Kelvin mentioned in some review a while ago that he found it annoying that Forza had shorter handles than other brands. Well, I had borrowed a number of demo racquets to try out, and I didn't understand what he was talking about. They all hade the same handle length as my Yonex or Carlton racquets. I settled for the Ti Tech 1100, and ordered it through my regular shop. It arrived yesterday, and when I picked it up I noticed that the graphics were slightly different from the one I had tested. And indeed, the handle was about 12 mm shorter! Now, I have quite big hands, and apart from the fact that it feels a bit funny, it also changes the balance of the racquet... It turns out that the demo racquet was last year's edition and my new racquet is this year's model. The name is the same, but the racquet is slightly different... They should AT LEAST have the decency to change the color or something to really mark that there has been a change! (Carlton also changed the characteristics of the AB900 when they changed factory from China to Taiwan)

Has anyone else experienced this with other racquets? That one year's model is very different from another? I know that there has been several "generations" of the Yonex Ti-5, for instance, but I think they repainted it completely each time (blue, then red, and now orange/bronze).

Oh well, I'll play with it this evening and will see how big the difference is... But it evident from just swinging the two racquets that they've changed something...

Can anyone think of any benefits of having a shorter handle, by the way? I can't.

Not that when I write "shorter handle", I mean just that: the wooden handle (not the racquet as a whole, which in fact is a longbody) is shorter.

Really? Most of the Forza's i played with had longer handles.How did you get your forza?? I haven't tried out the new stuff cause he place where i play is closed for anual shutdown.

Well, this applies to the new models that were just released in Europe (and possibly elsewhere). My racquet was bought in Sweden, thus it comes from Forza Denmark. And again, it's only the handle itself (the grip part) that is shorter, not the shaft.

I guess the longer handle is for the two handed backhand player.

i think GR=Germany

nt

I wrote longer handles.
The Forza products I have, have longer than most racquets I've played with.
Karakal seems to have shorter wooden handles.

Sorry, my memory failed me!

Anyway, the plot thickens. The handles on the new models are about 12 mm shorter. The length of the handles on last year's models was about equal of Yonex or Carlton.

Oh well, I've played with the racquet now and although it's not quite the same as the demo it's still excellent... No regrets. The handle part is a bit annoying though, but I guess I'll just have to wrap the grip higher up...

I just wrap my shorter than intended, so that it's more "normal" for me. hehe.