apacs Tantrum500 International

[LightSaber]

What about comparison with T200?

[tjayuk]

Hey guys thanks for the reviews i was hoping someone could do perhaps an indepth review vs the tantrum 200. I am in the UK so its impossible for me to test the rackets - I bought the tantrum 200 based on reviews and its great for me it matches my play perfectly although my smashes arent booming i think because its very stiff.

Im thinking for my game the tantrum 500 might be a good trade off - if its slightly more flexible I might be able to generate a little more power but still have all the control - As i say its so difficult for me I love apacs rackets but I cant even hold them before buying!

[nkdinz]

Hey guys thanks for the reviews i was hoping someone could do perhaps an indepth review vs the tantrum 200. I am in the UK so its impossible for me to test the rackets - I bought the tantrum 200 based on reviews and its great for me it matches my play perfectly although my smashes arent booming i think because its very stiff.

Im thinking for my game the tantrum 500 might be a good trade off - if its slightly more flexible I might be able to generate a little more power but still have all the control - As i say its so difficult for me I love apacs rackets but I cant even hold them before buying!

well there is a review from zero_hour... he is an ex tantrum 200 user... have a read... go a few pages back... even im an ex-tantrum user.. but i switched to the slayer 88 instead of the tantrum 500... i was reccomended by the seller for the slayer 88 since its easier to handle and has the aero frame... so its pretty quick around the net.. n i can generate more power too... the tantrum 200 was too stiff for me... im gonna stick to medium stiff rackets now

[moomoo]

tadah, its at post 34. T500 is definitely thinner in shaft and frame than T200 thats why its faster.

Hi people, you can ask me about the T500. I have been using it for 2 weeks now.

Here is my comparison to the T200:
Weight T200>T500. More or less 10g lighter.
Head Heaviness T500>T200. I THINK the T200 has a more stable head.
Flex T200>T500. T500 is a lot more flexible. Back court to back court shots less effort. However, when I am defending against powerful shots (smash, net kill) I feel that I have lost accuracy (bounces way out, or doesn't go where its intended, most likely lack of skill here).

When I swing the T500, I feel like I am swinging it faster than the T200. Not a whole lot faster but faster. Most likely due to overall weight and maybe thinner shaft (don't think this one makes a difference)? Sometimes I feel 'naked'. Meaning I feel like I am on the court without a racquet due to the lightness.

Overall its light, flexible, and I find it easy to use. Also find that I tend to 'flick' more often when using T500. Well guys, that is my spin on it.

[moomoo]

Hi everyone, just got back from a early morning badminton session. I'll do my best to give my thoughts on the T500, mind you I was rotating a bunch of racquets because I was testing some new strings and breaking in a new pair of shoes. I wasn' t feeling well this morning but after the warm up I was ready to go.

What I had in my bag were;

Kason F9 strung with VS850 @ 25/27
Li-Ning N55 strung with ZyMax 67 @ 23 / 25
Apacs T500 strung with BG80 Power @ 23 / 25

Warmup - No timing issues really as we were just doing high clears and some drops, the T500 felt very solid and light for a 3U. I did feel the flex on the racquet immediately so I adjusted to not swinging so hard.

Gametime - I found the T500 very quick around the net, defence was a breeze as I was sending all my friends smashes back to him. Usually I'm a little late when using my N55 or F9 so I end up playing in the back as much as possible but today I stayed up front. I'm not sure if it's the T500 or the new string but it felt like I lacked a bit of power if I did end up in the back court but I adjusted and decided to play a more control game.

Control: 9/10 - Was able to hit all my shots with very good precision even after just using the racquet for a short while.

Power: 7 / 10 - Like I said not sure if it's the new string, the T500 itself or just a slight timing issue.. but I just didn't have the zip like I'd have when using the F9 or N55.

Feel: 9/10 Solid racquet, no vibration issues and seems very forgiving on off centre shots. The T500 felt a little more flexible than my F9.


Really enjoy the T500.. hmm can't think of much else to say.

how about ratnig your C7 and N55 in the control, power & feel out of 10 scale too for our reference

[GaryC]

Oh boy hmmm

N55 - I have been using this one again as my main racquet. It's now using the same string as the T500 and same tension, VS850 @ 24/26lbs. I believe all three are rated medium stiff but the N55 seems the stiffest of the bunch.

Control: 9/10
Power: 9/10
Feel: 9/10

C7
Control: 9/10
Power: 8/10
Feel: 9/10

how about ratnig your C7 and N55 in the control, power & feel out of 10 scale too for our reference

[moomoo]

i wish YY and and li-ning had better rating system. at least victor has out of 5 rating system for their rackets in terms of balances and stiffness :s

[Tantrum]

Yay!, I'm getting my T500 on Tuesday!

Been trying to find more about it but found only a few small reviews in this forum. I can't wait to try it out. I hope it lives up to its highly rated predecessors, the T200 & T300!

I am a little concerned about the medium flex shaft. Hopefully I can still generate power smashes and retain control. Currently I use the Ti10 (2nd gen) and Armor Muscle 90 Pro. I'll post my findings once I've had a few good games with it.

[chrisfong89]

Yay!, I'm getting my T500 on Tuesday!

Been trying to find more about it but found only a few small reviews in this forum. I can't wait to try it out. I hope it lives up to its highly rated predecessors, the T200 & T300!

I am a little concerned about the medium flex shaft. Hopefully I can still generate power smashes and retain control. Currently I use the Ti10 (2nd gen) and Armor Muscle 90 Pro. I'll post my findings once I've had a few good games with it.

looking forward to it!

[Tantrum]

Right guys n gals, just had my first session with the Tantrum 500! I had it strung with BG66 at 28lbs! Couldn't resist trying out a higher tension. Normally play with about 26lbs.

I gotta say its a pretty amazing racket. The graphics are very catching. From the moment u pick it up, it feels very light. When you swing the racket, it feels fast, even though it is a 3U racket (probably from the super thin shaft). It is very easy to use. No timing issues at all. Reminds me of light rackets like the nanospeed 9900. Did feel some vibration, probably not used to having such high string tension :-p, but not bad.

Unfortunately, I've never used the Tantrum 200 nor 300, so I can't compare the feel. I normally don't like using head heavy rackets for doubles. I've tried the Voltric 80 and my Armor Muscle Pro 90 but find them too slow in defence, even though they are great for power smashing ^_^ The T500 is a little longer than my Ti-10 (2nd gen) and feels much lighter but I can still feel the slight head heavy balance.

Power: 8to8.5/10 Being balanced and slightly head heavy, the smashes are still powerful even if they don't boom like some other rackets. However, when you hit the sweet spot, you can still rain destruction and your arms don't get as tired. Once I got used to the high string tension, I was able to smash quite well.

Control: 9/10 The head is very stable on hitting. The new T-throat joint seems to be very effective at reducing the twist of the head. The shots go where you want them to. It is quite easy to aim for the line when smashing, and its effortless doing deceptive shots and net shots from the baseline as well as around the net. Much better than the Ti-10 for net shots. I was quite surprised at how easy it is to do spinning net shots.

Defence: 9.5/10 Very good for defence. The speed of the racket can easily send smashes back and return steep drops back to the base line.

Easy of use/Manuverability: 9.5/10 A very nice racket to play with. The mid-stiff flex and the thin shaft makes it a dream to use. Sounds like how the Voltric 70 plays (from what I read in the forums & reviews). Off centre shots are definitely very forgiving. Definitely a lot less demanding then my Ti-10 and AMP90. It has quickly replaced my trusty Ti-10 as my main doubles racket. Does pretty well in singles too.

Overall: 9/10 Truly, another master class from APACS. A joy to use.

I think GaryC summed it up pretty well.
Can't wait for the next session!

p/s: I wonder how it compares to a Voltric 70... as well as the other APACS rackets, old and newer releases.
The Voltric 70, Slayer 88, Tantrum 500 (and I'm sure many more) are I think similar is some respects i.e: Head heavy and medium-stiff flex and light weight. too bad I can't afford to buy and test them all ^_^

[irwan_kho]

i noticed that T200 is easier to use and lighter than T500. do you find the same too?

[Voltric]

Unfortunately my experience with the Tantrum 500 after three game sessions has not been quite favourable. I bought mine just before the New Year strung at 28 lbs with BG-66 coupled with a tacky Babolat overgrip. I think the biggest issue I noticed with mine is vibration, and this new racket certainly does not feel as formidable or as powerful as my older Tantrum 300 (by far one of the best rackets I've used). Physically it's almost a clone of my VT-80 but the performance between the two is like night and day, with the VT-80 surpassing it in almost every respect. Perhaps I got a bad sample, but I am thinking of selling this racket at some point. But I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and try other string combinations first.

[DocfcRn]

Hi to all,

I can say I am in between intermediate to advance player, I am currently using RSL X3 Diamond Silver for the past 1 year, I play mostly doubles. I am planning to buy and shift to Tantrum 500. Any advice from most of you professionals out there?

Thanks.

[GaryC]

Hi Voltric:

There are very big differences between the T500 and the VT80. The T500 is med-stiff while the VT80 is supposed to be stiff. The T500 is more to even balance (290mm +-3 i believe?) while the VT80 is head heavy (within the 300mm range from my previous sample). Those alone will give you the performance difference you describe and I bought my T500 expecting as much.

The vibration issue you describe though makes me wonder if you do have a bad sample as my T500 is very solid and much more so than my T300 before I sold it.

Unfortunately my experience with the Tantrum 500 after three game sessions has not been quite favourable. I bought mine just before the New Year strung at 28 lbs with BG-66 coupled with a tacky Babolat overgrip. I think the biggest issue I noticed with mine is vibration, and this new racket certainly does not feel as formidable or as powerful as my older Tantrum 300 (by far one of the best rackets I've used). Physically it's almost a clone of my VT-80 but the performance between the two is like night and day, with the VT-80 surpassing it in almost every respect. Perhaps I got a bad sample, but I am thinking of selling this racket at some point. But I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and try other string combinations first.

[GaryC]

Damn, my T500's frame started to crack on the side and it's now it's all warped. Hoping it's covered under warranty. Not sure what happened, never clashed it but maybe a mis-hit.

[Tantrum]

Wow... must be a bad sample. I've had a couple of clashes and some mishits on my T500 but luckily no breaks but have got some paint chips :-( Got new car syndrome, every paint chip makes me a little unhappy but at the end of the day, rackets r meant to take punishment :-p

However I do feel that the T500 paintwork is much easier to chip compared with YY rackets.

[GaryC]

Ya the paint chips very easily.. I originally thought it was just a paint chip but I put the racquet on the table and it's warped.

I found another spot that has a crack developing. I'm hoping they let me claim warranty on this.