I have been playing badminton for 12 years and I still can't seem to find the one racket for me. The situation: - I play doubles most of the times during club hours. (recreational club hence not many ppl willing to play singles) - On tournaments my focus is singles but I play doubles too. - I play plastic, but am on my way to the feathery world. - I currently have 2 rackets: Arc Zslash and a Voltric 5. - I love smashing. - I'm having some troubles with net play. The Voltric was mainly bought as a reserve racket, but I can't seem to find my way into my Zslash. I've been playing it for 2 months now and it still feels strange. sometimes I play with my Voltric but it seems that I just cannot decide what the issue is. With my Zslash, the majority of my smashes is weak. I also have the tendency to send the shuttle around the planet and then out the backline when smashing on the front side of the court. Net play also feels very harsh and it seems to lack control. The question now is: Do I stick with my Zslash and try to get it under control or do I sell it and look for another? Is there "uberhaupt" a racket that would suit my needs or do I need 2 rackets? I know it's a bit of a wild topic start, but I hope you guys get my issue .
Hi, I cannot imagine if you play tournaments in Belgium that you haven't tried any other racquets. At each times you have a stringing stand and badminton equipment to be tried before buy. If I recall, on the Walloon side, you have Promax and Bad-a-Boum who offer such services every week-end. The differences between a Z-Slash and a VT5 are so evident that it is quite impossible to see in what direction we can propose you any racquet that could suit you better; frame profile, weight, balance.
"uberhaupt" Gruss nach Belgien. My experience with the ARC Z is that it is hard to control and unforgiving. I would sell it. The Voltric tends to be heavy and headheavy. What are your problems at netting? If you string high tension and use a very stiff racket it can feel dead. But the ARC Z is a wet noodle. Plastics are a bad choice for testing a racket. You can't spin, slice and hit a plastic like a feather birdie. Try feathers for a while to see what happen. For your lacking smash, you should work on it first before you buy a new racket. Mostly it isn't the rackets fault. It seems like you hit to late and don't give the right angle for a smash and kill and so the shuttle flies out. It is possible to get a good racket which fit for singles and doubles. For example: BS 09, Arc 10, Arc 7 and many others, but it is often the player who must be changed. Btw don't stick with Yonex. Most brands have good and decent rackets at a better price.
@TiKok: i have used an MP99 for a very long time and I was very happy with it. Sadly someone sliced it in two. (broken at the shaft by racket collision). I also used an Armortec 70 MEGA which wasn't too bad either. It too died from a collision. Violent country, I live in . The Zslash is still stringed with the standard strings it comes with: BG65 if i recall correctly. My netting is either too short or way too high. This might just be lack of experience playing here, but it's as if it lacks feeling.
The feeling and accuracy can lack if the string is too soft. If your netting is too short or too high, it could be the player too. No offense but for too short netdrops your rackethead position and angle is not right, for too high it could be you put too much movement in your netshots. If you never did these shots better, it's the player!
@SantaSCSI - what strings and tension do you use? What's your preference for rackets (ie. head heavy + stiff, etc)? Without knowing all the details...it's hard to give sound advice. If you can handle HH+Stiff...I would recommend...Yonex Arcsaber 10 or Victor MX80.
ok whats wrong with the VT5 and the Z-slash? i've used both. what tension are you using? i find that using a medium flex rackets you'll need to have higher tension on a "hard feeling" string like BG80 would yeild better feedback and control especially around the net but you do reduce your sweetspot. you can play the VT5 for both especially if modify the VT5 a bit by wrapping your grip all the way up the cone helps with your defence in doubles. z-slash takes a while to get used to. some people may not even adapt. i suggest you sell/trade it if didnt work after restringing it. you can try the arc 8DX, its the wild & young version of the wise and aging arc10 if you play tourneys, you'll need 2 rackets. that way at least you'll have a backup when your string snaps.
You do realise that by using so much extra grip adds 1 to 2g to the racquet's total weight, don't you? Doubles games nowadays require more speed especially on defence and some people can be sensitive to 1-2g of additional weight on the racquet (heck, some people even complain about the sweat on towel grips bother their racquet manoeuvrability because of the extra weight and thus hate towel grips). You can probably compensate by gripping the handle slightly higher but then now you have extra unused handle underneath your palm grip and your reach with the racquet head is shortened. A good example for learning how to palm grip the racquet handle for doubles play is Lee Dong-soo, who never grips his racquet handles past the cone bottom and always held the handle close to the butt end. Otherwise VT5 is pretty good for recreational and non-too-serious competitive play for both singles and doubles games.
I'm both a Singles and Doubles play and I use a Arcsaber Z-Slash and I have tried a Voltric 5 but I think the Arcsaber Z-Slash is slightly better for both games then the Voltric 5. Although people say it is a hard racket to use over time you will get used to the timing and etc and the racket could help a lot. I found using an Arcsaber Z-Slash is good because it is a 3U which is good but light enough to be fast while using during Doubles.
as you said, if you're using a VT5 then you wouldnt mind a few grams to wrap the grip all the way up the cone instead of buying another specific racket also i've noticed that LCW's new prototype racket is gripped all the way up the cone but he's a singles player i guess
@SantaSCSI: If you really enjoyed the MP99, I would strongly suggest the AS009DX; VT5 in net precision being far to be the best racquet ! @Lukasy: I did mention during tournament week-ends; in fact this is how I test quite often some new racquets, even I sometimes don't participate to the running event, less pressure this way (!); Badminton Shops are quite willing to let you try on the spot in those events
Cheers for the remarks and thoughts! I had the opportunity to play two more sessions after mij OP. I played exclusively with my arc z and with some adjustments the smashes are getting better. Looks like my inconsistency in that field is killing me. They are still not as steep as they should be tho. My netplay is still below par. Im getting my arc z restringed as it was factory stringed with bg65. I'll make another judgement after that.
Even the top players got frustrated with the Z-Slash and stopped playing it. As most of us you will find somehow the right timing to exploit it at its best, which is quite an enjoyable experience, I must say. But you should be a machine to be able to keep this timing forever; this is how I saw so many Z-Slash landing in the wall, by exasperation….
Well even for me I have used a Arc ZS for about 5-6 months I make a few mis shots that is most of those are hitting it at the dull parts of the string and some of them are from frame shots despite all those mishits I still love playing with it as it is a racket I love to play with for Singles and Doubles
i think rackets are a personal preference. i personally dont believe in how a racket can help smash more steeply, or how it can miraculously improves someones game.. sure if the aerodynamics (frame), weight are lighter/heavier, its obvious where you can gain that little bit more maneuverability or power and touch.. however, what works for one, may not work for another.. im personally an arc z user and i think the racket it good.. well, i like using it anyway, i find it very comfortable to use when in doubles and singles. However, my friends absolutely hate the racket and think its near impossible to play with ( stupid sweetpot, flexy etc) The bottom line is, choose wisely.. take account on what you want from a racket and then use a little time to accustom to it. Good luck in your search
Well, I had the chance to play an Arc 009DX today and heavens it is a sweet weapon. Powerful, fast for doubles (even balanced) and subtle to play with. On top of that it's a bit more forgiving than the ZS. It was factory strung with BG55 so I'm not sure yet whether to restring it. If only I could find a decent restringer around here ... <_<.
I was sure that you would enjoy the AS009DX. BG55 is only good for fishermen...,I would recommend to restring it in BG80 or in Li-Ning NS95 if you can find some in Belgium. If you can't say here where do you stay, send me eventually your approximate position by MP, I am sure some Belgian friends can tell me where you can find a good shop for restring.