My son has broken 3 Yonex Muscle Power 66 last year and he has just broken another one yesterday at a competition. How often do you break yours. Is it just that particular racquet model. I must admit he has had a few racquet clashes but are particular models more prone to breakage than others, ie. frames are stronger in some models then in others. The string tension is well within the Yonex recommended for the racquet so its not that factor that is contributing to the breakage rate.
He plays and train about 5 days a week so maybe its due to normal wear and tear.
I need a bigger wallet I think to keep up with his breakage or maybe I aught to get Yonex to sponsor him...:D
Anyone feel there is a better model by Yonex or other brands which is more durable then a MP66 with similar specs.:confused:

A side note. I just got a reply from my regular badminton shop and they said that the muscle power series has been discontinued :crying: to be replaced by the Arc Saber series. So replacing my son racquet with another MP66 is now out of the question unless I buy him a clone. I was also wondering how Yonex can say they are replacing MP with the Arc series as I find they are two completely different type of racquet. The MP are much heavier. :cool:
The quote from my dealer is:

"Muscle power series made in Japan have been discontinuous by Yonex. They have been replaced by Arc Saber series with new material, Carbon Nanotube.
Both Muscle Power and Arc Saber series are “Even Balance” racquets"

I believe the Armortec series are supposed to be the most durable of the current Yonex models, but they are head-heavy.

Yonex have a pretty bad reputation when it comes to durability. Maybe you should look into other brands.

Personally, the only ones I ever broke were two steel rackets, about 10-15yrs ago when I was still a total beginner. I don't use Yonex.

Four breakages in a little over a year sounds like a lot to me. I play three times a week with tensions in the 26-28lbs range, which is above Yonex's recommended range and I haven't broken a racket in over ten years.

Are you confident about stringer you use? Sometimes a stringer who is only familiar with tennis rackets might not be careful enough with badminton rackets. It's easy for a racket to become vulnerable if the main and cross strings are not balanced.

There are guys on this forum who know a lot more about Yonex equipment than me, so they'll correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think the Arc Sabers 'replaced' the MusclePower series. It's just the latest series of rackets and the most advanced, but also the most expensive.

I've been playing for 8 years and I've only ever broken one racquet. That was when I first started and... I hit the floor frequently! Since then I don't think any of my racquets have come close to breaking. I've had the odd clash maybe once a year or so. Strings of course get replaced quite often, but I think the racquet itself is quite hard to break!... I've had my MP88 for yeeears now. I'm not sure if MP has been discontinued? I still see them around. Perhaps just the store in question isn't ordering them in anymore? I think if you look around, it wouldn't be too hard to find a MP66 if that's what you really want :).

"Muscle power series made in Japan have been discontinuous by Yonex"

Oh, maybe it's just in Japan then? Maybe SP etc. coded racquets are still in production... (I really have no idea :p).

I've only ever broken 2 rackets; I string well outside Yonex's recommended tensions and hit a lot harder than most people. I play for about 12 hours a week but mainly singles - I'm not a fan of doubles.

I don't believe the Arc series directly replaced the MP series but it may have been partially responsible for the discontinuation.

The MP88 was known to have durability problems and I think the same could be said for the 66. No racket likes clashing but less durable ones will suffer more. Perhaps have a look at the Arcsaber lineup, I think the Arc7 should be similar to the MP66 and I haven't heard any horror stories about it yet (although I broke an Arc10, as did Oldhand).

The MP88 was known to have durability problems

I think mine must be a very special case :). It's been through some rough encounters and seems to be in as good shape as the day i bought it. It's like a rock...

generally, you'll find that the musclepowers and nanospeeds are the worst in terms of durability from the yonex range. in the last 3 years i have broken an mp100 and an ns9k, but i haven't broken any of the titanium or armortecs.

if you're looking for a replacement for the mp66, apparently the ns6k is a good choice. i haven't personally used either racquet, this is my observation from the comments of others in the forum.

I think mine must be a very special case :). It's been through some rough encounters and seems to be in as good shape as the day i bought it. It's like a rock...

Good to hear that.

Please note that its always the head that breaks not the shaft.:crying:

Cracks on the frame might indicate stringing problems. I remember with the old headlight SwingPower series, our club had about half a dozen new rackets that broke in the first couple of months. Some weren't even caused by clashes, just a big smash and crunch, the face would cave in. They were bought from a very large Yonex dealer and UK coded, but were still fragile at high tensions.

:crying:I've broken 2 MP88s in 3 years:crying:. Personally I'm not sure it's the racquet so much as the person who handles it....

:crying:I've broken 2 MP88s in 3 years:crying:. Personally I'm not sure it's the racquet so much as the person who handles it....

Why? Do you clash a lot?

I'm surprised you kept buying the same racket after 2 breakages... But yeah, the Armortec series is suppose to be pretty durable. SOTX is apparently really durable so try going for that brand.

i am waiting the panda to answer this question..........:)

Here are other factors you need to consider (some already pointed by others):

1. String job quality. Bad stringers can break racket even under 20lbs.

2. Racket storage condition: Never leave the racket in way too hot / cold environment (i.e. car trunk under direct sun shine). It will weaken the string and the racket frame.

3. Racket usage condition: Even though, not many clash, what about mis-hit (especially powerful ones), bumping the floor (don't laugh, one very good local player has the hait to bump the racket head to floor after each stroke...), etc

In a way, yes the MP series rackets is discontinued and being phased out. For instance, you no longer see MP high-end rackets however you do see them as mid-end or low-end rackets.

Why? Do you clash a lot?

the first time, no; it just broke. The second time was a clash. I don't think I clash a lot, but I have had a few clashes (each racquet--who knows? at most 5-6 clashes over a period of a year?)

I'm surprised you kept buying the same racket after 2 breakages... But yeah, the Armortec series is suppose to be pretty durable. SOTX is apparently really durable so try going for that brand.

not sure if this is addressed to me, but the first time I though, well, maybe it was just bad luck. After the second time....I figured, hmm, perhaps I'll try another type of racquet. Which I did.

i am waiting the panda to answer this question..........:)

:D

I wonder how many rackets he has actually broken.

only ever broke one, racket clash, my fault... still hurts ....

I broke about 4 racquets when playing badminton. That was with the Isometric 75MF. At the time Muscle power in my area was considered godly but I like my Mega Frame. One of my teamates used a muscle power 99 and he had a really strong/ whipping hit. The racquet snap on him twice in 1 year. My racquet seems to last a year then it cracks at 20lbs. AT I hope is durable because I'm using one.

:D

I wonder how many rackets he has actually broken.
hope that he has record it down. if not, our master dinkalot will lose count....;)

Hi,.

I am Stella and I just want to know how we need to use or grip the racket while playing badminton because very often I have experienced it gets breaked even if it is a new one.


Stella
Your grip does not effect the durability of your racquet unless you don't grip it strong enough and it slip out of your hand while playing.:D

mp 66 is a extremely nice racquet to play with but seems quite fragile. It's the only racquet i've evere cracked while playing it. never tried any of arc seriese, but i'm happy with my ti 10 now.

mp 66 is a extremely nice racquet to play with but seems quite fragile. It's the only racquet i've evere cracked while playing it. never tried any of arc seriese, but i'm happy with my ti 10 now.

Well that seems to be the consensus here as there seem to be quite a lot of people who thinks so too. So its not my son who is causing the breakage but the model. I should have realize this sooner and got him to change model and save me some money.:crying::crying:

only ever broken 2 rackets. 1 i dived and my racket caught the net post and snapd as i swung.
otherone i did a jump smash and was slightly off balance. on the follow through i hit my knee and snapped the racket head in half lol.

only ever broken 2 rackets. 1 i dived and my racket caught the net post and snapd as i swung.
otherone i did a jump smash and was slightly off balance. on the follow through i hit my knee and snapped the racket head in half lol.

One of my friends wrecked a racket in a similar way to your second. I drew them in to the net and then hit a clear to one of the back corners. He ran back and tried to hit the shuttle through his legs. Instead of the shuttle, he connected with his leg and the racket broke before he headbutted a wall due to being unable to stop. He wasn't badly hurt (unlike me, my stomach hurt for hours after laughing that much).

some points are just not worth the effort, expense or physical punishment.

i have broken two rackets.
1st time was my mp88 that clashed with another racquet.
2nd time due to the old stringer never who's never strung a badminton racket before. my new stringing found the hairline crack and tried to put some support between the 2 grommets, but that lasted only about 2-3 weeks.

either way, i would say its very rare for rackets to just randomly break if you're not clashing with other peopel and using a reliable stringer