I love my tap smashes, especially when my opponent didn't control their height well when attempting to flat clear over my head. I can leap and tap smash it down whichever side I chooses at a very fast pace.(faster than my smashes, which isn't fast to begin with mind you) I always use even balance racket. (MP29, MP22, MP28) My father recently brought me 2 Nanospeed 500, saying that the shop keeper insisted that the specs are very similar to the MP's I've been using. It's similar... but the major difference is the Nanospeed 500 are headlight rackets... As my tap smashes have very small motion, literally leap backward in court off my left foot, reach my racket up above my head and snap my wrist downward. I'm under the impression that headlight racket might not be that great for my tap smashes as the head don't have enough mass for a short burst smash... Anyone mind to shed some lights to this particular issue?
The point of this smash 'wristy smash' is to return faster and at a steeper angle. You will probably use it at fore/mid court. I can't really see this as a tactical attack from the rearcourt It shouldn't be and doesnt need to be faster than your smash. It probably feels faster because you are smashing from midcourt at a steeper angle. If you play this shot a lot with a head heavy racquet it might tire your forearm faster or worse cause an injury.
i personally prefer to use the nanospeed series cos its balanced n head light it is faster than using other series which is more head heavy not sure is it only me..
Like Bazzaman says, you don't need to play the shot with a lot of power - it's the angle you get that does the damage. Having said that, I personally find that if a racket's too heavy it produces less power in this situation, as the weight makes it hard to generate racket head speed using just the wrist, and also makes it harder to control the racket head. However, the NS500 is not head-light - it's even-balance, bordering on head-heavy.
I'd argue that head-lights are the best rackets for tap-stick smashes - I have one and use them, respectively. The tap smash is all about acceleration; you don't need the big windmill wind-up of a "normal" smash. This being the case, head-heavy golf club rackets are the MOST difficult to accelerate over a short swing; head-lights are the opposite. The head-heavies have more power once they get going, of course, but this isn't suitable for tap shots.
