With all the Elements Helium shafts that UST Mamiya is giving away recently, I hope there are a lot of THPers ready to provide feedback on them. This thread will serve as a place for comments and feedback from all the people lucky enough to get one.
While attending the first THP UST Mamiya Shaft Spectacular (link to live update thread), I was fortunate enough to test and receive an Elements Helium prototype shaft.
I will work on getting some better photos in the next week or so, but here are a few to give you an idea of what the current prototype looks like (the blue shafts are the Element Heliums protos in the first two photos).
Since this model is still in the prototype phase and not fully released to retail yet, I asked Danny at UST Mamiya for some additional info that I could share in this review. Here is what he told me about the features, availability and options of the Helium line.
I am playing the HE5F4, which translates to 59g S (edit: fixed weight, from 49g to 59g). I have played two rounds and had a couple range sessions with the Helium installed in the new Callaway XR 16 driver head that I received from UST Mamiya. I won't comment much on the looks of the shaft since it's unlikely the simple design on my proto is the final design, but I actually like the look of it a lot. It looks great with the red & blue color scheme of the XR 16, and it just looks simple and classy in all the best ways.
Looks don't matter, though, if it feels bad. I'm happy to report that it feels outstanding. This is obviously completely subjective, but it might be helpful to you to know that my swing speed was around 95 during my fitting a couple months ago although when Danny was fitting me last month during the Shaft Spectacular event, I was only hitting around 90. So, for someone with a 90-95ish swing, the HE5F4 shaft doesn't feel too light or whippy at all. The stiffness and weight combo works really well for me and feels great. It's stable and (along with the XR 16) has produced some great tee shots for me recently. In a recent round, I was keeping up with my consistently-hits-longer-than-me uncle-in-law way more than I usually do, and I had some of my longest drives ever on that course. I didn't measure many of the drives, but I'm fairly certain they were carrying around 220-230 and rolling out to 250+ when I hit a good one in the fairway. With the 9* driver head, I liked the launch and flight I was getting during the round and on the range for about an hour afterwards.
By the way, when Nate and I played with Danny and Lindsay from UST Mamiya, Danny was playing the 59g Helium in S or XS, and he was bombing it as far as Nate (around 300 yds). I only point this out to make doubters realize that lightweight isn't just for slower swingers / shorter hitters...at least when it comes to Helium.
I don't have a lot of time in yet with the Helium, but I am enjoying it immensely. I will add more thoughts in the coming weeks as I get more swings with it.
I am hoping to get some time on a launch monitor soon so I can compare this shaft to the Mitsubishi Kuro Kage Black TiNi R 50g shaft that I have in my Callaway Great Big Bertha driver. If and when that happens, I will report back comparisons on swing speed, launch, etc.
Thanks for reading and please post up your thoughts on the Elements Helium if you've won one during the Shaft Spectacular live update thread giveaways or from UST Mamiya's other giveaways. Let me know if you have any questions about the Helium shaft.
--Updates-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Post added 3/16/2016: Brief thoughts about last round and a couple photos with shaft installed in XR 16.
Post added 3/17/2016: Q&A with Danny Le about prototyping process.
Post added 4/3/2016: Photos of custom Helium in GBB and some thoughts on that combo.
While attending the first THP UST Mamiya Shaft Spectacular (link to live update thread), I was fortunate enough to test and receive an Elements Helium prototype shaft.
I will work on getting some better photos in the next week or so, but here are a few to give you an idea of what the current prototype looks like (the blue shafts are the Element Heliums protos in the first two photos).
Since this model is still in the prototype phase and not fully released to retail yet, I asked Danny at UST Mamiya for some additional info that I could share in this review. Here is what he told me about the features, availability and options of the Helium line.
- Lower Resin Carbon Fiber
- We are able to reduce additional weight by using 25% less resin. The lower resin content reduces overall weight but adds stability (stiffness) with enhanced feel.
- Counterbalanced Design
- The shaft is counterbalanced to work well with today's heavier driver heads and the longer length of modern drivers to provide a reasonable swing weight.
- Improved Stiffness Profile
- We are able to increase stiffness across the entire shaft to provide additional stability in a light weight package and improved shot dispersion.
- Availability (as of March 2016): We have these available in very limited quantities through our TSPX Dealer Network. Looks for retail release in 2017.
- Weight and stiffness options:
- 49g F2 (A) / F3 (R) / F4 (S)
- 59g F3 (R) / F4 (S) / F5 (X)
I am playing the HE5F4, which translates to 59g S (edit: fixed weight, from 49g to 59g). I have played two rounds and had a couple range sessions with the Helium installed in the new Callaway XR 16 driver head that I received from UST Mamiya. I won't comment much on the looks of the shaft since it's unlikely the simple design on my proto is the final design, but I actually like the look of it a lot. It looks great with the red & blue color scheme of the XR 16, and it just looks simple and classy in all the best ways.
Looks don't matter, though, if it feels bad. I'm happy to report that it feels outstanding. This is obviously completely subjective, but it might be helpful to you to know that my swing speed was around 95 during my fitting a couple months ago although when Danny was fitting me last month during the Shaft Spectacular event, I was only hitting around 90. So, for someone with a 90-95ish swing, the HE5F4 shaft doesn't feel too light or whippy at all. The stiffness and weight combo works really well for me and feels great. It's stable and (along with the XR 16) has produced some great tee shots for me recently. In a recent round, I was keeping up with my consistently-hits-longer-than-me uncle-in-law way more than I usually do, and I had some of my longest drives ever on that course. I didn't measure many of the drives, but I'm fairly certain they were carrying around 220-230 and rolling out to 250+ when I hit a good one in the fairway. With the 9* driver head, I liked the launch and flight I was getting during the round and on the range for about an hour afterwards.
By the way, when Nate and I played with Danny and Lindsay from UST Mamiya, Danny was playing the 59g Helium in S or XS, and he was bombing it as far as Nate (around 300 yds). I only point this out to make doubters realize that lightweight isn't just for slower swingers / shorter hitters...at least when it comes to Helium.
I don't have a lot of time in yet with the Helium, but I am enjoying it immensely. I will add more thoughts in the coming weeks as I get more swings with it.
I am hoping to get some time on a launch monitor soon so I can compare this shaft to the Mitsubishi Kuro Kage Black TiNi R 50g shaft that I have in my Callaway Great Big Bertha driver. If and when that happens, I will report back comparisons on swing speed, launch, etc.
Thanks for reading and please post up your thoughts on the Elements Helium if you've won one during the Shaft Spectacular live update thread giveaways or from UST Mamiya's other giveaways. Let me know if you have any questions about the Helium shaft.
--Updates-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Post added 3/16/2016: Brief thoughts about last round and a couple photos with shaft installed in XR 16.
Post added 3/17/2016: Q&A with Danny Le about prototyping process.
Post added 4/3/2016: Photos of custom Helium in GBB and some thoughts on that combo.
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