A few questions.

[Midget_Boy]

I just have a few questions that puzzles me and would be nice to know the answers to them.

First question: Like my other thread on Titanium Mesh, Why do the lower-value racquets seem to have more features? Such as the "Shockless Grommet". All the low MPs have that feature in them, but none of the higher ones. Could it be that the higher ones already have features that make them so good they don't need Shockless Grommet?

Second Question: Racquet Care and Quality. My friend had just bought a ISO 62 MF less than 2 months ago, and just a few days ago it broke. He plays about 3-5 hours a week on badminton, and he swings his racquet a lot, and very hard. It was snapped right under the head on the shaft. Then we started questiong how it broke, and he said, "I was just swinging it lightly in the air when it snapped." Perhaps he overused it? Maybe he swung it too fast too many times? And he tends to Smash, or attempt to smash the shuttle a lot, usuing a lot of force. He doesn't abuse his racquet, but he does swing fast and he holds it very hard.

Last Question: Lately I bought a MP-44 (Yes, I was able to switch from my MP-33 to 44), and the salesperson allowed me to choose and Yonex String to String it. Now a MP-44 isn't a Ti racquet, and it doesn't have any titanium Materials in it(yes, it's been confirmed the MP-44 has no Ultimum Ti), so I was thinking that the BG-XX Ti strings wouldn't work, since the BG-XX Ti strings work best with Ti racquets. However the Salesperson said that there was no problem with it, so I chose the BG-68 Ti for my racquet and it was strung. Now I am wondering will there be any problems if I string a Ti string on a non-Ti racquet?

[ryosuke]

the shockless grommet seems to be "new technology" that yonex uses on the newer low-mid range racquet line and the high-end MP racquets have all been on the market for a while now (55 - 100) so there's no way for these older models to have the new shockless grommets. also, keep in mind that more features doesnt necessarily mean better racquet. I know a few people who still swear by their iso800 which is an older racquet with not very many features. another example that can be vouched by many other members of this forum is the cab 2X racquets. these cab rackets dont really have any features at all except the built in t-joint, yet so many people still use them. So it could just be part of yonex's marketing to put as many features their lower end racquets to attract beginner-intermediate players to use their racquets.

regarding your second question... i dont know :p. sometimes racquets just have a funny way of breaking.

finally, there shouldnt be a problem with the bg68ti strings, imho i think that its just a yonex gimmick that Ti strings are recommended for Ti racquets. the only problem anybody should have with strings would be the tension and feel of them to their own liking.

[Midget_Boy]

For the first question you answered. However this year, 2004, 8 new Muscle Power Racquets were all released at the same time, yet still only the lower ones had Shockless Grommet(as well as Ti Mesh). They were all from the 2004 line, all realeased at the same time, but only MP-23 and 28 had Shockless Grommet, while MP-25,30,44 and 66 did not.

In order of low to high end MP 2004 racquets are as follows: 23, 25, 28, 30, 44, 66, 88, 99(88 and 99 have longer shafts and different coloring).

Also last year(2003) MP-22, 24, 27 had Shockless Grommet, while the others didn't.

[Traum]

When Yonex throws a few more buzzwords into their racquets, it makes the casual shopper think that they are getting more bang for their buck. Just good o'marketing at work, you know?

-Rick

[TheGr8One]

The ISO 62 MF must be quite fragile. I also have a friend that broke it by merely swinging(we were in a game, he swung the racket, no collision whatsover, and the head fell off the shaft.) Fortunately Yonex sent him a replacement.

Features may seem appealing, but might not always have practical value, depending on whether you believe it. Certainly not all of it is just marketing. The AT rackets are rated to hold higher string tension. And the ISO head does have a larger sweet spot. But things like "Ultimum Ti" and "gforce Ti" aren't meaningful; the racket has Ti, but that's it. It's just dressed up to sound fancy.

As for Ti strings, it does not matter what racket you use on. You don't need Ti in your racket to use Ti string. (Think...do you need a blue tie to go with a blue shirt?)

[LazyBuddy]

1. Shockless gromment to me is a bad thing. In badminton, u need some degree of shock to gain the feeling of ur shots. If the whatever gromments really reduce the shock to a very low degree, certain players may not like it. To me, tons of fancy features on lower end model just to show "u got a great deal!!!". Therefore, ppl (especially the ones don't know too much about racket) might just got impress by the spec.

2. Rackets broke could have tons of reasons. Things like manufacture defect, clash, un-proper storage (say, put under heavy boxes, school bags, etc), un-proper usage (i.e. bump the floor a lot, etc). Playing 3-5 hrs of a week is far away from "over use". Many BFers here playing 10+ hrs a week.

3. Ti string has nothing to do with Ti rackets. If u think a combo is good, that's the only part matters.

[other]

hehe....Yonex marketing....all rubbish:)
stay away from BG65Ti at all costs:) unless you hit so hard that every other string breaks and you have no choice