I have just bought a Yonex NS8000 and I love it to bits. I am regular player, I play 3 to 4 times a week and I am trying to break into the 2nd team of my brother's club who are the no1 team in division 1 of their county.

I have read from this forum how fragile the NS8000 is to breaking due to knocking with other rackets and so on. Being in the club, we only ever play doubles cause there's like 30 to 40 players !! and only 5 or 6 courts.

Is there a racket out there that feels and plays like the NS8000 but without the price tag ? are winex any good ?

There's already scratches on my rackets already after just one day playing with inexperienced friends. I know I am going to need a replacement sooner or later but I am not willing to pay £120 ($200) again ! :D

I have just bought a Yonex NS8000 and I love it to bits. I am regular player, I play 3 to 4 times a week and I am trying to break into the 2nd team of my brother's club who are the no1 team in division 1 of their county.

I have read from this forum how fragile the NS8000 is to breaking due to knocking with other rackets and so on. Being in the club, we only ever play doubles cause there's like 30 to 40 players !! and only 5 or 6 courts.

Is there a racket out there that feels and plays like the NS8000 but without the price tag ? are winex any good ?

There's already scratches on my rackets already after just one day playing with inexperienced friends. I know I am going to need a replacement sooner or later but I am not willing to pay £120 ($200) again ! :D
yes there is i bought one fron singapore 4 £90 but i happened to be there. there are lots on ebay but lots of fakes 2! look under serial codes in the equipment forum i found one on the web from a uk stockist £111 with free rucksack just type nanospeed 8000 into google and look at results cant remember who it was now:cool:

^ I am looking at an alternative to NS8000 that feels and plays the same but costs alot less like £30 or £40 ?

^ I am looking at an alternative to NS8000 that feels and plays the same but costs alot less like £30 or £40 ?
good luck! if you find the holy grail let me know he he i am in search of it to. apacs do a copy and its cheap but never used 1 search the forum think i seen a reveiw of 1

^ I am looking at an alternative to NS8000 that feels and plays the same but costs alot less like £30 or £40 ?
are u joking;)next time spend the 120 on 3 racquets so u have spares:D

MP66 is a headlight racquet.

MP66 is a headlight racquet.
mp66 is a headlight racquet, but does it feel like the 8000? if so, i'll be very happy and take extra good care of mine:)

seriously though, I switch between a range of racquets and it doesn't take tooo long to adjust. of course, if ur nano8000 does break *touchwood* you'll be forced to use another racquet full time and adjustment would be even quicker?

Just buy any racquet with the same sort of weight, balance etc. The difference between most racquets of about £50+ is very slight, ie you aren't going to play any worse

I have a NS8000JP for sale in the maket place for 95 delivered if you are interested

I was at a badminton club and saw a NS8000 snap at the top of the frame when they guy was trying to smash.

It's not very strong and very fragile. I think a cheaper alternative is definitely in order.

I was told my an "insider" that the first batch of Nanospeeds were brittle and cracked. It had something to do with the way the graphite and nanocarbon formed/bonded to each other.

He said the second batch to the present fixed that problem and the NSs are now very strong.

I can confirm the first batch was weak and I cracked 2 of them just from mishitting the shuttle. I've not seen anyone crack the newer batches.

I asked about the dates of the batches but he was unsure. He will ask and get back to me. If and when I get the dates, I will, of course, post them. :)

My suggestion if you are buying a NS, get a build date of 2005, the later the better. :p

I was told my an "insider" that the first batch of Nanospeeds were brittle and cracked. It had something to do with the way the graphite and nanocarbon formed/bonded to each other.

He said the second batch to the present fixed that problem and the NSs are now very strong.

I can confirm the first batch was weak and I cracked 2 of them just from mishitting the shuttle. I've not seen anyone crack the newer batches.

I asked about the dates of the batches but he was unsure. He will ask and get back to me. If and when I get the dates, I will, of course, post them. :)

My suggestion if you are buying a NS, get a build date of 2005, the later the better. :p

That's good to hear :D . I was hoping to buy a NS, but afraid of its fragility. I'll just wait a year or two more just to make sure, a student budget is pretty tight these days, ;)

hi monkeymagic,
have you looked at babolat rackets, alot of people have started using them on the junior tournament circuit now. i have a babolat nitro xl and i love it, i find that it feels and plays fairly similar to the ns8k yet it is only £80. other babolat's are nice as well eg. the pulsar: fast3r has 3 of them and really likes them.

babolat do indeed have the same feeling....but are a little shorter than yonex-rackets...
for me that spells frame-hits...

babolat do indeed have the same feeling....but are a little shorter than yonex-rackets...
for me that spells frame-hits...

isnt the nitro xl... extra long though?:confused:

isnt the nitro xl... extra long though?:confused:
neve rhad that oen in my hands.

never got further than a chrono, synchro and comet..all shorty's iirc...

but what is atm teh babolat top-racket?

neve rhad that oen in my hands.

never got further than a chrono, synchro and comet..all shorty's iirc...

but what is atm teh babolat top-racket?

the nitro xl and the solar xl are the top two models, the nitro is attacking (although got an amazing defence) and the solar is defensive (more flexible than the nitro)

the nitro xl and the solar xl are the top two models, the nitro is attacking (although got an amazing defence) and the solar is defensive (more flexible than the nitro)
got a site for that?
because i held the entire satelite rackets range. but never a "booster"or an "xl"

might not be available in holland...

but then, I'm nto sure if all teh satelite's are that short.

another problem with ns8k-babolat is stiffness..babolat itself doesn't have a racket above "medium stiff"

got a site for that?
because i held the entire satelite rackets range. but never a "booster"or an "xl"

might not be available in holland...

but then, I'm nto sure if all teh satelite's are that short.

another problem with ns8k-babolat is stiffness..babolat itself doesn't have a racket above "medium stiff"

these sites sell the nitro and solar, not sure if they can ship to holland though: www.tennisnuts.com (http://www.tennisnuts.com), www.directsportseshop.co.uk (http://www.directsportseshop.co.uk)
this site can also source the racket www.rapidrepairs.biz (http://www.rapidrepairs.biz)
i posted a review of the nitro xl compared with the ns8k and at800of, if your interested its here http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28527

I was told my an "insider" that the first batch of Nanospeeds were brittle and cracked. It had something to do with the way the graphite and nanocarbon formed/bonded to each other.

He said the second batch to the present fixed that problem and the NSs are now very strong.

I can confirm the first batch was weak and I cracked 2 of them just from mishitting the shuttle. I've not seen anyone crack the newer batches.

I asked about the dates of the batches but he was unsure. He will ask and get back to me. If and when I get the dates, I will, of course, post them. :)

My suggestion if you are buying a NS, get a build date of 2005, the later the better. :p

I totally concur, I have one built in 2005 and was pretty apprehensive about its durability when I first got it. After a few clashes though, I can second Dinkalot's insider info is true. Some clashes were bad and some not, but in all the racket barely had scratches and in VERY good shape(one tiny paint chip thats it). Superb paintjob :eek:. I even scraped the ceiling of my room while practising a jump smash(embarassing but hey whats a man gotta do when hes bored). The corner of the ceiling was CHIPPED and my racket was fine, paint job STILL intact with no scratches and I did hit the ceiling HARD.

Enough said, no I'm not working for yonex but I had to post this as I'm truly impressed. Take it for what its worth.

Tactics does a NS8000 compatible/clone called the Namispeed 8000. Apart from the name, the colour scheme of the racket matches my NS8000 exactly. Tactics are sold by Wembly Sports in London. Tactics compatible/clone rackets are generally sold less than half of the price of the equivalent Yonex rackets.

Tactics does a NS8000 compatible/clone called the Namispeed 8000. Apart from the name, the colour scheme of the racket matches my NS8000 exactly. Tactics are sold by Wembly Sports in London. Tactics compatible/clone rackets are generally sold less than half of the price of the equivalent Yonex rackets.

i have seen that racket on www.mybadmintonstore.com (http://www.mybadmintonstore.com) is it actually as good as the real thing. the only downpoint is that my friends would tease me for having a clone:rolleyes:

I totally concur, I have one built in 2005 and was pretty apprehensive about its durability when I first got it. After a few clashes though, I can second Dinkalot's insider info is true. Some clashes were bad and some not, but in all the racket barely had scratches and in VERY good shape(one tiny paint chip thats it). Superb paintjob :eek:. I even scraped the ceiling of my room while practising a jump smash(embarassing but hey whats a man gotta do when hes bored). The corner of the ceiling was CHIPPED and my racket was fine, paint job STILL intact with no scratches and I did hit the ceiling HARD.

Enough said, no I'm not working for yonex but I had to post this as I'm truly impressed. Take it for what its worth.

Since that report, I've seen a lot more racket impacts. The newer 8000s held up quite well compared to the old. In fact, I'd have to say I'm pretty impressed with the clash durability. However, the ATs have been terrible. I've seen ~20 ATs go in the last 2 months and the clashes were not even hard. ATs are now by far the weakest clash racket I've seen. Just terrible. :crying:

i have seen that racket on www.mybadmintonstore.com (http://www.mybadmintonstore.com/) is it actually as good as the real thing. the only downpoint is that my friends would tease me for having a clone:rolleyes:

Agree, I hit with the NamiSpeed and based on informal testing, it's every bit as good, maybe (dare I say) even better than the NS. :eek:

The NamiSpeed has very good feel. I will borrow one today and play with it more and give another report.

Agree, I hit with the NamiSpeed and based on informal testing, it's every bit as good, maybe (dare I say) even better than the NS. :eek:

The NamiSpeed has very good feel. I will borrow one today and play with it more and give another report.

thanks,
i think i will just wait for the yonex nanospeed 9000, or maybe i should get a namiblade 9000;)

Well apart from the silly name NamiSpeed, they might as well called it NancySpeed or PansySpeed, the racket looked to have lot more power than NS8000 when played by a guy I know. Unless inspected closely, people are unlikey to know you have a clone.

If you have spare money, yes, go for NS9000. If your goal is to impress your friends, I wonder if it's more effective to buy 3 Ti-10's for the price of a NS9000 ? If your friends are really into badminton, they certainly would know what a Ti-10 is and be awed by it.

If you have spare money, yes, go for NS9000. If your goal is to impress your friends, I wonder if it's more effective to buy 3 Ti-10's for the price of a NS9000 ? If your friends are really into badminton, they certainly would know what a Ti-10 is and be awed by it.

most of my friends probably wouldn't know about Ti-10's (apart from the member fast3r). i have already saved enough money for a couple of ns9000 and other 2006 kit:D

Having used most of the Babolat range, I can tell you that they are some of the best if not the best rackets out there. my personal favourite is the pulsar, for me it has the perfect balance between attack and defence. Also babolats have to be a stringers' favourite racket, since they are so easy to string with no shared grommets and the 20/21 pattern. All this for less than £70, half the price of an nanospeed


Also another great brand is Carlton, with a wide range of rackets to suit all needs, and not that expensive either.

babolats are a b*tch to string....

the stringing-instructions dont cover the bottom-grommets....already had to cut 3 mains becaus ethey were wrong at ~the 10th string....
unless you do them regularly (tehre are 3 in my club..so I get them rarely) i'keeps beeing a b*itch to string...

babolats are a b*tch to string....

the stringing-instructions dont cover the bottom-grommets....already had to cut 3 mains becaus ethey were wrong at ~the 10th string....
unless you do them regularly (tehre are 3 in my club..so I get them rarely) i'keeps beeing a b*itch to string...

fast3r did have an advantage over most people when he was stringing his. he had a very expierenced stringer (who strings at the all england and strings) to overlook him whilst he strung. the rackets he did string though were excellent for a 1st time stringer:p

I had to figure it out myself, by the hand sof a crappy drawing on the babo-site....

I had to figure it out myself, by the hand sof a crappy drawing on the babo-site....

it's really annoying when a racket has no strings in it to follow the pattern. my stringer always has a go at me for taking my strings out:rolleyes:

babolats are a b*tch to string....

the stringing-instructions dont cover the bottom-grommets....already had to cut 3 mains becaus ethey were wrong at ~the 10th string....
unless you do them regularly (tehre are 3 in my club..so I get them rarely) i'keeps beeing a b*itch to string...

even so its quite obvious, it would look somewhat wrong if you chose the wrong hole...

Babolat claim that the 20/21 pattern and no shared grommets saves 30% of time for the stringer, not sure about that but certainly its easier. Another advantage of the babolat frame/string is that the holes are made deep into the frame so the strings wont get damaged by scooping the shuttle off the floor

even so its quite obvious, it would look somewhat wrong if you chose the wrong hole...

Babolat claim that the 20/21 pattern and no shared grommets saves 30% of time for the stringer, not sure about that but certainly its easier. Another advantage of the babolat frame/string is that the holes are made deep into the frame so the strings wont get damaged by scooping the shuttle off the floor

slightly off topic but whilst we are talking about stringing. 1 of my ns8k's is strung 22x22, will that cause any problems?

slightly off topic but whilst we are talking about stringing. 1 of my ns8k's is strung 22x22, will that cause any problems?

im no expert but i wouldnt hav thought so

Another advantage of the babolat frame/string is that the holes are made deep into the frame so the strings wont get damaged by scooping the shuttle off the floor

even though they have done this i have still taped the outside of my head, guess im over cautious:rolleyes:

The NamiSpeed has very good feel. I will borrow one today and play with it more and give another report.

Whoops, slight error. The Tactic racket is called the "NamiBlade" not NamiSpeed. :p I tested it some more and it's a very good racket. It has decent power but best of all it's very mobile and defends well. Is it as good as a NS8000? I'm not sure as I'd have to test them side by side but the NamiBlade is at the very least, a very good racket.

slightly off topic but whilst we are talking about stringing. 1 of my ns8k's is strung 22x22, will that cause any problems?

Naw, highly doubt it unless some freak of nature accident occurs.

Naw, highly doubt it unless some freak of nature accident occurs.

i really need to get my racket restrung anyway, i think my tension has dropped to about 17/18lbs after today:eek:

Whoops, slight error. The Tactic racket is called the "NamiBlade" not NamiSpeed. :p I tested it some more and it's a very good racket. It has decent power but best of all it's very mobile and defends well. Is it as good as a NS8000? I'm not sure as I'd have to test them side by side but the NamiBlade is at the very least, a very good racket.

Is Tactic not the brand Thomas Laybourn uses?

i really need to get my racket restrung anyway, i think my tension has dropped to about 17/18lbs after today:eek:

what string were you using? what was the original tension?

what string were you using? what was the original tension?

one is b65ti strung at 22lbs and the other is b65 black, and that was strung at 23lbs. what tension do you think i should start using i was thinking 24 or 25lbs?

one is b65ti strung at 22lbs and the other is b65 black, and that was strung at 23lbs. what tension do you think i should start using i was thinking 24 or 25lbs?
If both are teh same racket..first get both strung at bg65-ti at both 22 lbs...
then check wich string you like best.
thén slowly up teh tension until you're too high....
(this takes time..)

I have just bought a Yonex NS8000 and I love it to bits. I am regular player, I play 3 to 4 times a week and I am trying to break into the 2nd team of my brother's club who are the no1 team in division 1 of their county.

I have read from this forum how fragile the NS8000 is to breaking due to knocking with other rackets and so on. Being in the club, we only ever play doubles cause there's like 30 to 40 players !! and only 5 or 6 courts.

Is there a racket out there that feels and plays like the NS8000 but without the price tag ? are winex any good ?

There's already scratches on my rackets already after just one day playing with inexperienced friends. I know I am going to need a replacement sooner or later but I am not willing to pay £120 ($200) again ! :D

Try to get your hand on the La flech lf-500 3U. Plays very similar, and about 40-50% of the price..

Try to get your hand on the La flech lf-500 3U. Plays very similar, and about 40-50% of the price..

do you have a link to a site selling this racket? just so i can see the specs of it

thanks.

do you have a link to a site selling this racket? just so i can see the specs of it

thanks.

there's a thread about this somewhere. just type in 'la fleche ti-500' into search

there's a thread about this somewhere. just type in 'la fleche ti-500' into search

what country are they made in/mainly sold in?

what country are they made in/mainly sold in?

hong kong i think;)

hong kong i think;)

shame why does all the interesting stuff get sold in hong kong:crying:

As I am looking for an alternative to the nano 8k which I love to its smallest nano carbon molecule, I am going to order some Tactic Nami Blades for just 35 Euro (including a string of your choice) each which is cheaper than cheap.
Tactic also have the nanospeed 9000 and the all new 7700 as well.

As I am looking for an alternative to the nano 8k which I love to its smallest nano carbon molecule, I am going to order some Tactic Nami Blades for just 35 Euro (including a string of your choice) each which is cheaper than cheap.
Tactic also have the nanospeed 9000 and the all new 7700 as well.

tell us how they play in comparison to an 8k:p

I would love to but everytime I am going to order some rackets they are sold out ! Bbesports can only offer me the namiblade 9000 and 7700 right now...why do I have such a bad luck ?!

hi monkeymagic,
have you looked at babolat rackets, alot of people have started using them on the junior tournament circuit now. i have a babolat nitro xl and i love it, i find that it feels and plays fairly similar to the ns8k yet it is only £80. other babolat's are nice as well eg. the pulsar: fast3r has 3 of them and really likes them.

I am also interested in Babolat. I would like to know if there is any special in "xl". Is "nitro xl" the full name or a special version of "nitro" ?

The Carlton Powerblade Superlite seems to be a good buy at £53 and the Carlton Powerblade Lite at £35.

Carlton Powerblade Superlite - weight: 84g/ super head light/ flex: medium/ length: 665mm/ string tension: 18-28lbs.

Carlton Powerblade Lite - weight: 86g/ head light/ flex: medium/ length: 665mm/ string tension: 18-28lbs.

As I am looking for an alternative to the nano 8k which I love to its smallest nano carbon molecule, I am going to order some Tactic Nami Blades for just 35 Euro (including a string of your choice) each which is cheaper than cheap.
Tactic also have the nanospeed 9000 and the all new 7700 as well.

35 Euros is a steal for those rackets :eek: !!! Where did you get them from, bbesports?

Assuming you ordered from bbesports, do they mark it as gifts when they post it to you, thus avoiding import duty and taxes?

I believe the Namiblades are in general (I've got the 8k and 9k) are less stiff than the Yonex equivalents, making them easier on the arm to play with.

35 Euros is a steal for those rackets :eek: !!! Where did you get them from, bbesports?

Assuming you ordered from bbesports, do they mark it as gifts when they post it to you, thus avoiding import duty and taxes?

I believe the Namiblades are in general (I've got the 8k and 9k) are less stiff than the Yonex equivalents, making them easier on the arm to play with.

Well that what I actually been looking for, a nanospeed 8k but less stiff.

Regarding the import duty and taxes, in my case it wont cost me an arm and leg if the charge me. 35 Euro is nothing to care about :D

But I got a reply by bbesports, they dont restock them anymore :(
Only the new nami blade 9000 and 7700

check out www.mybadmintonstore.com :) have fun

Well that what I actually been looking for, a nanospeed 8k but less stiff.

Regarding the import duty and taxes, in my case it wont cost me an arm and leg if the charge me. 35 Euro is nothing to care about :D

But I got a reply by bbesports, they dont restock them anymore :(
Only the new nami blade 9000 and 7700

check out www.mybadmintonstore.com (http://www.mybadmintonstore.com) :) have fun

They are checking their stock for me right now but mybadmintonstore is twice as expensive than bbesports

uhmm not that i know of o.o but maybe the new nano 7700 might work