what's the best winex or hi-qua racquet for doubles?

[joseph]

hallo my dear badminton advisors!

i want to get a good doubles racquet that doesn't cost as much as yonex racquets, and hopefully, as good as yonex racquets. i guess what i'm looking it is most aspects that make up a good racquet... light yet still somewhat powerful long, good control, etc... like a yonex ti swing power, but not as expensive. can anyone suggest a winex or hi-qua racquet that has these characteristics? and where can i get that suggested racquet? and hopefully it's less than 140$ cdn.

thanx!

[AF]

If you are looking for Hiqua in Canada, then you I would be the person to bug, email me for more info.

AF

[john]

hi AF! you sell hi-qua racquet? you live in toronto?

[Brett]

AF, you posted a review on the Hi-Qua Slim 10 some months back and you have since implied that you have tried more of that line of racquets. Could you post reviews on all of the other Hi-Qua racquets you have tried? In particular, if you have tried the 3500 (same as 3300 with different paint, correct?) or the Swing Power clone, could you report on those two racquets? I tried to get some sort of detailed information from the Hi-Qua people in California, but their response to my inquiries was that since I ususally play with nylon shuttles, it doens't matter what racquet I use!!?! Talk about a silly, non-helpful response. Also, could you describe the balance on these racquets? Hi-Qua's website has them all the same - 275-285mm balance point.

Thanks

[kwun]

AF, please let us know your relationship with Hi-Qua. so in the future, we know who to ask for questions. :)

[AF]

Ok,

My affiliation is with HQ Canada. HiQua USA is totally independent. Not all racquets carried in the US are carried in Canada as well.

The president of HQ Canada is a good friend of mine.

My official title if you want, is the South West Ontario rep I guess. I do live in Toronto.


AF

[john]

hi AF! i was looking at lee's website, and they have hi-qua ti10 and swing power. do you have any comments about these racquet? and how much can you get them for? how about the pro3500 or pro3300? i'm interested in buying a hi-qua racquet. can you get both 3U and 4U versions? and would you be be able to provide life time warranty like the hi-qua website says? do you have a store? where can i go to check out these racquets?

[Mark]

jo,

what type of game do you play.

If defensive, I would say one of the following Winex Rackets:
Kevlar 999
Ti-12 (isometric head) Ti-11 (classic head)
T-3
T-8

If offensive/power, then one of these Winex rackets:
MM100
Ti-22
T-20

I have all of these rackets, and these are only my opinions on their suitability.

If you are like me and change between the two styles of play, then may I suggest the Winex Ti-SwingPower or the Ti-22. They are both most lovely rackets and very willing on court.

Mark

[john]

hi mark! thanx for your response! i'd like my doubles racquet to have lots of power and control, yet, still light enough for quick smashes and drives for doubles. as long as the racquet is 3U or lighter, it should be light enough for me. where can i get any of the racquets you've mentioned? and if i have to pick from the available winex racquets in a local store of T-8, T-10, T-11, T-16, T-17 and T-18, which would you recommend? in other words, i guess i'm looking for the most powerful(with good control) 3U(or lighter) or a head-light 2U racquet. winex doesn't have 4U, right? what's the difference between a T-11 and a Ti-11? are they the same?

thanx!

[kwun]

and Mark, your relationship with Winex is...... ?

thanks.

[AF]

The HQ racquets at Lee's were not attained through HQ Canada, so beware. Like I said, not all racquets in the US are carried in Canada as well.

I will email you with what I have left in stock.

AF

[Yogi]

I think there is a good deal of representation from all the manufacturers here!

Are we missing Yonex. I hope they read the comments abt their pricing policy.

Mark,

I had visited the winex web site and i was not able to see the MM 100. Do u have pictures with you of all the rackets that u have mentioned and can u send me the prices of these rackets and how to procure them.

Thanks

[Mark]

Kwun,

I am the recently appointed agent for the UK market.

[Mark]

the worldwide winex site is not that good and unfortunately they do not seem to keep it bag up-to-date with their latest developments.

The MM100 has not been out that long and they have not updated it.

I have the MM100 and MM200 rackets from Winex and pictures will be taken soon.

I have just appointed a company to produce the Winex site that will service the UK market and will incorporate online ordering.

When complete the UK site will be kept 100% up-to-date with product information and company news. This will not include all the Winex rackets though, as some have not been selected to be part of the UK range.

What Country do you live in? If there is an agent I will be able to give you contact details. The UK website will be able to sell and ship throughout the world, but only to countries where there is no official Winex agent. This should be online by September.

Mark

[Mark]

John,

The T-10 is the top of the range out of the rackets you mention and I would go for that.

I believe that there is a 4U version of the Winex SquareDynamic Power 900. This is a clone of the Swing Power 900 (pre Titanium one). It is a very capable racket.

Mark

[Quantum]

Is there an agent for the US market? Thanks, Mark.

[paul]

Badminton Alley in West coast ebay@badmintonworld.com
Supreme Sport Supply in East coast SSSINC@compuserve.com

[john]

really? the T-10 is the best racquet amongst ones i've mentionned? cuz the T-10 is only 110$ cdn, while the T-18 is 130$ cdn. you'd suggest i get the T-10 instead of the more expensive T-18? T-10 outperforms T-18?

john

[Quantum]

I don't think that Badminton Alley sells Winex anymore. They removed it from the site...

[kwun]

pretty sure they do. david (the owner) told me that they will be importing some new models soon.

[Mark (Winex UK)]

John,

Yes T-10 is better than T-18. Maybe I shouldn't say this, but for agent the T-18 is cheaper to buy than T-10 from Winex!

If you look at T-18 you will see that it does not use the Muscle Power style isometric frame design and does not use the slim shaft design with small t-joint.

It is a nice racket but is certainly not produced to sell above the T-10/T-20. I always carry a range of Winex demo rackets with me whenever I play, and recently I have sold a couple of T-20's to people who own Yonex Ti-10's as they prefer the Winex racket! This is true and gives me great confidence to recommend Winex to anyone.

The price seems good to. In the UK the T-10 will not be part of the range, but the T-20 (its sister racket) will and is going to sell for the equivalent of $149 Canadian.

Does the racket come strung? In the UK the racket will be supplied with Winex string ti-80 at 22lb.

Mark

[Byro-Nenium]

I don't mean to put Winex down or anything Mark but prehaps the reason why they prefer it is because the Winex T-20 is lighter than the Yonex Ti-10.

I have a T-20 as well as a Ti-10 and i find them to be very different and incomparable because of their weight differences

[Winex West Can]

In Toronto, you can get some of the Winex equipment from Lee's but if you are in Western Canada or even better in Vancouver, you can get them from me. I've recently been appointed the Western Canada rep for Winex.

If you are in Vancouver, I would be more than happy or have my partner come out and bring along a few racquets for you to try out (currently we have strung Ti-20, Ti-9, Ti-3, SQ-800, W-20 and Boron-2 racquets). I am awaiting new stock including the MM100/200 racquets. I'm the process of getting the website set up and our prices includes stringing (Winex Ti string) and a thermal bag. Please e-mail me for prices.

Aug 8-24th - I am in Toronto during this period and will be playing at George Brown (downtown) on Tuesdays/Sunday (7-10pm) and Sunday (8am to 2pm) probably at L'amoreaux Community Centre. I have with me the Ti-20 and the Ti-3 (both strung at 22lbs). I would be more than happy to have you try out the racquets.

Cheers,
Peter Kho.