I recently purchased a BK Rapier pro, BK's mid-to-high end for the 700 series racquets.

I find this racquet to be suitable for the intermediate-advanced player, and the performance compares reasonably well to Yonex Carb 23 and MP 77, but at a lower cost of $90-100 CDN (as opposed to around $140 CDN for overpriced yonex products). It's rather stiff so you can groove your smashes, but I felt it doesn't sacrifice too much control. Mid-weight at 88 grams strung.

Factory strings are Ashaway Rally, looks like its strung at around 19lbs. Once I get new strings,at 22 lbs tension, I suspect the feel and power will be even better. Overall, after a few plays, I recommend this product for the cost-conscious badminton player who still wants a good racquet. Thoughts?

BKs and Yonex are dominant racquets where I play, both get mostly positive reviews, but I noticed that Yonex's break more easily on clashes etc, than BK.

Other racquets I've looked at:

ISO 97VF - light but weak, saps all power from your shots. Just feels funny, to be avoided.

For the higher end there are the millenium series (20xx). I had also contacted Black Knight recently and they told me that in mid-February they will have 6 new high end and 5 in the mid and two of these racquets will contain the Turbo Flex which should give us more power (similar to the Yonex MP serie)

Norm

That's cool! Will they have pictures of them on their website??

I have also played with the BK M2010 and also the 795TI.

Compared to the Rapier Pro 765TI:

The 2010 is a less powerful racquet, but more light and maneuvrable, and better suited for doubles. Trouble is it retails for over $200, and appears fragile.

The 795TI is good racket, comparable to Rapier in performance, but with a more flexible shaft, and therefore less forgiving I think if your technique or balance is off on a particular shot, or if your shot is off the sweet spot. I saw this one for about $140 CDN.

I'd stick with the Rapier at the lower price tag, in terms of value. Most of us aren't in a position to collect fancy racquets like stamps.