Artengo TR960 Precision Racket Assessment

Artengo may be one of many lesser identified tennis manufacturers on the market, however they’ve the complete complement of tennis gear, together with rackets, strings, baggage, sneakers, balls and equipment.

The large promoting level of their tennis division is the pricing, and within the seek for merchandise that match all budgets, I’ve examined a number of of their gadgets in latest weeks.

One of many first rackets I made a decision to check was the Artengo TR960 Precision racket, developed in partnership with former ATP gamers Steve Darcis, Oliver Marach and Nicolas Escudé.

The result’s a 300g racket aimed toward superior gamers who need management and stability.

How does it play?

Artengo TR960 Precision Cosmetics

GET THE TR960 PRECISION

The Artengo TR960 Precision has a easy color palette with a white hoop, black grommets, and a crimson accent on the throat.

In comparison with a number of the rackets we’ve seen these days, just like the Excessive line from Head and Prince’s ATS Textreme Tour line, it’s a extra impartial design, and I prefer it.

The Artengo branding on the throat additionally appears good, and I feel the typeface for his or her emblem works nicely.

Artengo TR960 Precision Specification

The TR960 Precision racket comes pre-strung, and the one change I made earlier than playtesting the body was the addition of an Artengo Take up overgrip.

When strung, my racket weighed 323g (with out the overgrip).

After eradicating the strings and overgrip after a number of hitting classes, I put it again on the scales, and it is available in at 305.9g unstrung, so 2% over the 300g goal. Not unhealthy.

Nevertheless, swingweight was a unique story. When strung, the TR960 had a swing weight of 326 kg/cm2, so I knew that the unstrung swing weight had zero probability of being near Artengo’s goal of 270 kg/cm2.

As soon as I reduce the strings out and acquired it on the Briffidi SW1, the unstrung swingweight got here in at 295 kg/cm2.

25 swing weight factors off spec is disappointing as that discrepancy is just too excessive.

Is it a one-off? Doubtlessly.

The Artengo TR960 Management Tour I’ve additionally been playtesting, which is barely dearer, was close to excellent on the standard management checks.

And on this video from the Tennis Man, his TR960 Precision was barely over 300g however had a swing weight of 305 kg/cm2, which is exactly what you’d anticipate for a goal unstrung swing weight of 270 kg/cm2 as strings add round 30-35 swingweight factors.

Apparently, the Prince ATS Textreme Tour 290 I reviewed had the identical problem, so this downside isn’t essentially because of the cheaper price ticket and plagues most tennis racket manufacturers.

First Impressions

This was my first time utilizing an Artengo racket, and it’s not a racket I’ve learn a lot about beforehand, so I didn’t have many expectations earlier than enjoying with it.

The large query mark for me was how it will examine to larger value level rackets. The TR960 is £89.99 within the UK or $99.99 within the US, which is a extremely wallet-friendly value.

In comparison with the rackets from Wilson, Head, Babolat and so forth., which it’s immediately competing with, that is nearly a 3rd of the value. So wouldn’t it be comparable?

Holding the racket and giving it a couple of shadow swings, it felt like every other racket, and I might inform it had fairly a beefy spec once I was practising forehands with it, which was no actual shock given the 326 swing weight.

The paint job high quality is cheap; it doesn’t look ultra-premium like a Yonex EZONE 98, for instance, and I might see a couple of chips across the grommets, however to the contact, the paint looks like most different matte-finished rackets.

I additionally just like the added contact of including the rubber ring to cover the grip ending tape, which appears neater, and I want extra corporations provided these as customary.

Artengo TR960 Precison Playtest

Given the swing weight being 25 factors off the really helpful specs, then, in impact, I used to be enjoying with a customized model of the TR960, the place weight has been added to the pinnacle.

Because it occurs, extra superior gamers would possible make this variation to bump up the swing weight so as to add stability.

However on the flip facet, it does make my evaluation a bit deceptive. For those who purchase this body with a swing weight of 305kg/cm2, your expertise will likely be barely completely different from mine.

After hitting a couple of groundstrokes, my first ideas had been the racket sounded nice acoustically.

It had that ‘thud’ sound even once I wasn’t attempting to tear the ball. That is at all times a mix of layup and string alternative/rigidity, so that is possible a mixture of the delicate poly and the delicate really feel expertise, which makes use of some balsa wooden.

In some ways, it performed like the brand new Prince ATS Textreme Tour 290 I’ve been utilizing lately, however with a extra oval head form and a thicker beam close to the throat.

The TR960 has first rate spin however not a spin machine (the string sample isn’t tremendous large on the ‘candy spot’), first rate energy, good stability with that 326 kgcm/2 swing weight and simply an all-around good enjoying body.

With a decrease swing weight of round 305, which the racket ought to have, the TR960 could be a wonderful various to the Pure Strike 100 or Tecnifibre TF40. There’s additionally a contact of Pure Drive in there.

So if you happen to like these rackets however desire the value tag of the TR960 (who doesn’t?), this is able to be a great various.

The TR960 has a stiffness ranking of 69, and most of the people imagine that larger stiffness = much less consolation (I urge to vary, however that’s one other submit); nevertheless, I discovered the racket very comfy. 

There are not any harsh vibrations, and Artengo has “Tender Really feel Absorption Know-how” within the racket; this makes use of some balsa wooden, which appears to work.

So from my expertise, you get a really comfy setup if you happen to pair the TR960 with Artengo’s delicate poly TR960 Energy string at low rigidity (~44lbs).

What You Can Anticipate

Who is that this Racket For?

Given the £89.99/$99.99 price ticket, this racket has plenty of use circumstances.

For outright learners to superior intermediate gamers on a finances, the TR960 will ship a stable hitting expertise.

Whereas the racket is extra suited to intermediate gamers, I feel it is usually a wonderful alternative for learners getting some teaching.

Quite than shopping for a less expensive ‘newbie’ body for £50, you may get a high-quality body for only a contact more cash at £89.99.

It’s a bit heavier than most learners usually go for, however 300g unstrung is manageable for many grownup gamers, and given the pinnacle gentle stability (if you happen to get it shut to focus on spec), it’s not troublesome to swing.

The benefit of getting this as your first racket is that TR960 will final for much longer and mean you can develop higher strokes from the outset. You’ll develop into it quite than shortly develop out of it.

It additionally comes pre-strung with Artengo’s TR960 Energy string. It is a delicate polyester string, so it’s unlikely to trigger arm points and is one other plus level for learners as they’ll play instantly with out discovering a stringer.

The caveat right here is that the above solely applies if the racket is near the goal specs. A 326 swing weight like my racket is unwieldy for a newbie. 

Related Enjoying Rackets

Closing Ideas

Regardless of the difficulty of high quality management with the racket, I feel one of the simplest ways to explain the TR960 Precision is an effective racket, however at a terrific value.

£89.99 / $99.99 for a racket of this high quality is an entire steal, making the sport way more accessible for a lot of gamers who don’t need to spend £250 / $300 on a racket.

The specs additionally make plenty of sense for lots of gamers. 300g unstrung is an effective weight for grownup female and male gamers, and with a swingweight of ~305 kg/cm2, it is extremely manoeuvrable, that means you possibly can choose it up after a couple of weeks away from enjoying with none points.

I’m unsure I see it getting used on the superior degree because the TR960 Management Tour or the TR960 Precision Professional (98 sq. inch model of this racket) fits that participant extra.

Nevertheless, the TR960 Precision is a stable alternative for larger intermediates, and I anticipate to see extra Artengo rackets in use on the membership degree throughout the UK, USA and Europe.

Execs

Cons

Have you ever tried the TR960 Precision or every other Artengo rackets? Let me know within the feedback.