From: clin@eng.umd.edu (Charles Lin)
Subject: Testing the Head Atlantis IDS
Reply-To: clin@eng.umd.edu (Charles C. Lin)
Organization: College of Engineering, Maryversity of Uniland, College Park
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 16:32:04 GMT


   Well folks, as much as I tested the racquets, and as much as
I said I should have gone for the following features

      -- open string pattern
      -- stiff racquet
      -- more power

  I went ahead and bought a racquet I didn't test, which didn't
have an open stringing pattern, which was moderately stiff, which
doesn't have that much power, and which still makes me feel my
old racquet was better.   But rather than dwell entirely on the
negatives, let me describe the racquet.

  The Head Atlantis IDS is one of three new IDS racquets produced
by Head.   The other two are the Ventoris IDS (just being advertised
now) and the Genesis IDS system.   Both the Atlantis IDS and
the Genesis IDS are somewhat different from the original
Genesis and Atlantis.  I believe that the older Atlantis
did not use a dense stringing pattern for the 660, whereas
the new one does.   The Genesis IDS also makes changes on the
width near the tip of the head, which is not as wide as the
original IDS (presumably because the original was deemed TOO
powerful).

   Let me contrast my old racquet (a Rossignol F-250) with my
new one.   The old racquet is approximately 82 square inches
(or 540 sq. cm), has an inverted bridge, weighs something like
12 ounces or so, and is fairly stiff.   My new racquet is
twenty square inches larger (at 102 sq. in or 660 sq. cm),
nearly two ounces lighter (10 1/4 ounce), and is a widebody.
Also it has the IDS system which is a dampening system, which uses
something called ultrasorb, some kind of plastic placed underneath
the grip to eliminate vibrations.

   All these differences make it difficult to compare to my
old racquet.  Having the dampening system makes it hard to
tell how hard I am hitting the ball.  The Atlantis IDS doesn't
actually hit any harder, and I attribute that to two things.
First, it isn't super stiff, and second, it is quite light.
In fact, the lightness really seemed to be a problem.  With
my old racquet, I could reflex some shots and let the racquet
do some of the work, whereas I felt that I really had to swing
even when I was in trouble or I wouldn't make it over the net.

   Off center shots, espescially close to the edge (near where
the PWS would be if this were a Wilson racquet) seemed to
really go nowhere and feel especially dead.   It's also
a bit difficult to get spin on this racquet, and I felt I
wasn't getting the same punch on the backhand that I was
used to with the old racquet.   The serve seems OK.  And
the volley also seems OK.

   Not to fret though.  It turns out that Prince now makes these
little strips of lead tape, and I am currently testing it out
to see how I can duplicate the feel of my old racquet.  It
seems to be doing OK, though I may need to add more here and
there.   It's a little too bad that the Ventoris IDS came out,
as I may have selected that instead.

   It's a little disconcerting having an IDS system since
I was so used to having vibrations to tell me how hard
I was hitting.

   I shouldn't be SO pessimistic.  Despite my numerous
complaints, I did hit reasonably well, and consistently,
so that was a plus.   The racquet was supposed to have
a high control rating, and I did seem to be able to
keep the shots in, even if I couldn't get quite the
power I wanted.

   In retrospect, I suppose if I were to attempt to select
again, I might have gone for the Prince Synergy 26.  Or
perhaps a more classic racquet like the Max 200 Pro or the
Wilson Classic 95.   If the 95 hadn't felt so heavy, I
may have given that a chance.

   If I can get the lead tape working out, it might not
be so bad.  Also, if I decide on a new racquet in the future,
I would probably also go back up to a 4 5/8.  The 4 1/2
grip feels more like a 4 3/8 here.  It could be mislabelled
though I am not sure.

--
Charles Lin
clin@eng.umd.edu