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Head Instinct Lite review
Tennis Gear, Tennis Rackets

Beginners racket review & play test: Head Instinct Lite


As a new or recent player to the beautiful game of tennis, choosing your racket can be daunting, which is why tennishead is here to guide you through the process. We’ve taken the time to research, test, analyse and review all the best rackets on the market for players who consider themselves beginners. Here, we bring you the Head Instinct Lite

 

In recent years the increase in innovation and the introduction of advanced new technologies has impacted massively on the tennis rackets we use. Gone are the days when you just choose the racket your favourite player was sporting as now you will find there is a whole range of rackets to suit every single type of player from all the manufacturers.

We’ve written this handy guide on how to choose your racket which might be worth a quick read before you get stuck into the detail of the individual racket reviews we provide.

 

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Background to the Head Instinct Lite

With the new Graphene 360 Instinct racquet series, HEAD introduces the perfect combination of effortless power and easy playability. Designed to accelerate the ball even at lower swing speeds, the new Instinct racquet series is perfect for players who look for more power at an extremely high level of comfort. 

The Graphene 360 Instinct series’ incredible playability comes from the specially designed cross-section which leads to a bigger sweet spot, thus effortless power. Recommended by Maria Sharapova, the Instinct racquets also feature the latest HEAD technologies such as the new Graphene 360 technology which provides greater stability and optimized energy transfer for more power and ball speed. In addition, the entire Instinct silo received a gorgeous new design identity: the striking asymmetrical color-blocking of bright crystal and dark midnight blue is further complemented by exclusive design elements like the Instinct sign-off in an eye-catching blue chrome and red. The brand new design also appears on HEAD’s Tour Team bag series for a perfectly matching court appearance.

The Instinct Lite provides easy playability and effortless power to club players thanks to its bigger head size and an even bigger sweet spot. It features the new Graphene 360 technology which provides greater stability and optimized energy transfer for more power, thus more ball speed and a gorgeous new design identity.

The Instinct Lite features an oversized head and a bigger sweet spot for easy playability and the mix of comfort and performance the series is known for. The new Graphene 360 technology provides greater stability and optimized energy transfer for more power, thus more ball speed. Just like the rest of the Instinct series, the Instinct Lite offers a gorgeous new design identity scoring huge with its asymmetrical color-blocking look of bright crystal and a dark midnight blue.

 

The play test

“Initially when I picked it up it felt heavy, but when I started playing that wasn’t noticeable. I wasn’t trying to hit the ball too hard and still gained a lot of power,” said Gill. “So I enjoyed the feel of the racket. My aim as a beginner isn’t the best, maybe the slightly larger head size gave me a boost here.”

The new Graphene 360 technology is supposed to provide greater stability and optimised energy transfer for more power, which we felt was fair as gaining more ball speed was pretty effortless.

The comfort was the real key to this racket and that really stood out on volleys, with the large sweet spot providing a perfect platform for beginners to get used to fast action at the net. Head have really invested time in the look, hoping you choose their model on instinct. The asymmetrical colour-blocking look of bright crystal and a dark midnight blue went down well with us.

 

Technical specifications

If you are someone that has never bought a racket before or are quite new to tennis then all the specifications below might seem meaningless, but they aren’t! So we’ve written a guide to tennis racket specifications that will help explain exactly what each different term means and how it will impact your racket. Click here to read it.

Head Instinct Lite

SRP ⇒ £130

Head size ⇒ 107sq inches (Large head)

Weight ⇒ 270g (Light weight)

String pattern ⇒ 16×19 (Average string pattern)

Balance ⇒ 340mm (Central balance)

Beam ⇒ 23mm/ 26mm/ 23mm

Length ⇒ 27.2in (Average length)

Recommended string tension ⇒ 48-57lbs

Buy the Head Instinct Lite from All Things Tennis with an exclusive 5% tennishead discount and free restring upgrade worth £30

For more beginners racket reviews and play tests of the all the best rackets on the market head over to our Gear section

Now watch what happened when the tennishead beginner tested 8 of the best new beginner rackets on the market, including the Head Instinct Lite, in our 2019 testing day (Big thanks to Jack from JackMansfieldVideography.com)

 

Click here to buy tennis rackets, balls, clothes, strings and shoes with a 5% DISCOUNT on the lowest internet price PLUS a free string upgrade (worth £30) from our trusted retail partner All Things Tennis


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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.