Hi Eppen,

     I have now been using a Wilson Ntour strung W/ Ashaway Powernick 18 strings strung at 27 lbs. and love it.  I did not like the raquet when I first got it, re-strung it with the Ashaway string and fell in love.  A bit of vibration, but when hitting the sweet spot it is unreal.  Highly recommended from a C player.

Mangina 

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Hi Eppen, you're right about some of the Wilson's being too head heavy. However, I picked up a Prince 03 tour and it was just as heavy in my opinion if not heavier- too bad because they look very nice. The new Wilson ntour with white, red black 140 is fairly even balanced and low on vibration with 28 lbs tension, that would be my recommendation. Personally I have blacknight, which is always good, but stiffer depending on the model, and prince 130 which is light and stiff but you might find too much vibration. Karakal is also an option. If anyone know about how Harrow racquest play please let me know. Like Eppen, I am unable to try certain brands- but in my case Im in Canada, so Harrow are non-existent, and Karakal hard to find. Thanks!

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Dear Eppen,

Just to add my opinion to the debate I have been playing with the o3 tour now for 4 months and have found it to be fantastic. I have had no vibration problems at all and find the touch and control wonderful. I do not understand this concept that it does not give power as some of the hardest hitters of a ball I play with at club and team level use Prince (both the O3 tour and silver versions).

I have always been a big Wilson racket fan but found the balance of power and control was better served by the O3 as I was always prone to over hit the Wilson ( Pro and Tour).

I agree there is always a danger in buying over the net but even if it is horrible the inflated prices in Norway make it almost worth the risk. I have just bought the o3 black over the net at less than half its recommended price - if i don't like it I will sell it on or trade it - no great loss at the price.

In summary I have had no problems with my O3 and my game has improved in accuracy, length and touch.

Happy hunting.

NMC8

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By the way I wouldn't recommend a move from prince to wilson and vice versa anyway. they are the two opposite ends of the spectrum in my experience. someone who is used to one rarely likes the other. Prince designs are very much control rackets and most of the ones I've tried lack power compared to Head or Wilson for example, and the o3 tour is one of the most unforgiving rackets I've ever played with (big sweet spot??? not what I found!) in comparison to Wilson designs which are nearly always very forgiving (massive sweetspots) and have a lot of power in every design I've tried. Which is why many club players with intermediate to low skill levels think Wilson are the best!

However the best touch players can get control and accuracy out of a good prince racket that will beat any other brand in my opinion. It depends a lot on your game and abilites. Don't look at what the pro's use because they can win with any racket.

If you like the forgiving qualities of Wilson rackets with lots of power may I suggest the hyper hammer 120? Very cheap on ebay, and although I actually like head heavy rackets, it felt even balanced to me.

sparty

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Hi sparty and thanks for replying.

Difference in a racket is always an issue, but it worries me that you found the 03 tour to vibrate although it is good that it might be a faulty one.

You are correct, the best way to find out is hit something like a padded floor or something. This is my usual way. However, my biggest problem is that no stores of the 2 in my city has prince rackets, so that leaves me with no opportunity.
And, if they did carry Prince, the price would be double cost of online.
For instance, Wilson n130 racket is $400 in my local squash centre and i can get it for $90 online p  VAT.  (Welcome to Norway, bring you Mastercard!)

Regarding Dunlop Hot Melt. I have no experience in knowing models of Dunlop so I might be wrong regarding type. But what i do know is that it was awful, had small sweet spot and vibrated like mental when hitting outside the sweet spot. My wilson triad 140 felt like heaven when I picked that up afterwards.

Hope to se any other opinions on Prince o3 vibration.

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As I said in a recent thread, I used to own a prince o3 tour that vibrated terribly, but then I tried someone else a while ago and it was fine even with the same strings at a similar tension. It is my belief now that individual rackets that vibrate a lot have just slightly inconsistent construction maybe and are, in essence, faulty! and using a different one of the same model my help. Especially as I found the hot melt pro to be incredibly solid feeling with no vibration at all, and you found it awful in this way, this confirms that for me.

With this in mind I would not buy online, as you can't try the exact racket out you'll be getting. All you need to do check for vibration is hit the racket against your palm pretty hard in the shop and it will be obvious if it's going to have a vibration problem.

sparty

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