[Review Experience] VICTOR DriveX 8K

Jayce September 6, 2024 1 0

My first flagship racquet was 3U’s new Zsp, which is a young man’s favorite racquet, with a great swing speed and a lot of power that comes with a lot of fitness, which is definitely the charm.
Recently, I went out and bought a new racket, the 3U Harness 8K, and for some reason it reminded me of the Zsp that I used to have, and the two rackets don’t really overlap at all, so that means that the Harness 8K is a new racket that brings me new experiences as well.
Of course, it’s possible that my tastes have changed as a result of my experience.

Parameters: 3UG5, de-bottomed, total weight 95.4g, balance point 304mm, handle length 195mm, 7.0mm mid-shaft made of Baillou carbon, hard tuning, 76-hole wire bed, power fluid hexagonal frame, 8-4-point wire groove, 29-pound warranty, 26-28lbs of pull bn69.
The main color of the racket is a hammer-like Prussian blue, a darker color without too much aggression, not really pretty but very calm looking. The distribution of circuitry lines on the center stick and frame is a hallmark of the Harness series, but as a high-end racket in the same class as the 9X, it’s a bit hard to justify not adding a bit of bling to the look. In terms of color, the next racket, the Harness 8S, which is a metallic burgundy color, is more eye-catching in my opinion, which is probably why not many people have come out to stand up for this racket.

Technically, there are three frames in the Harness series, with the wind-guided hex frame for the Harness 7K and below, a power-fluid hex frame with a three-in-one construction for the high-end series, and a separate frame with a twist for the Harness 9X. Harness 8K frame has a rounded frame transition in the middle of the frame, in the previous Harness series I have played in the wind-guided hexagonal frame has reached a fairly good level of stability and swing speed, while the high-end series of 3-in-1 is more like to further improve the swing speed on the basis of the same guarantee of stability. The thickness at the head of the racket is already close to that of a speed racket.
Therefore, as a 3U balance point is slightly higher racket, harness 8K hands on the first stroke to bring the feeling to the author is really very similar to the ZSP: solid feel, a slight sense of head weight, swing speed is not bad, the middle of the rod is hard, the swing feeling is also with the hand, and the same is the 3U. On closer inspection, the swing speed of the Harness 8K is even a bit higher with the aid of the thinner frame. Even before I tried it, it was already giving me the “I want it all” feeling.

But in fact, it doesn’t have the same feel as the BN69, which is a 0.66mm cable with high elasticity and medium stiffness, and under 26-28lbs, the 8K still has some holding power, and you can feel the head of the ball smashing out of the crossover before resuming to pop, which is a bit like the Bowflex series. At the same time, it doesn’t have the soft but tough feel of the Bowie, and the feedback from the 8k is not linear, like a turbocharged kick-in. While I’m not averse to this feeling, I’m afraid that for most other golfers, they’ll prefer the high-revving, self-absorbing feel.
Of course, the 7.0 center stick not only represents the thickest line diameter in the same series, but also its official standard hardness is staggering, and in principle the only thing that feels harder than him is a watermelon knife. So here’s the playful part: you can feel the ball-holding sensation, but not the meat; you can feel the stiffness, but not the wood. Just in terms of its feedback, small-motion blocking, hooking and rolling and releasing and hanging will tend to hold the ball more, while big-motion killing, chopping and pumping will tend to explode more.

I’ve written a lot of subjective, sensory and amorphous words, but if I were to describe what kind of racket I have in my hands, it would be as boring as many other excellent rackets I’ve encountered before: the excellent elasticity of the mid-shaft and the slight head-heavy feeling of the forehand is clearly borrowed, no matter whether it is to return a high shot, a flat high shot or a shot of down-the-line pressure, it is very comfortable; the box structure of the T-head provides stability for the frame, and it is very comfortable to play with. The box structure of T-head protects the stability of racket frame, and the pointing of the ball is clear, excellent anti-torsion, and a strong sense of control of the ball path; the flat draw block will be more strenuous, the racket’s self-weight is larger and more flexible, and a little bit of lag from the lead to swinging also makes it more risky to miss the front hitting point in front of the net in the closure of the punt; it’s good to find the sweetspot, but the quality of hitting point outside the sweetspot decreases obviously, and the forgiveness rate is mediocre; the middle stroke is full of explosiveness, and the racket frame can withstand the high weight. High weight, so the upper limit of quality of heavy kills and point kills is very high, and the sound of blasting away from the line bed is sharp and pleasant; heavier weight and stiffer setup is not recommended for newcomers, and I believe that the 4U version will be universally pleasing to the eye, but I personally prefer to use the 3U version, which is the ultimate in stability, to improve myself.
That might be the end of it?

Although it was a normal purchase, I’ve always had an unanticipated feeling about the 8k. It’s facetiousness makes me overlook the fact that it performs well from time to time. As a balanced offensive racket, it doesn’t give me as much excitement in terms of feedback as some of the other mid-range rackets, and its responsiveness on the doubles court isn’t exactly fast, but there’s a sense of stability when you use it on the court, and the excellent dampening also reduces the load on the racket. All-around, not necessarily pleasing to the eye.
Until now, the description I can make of the Harness 8k is in line with the feeling of “Road can be Road, very Road”, how to describe it can not accurately reflect its texture, its good is not obvious, not fascinating. Its solid and stable character makes me often forget the existence of the racket when using the Harness 8k, and only when there is an opportunity to kill the backcourt, a powerful firecracker will make me remember that the equipment in my hand is by no means to be underestimated.