神兵Wilson Prostaff 85 (台灣版)
昨天去Pro Shop穿線的時候，突然在2手堆裡看見了這個罕見的神兵! 好久都沒在本地鋪子或者網上看到過Prostaff 85舊版本的蹤影了，所謂可遇不可求，所以這次看到了這個合理價錢8/9成新的2號Grip (Butt. Code: UGW) 寶貝自然不能放過。
其實本身已經擁有一塊台灣版的PS85(3號Grip)了，極之喜歡它獨特的手感和擊球的獨特感覺，St. Vincent、台灣版這些早期的PS85跟近兩年再版的Pro Staff 85 6.0感覺當然完全是兩回事，你親自試過就馬上知道它們的不同之處了。
最大的不同是舊版的Prostaff 85很軟身，擊球時感覺像鞭出去一樣爽，但是對持拍者的要求變態的高，遲一點點準備功夫都可能會打不中Sweet Spot，而且拍身比較重，打起來很吃力，所以玩票性質還可以，拿來比賽的話簡直就是玩殘自己。
自己見過最罕見的版本是在2010年的Hong Kong Tennis Classic，一位超級PS85收藏家拿著這塊全新的Prostaff 6.1 Paint Job Prostaff 85給Edberg簽名，哇，真羨慕死我了!
Wilson Pro Staff Midsize Appearance Evolution:
The Chicago PS85:
- original bright yellow and red pinstriping
- bumperless construction
- grip size sticker, recommended tension sticker “String at 65-70 lbs.” and specification sticker “Weight/Oz. 11.6-12.3 Unstrung; Balanced 1.0-1.5 in. headlight” inside one side of the throat
- three separate raised throat grommets
- brown Fairway leather grip
- White butt cap with large red “W”
- no registered trade mark symbol
- red primer seen at grommet drill holes and through scratches in the top black coat
- Buttcap code located below red “W”
- pinstriping and “Midsize” on both sides of throat
- Wilson Pro Staff nylon racket bag with strap, without grip venting
Transition to St. Vincent (early-mid):
- Addition of “St. Vincent W.I.” sticker above red “W” of buttcap (these are easily lost)
- Recommended tension sticker (at some point) lowered to “String at 55-65 lbs.” Some early St. Vincent frames may have the previous higher recommended tension sticker.
- transition from bumperless construction to addition of bumperguard
St. Vincent (mid-late):
- Stickers replaced in throat to decals that describe Wilson PWS on one side, recommended tension on the other (50-60 lbs.) and higher/lower tension recommendation for control/power
- black rectangular grip size sticker placed at the outside of the throat above the handle
- throat grommets are thinner
- these have either “Midsize” decal on both sides of throat or one side has “80% braided graphite/20% kevlar” decal
- addition of red registered trademark symbol at lower right of “W” on butt cap
- “Wilson Quality” hologram sticker at base of throat opposite grip size sticker. Serial number in bold black font
Transition to Taiwan (early):
- loss of red primer to grey primer
- Butt cap code location moves above red “W”
- all cap “TAIWAN” sticker placed below “W” on butt cap
- brown Fairway leather grip
Taiwan (later):
- pinstriping color darker in tint
- recommended tension decal now has recommendation for using Wilson syn gut
- “Wilson Quality” hologram sticker now has bar code and small dot-matrix print
- Fairway leather grip
- racket bag looks similar to original, but has grid-venting for grip
Transition to China:
- same as late Taiwanese, but has all cap “CHINA” sticker below “W” on butt cap (assuming use of last Taiwanese stock)
Chinese PS85 (early):
- new design with wider throat and one-piece throat grommet
- slightly different drill pattern as the old grommets no longer easily fit
- white primer
- “Italicized” Pro Staff logo
- larger font for “PWS” at sides of head
- “85 sq. in.” decal on inner face of head near throat
- brighter, wider pinstriping
- Fairway leather and white butt cap
- throat decal has specs and square with “6.0″ swing index info
- racket bag matches fonts on racket with “braided” image on face
Chinese (mid):
- use of “Pro Staff 6.0″ in Garamond font at face of throat
- transition from use of Fairway leather to Wilson leather
- transition from white butt cap to black butt cap with red square and small white Wilson “W”
- racket bag matches the fonts and graphics of frame
Chinese (late and last):
- transition to silver specification decal at insides of throat
- use of generic Wilson Pro Staff racket bag
Tour DB (Japan):
- made in China, double braided
- sold only in 85sq in headsize
- throat says ‘Tour DB,’ not 6.0
- listed on Wilson Japan’s website under ‘Pro Staff Original 6.0,’ but picture is of Tour DB model
- different string spacing than 6.0
- strung weight ~333g, strung balance 305mm
- 6.0 is also sold in Japan (called ‘US spec’), strung weight 357g, strung balance 310mm
- discontinued in 2009 prior to release of KPro Staff 88
Hello, I came across this picture of the signed Wilson paintjob racket through an image search. Unfortunately I can’t read what the post says. Is this yours? Is it signed by Edberg himself? Kind regards, Wim.
Hi Wim,
You can use Google Translate to read the post, the rkt is not mine.
Yes, it’s signed by Edberg himself during the 2010 HK Tennis Classic.
Is this racket still available.
自己見過最罕見的版本是在2010年的Hong Kong Tennis Classic，一位超級PS85收藏家拿著這塊全新的Prostaff 6.1 Paint Job Prostaff 85給Edberg簽名，哇，真羨慕死我了!
It was not mine, and my Prostaff 6.1 Paint Job Prostaff 85 has been sold about 3 months ago
i want wilson prostaff 6.0 85
我還有一支 Wilson Prostaff 85 (1984), Taiwan version L3, (COVER SIGNED BY STEFAN EDBERG in 2010 HK Tennis Classic), HK$2,500