I thought it would be interesting to delve into some lesser known brands and first off is the German ski manufacturer Volkl (Völkl) who once created the still great Volkl C10 Pro
.
.Volkl has been a bit of a “background” brand in the tennis history but they do make high quality products. I was a user and a fan of the Volkl Powerbridge Mid 10, a flexible and fast frame with great feel. I got to be honest I haven’t been keeping up-to-date with what Volkl is producing currently but regarding endorsements they still have Nicolas Almagro who is endorsing the Volkl V-Sense 10 Tou
r and doubles star Jean-Julien Rojer who is endorsing the Volkl V-Sense 8 315
.
Volkl has recently done like pretty much everyone else in the tennis industry and moved towards stiffer racquets (arguably they have created a more varied selection of racquets, including stiffer AND more flexible frames) and I think the risk is that they get completely lost in the market place since racquets from the different providers are very similar. If I was running Volkl, I’d probably focus on more traditional arm-friendly racquets (I call them player racquets at times, but this might no longer be the case when you look at the next generation of tennis players) which is more of a niche demographic, but a growing one with the increase in tennis elbow and other injuries.
Besides racquets, Volkl also produces one of my all-time favourite strings, the Volkl Cyclone
. It’s a crisper poly string with fantastic control and spin properties for a very healthy price. It used to be my go-to-string before Solinco Hyper-G
came onto the market and is still top 5 of my most-used strings together with RS Lyon and Head Hawk Touch
.
Volkl Tennis is started its journey already in 1923Â in Straubing, Germany (close to Munich) but the production of tennis racquets started in the 1970s as you can see in the infographic below.
Have you used Volkl racquets or strings? What do you think about their products? Please comment below!
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12 comments
I’ve been using Volkl for more than 10 years and after playing for 47 of those years it’s my favorite brand. I currently play with two DNX 9’s with Technifibre Black Code 4s at 55lbs. I also have two with Volkl Cyclone at 55lbs. Testing which I like best. As I’m getting older I’m looking at the Super G7 or VSense 7 as options. I can no longer play like I did in my 20s, 30s or 40s. I’m brand loyal so I’m always looking to see what Volkl is creating. Thanks for the article on a great brand.
They had/ still have some truly amazing frames (frankly imo some of the most outstanding retail frames ever made) including the c10 pro, pb10 mid, dnx 10 mid, mid plus, c10 tour mid and though the Becker line was marketed as a separate brand, was based on Volkl and included the Becker 11 special edition and a true sleeper the delta core Melbourne (18×20)which was far superior to the dnx10 mid plus in every aspect (truly outstanding all court frame, nothing like it)
Hi,
Yes, Volkl is a high class brand! Cheers / J
I also wanted to mention the quantum 10 tour which was the base model for the Melbourne. I had demoed it long ago, but my game had not developed enough at the time to appreciate how good a frame it was.
Have you had the opportunity to play with C10 Pro? I bought a used one, of the year 2012, in some days I will be able to speak my impressions compared to my current rackets Angell TC95 and TC97 both 16×19.
Sadly never played with the Volkl C10 Pro. Need to do it one day. Must be close to the 330 VCORE Pro 97 in specs. Interesting to hear how you like that racquet. Cheers / J
My Volkl C10 Pro arrived yesterday. I put the Weiss Cannon Scorpion with 48 lbs. Unfortunately yesterday I only managed to make a sea wall and the first impression was excellent, very comfortable. The frame does not vibrate anything, style to the PT280 / 630 head, you feel only the vibration of the rope, that “tan”, that is solved with a simple elastic. The feel is similar to that of the MP prestige head intelligence, however it feels less dumb and tastier, you feel the ball much more, feel at the same level as the PT280 / 630 head. Today if possible, I will conduct a test game. I feel that I will like this picture very much. Despite having the same weight as the VCore, I feel it much more manageable than my old Duel G 330g. If you have the opportunity, I recommend the test, since you like heavier pictures. Probably an excellent competitor for Angell K7
Interesting! Will definitely give it a try sometime….Cheers / J
Mine arrived, I played 2 sets. Comfort and feel sensational. But I have to get used to the weight, because my current racket is 335 grams. The extra weight affected my handling. I found it very similar to the head pro tour 280 in regards to feel and comfort. But I still have the will to test the Wilson ultra tour 97. Do you think the ultra 97 is a good racket?
The Ultra Tour is a great racquet. Really a must-test. Let me know how it goes! Cheers / J
Jarden Corporation was bought/merged with Newell Rubbermaid to create Newell Brands, which is listed in NY as NWL. The company has all kinds of brands from K2 skis to Sunbeam small electrical appliances to Coleman camping gear to Elmer’s glue and Newell rubber products etc etc. The stock has performed poorly, and so an activist fund, Starboard, has taken a position with an eye to shaking up the company to improve returns. A common strategy in this type of situation is to sell off/shut down the smaller unprofitable brands and refocus on core products. I can hardly imagine that in a competitive, mature market such as tennis equipment a company outside the top 5 makes much profit.
Starboard has released a 172 page presentation on Newell, “focused on exploring strategic alternatives for ALL of Newell’s assets” but as far as I can see, Volkl is not mentioned in it.
If you have some spare cash burning a hole in your pocket and you’d like to apply your industry vision to rejuvenate a venerable tennis brand – this might be your chance!!
Some impressive knowledge sharing here, Johnson! Would be a really cool challenge to rejuvenate such a respected brand as Volkl. I think their skis might still be doing well however. I will dig deep into my pockets and see ;)