RKEP PRO6000 PRO9000 badminton racket

**soulless** · 03-11-2013, 12:18 PM

Pretty devastating damage to both the handle and the frame. I must beg your pardon, I do not completely understand what really happened given the way you described it. My guess is that the wood could not stand up to the torque of the swing and splintered. Similar to Sho Sasaki's racket. Why the frame would crack without any weight behind it, since it already parted with the handle when it landed on the floor, is a puzzle to me.

That said, I think this is a first reported instance of PRO9000 breaking by itself. I play doubles with it and had numerous clashes and have to say that this is one of the most durable racket I have used.

**kingskawn** · 03-11-2013, 12:34 PM

You understood well. I was in the back of the court and my racket was behind me ready to hit the shuttle. When I hit the shuttle with a downwards movement the frame broke and came off my grip. Due to the clash on the ground the head cracked at 2 points. One thing I'm sure it that the racket was always well threated and kept in excellent conditions.

Source of bad wood? Bad production?

**soulless** · 03-11-2013, 12:43 PM

Since this is the Turkey blue batch it it is the earliest ones made by Eric. I think the wood all came from the same source but could be wrong. I think the major manufacturers such as Victor only offer warranty for a few months, but if the damage is to the handle from normal use then they would replace at discretion.

**kingskawn** · 03-11-2013, 12:46 PM

Originally Posted by soulless

Since this is the Turkey blue batch it it is the earliest ones made by Eric. I think the wood all came from the same source but could be wrong. I think the major manufacturers such as Victor only offer warranty for a few months, but if the damage is to the handle from normal use then they would replace at discretion.

Ok, I was thinking the same. This is something I could not be responsible for. If I had clashed the frame to the ground it would have cracked but here it's the wood that was not strong enough or had a 'fault'?

***kwun*** · 03-11-2013, 02:03 PM

Originally Posted by kingskawn

Ok, I was thinking the same. This is something I could not be responsible for. If I had clashed the frame to the ground it would have cracked but here it's the wood that was not strong enough or had a 'fault'?

that's really unfortunately as from the description i see no fault in your part.

**visor** · 03-11-2013, 03:21 PM

With such a devastating death grip and user name, are you perhaps related to King Kong?

**kingskawn** · 03-12-2013, 01:20 AM

Originally Posted by visor

With such a devastating death grip and user name, are you perhaps related to King Kong?

No, not all but when a shuttle must fall to ground it must

That all said, Eric, as an active member, didn't reply on this one yet...

**kingskawn** · 03-14-2013, 04:44 AM

I have also the red orange color of 9000PRO but I have not that good 'feeling' that I had with my blue turkey colored 9000PRO. The head frame seems to be different, can it be? Anyone that saw that too?
I want to order a new blue one (because I have a few matches in the next weeks) but they are all sold out

**visor** · 03-21-2013, 07:05 PM

Originally Posted by visor

Short review: XP70 (85g bp295mm) with bg66um 26lb after 4 hrs doubles

First of all I must say that Eric is one of the best stringers I've encountered. His one piece job tensions are always right on the nose when I check with a frequency app. Tension retention is great that even with strings like vs850 that are infamous for tension loss, there's only a drop of 50hz after 2-3 months, which amounts to only 1 lb drop. If shipping were cheaper, I would ship rackets for him to string!

Now to the racket.

Swings noticeably faster than MX series, almost as fast as BS series. Not surprisingly then, frame cross section is like a mix of MX and BS series.

Head wt feels very light when dry swinging, possibly because of its speed, but once I started to hit birds, it's got a substantial heft to it. Very interesting.

Great in defensive shots, blocks and drives. Tad more flexible shaft than MX70, which gives it a good whip for power.

Smashes are penetrative and clears are deep, despite being a racket that is lighter and with lower swing wt than what I usually play with (P Pro 87g bp295mm).

Over the next few weeks, I'll have to restring it with my usual zm62 to compare more directly with my current rackets.

Review update:

Just got a heavier xp70 (listed 87g 297mm, measured 86.2g 297mm, head wt 38.0g).
As compared to my first xp70 (listed 85g 297mm, measured 84.1.g 297mm, head wt 37.7g).

Now this is the perfect wt for me.

Slightly slower due to the increased mass, but still fast in defence due to the aero frame, and has much more noticeable heft on drives, smashes, clears, backhands, and power shots. Wrist shots are amazingly easy to execute for some reason; just think, and it's there.

Strung with zm62 at 23 lbs, powerful, fast, accesible, accurate and stable, this is now my go-to racket over my Revelation, Precision Pro, and MX70. This is an amazingly excellent racket! How does Eric do it so well?

I also ordered a few other ones (xp60, 70, 80) for a few of my friends to try out. One is to replace a NR700rp that I clashed with and broke

, and the others are to replace an aging AT900T and MP45. I think I got the correct specs matching their rackets, and I'll know what they think of them when they play tomorrow night.

**visor** · 03-21-2013, 07:18 PM

Oops, meant to post onto the new RKEP XP racket thread:
http://www.badmintoncentral.com/foru...-Rackets/page3

**i800Yoty** · 05-07-2013, 02:49 PM

Anyone suggest an RKEP racket similar to BS LYD? Preferably just as fast but punchier. I am addicted to fast flat play and smashing (but to a lesser extent) so am looking for a racket that could boost my back court effectiveness without sacrificing driving.