Observer....if you were more observant you'd notice I'm not offended, but merely a spokesperson for the exposing of half-truths and 'smoke-and-mirrors' masquerading as fact.
So...after reading through the thread, some people say the Z-Speed is stiff...and others say it's more of a medium stiff. What is it actually?? A comparison of its stiffness to the NS9900, MXJJS or MX80 would be much appreciated!
Well, that is why I said hard to believe! I certainly agree that these records don’t have much relationship with the actual performance of the rackets in real competition, especially for us amateurs! However, I am not sure it is solely due to the technology used to do the measurement. For example, Yonex claims the Z Speed is faster (30-40 km/h?) than the Z Slash, what was the difference in measuring technology there? I didn’t really go into the details of the 2 measurements, but I suppose Yonex has data to back up the claim? Again, even though it was way back in 1999, it is hard to believe the technology was so backward that it had a nearly 50% error. I tend to believe the modern rackets are indeed faster (not necessarily better overall), and the professional players are also stronger than their earlier counterparts. Of course, the way it was measured also contributed to the differences.
There's an inherent danger of accepting non-scientific testing as fact. Yonex is not a laboratory, and in their 'testing' they have not tested against any other rackets, nor developed or outlined any methodology, nor do they have any impartiality. If there was any basis for the science behind their claims, or if they even wanted any scrutiny or peer scientific review, they wouldn't first approach the Guinness Book of Records. Science or the appearance thereof has no validity unless it mirrors the real world - what is actually achievable, within the natural environment of the product in use. Yonex has never been able to back up any of their claims, nor reproduce them in the real world. Kenichi Tago is not world No.1 by using the incredible smash power of the Z-Slash, Koo and Tan have not had a miraculous ascent to the top 3 in the world through their amazing 400kph smashes. It's all complete rubbish. I know the Z-Speed is a great racket, even after literally having a hit with it for 5 minutes, but it's not because of any of the bull$h1t dreamed up by their marketing department - it's a solid, quick, and very cleverly designed racket that is very accessible, even for intermediates. The real science in the NRZS is Yonex acknowledging simple physics - 1. Aerodynamics is more about total surface area than the shape of the frame 2. Moving the sweetspot as high as possible in the string-bed makes for a bigger lever therefore more, well, leverage on the shuttle. Everything else is just fluff and nonsense. [MENTION=77523]CanadianBadmint[/MENTION] - It's hard to gauge the stiffness of the NRZF because the flex is located in the head, whereas the normal mode of sensation of the flexibility or otherwise of a racket is in the shaft. I was lucky enough to try one with my current go-to stringing (Ultimax at 24x26lbs) and it feels quite soft in the sweetpost, but stiff outside of it, so it's very weird...so much so that I really couldn't tell you how stiff it is.
Just got a chance to put a few hours into the z speed demo, and I must say I'm liking it. **disclaimer** this is my personal opinion on the zspeed compared to my vt80 4u. Backhand shots feel easy and this was where I was struggling with my vt804u. Surprisingly did not miss hit a lot, easy to adjust. The racquet felt heavy but once you start swinging, it feels better than my vt804u. I did have some timing issues with smashing but when it connected, it was pure bliss. Net play and defensive hits were a breeze, and no aching forearm reported so far... Maybe it's just personal taste but overall when compared to my vt80, I prefer the zspeed lol. Albeit not being able to smash as fast or powerful like the pros, the potential with this racquet can increase ones ability. So far, I really like the mxjjs & z speed. Could not produce any results with the zforce 3u & nr800.
Well, one session down, but I need another one before I put pen to paper. I will say this, though: no timing issues.
Mark, put one of your current rackets head up against the NRZS. The reason there's no timing issues, is because it's only the bottom half of the head thats smaller than a regular ISO head shape. And nobody hits the shuttle there, right? The only timing issue I had was that because the sweetspot is so high in the head, I found I could (and should) try to take the shuttle slightly earlier than I normally would. This kind of adds to the 'illusion' of speed - the racket is not faster, it's just encouraging YOU to be faster. The only real "if" I have, is that I wonder if I had more time with it, whether I'd get used to the 'soft' feeling of the sweetspot and the noticeably less soft feeling elsewhere, or whether it would start to annoy me. It's a bit schizophrenic like that, but also quite compelling.
I'd surmise the soft feeling at the sweetspot is due to the straightened cross grommets, effectively lengthening those few crosses by 5-6mm each. It does feel mushy there, relative to elsewhere on the stringbed.
It doesn't effectively lengthen the strings at all. The string doesn't move significantly inside the hole, so it doesn't matter what direction the hole is drilled in the frame. The only way the string would be actively lengthened, is if Yonex had made the holes tapered to the point that where the string exits the frame, it doesn't touch anything. But it does. I think the strings might be more effectively damped, but they aren't effectively longer. Even if they were, their effect would be negated by the ones that aren't. They don't act independently. HOWEVER......grab the top of the frame and the bottom of the frame and try to snap the head in half. Notice the amount of flex in the head?? Scary.
The sweet spot is higher than usual, but the head is faster than usual, so you're going to get to the shuttle earlier anyway.
I thought this racket hv better smash power than jjs. Thanks guy who made this comparison. So i will stick with my jjs.
a racquet does not smash harder.. its still down to the technique with each different stiffness/swing
been down to shop to hav a look at tis racket. other than those mention here, tis racket spots a armortec type of frame section at the top but very much narrower.
