Volkl V-Feel 1 Racket Review

With the V Feel 1, Volkl have stepped the power output of their popular line of rackets up a notch. We see familiar technologies such as V-Feel material, REVA, V-Tex and V-Sensor in the V-Feel 1. V Feel material helps by adding stability to the frame, which increases stiffness and gives you more power.

However, the REVA resin in the racket’s handle helps reduce the noise and vibrations that this would usually create, ensuring you maintain a comfortable arm feel. V-Sensor V-Tex in the butt cap also helps to reduce vibrations even further, making this one of the most arm friendly and forgiving rackets on the market today.

However, another element of the Volkl V Feel 1 that is truly unique is the Power Arm. This is something that I’ve never seen on a racket before and it is intriguing to look at, at the very least.

From a design point of view, the Power Arm looks almost like a trident, which really makes the V Feel 1 stand apart from its competition with traditional triangular racket throats.

The Power Arm is a revolutionary design that is actually separate to the rest of the frame. It sits on its own at the top of the racket’s throat and the bottom of the frame, the idea being that there is more movement between the strings and better shock absorption. This allows the racket to be an absolute monster on the power front, whilst still retaining its legendary comfort.

One thing is for certain, all of these technologies come together to create a very user friendly package!

The V Feel 1 is a bit of a beast in the power department! Its massive 115 sq in head size, 27-29mm beam width and extended length of 27.8in make it so easy to generate power, even with a compact swing.

The light 255g static weight and 313 swing weight also make it less intimidating, so if you are a player that needs a lot of extra power but don’t want to swing a sledgehammer around, the V Feel 1 is a great racket to go for!

This also makes it so easy to swing that no matter whether you are returning to tennis after a long break, have an arm injury or simply need a racket that is nice and whippy, the Volkl V Feel 1 will suit your game!

Compared to its oversized competitors like the Babolat Pure Drive 110, Prince Textreme Premier 110 and ProKennex Ki Q+ 30, the Volkl offers superior damping, power and comfort.

The racket definitely has one of the most open string patterns I have seen of any modern racket. 16×17 is a sure fire way to generate a tonne of spin, especially with the strings so spaced apart on the massive frame! This is something that clearly shines through as you hit from the back of the court.

Although power is the overwhelming factor that the V Feel brings to the table, the copious amounts of spin that it can generate are not to be overlooked. The racket makes it so easy to hit with a lot of margin over the net, whether that be ripping topspin forehands and backhands or confusing your opponents with a nasty slice.

You can tell that Volkl have designed the V Cell 1 with their target user in mind. This would be someone with very short, compact backswings that still wants to generate as much power and spin on their ground strokes as possible, whilst not compromising on comfort.

Naturally, the power does take some getting used to and if you usually play with anything less than an oversized racket at the moment, you’ll probably find this a bit too much to handle.

This doesn’t detract from the experience too much, but it is definitely something that should be taken into account before playing testing this racket.

The V Feel 1 feels stable and solid on contact, offering so much power that you hardly even need to swing to get the ball moving at some pace!

This may not be the best racket for string breakers, and it does lack a little bit of control and feel at times, but for players with compact swings that want the most power and comfort possible, the V Feel 1 is well worth a try!

When volleying with the Volkl V Feel 1, bear in mind that this racket is clearly geared towards players that want the most comfort and power from this racket as opposed to precision and control. This is important to consider as it can be a bit of a brute up at the net!

On smashes and drive volleys, you simply need to focus on placement as the racket does virtually all of the power generation for you!

However, on volleys that required a bit more precision, the V Feel 1 did send the ball deep a few too many times than I would have liked. This is to be expected for such a powerful racket, but it did catch me off guard from time to time.

Another aspect of the racket that’s a little lacking is the control and feel. Naturally, for such a large frame the V Feel 1 is a little on the cumbersome side when it comes to precision volleys. You really need to get used to how the racket feels before you can dial in with it, as there was less control than I am used to.

What’s more, whilst the dampening is a great addition to the racket in terms of comfort, it does take away from the tactility and feel of it a bit.

You kind of have to guess where the ball will end up on some more difficult volleys. When approaching the net and hitting a low volley around your feet or putting away a volley in no man’s land, you just need to take extra care to ensure you have placed the ball exactly where you meant to. It is not a blunt instrument by any means, but it is also not a Wilson Pro Staff!

For anyone out there that wants a racket with easy power, look no further! The Volkl V Feel 1 is one of the most powerful and easy to swing rackets out there today!

Its large sweet spot, thick beam and comfortable damped feel make it perfect for players that need extra pop without sacrificing arm friendliness.

The extremely open string pattern makes it very easy to generate spin too. So all you need to think about is placing the ball exactly where you want to! It is a very solid performer, and as you would expect it takes a lot of the strain out of trying to hit powerful serves.

The V Feel 1 does a great job of taking the string out of big serves, whilst not requiring any effort on your part. The Power Arm does a great job of absorbing lots of vibrations from fast serves,

So you can block the ball back with ease and not suffer from any vibrations that this would usually send down your arm. That being said, the massive frame and large sweet spot can make the ball fly on you from time to time if you aren’t used to that type of racket.

The racket definitely suits players that want to take even more compact swings at their returns than usual, but still need as much power and spin as possible.

The open string pattern makes it easy to get the ball dipping down at your opponent’s feet, making this a racket well suited to a wiley doubles veteran.

Overall, the Volkl V Feel 1 is a very powerful yet comfortable racket that takes the range to the next level.

Loaded with technology, the V Feel 1 is designed from the ground up to offer the last word in power, forgiveness and plushness whilst still offering great spin and the classic Volkl feel.

A word to the wise though, if you aren’t used to this type of racket beware of the power! The racket requires respect but bear in mind it is there to help you. The large sweet spot and insane punch means even players with the shortest of backswings can still send the ball down the other end of the court with interest!