Intro

The HEAD Instinct MP is the latest model in HEAD’s lineup to get a revamping with Graphene 360+ Technology. In addition to improved stability, this Instinct MP has Spiralfibers at the five and seven o’clock positions of the head to stretch and untwist at contact for greater flex and comfort. While all of the Graphene 360+ models to date have been comfortable to play with, the Instinct MP takes it to another level.

Groundstrokes

With the tagline “effortless power”, it makes sense that the Instinct MP could do some damage to weaker, short balls. What I kept coming back to was the comfort factor. From the baseline it was very easy to swing and generate momentum. Creating spin was not difficult, but I think at times I was over-swinging a little bit and leaving shots a little shorter in the court. When I focused more on my timing and cleaned up my mechanics a little bit, I unlocked the true power potential. Though the Instinct MP has pretty common “tweener” specifications, I was impressed at how soft and dampened the ball felt at contact. And the test racquet was strung with a co-polyester string at 50 pounds.

Volleys & Serves

When hitting serves with the Instinct MP, I got more control than I expected from the 16 x 19 string pattern. It’s easy to go after the ball and the swing weight is not hard to maneuver at all. There is quite a bit of power available in the upper third of the sweet spot, and enough spin to get decent clearance on second serves. I think the Instinct MP is perfect for a server who needs a softer feel to help with a sore shoulder or elbow. The Instinct MP does a good job of getting flat serves through the court as well. 
 
When up at the net, the dampened response muted my ability to play with finesse. It was fine on powerful volleys where I was trying to get the ball from point A to point B as quickly as possible, but I wasn’t able to deflect pace or play angles the way I would on the doubles court. If you spend a ton of time up at the net, you might want a little bit more feedback for touch and feel, but if you only come to the net off of a fantastic approach shot, the Instinct MP can help you finish those points easily.

Overall

The Instinct continues to trend towards a powerful, dampened tweener racquet. In my opinion, it is HEAD’s most muted and comfortable offering in their lineup, and should be a solid choice for a player seeking modern power, but with a comfortable, dampened feel. If the weight is a little higher than what you are used to, don’t despair. The best thing about the Instinct MP is that it is easy to play with.

Note: This playtest was conducted with HEAD Hawk Touch at 50 pounds.

About the Reviewer: Sam Jones currently works at Tennis Express on the Content Marketing team. He previously played at Southwestern University, taught tennis for 10+ years and earned his USRSA Master Racquet Technician Certification in 2011. He is an active NTRP 5.0 League and Tournament player.