Which racquet meets my requirements ?

[Scooby]

Hi,

i will be going to Bangkok pretty soon, and might be getting a racquet there since it is cheaper than Singapore. Would like to know what you guys think ?

1) 3U MP100
2) Carlton AB900
3) Carlton AB2000
4) TiSP SR
5) Ti-10

I play doubles mainly, but dun smash a lot though would love the extra power when called upon. I am more of a finesses player I guess.

[ari]

would u help me get some rackets from there too?

[Yogi]

From what u are saying,It look slike u are offensive doubles player. Then i think u should go for a head heavy racket.

I think u can Select the Swing power 900 as it is balance is more towards the head.

Ab 900 and Ab 2000 are great Rackets. Mp 100 is a great punch racket but, i dont think it is great for net play. I have tried the 2u version only and i think there might be a decent amount of net play in Club level badminton.

I think from all the above mentioned Rackets u should go for the Ti - 10.

If u can pick up a 3U version with G4 grip and make sure the balance is more towards the head then u have the best racket in the world.

There are other rackets also.i would like u to find out prices for these.If u have enough time.

If u are buying Swing power 900 then u might a s well buy the yang Yang SSp 900.

An exact replica for the half the price.

I hope u dont mind if i mail u the list

Best of luck.

[budi]

get the IsoTiSP SX, it can swing fast and not that head heavy.

[Mag]

All I can say is that my AB900 has never let me down. My 2U MP100 has been collecting dust since I bought the 900... Can't really say much about the others.

[Jeff]

id agree with Mag, i play doubles with the AB 900. It's a great racket to use. Even though it feels heavy, you can still move it with ease. Like yourself, i dont smash often, but when the time comes, i would love to have that power availible. Because its head heavy, that power is there. AB 900 isnt THAT great for singles though, i cant seem to get the birdy far on a clear. And because im starting to get into singles more (my partner isnt that dependable to be there) so im going to get a Ti-10 once i got enough money.

[Mag]

I use it for both doubles and singles. It's very easy to clear from base to base with. It's you playing the racquet, not the other way around...

[Brett]

Wow. "Not easy" to use on clears? When I got my new AB 900 in on Wednesday, I played with it that night and the very first thing I discovered about the racquet is its tremendous power on clears - without taking a full swing during warm-up, I was hitting most of my clears a bit beyond the baseline. In fact, it cleared the shuttle so deep and effortlessly, I figure it will save me half a step scrambling backwards in singles to reach a deep shot because I can still hit it back deep without being perfectly postioned under the bird. Maybe it's a string issue for you, Jeff.

[kwun]

Brett,

could that be due to the new strings? i have noticed that new strings does make a difference.

i'd go out and test a brand new racket. my initial reaction is always "wow". then if i play with it for a couple more weeks, the "snappiness" starts to go away.

let us know if you get the same experience as me.

sorry, i didn't mean to say that the AB 900 is bad. ok? :)

[Brett]

Strings could have something to do with it. I played with it again last night and found the power to be a bit less, although at the time I attributed it to either the temperature (last night 17C compared to 26C on Wednesday). The racquet comes pre-strung, but using only a single string, rather than separates for the cross and main strings, so I would have thought it would have held the tension a bit longer. I am planning to upgrade the string pretty soon to a better string at a higher tension.

I didn't mean to attack your opinion, merely to remark on how dissimilar it was from my experiences with the same racquet. In fact, so far, I do have a criticism of the racquet - I have poor control with it on drop shots. I am consistently hitting the top net tape with my overhead drops and my underhand drops tend to spring up about 1-1.5m over the net. However, my serves have been a lot better and the drives and smashes seem to be more precise than with my old racquet. I think I can cure these problems by replacing the string and practicing more, since it takes longer to become accutomed to touch and control shots with a new racquet than other sorts of shots.

Finally, who exactly is this responding to my posting? Is Kwun using "Jeff" as a nomme de guerre (not likely as he seems to be a Yonex man) or is Jeff impersonating our revered Great Master of the BC site?

[kwun]

Brett, kwun was really me. and Jeff was Jeff. i just decided to barge into your conversion. can i? :P


i wonder if the pros use fresh strings when they play tournaments..

have fun with your new racket!

[kwun]

and i have yet to use a Carlton racket. i may have used one in the good old old days. but not even once in recent history.

hm... may be that should be in my shopping list when i go back to HK... :)

[kwun]

whoever try to impersonate me will suffer real bad. i will make sure he'll never be able to watch badminton ever again and i will tie him to a chair and and force him to watch golf for 5 straight days.

[Brett]

Kwun, as webmaster of the whole badminton universe, you have the power to cause players' strings to snap mid-game, so of course you can input your thoughts wherever you like. I was just confused because your comments sounded like you and Jeff were the same person.