FrankThong Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 After hearing nothing but good things about Epon, I decided to give the irons a test drive. I hit the 301s and 302s on KBS Tour and Tour AD 65 at an indoor range of a pro shop. I also tried the AF Tour, 502s and 702s on different shafts as well. Quick take: The top-line was thicker than I imagined and I was afraid with all the accolades, my expectations would be too high but they were all amazing, especially the 302s and AF Tours. The 502s and 702s felt a little 'harder' but felt like they would fly the ball a mile. The KBS Tour felt a little heavier and the Tour AD didn't feel any more 'spectacular' than steel. The pro and my friends were pushing me towards steel but I'm afraid they might feel like a burden after the 12th hole. Question(s): nothing much wrong with my Miura 501s but I think I gotta have an Epon set of irons. My heart is quite set on the 302s; the AF Tour is too scary to consider and the 502/702 didn't feel as good. I heard the satin finish is better than the NiCr. True? I know some people here have the Copper finish -- how is it, any difference in performance, worth the upgrade? I also heard that the Copper will eventually fade off. True? About the shaft. I was originally considering the Crazy LY iron shafts and then I heard that whilst their driver shafts were comparatively better with other driver shafts, the iron shafts are not that much different from other good graphites such as the Tour AD. True? Any advice, opinion and/or suggestions on heads, finishes and shafts would be gratefully welcomed. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoon Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 frank, ive had all those models, current favorite is the 502 and 302. had the 502 full set but decided i also liked the 302 but not brave enough to use it on the longer clubs so i got a combo set consisting of af702 4i, 5-7 502 and 8-pw 302 then i adjusted the lofts to match. they were originally my dads but he changed to the 702s with the quadra graphite iron shafts. i have other current sets which evolve around my epons like the yonex and onoff cb247 but the epon is really my main set. many here have testimonials on their different models and a lot of the members here swear by them. now choosing your particular model is all up to you. choose what your most comfy with and what your eye is attracted to and heart yearns for. as for the finish, i can say definitively that do not get the black! it will fade after 2 rounds. the copper is the prettiest but its a costly upgrade, feel will be minute difference, sure it will fade on the face and sole but will age marvelously if taken care off. idrive has been using his for years and he still loves them. now the current models are sort of a combo of satin and light chrome that is very durable as well. i have never encountered an epon set that has yet to exhibit finishing problems. the shiny finish doesnt bother me but i would prefer satins, small upgrade but i wouldnt shell extra, id take it the way epon meant it to be. as for the shafts, case to case basis, my dad has tried a variety of shafts in his several epon sets like machline, axiv, graphite design tour ad 65/75 and currently the quadras. by rank, feel and performance: quadra, axiv, machline and surprisingly the GD at last place. the quadras are superb even i an s300 user can hit them. although i would game their heavier versions. have no experience with the crazyies so cannot comment on those. PM gocchin on the right graphite shaft for you. surprised you dont own an epon set yet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankThong Posted April 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 frank, ive had all those models, current favorite is the 502 and 302. had the 502 full set but decided i also liked the 302 but not brave enough to use it on the longer clubs so i got a combo set consisting of af702 4i, 5-7 502 and 8-pw 302 then i adjusted the lofts to match. they were originally my dads but he changed to the 702s with the quadra graphite iron shafts. i have other current sets which evolve around my epons like the yonex and onoff cb247 but the epon is really my main set. many here have testimonials on their different models and a lot of the members here swear by them. now choosing your particular model is all up to you. choose what your most comfy with and what your eye is attracted to and heart yearns for. as for the finish, i can say definitively that do not get the black! it will fade after 2 rounds. the copper is the prettiest but its a costly upgrade, feel will be minute difference, sure it will fade on the face and sole but will age marvelously if taken care off. idrive has been using his for years and he still loves them. now the current models are sort of a combo of satin and light chrome that is very durable as well. i have never encountered an epon set that has yet to exhibit finishing problems. the shiny finish doesnt bother me but i would prefer satins, small upgrade but i wouldnt shell extra, id take it the way epon meant it to be. as for the shafts, case to case basis, my dad has tried a variety of shafts in his several epon sets like machline, axiv, graphite design tour ad 65/75 and currently the quadras. by rank, feel and performance: quadra, axiv, machline and surprisingly the GD at last place. the quadras are superb even i an s300 user can hit them. although i would game their heavier versions. have no experience with the crazyies so cannot comment on those. PM gocchin on the right graphite shaft for you. surprised you dont own an epon set yet! Hey Spoon, thanks for response. Haha, why are you surprised that I don't own an Epon set yet? To be honest, I didn't much like the look of Epons before; they were chunkier than I'd like and never paid it much attention. Of course, I didn't know about this forum then and known no one who played Epons so had no idea how they performed. I'm very tempted to go for the Copper finish. I don't mind the fading so much, especially if it turns out sorta like a 'patina', you know. I've googled copper Epons and believe it or not, the only pics are those found here! Hopefully idrive can offer some first hand experience with it. I must say that I am still totally lost on the choice of shaft. Not surprising that you listed Quadras as the best on your list; after reading many threads here, it would seem the Quadras and Crazys are the most favored. I'm waiting for Tario's advice and hopefully I will learn more from others here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankThong Posted April 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 By the way, other than the grooves, any other notable differences between the 208KGX and 210KGX wedges? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+TourSpecGolfer Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 By the way, other than the grooves, any other notable differences between the 208KGX and 210KGX wedges? Yup the major complaint about the 208 was it's not so forgiving, not sure how but I can tell with first hand experience that the 210 is noticeably easier to hit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoon Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 By the way, other than the grooves, any other notable differences between the 208KGX and 210KGX wedges? Tsg'er is right about the 208 being less forgiving while the 210 having less spin. i gamed the 208 then replaced them with the 210. the 210s are a joy to use especially when opened up. however i replaced them bec of the spin. noticeable off the rough, im back to the 208s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coops1967 Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 I'm very tempted to go for the Copper finish. I don't mind the fading so much, especially if it turns out sorta like a 'patina', you know. I've googled copper Epons and believe it or not, the only pics are those found here! Hopefully idrive can offer some first hand experience with it. Did you look at this thread? You can see a 'new' copper 301's and the after much use 7 iron there... You won't regret getting them in Copper.... or Satin or shiny or .... ;-) The inital purple highlights seem to quieten down, but otherwise they wear very nicely. No corrosion issue or any worries at all - unlike the black finish. Take your time getting the right shaft for YOU - this makes a huge difference to any set of irons, and nowadays there's surely a design out there that fits you just right.... just difficult to find/demo, so a really good fitter would be a big help. 302's will be my next set... if i ever need a new set to replace the 301's. Coops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idrive Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 i don't think you could notice a difference in feel between the finishes. The copper wears very very well. I have noticed that the more humid the climate the darker the patina... leave the covers on in Florida and they are much darker than no covers in Arizona. This thread has me feeling guilty for having the copper 301's on the shelf. They don't see much playing time anymore which is kinda sad. Not their fault as they are as playable as any irons I have. If I could only have one set of Non Conforming irons, these (copper 301's) would be it. I think I'll go load em up for a few rounds. :) Conforming grooves, 302's, Although a set of Yururi's is working hard... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankThong Posted April 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Yup the major complaint about the 208 was it's not so forgiving, not sure how but I can tell with first hand experience that the 210 is noticeably easier to hit. Hmm, I'm already using the least forgiving wedge in the world -- the y-grind and k-grind. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankThong Posted April 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Tsg'er is right about the 208 being less forgiving while the 210 having less spin. i gamed the 208 then replaced them with the 210. the 210s are a joy to use especially when opened up. however i replaced them bec of the spin. noticeable off the rough, im back to the 208s. Have you tried the k-grind wedge by Miura before? Those are as unforgiving as I have hit. But they spin like crazy; sometimes too much. I will test both the wedges again before making a decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankThong Posted April 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Did you look at this thread? You can see a 'new' copper 301's and the after much use 7 iron there... You won't regret getting them in Copper.... or Satin or shiny or .... ;-) The inital purple highlights seem to quieten down, but otherwise they wear very nicely. No corrosion issue or any worries at all - unlike the black finish. Take your time getting the right shaft for YOU - this makes a huge difference to any set of irons, and nowadays there's surely a design out there that fits you just right.... just difficult to find/demo, so a really good fitter would be a big help. 302's will be my next set... if i ever need a new set to replace the 301's. Coops A 302 is a 302 is a 302; I'm sure any finishing would do. I'll probably get graphite shafts. It's now either the Tour AD, Quadra or Crazy. Are you familiar with or heard from players with those shafts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankThong Posted April 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 i don't think you could notice a difference in feel between the finishes. The copper wears very very well. I have noticed that the more humid the climate the darker the patina... leave the covers on in Florida and they are much darker than no covers in Arizona. This thread has me feeling guilty for having the copper 301's on the shelf. They don't see much playing time anymore which is kinda sad. Not their fault as they are as playable as any irons I have. If I could only have one set of Non Conforming irons, these (copper 301's) would be it. I think I'll go load em up for a few rounds. :) Conforming grooves, 302's, Although a set of Yururi's is working hard... I heard there is Chrome Copper and then there is Black Copper. Are these options straightforwardly available from Epon? Do you notice much difference between the 301 and 302 in terms of spin owing to the grooves? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duffer19 Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 A 302 is a 302 is a 302; I'm sure any finishing would do. I'll probably get graphite shafts. It's now either the Tour AD, Quadra or Crazy. Are you familiar with or heard from players with those shafts? Frank, Just to confuse you more, I would suggest taking a looking at Roddio I-6 or I-8 iron shafts over the Tour AD. GD 65 or 75 just doesn't have the same feel as my set of I-6. At the same time, I am partial to Quadra FE over Crazy (longest yard), at least on driver shaft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gocchin Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Duffer has my former I-6 shafts and yes, very good feel and very accurate. The problem with the Tour AD shafts is that they have been around a very long time and have not really been refreshed in design. I really like the Roddio as well as the Quadra and Crazy shafts. Both the Quadra and Crazy are as everyone knows very high quality and like the Roddio offer great feel, distance and dispersion but at a pretty high cost. I am all for putting good graphite in a nice forged iron as it provides very good feel not only at impact but also with the swing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoon Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Duffer has my former I-6 shafts and yes, very good feel and very accurate. The problem with the Tour AD shafts is that they have been around a very long time and have not really been refreshed in design. I really like the Roddio as well as the Quadra and Crazy shafts. Both the Quadra and Crazy are as everyone knows very high quality and like the Roddio offer great feel, distance and dispersion but at a pretty high cost. I am all for putting good graphite in a nice forged iron as it provides very good feel not only at impact but also with the swing. yeah i was quite dissapointed with the tour ads, and those were supposed to be their high end graphite shafts. they felt so dead, me and my dad had the same obeservations, he was using 65/75 and i the 85 about 4 years ago. when he switched to the axivs he felt a world of improvement in feel and performance. now according to him quads are in a different level i guess would be at par with the higher end matrix and roddios. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankThong Posted April 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Frank, Just to confuse you more, I would suggest taking a looking at Roddio I-6 or I-8 iron shafts over the Tour AD. GD 65 or 75 just doesn't have the same feel as my set of I-6. At the same time, I am partial to Quadra FE over Crazy (longest yard), at least on driver shaft. Thanks for the recommendation; so it's now Quadra, Crazy or Roddio. I've not played any Quadras before but I love the Crazy LY01 on both my Kamui and Ryoma. I wonder if that would help me narrow the choices down further? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankThong Posted April 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Duffer has my former I-6 shafts and yes, very good feel and very accurate. The problem with the Tour AD shafts is that they have been around a very long time and have not really been refreshed in design. I really like the Roddio as well as the Quadra and Crazy shafts. Both the Quadra and Crazy are as everyone knows very high quality and like the Roddio offer great feel, distance and dispersion but at a pretty high cost. I am all for putting good graphite in a nice forged iron as it provides very good feel not only at impact but also with the swing. T, what do you think are best sticks on the 302s for me -- Quadra, Crazy or Roddio? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gocchin Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 T, what do you think are best sticks on the 302s for me -- Quadra, Crazy or Roddio? Frank you seem to want to go lightweight as you said you liked the AD-65, if that is the case you should go with the Quadra 652i Stiff which is 73g. This offers a great combination of feel and performance. You might alslo want to be looking at I-6 or I-8 from Roddio or the Longest Yard Stiff (though very expensive). The Crazy are the most stout but still provide smooth feel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankThong Posted April 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 yeah i was quite dissapointed with the tour ads, and those were supposed to be their high end graphite shafts. they felt so dead, me and my dad had the same obeservations, he was using 65/75 and i the 85 about 4 years ago. when he switched to the axivs he felt a world of improvement in feel and performance. now according to him quads are in a different level i guess would be at par with the higher end matrix and roddios. I am using the Matrix Radix now; no big deal really. I was going to consider the Programs but even the 95, at that weight class, I might as well be using the KBS Tour 90! The Tour ADs are off my shortlist; it's now Quadra, Crazy or Roddio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Frank dont know if you have seen it but in the inventory sale 10 pcs Quadra 652i SR 3-PW + 2 wedge 660.00 Have bought a few things from this sale and pretty well priced Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankThong Posted April 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Frank you seem to want to go lightweight as you said you liked the AD-65, if that is the case you should go with the Quadra 652i Stiff which is 73g. This offers a great combination of feel and performance. You might alslo want to be looking at I-6 or I-8 from Roddio or the Longest Yard Stiff (though very expensive). The Crazy are the most stout but still provide smooth feel. I've not tried any of these shafts so will have to rely on your experience and intuition to make a recommendation. My criteria for iron shafts are: light (70g+ max) and stable (perform like steel), good feel, does NOT launch high. I don't mind paying the extra for Crazy if they are going to make a difference worthy of its price tag. I get scared when I hear words like 'stiff', 'blades', etc. I think if there is SR or, anything like the Matrix's F, that should be good enough. I'd rather err on the soft side. Then again, these are irons, not woods, so I may not know what I am saying ha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankThong Posted April 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Frank dont know if you have seen it but in the inventory sale 10 pcs Quadra 652i SR 3-PW + 2 wedge 660.00 Have bought a few things from this sale and pretty well priced Hi Craig, thanks for the tip. I'm sure T would give me no less an attractive deal. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duffer19 Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Hi Craig, thanks for the tip. I'm sure T would give me no less an attractive deal. ;) Frank, get the Quadra inventory sale before its gone. Regular price for that many shafts would be much higher. I was going to steal them but no head to use it on and just don't want to fool around with my Legacy forged and T's Roddio/OnOff combo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankThong Posted April 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Frank, get the Quadra inventory sale before its gone. Regular price for that many shafts would be much higher. I was going to steal them but no head to use it on and just don't want to fool around with my Legacy forged and T's Roddio/OnOff combo. Eh, where/how can I get to this hot Quadra inventory sale? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duffer19 Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Eh, where/how can I get to this hot Quadra inventory sale? Just email T or look in the BST section under spring inventory sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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