JC is always on the lookout for new materials and new designs for the Veylix line. Well, the new Mansion shafts – EXP-7.FM5 (70 gram) and EXP-5.FM5 (50 gram), are built using some of the latest in both pre-preg material and outer layer.
Book Your Fitting to see if a Mansion Shaft fits YOUR swing!
Two Different Profiles
In our profile testing, the EXP-5 and EXP-7 actually exhibited a couple of different profiles. We measure and rank shafts based upon their butt, mid and tip stiffness as well as things like torque and balance point. While there are similarities, here is what we found in our testing:
Butt Stiffness
Both of these shafts play true to flex, meaning, the R flex will play to an R and the S flex will play like an S. We did find the EXP-7 to actually have a slightly softer butt section than the EXP-5. This means you may need an X flex when you thought an S would do the trick in the EXP-7.
Mid Stiffness
Expect both the EXP-5 and EXP-7 to have a fairly firm mid section so the club feels more stable throughout the swing (no whip at the bottom). This is consistent with the previous Veylix Rome design. The Veylix Alpina is much softer in the mid section.
Tip Stiffness and Launch
In our bench testing, the EXP-5 turned out to be mid launch while the EXP-7 was more mid to mid high launch. Given their weights, this would make a compelling argument to use the EXP-5 in your driver and the EXP-7 in a fairway wood. Of course, if you need higher launch and a heavier driver shaft, the EXP-7 could be the ticket!
Torque
We still believe that torque is just a measure of feel and does not affect launch, spin or shot dispersion. That being said, the EXP-5 is a higher torque shaft which will give it a somewhat softer feel. The EXP-7 is a mid to low-mid torque shaft which will give it a slightly firmer feel at impact.
Balance Point
The craze these days seems to be counter-balanced shafts but neither of these shafts are counter balanced. In fact, they are slightly on the heavier side meaning, at standard length, the swing weights in your driver/fairway woods will be up to 2 points higher. This may or may not be good depending upon if you like heavier feel in your clubs.
Bottom Line
We cannot wait to put these in our fitting system! We expect the EXP-5 to compete with the Project X Even Flow Blue 55 and the ACCRA FX 2.0 150, to name a few. That is mostly because of the firmer mid section of the EXP-5 compared to shafts from Graphite Design, Fujikura and UST.
The EXP-7 will compete against the Mitsubishi Kuro Kage Silver DC TI and the Fujikura Atmos TS Red, mostly due to the softer tip section of the EXP-7.
Book Your Fitting to see if a Mansion Shaft fits YOUR swing!
Dan Sueltz