String Review: Head Velocity Power

• Price: $11/set; $160/reel
• Gauges: 16, 17
• Colors: Natural, Black

Description

Head expands its multifilament lineup with a power version of its popular Velocity MLT string. Compared to the standard model, the filaments in the outer wrap are thinner and more plentiful. This bumps up the elasticity, leading to a softer feel with greater ball pocketing and power. It also has a low-friction coating to encourage string snapback.

Stringing Process

Installing Velocity Power is pretty seamless. Especially if you’re accustomed to the stiffer properties of polyester strings. Coil memory and kinking are virtually non-existent. It’s quite soft, with a smooth, texture-free surface that stretches easily. As a cross string in a hybrid, the slick coating makes for relatively easy pulls; although its pliability makes maneuvering through blocked holes a little challenging.

What Works

Velocity Power is as advertised. It’s on the softer end of the multifilament spectrum, offering a near gut-like level of power and arm-friendly cushioning at impact. Yet it doesn’t cross the line into mushy, so there’s a respectable level of feedback and responsiveness to play with touch. It has a comparable feel to Babolat Xcel and Wilson NXT, but at a more attractive price point and minus the excessive fraying.

Ball pocketing at impact is impressive, with shots slinging off the strings with easy depth and pace. Accuracy is also pretty good for a string this lively, especially when paired with a smaller head size and/or a denser string pattern. And while its coating is relatively fresh it produces a decent amount of spin for this category, with a minor amount string realignment between points. Unless you hit with excessive topspin, you should be able to play your standard game. These characteristics also make it effective to use as the cross string matched with a polyester main string in a hybrid setup.

Net play with multis is always a pleasure, and this one doesn’t disappoint. It performs capably whether driving the volley through the court, or dropping it softly with touch. Transitioning to net off of serves is another asset, with the added power working well with flat serves. Even slice serves have enough movement after the bounce to cause trouble. Seasoned doubles players will find these features of the string’s playability particularly attractive.

What Needs Work

Although it’s no slouch for a multifilament, Velocity Power is a moderate spin producer. This is more glaring if your game is built around aggressive topspin and you’re currently using a polyester string. Ground strokes simply don’t have the same movement and dip, and kick serves lack the same jump. For those types of players, this string should really only be considered as a potential cross string to soften up a hybrid.

Similarly, once the string loosens up a bit and the snapback becomes stickier, balls can fly. Big hitters with longer strokes could incur control issues after several hours of play. Those players could also have durability concerns, but the affordability of the string mitigates that problem.

Who’s It For

Velocity Power would be a great choice for any player looking for a power-oriented, arm-friendly multifilament with good touch. It would also be a solid option for seasoned poly users looking for a cross string to soften up their string bed.