KBS Tour V Vs KBS Tour Shaft Comparison Overview

You have to admire Kim Braley for taking on True Temper and actually making it a fight.

The KBS Tour line of shafts is his crowning achievement as a shaft designer. In fact some would argue that you simply can’t go wrong with any KBS shaft.

But you can optimize your performance by choosing a shaft that actually fits you.

So in the following overview, I will be comparing the KBS Tour to the KBS Tour V shaft.

KBS Tour V Shaft Overview

“The KBS Tour V shaft is available in regular, stiff and extra stiff flex. There are 100g, 110g and 120g weights available.”

The KBS Tour V was designed to be a lightweight option compared to the standard KBS Tour.

It lacks a 125g and 130g weight option and instead offers a 100g version which is ten grams lighter than the lightest KBS Tour shaft.

What surprised me about the KBS Tour V was that it was producing very similar spin rate figures as the heavier KBS Tour shaft.

But the KBS Tour V shaft produces slightly steeper launch angles.

KBS Tour Shaft Overview

“The KBS Tour shaft is available in regular, regular+, stiff, stiff+ and extra stiff flex. There are 110g, 115g, 120g, 125g and 130g weight options.”

The standard KBS shaft looks almost identical to the KBS Tour V.

The difference is in performance. I was getting better feedback from the KBS Tour shaft and the lower launch angles suited my fast tempo better.

The KBS Tour shaft delivers really tight dispersion as well; but you may struggle with it if you already have a low-launch swing.

“The KBS Tour V is a good lightweight alternative to the standard KBS Tour shaft.

But the standard KBS Tour is better if you can actually gain distance by keeping the ball low.”

KBS Tour V First Impressions

Our first impression was that the KBS Tour V looked like any other KBS shaft.

But when we swung it, we could feel that it actually had less feedback.

KBS Tour First Impressions

“The KBS Tour shaft gave me the confidence to fire at will.”

Even on my most aggressive swings, I got the feeling that this was essentially a point-and-shoot shaft.

KBS Tour V Pros & Cons

Pros:

Very accurate
Good for moderate and fast tempos
Feels stable on full swings
Great distance
Classic KBS looks

Cons:

Limited feedback

KBS Tour Pros & Cons

Pros:

Extremely stable
Very tight dispersion
Takes strong loads very well
Low launch
Low spin

Cons:

Stepped design

Other Shaft Options

If you aren’t sold on the KBS C Taper Lite or the KBS Tour, you should check out the KBS Max shafts.

The KBS Max 90 in particular is like the KBS C Taper Lite in that it offers similar stability, accuracy and dispersion as the heavier KBS Tour shaft.

But if you are in the market for a graphite KBS shaft, you should check out the KBS Max 65. As the name suggests, the KBS Max 65 is a 65g shaft and it feels incredibly fast. While the dispersion certainly widens up with this shaft, it would still be worth a try for slow swing speed players.

KBS Tour V Shaft Specs

Specs	KBS Tour V
Available flexes	Regular, stiff, extra stiff
Weight	100g, 110g, 120g
Butt	.600”
Tip	.355”
Length	37” – 40.5”

KBS Tour Specs

Weight: 110g, 115g, 120g, 125g, 130g (taper), 120g, 130g, 133g (parallel)

Flex: Regular, R+, Stiff, Stiff+, extra stiff (taper), regular, stiff, extra stiff (parallel)

Length: 37.5”-41” (taper), 43.5” (parallel)

Tip: .355” (taper), .370” (parallel)

Butt: .600”

Who Should Buy it?

KBS Tour V

Muted spin? Check! Tight dispersion? Check! Classic KBS feel? Not so much.

The lack of clear feedback was our biggest gripe about this shaft. Some players may also have issues with excessive rollout. Nevertheless, the KBS Tour V is a great distance iron shaft and it is as accurate as promised.