for recovery. We have to make the time to take care of our bodies.
Thanks for doing what you do!
Does the Tesla drive itself???
Sorta. I don't have the crazy software designed to do that more than the one my car came with but what is included already does so much. It does more than I would use it for and the fully loaded self driving upgrade...it's genuinely state of the art and amazing but you still have to be ready to take over at any moment, especially in the city driving. So that feeling of having to be super ready just in case while simultaneously not really driving is strange and actually more stressful for me than just driving haha. But I use the stripped down version on highway sometimes and that is truly lovely! Highway traffic is pretty simple. Long straight lines, no intersections...steady speed. I trust it there because there's so much less going on.
It was that plant, just pull a bit off and you will know!
LMAO was it?? I'll go back and check 😂
@@time410s Pull it out of the ground, it's a kind of fennel (should be a bulb under ground)
Lol that's a lot. Maybe I'll break some of the plant and see if the smell reveals itself. Will that work? That's a better step 1 than all that haha.
Interesting point generating your own control. But...no.
"Generating your own power" means swinging big, from very far behind your body until the very other end.
A racquet that sprays the balls all over the place and tries to break the sound barrier is counter-intuitive for big swingers.
Did you think about how generating your own control should work? It would mean holding the swing back or trying to convert the whole swing into revs on the ball.
It's more so a comment on how people attack others for relying on a racket for power yet never bother those looking to a racket for control, despite some of the players with "great hands" having phenomenal control with very powerful rackets. Kyrgios and Dustin Brown for example. I also think the Pro Staff 97 is quite powerful and Fed had good control.
You don't maybe generate control as much as you develop it. I just don't like the idea that a racket inherently has less control. I don't believe it. Rackets behave a certain way and you get familiar with it. It's up to you do get connected to the racket.
@@time410s Well, Fed used nat gut in the mains, that's where His power comes from.
But there is something to it. I have two clubmates, WHO give contrairy examples. One has These great hands, plays whatever stick he comes by and strings it with the cheapest string he can possibly get his hands on.
The other one is searching for a replacement for his Clash, because it sprays too much. He got in very good shape,does a lot of sports and plays a lot. Now His Clash does no longer suit him. I gave him my Ezone Tour and voila: He excels with it, possibly orders a pair now.
Bur generally speaking, control is the most valuable currency for advanced players. Only exception is a really gifted one who can handle a spray can. But even those would benefit from a clean swing style and a control racquet.
Dustin Brown ist known for stringing at extreme tensions, I heard of 36 kilos (equals 80 lbs). Control setup.
Haha yeah I know what you mean. But I guess you get my point. And now Ben Shelton seems to be known for stringing in the higher 60s. Pure Aero 98 is right about the perfect balance of all these things for me. I can take it's power potential and divert it to intense spin or still flatten it out and enjoy it kind of raw. But still hit a great drop shot (which would be easier on a more controlled racquet but this is where that getting acquainted part is key)
@@time410s The hunt for the (German saying) egg-laying wool-milk-pig.
Glad to hear you found yours. I think I found mine as well.
Haha that would mean the racket that does it all? Wool from a pig, huh? That's a bit much to ask, no? Eggs too. A pipe-dream in other words haha
Lmao insane how many ppl that play melee also play tennis. Marth player here lemme know if you wanna hit slippi
Hahaha I love it! Which came first for you? The Inner Game of Tennis was brought to me from Melee, not tennis... Funny
@@time410s tennis first for me , melee years later. Yup inner game is the melee staple lmao
Very nice. Thanks for sharing!
Btw I don't use slippi anymore because it made playing way too easy and I'll play too much if I do haha. But I'm so glad it exists. I've used it a good bit but I had to stop. Otherwise I totally would. Maybe someday I'll set it up just to play with viewers sometime
You really do need to adopt a less rambling style.
We'll get there.
I actually enjoy the rambling talkshow-like style that’s nice listening to during a drive. The random sprinkle of general comments also provides me an incentive to watch a racquet or string review even when I’m not in the market for new gear
Haha appreciate it! Feels a little more podcast like perhaps? I enjoy podcasts. I'm sure my style is at least lightly influenced by that. But I'm in a space where that isn't quite the norm. So we will see. Maybe pave a new path or I get attacked for being different lol. Maybe I find a middle ground.