Just want to inquire whats your experience with MP90 or MP99. I broke my MP90 2U last night :( when I clashed rackets with my partner while playing doubles . It was not a hard or strong clash ( maybe like slapping your arm when you see a mosquito) and my racket broke evenly at the head, 7 and 4 o'clock position near the t-joint area. It got hit at the 4 o'clock position but broke in two places.

I got the racket at Windsor Rackets in Japan last November 2002 and it has no cracks, chips, scratches etc. It is possible that I might have strung it too high (27/26) :o 2 weeks ago BG88Ti. I strung it with BG65 at 25 lbs. previously. Well, it was my favorite racket and I plan to get another one if I get a chance.

From what happenned, I think there is no difference in terms of strenght and durability if the racket is a jp, or sp, or gr, etc. (not including the clones of course)

Are MP rackets really that fragile? care to share?

:confused:

Hope the MP99 is durable as I don't want to break my racket with a crash. I suspect that the high tension is a big contributing factor. I have used my MP 99 4 or 5 times and do not use it when playing with partners who are oblivious to what is going on.

Ron

Attaching the pics of my late-MP90JP :(

UGLY isn't it???

i believe there were one or two other report of MP99 breaking. however, you must also be aware of the tension. 26/27 is pretty darn high. also, who was the stringer?

the location in which it breaks, 4/7 o'clock position exposes to the most stress during stringing. if anybody has strung and broke a racket during the stringing procedure, it is likely that it was broken at those position. also, was the 26/27 pound tension from a crank machine or was it a drop weight/electronic machine?

again, JP rackets are supposed to be more durable. but that does not mean they are invincible.

Baddie,

you said the racket was strung by the Mizuno shop.

how often do they string badminton rackets at such high tensions? special techniques and care is required for stringing high tension, if they had never done so, it may mean that they have fractured the rackets. esp at the most vulnerable 4/7 o'clock positions...

Hi, I didnt realize that the 4/7 o'clock position are the most vulnerable. Well, now I know :o Lessons learned the hard and expensive way....

The mizuno shop here is quite popular with the players and I know the chinese coaches and indonesian players here at my club all have their rackets strung there (even up to 30 lbs) so I though 27/26 was safe. My drops and placement shots were great at that tension combined with my BG88Ti string. Well, I'll string my rackets at 24/23 next time. Thanks Kwun.

or it may just be bad luck. i have had rackets die for absolutely no reason at all. not even a clash. go figure. :)

Originally posted by kwun
or it may just be bad luck. i have had rackets die for absolutely no reason at all. not even a clash. go figure. :)
mite be, I got 2 MP100 3Us last february, one died in a light clash, the other one is still alive and kicking @$$ with TONS of battle scars on it at all positions(oddly... even at the shaft... HAHA)

Ya Kwun, you said it, LUCK... I was using my Ti10JP last night after breaking my MP90 and boy was I nervous ;) Lost all my games hahaha!!! I was to tentative that I might clash my racket again with my partner, whatyousay time to change partner????

I read Eggroll's post in another thread re. no difference in jp, sp, gr rackets. What do you think????

I broke two MP90 JP 3U so far ... :( One in light clash, another during the middle of a game after the racquet had been dropped to the floor and kept playing for an hour.

On the one hand, one keeps hearing about how fragile MP 90s are on this forum...especially when strung at high tensions.

OTOH, Yonex does recommend specific tension ranges for its rackets topping at around 20 lbs. Even though such published engineering limits always factor in some safety margin, one has to wonder whether exceeding said limits by 40-50% (28-30 lbs) should be considered safe.

This raises two questions:

1\ What tension did you use when your racket broke?

I get the feeling that a correlation will emerge between frequency of breakages and given tension ranges. That would be useful info for all those who wish to avoid stringing at unsafe tensions in the future.

2\ How much of an improvement do you get from each extra pound of tension? Is 28 lb that much better than 27 ? 27 really superior to 26 ? And so on...IOW there is lilely a point where improvement becomes marginal while resulting risk of breakage increases exponentially.

Again, your collective feedback woul be useful for all those who wish to find the optimal performance/fragility tension tradeoff.

TIA,

Engineer Mike ;)

I really think this is stringing related. Whether your stringer didn't use the right techniques at such high tensions or whatever.

Other than that, I hope you get it settled :)

Also, I know what you felt as even when my friend broke his racquet and I clashed racquets, I kept staring at my racquet to see any cracks or anything but seems as if Black Knight is durable :D

Maybe Yonex is using Baddie's MP90JP as an experiment into its latest racket design. The new top-secret racket will flex and hinge at the 4 / 7 O' clock position in order to generate more power during a smash.

Condolences Baddie for the poor Jappie Ninety that had an early demise. Baddie, you are now the proud owner of an extra racket bag.

I will not have any racket strung above 24 lbs or 10% above top recommendation. Anyway, such high tensions is not all that playable for me.

Ron

hmmm, that's odd... i have 3 mp90 2u and i have no problems whatsoever with them... clash? lots... battle scar, lots... holding up? YES!

i think in general, 3u rackets are more fragile than 2u.... lighter becoz of lesser materials! which explains why ricky broke 2 of his mp90 3u

btw, i string my rackets at 24*25.

Ricky and myself string ours between 26 and 28 lbs.

For me, the difference can be quite a bit. At 28 lbs, my smashes leave the racquet sharper and the feel is better. 26 lbs produces duller shots and a lesser feel.

Originally posted by mlvezina
On the one hand, one keeps hearing about how fragile MP 90s are on this forum...especially when strung at high tensions.

OTOH, Yonex does recommend specific tension ranges for its rackets topping at around 20 lbs. Even though such published engineering limits always factor in some safety margin, one has to wonder whether exceeding said limits by 40-50% (28-30 lbs) should be considered safe.


This raises two questions:

1\ What tension did you use when your racket broke?

I get the feeling that a correlation will emerge between frequency of breakages and given tension ranges. That would be useful info for all those who wish to avoid stringing at unsafe tensions in the future.

2\ How much of an improvement do you get from each extra pound of tension? Is 28 lb that much better than 27 ? 27 really superior to 26 ? And so on...IOW there is lilely a point where improvement becomes marginal while resulting risk of breakage increases exponentially.

Again, your collective feedback woul be useful for all those who wish to find the optimal performance/fragility tension tradeoff.

TIA,

Engineer Mike ;)

I got 2 MP99US 3U, strung both at 24-25lb, had them since they fist came out, and so far so good. However, I have lost counts of how many MP100 iyang had broken with only light clashes, or even just a heavy swing. The worst one was receiving a shot from playing against Howard Bach. It was just last year, during a friendly doubles game. The shuttle was hit by Howard, a flat powerful drive right into iyang's racquet, as iyang was trying to swing and receive the shot, the frame of the MP100 sanped just at the 2o'clock position of the racquet. Yonex did replace that racquet and admit it was a manufacturer defect. Anyway, just something interesting to share.

Originally posted by |R|S
hmmm, that's odd... i have 3 mp90 2u and i have no problems whatsoever with them... clash? lots... battle scar, lots... holding up? YES!

i think in general, 3u rackets are more fragile than 2u.... lighter becoz of lesser materials! which explains why ricky broke 2 of his mp90 3u

btw, i string my rackets at 24*25.

Hence why Yonex recommended lower max. tensions for the 3U version as compared to the 2U version.

Baddie,
Great pics! but condonlences on your MP90 though

I play with 2 mp 99 3us. they are both actually holding up very very well. quite a few racquet clashes and the occasional frustrated toss into the air. i string with bg 88 ti at 26. only paint chips - but no cracks or structural damage yet ...

So I take it the concensus here is that we havent experienced any 2Us breaking? (I hope I'm not the first)!

My MP90 is a 2U... I guess it must be the string"s tension combined with some stringing defects and the way the rackets clashed... :p all these are contributing factors to my racket breaking. Well, I guess I will stick to MP90 over MP100 as of the moment since I do hear more incidents of MP100s breaking .

Thanks guys for all your sympathies and feedback.. really appreciate them ;)

Baddie

Hey Baddie, I just had my cab20ms jp strung the other day at Mizuno Megamall with bg-88-ti (orig from Japan) at only 23 lbs. The stringer used the one-string two-knots method, and weaved all the mains and crosses first before tightening. I noticed then that the string had small frayings all over. I had mine done by Max who was the stringer at Mizuno Sta. Lucia before it closed shop last December. There was another stringer named Ronnie, I think.

Who was your stringer? Was your MP90 also strung with a one-string two-knots method? Were the all the mains and crosses weaved first before tightening? Did your string have small frayings all over too? If your MP90 was strung similarly, it is most probable that it was the cause of your racket breakage. From what I read from this forum, it would be better if the two-strings four-knots method is used and if the crosses are weaved one by one before tightening each. At higher tensions, the outer main strings should also be strung at decreasing tension. But that would take more time and effort from the stringer. Do you know of any other more competent stringer? Thanks. :)

Baddie, Sad to hear that you Mp90 is dead. I hope you get a replacement soon.

For mine , i think it is quiet durable, I clashed it HARD twice , of coz i did had few minor clashes. For the Hard ones.. it is at 9.30. It had a 1cm horizontal crack , if you see it thru a magnifying glass. another one is at 1 o'clock. Previosly i strung it at 28lbs..but now for prevention , i strung it at 26 or 25lbs. The racket is still in good condition despite the clashes. Anyway the breakage depends on the angle u clash it.

I will not know what will be the next outcome when i will have a clash again. I hope not.

Originally posted by Pete LSD
Ricky and myself string ours between 26 and 28 lbs.

For me, the difference can be quite a bit. At 28 lbs, my smashes leave the racquet sharper and the feel is better. 26 lbs produces duller shots and a lesser feel.
Come on Pete_lsd - 26 lbs produces a dull shot compared to 28? I doubt most can tell the difference with racquet strung past 21 pounds.
We really need to talk on Saturday...

Originally posted by Baddie
Just want to inquire whats your experience with MP90 or MP99. I broke my MP90 2U last night :( when I clashed rackets with my partner while playing doubles . It was not a hard or strong clash ( maybe like slapping your arm when you see a mosquito) and my racket broke evenly at the head, 7 and 4 o'clock position near the t-joint area. It got hit at the 4 o'clock position but broke in two places.

I got the racket at Windsor Rackets in Japan last November 2002 and it has no cracks, chips, scratches etc. It is possible that I might have strung it too high (27/26) :o 2 weeks ago BG88Ti. I strung it with BG65 at 25 lbs. previously. Well, it was my favorite racket and I plan to get another one if I get a chance.

From what happenned, I think there is no difference in terms of strenght and durability if the racket is a jp, or sp, or gr, etc. (not including the clones of course)

Are MP rackets really that fragile? care to share?

:confused:

Baddie sorry to hear about your racquet. But when i was deciding whether to get a Yonex MP 90 or ProAce Platium 530... i ask the lady selling the racquet what's her view.. and she told me that for MP90... the maximum its can go is 24/25Ibs.... more then that its very prone to break if clashes.....

Thanks guys,

Actually I got another MP90 2U (since I have expat friends in Japan) and I had it strung at 24/23 this time with Cyber Natural. As mentioned, previously, it was strung at 28/27 and one string 2-knots method. I guess most of the stringers here string with that method. I have never noticed the 2 string 4-knots method. I played with it last Saturday and it feels fine. I cant say I had a lot of experience playing at 28lbs since I havd that nasty accident right away.

JCB, have you tried World Kalakal along White Plains? They do stringing there too.