My review of the Venson Kriss Sword XP Pro
I've come to the realization that my rating system is not perfect. So it's starting to delay a lot of reviews that I have. I'll perfect it and get better. In the meantime here's my review of the Kriss Sword XP Pro by Venson.
Weight: 4u
Balance: 305 +/- 3 HH
Shaft stiffness: Stiff
Frame type: Sword/Aero
Max Tension: 38lbs
I feel that you've seen one racket, you've pretty much seen them all. But then, Venson comes out with something so unique that it's got you wondering "what's the deal with this?" At $140 CAD ($100 USD) The Kriss Sword XP PRO (XP) is one racket that combines stunning looks and performance to boot.
The XP is very much a looker. It's frame design is all serving a purpose, creating more flex where is needed and more rigidity through the head frame. It's 78 hole string bed handles an astounding 38lbs.... And it does it without even breaking a sweat. That T Joint? Yeah.....Venson claims it's a second kickpoint to the racket and gives the XP an added boost in power from traditional stiif shafts and frame types. Speaking of frame types, the XP combines a Sword and Aero frame design to help with torsional rigidity and head speed. Everyone that has looked at this racket almost all say the same thing "what is this?"
The XP excels mainly in the power department, making clears and smashes one of the easier shots in the game. I really don't know if the T joint acts as it Venson claims, but swing and transfer of power happens smoothly and without the traditional crispiness of regular T joints. It's not numb, just a little different. Ok this is going to sound really stupid BUT it felt there was shuttle hold at 27lbs.....and that went away quickly once I strung it to 34 lbs and Aerosonic string. I also strung the XP to 35m-37c and that was just way too hard for me...but the sound was just heavenly. Note to anyone interested, ego stringing does exist. Don't over do it just because the racket is more than willing.
Being HH balance doesn't always mean it's slow. The XP shows this with its general ease of usage for defensive play. Recovery is just fluid and fast. At no point through defensive shots did the thought of slowness come. It's ability to recover quickly on fast pace exchanges made it a great defensive racket. The stiffness and aero frame design of the XP Pro made it excel in the flat exchanges. I really enjoyed how I was able to change shuttle directions very quickly. Those shots also came with so much control and feel. It's probably more to do with the tension I was playing at than the racket itself, but I always do find that head heavy rackets at the net are quite effortless and predictable.
One item that I would change with this racket is the grommet design. 78 hole is simply too much for a racket that holds so much tension. I do understand that a lot of rackets nowadays have the crosses going all the way up to the top of the frame. Part of the reason for this is to avoid string breakage during mis-hits. I feel in this case, having a string back go that high up will probably result in more frame breakage/collapsing than anything else. This is pretty much the reason why, you'll see that most rackets that I do string for my personal use, the top string is left out.
For $140 CAD, the Kriss Sword XP Pro is a great racket for the price. It's within the realm for those looking at an all round racket at is capable that singles as well as fully deadly doubles play. It falls into line with such rackets as the 100zz VA, AURASPEED 99, JPX 10.3 and it's more than half their prices. I think for me that's quite the win.