Volkl V-Cell 4 Racket Review

The V-Cell from Volkl is a step on in comfort and arm friendliness compared to the V-Feel rackets that have come before it. V-Cell technology uses cutting edge material, which adds to the racket’s crispness and playability, whilst maintaining comfort.

Volkl have achieved this by adding 300% more of this material to the V-Cell 4, making it even more stable and responsive.

They have also tweaked their handle technologies too, enhancing the REVA material. This gives a more dampening than ever before which again increases how arm friendly this racket is!

Volkl have opted for a stealthy, blacked out look for the V-Cell 4 racket, a departure from the stunning white of the V-Cell 6. It is quite refreshing to have this under the radar paint job, but the racket itself is more than worth shouting about!

The specs of the racket are clearly aimed at beginner to intermediate players that want a fast swinging, spin friendly and powerful companion on the court.

The generous 105 sq in head size combined with the 27.6in length  give the V-Cell 4 an above average sweet spot. This makes the racket very forgiving and balls feel very plush coming out the centre of the string bed.

The 275g weight makes the racket incredibly easy to swing, which again enhances the spin potential as you can generate so much racket head speed. The open 16×19 string pattern adds to this too, which makes it so easy to hit with heavy spin and great power.

I found my groundstrokes landing deep with a lot of topspin, and the racket’s specs encouraged me to hit with a lot of net clearance as I could trust the ball would come dipping down violently as it approached the baseline.

For such a light racket it felt incredibly stable on contact and the fact it was so comfortable whilst being so easy to swing made it very enjoyable to hit with.

The V-Cell 4 would definitely suit a club level player that is returning to the game after a long lay-off or arm injury. It is very forgiving and can hardly feel any vibrations at all.

Whilst this attribute is great for comfort and forgiveness, it does mute the feel of the racket somewhat. It is crisp and responsive, meaning it isn’t mushy at all. But, you do lose a little bit of that close connection to the ball that more performance focussed rackets offer.

However, for the beginner player that is looking to improve their technique and needs a forgiving, comfortable and easy to swing racket, the Volkl V-Cell 4 is a great racket to try.

The Volkl V-Cell 4 is pretty crisp up at the net, offering a nice blend of forgiveness, pop and stability. It is also very easy to swing thanks to its lightweight and the V-Cell technology definitely does its job well here.

It is very stable for such a light racket and it doesn’t suffer from that tinny feeling that some lightweight rackets possess.

The large sweet spot makes the Volkl V-Cell very forgiving, so if you don’t have perfect volleying technique you can still put the ball away and finish off points at the net with confidence. If anything, the racket was a little more powerful than I am used to, which meant the ball would sometimes fly long on me.

This did take a bit of getting used to but after a few minutes it wasn’t a major issue to control. The spin and crispness of the racket is great too. You can stick your volleys nicely with plenty of backspin, keeping them nice and low.

Where the V-Cell 4 lacked a bit of conviction is in the feel department. It wasn’t unpleasant to volley with and the open string pattern made it easy to cut the ball nicely when looking for sharp angles. But its dampening and lack of vibrations made it a little void of connection.

This isn’t a huge issue as the racket is aimed more at beginners who want to put the ball away and not necessarily hit 3 or 4 volleys in a row. But for doubles players that like to pick balls up off their shoe laces and play with a bit more feel, there are other oversized rackets out there that may do a better job.

The Volkl V-Cell 4 is a great all rounder to serve with. Its power, spin, stability and how easy it is to swing make it a great racket for anyone who needs a little extra pop on their serve.

It offers great access to spin thanks to the open string pattern, but is actually very powerful too given its large sweet spot and reasonably thick beam.

The large sweet spot means you can let the racket do the work and it is very forgiving on off centre strikes.

Therefore, if you are currently trying to improve your serve technique but need a racket that will give you a little extra help, this could be right up your street.

The V-Cell 4 is not the most pinpoint accurate racket in the world and this is expected to be the case given its specs, but it is an accessible racket. If you are the type of player that likes easy power and access to spin, but wants the racket to do the work so you can take care of the placement, the Volkl V-Cell 4 will fit the bill.

Returning with the Volkl is a very user-friendly experience. The large head size and sweet spot mean it is very forgiving, so you can stick your racket in the way of the ball with next to no backswing and produce a nice deep return.

The larger head combined with the open string pattern mean there is quite a lot of space between the strings. This makes generating a lot of spin easy, so you can either rip the ball deep and heavy with a load of spin, or go for a sharp angle to open up the court.

The power and comfort of the Volkl V-Cell 4 are what stood out most though. You can block the ball back easily and there are hardly any vibrations that travel through your arm, making this one of the most comfortable rackets out there.

It is not the most communicative racket in the world, so it does take a bit of time to dial in when chipping the ball back, particularly if you are more used to a control oriented racket like me.

The power also takes some adjusting to, as to begin with a few returns that I thought would land in the middle of the court actually floated deep.

However, the comfort and damping of the racket made up for this. The V-Cell 4 would definitely suit a player that has a compact swing on their returns but still wants to maximise their power and spin.

Overall, the Volkl V-Cell 4 is a great all rounder entry level racket for players that are new to the game.

It has a nice blend of power, comfort and spin, making it ideal for a player that wants to hit heavy shots but still wants a smooth ride.

There were times that the V-Cell 4 felt a little vulnerable, such as up at the net and on the odd return here and there. This was due to a lack of feel and control, which is a common issue with rackets that are actually over-damped.

However, this was not enough to detract from the experience as a whole, as the Volkl V-Cell 4 felt refreshingly approachable and comfortable.

If you are a player that wants a little more help from your racket in the power and spin department, but still want the comfort and performance from a more supple stick, the V-Cell 4 from Volkl could be the perfect fit for you.