Judging them on their own merit, are the Apecs rackets any good for a rookie/intermediate player? I've got a budget of around £40-50 and maybe looking for something of a higher spec than the rackets you can get for similar money in the sports shops.
The Apacs are good, but if you want something closer to Yonex at nearly half the price, go for Victor.
I would suggest Apacs Slayer 88 since it's medium stiffness. Apacs UK selling for £44.99. Apacs Slayer 99 is also great, and costs £49.99. http://www.apacs-sports.co.uk/catal...pacs-slayer-88-badminton-racket/prod_109.html http://www.apacs-sports.co.uk/catal...pacs-slayer-99-badminton-racket/prod_106.html
What are people's thoughts on this? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/170797075424?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649
you can get some VERY good Head rackets for that price now. e.g. the 6000 to 8000 models here http://www.sweatband.com/badminton-rackets/head-rackets.html
Tried it before. Quite a decent racket, but doesn't feel so solid. Can feel vibrations. If you are looking for APACS, i would suggest Lethal 70 and above, Slayer 88 and above, Tantrum 200 and above. Very good for value racket almost on par with higher end brands.
Victor rackets may have the same quality as Yonex but the touch is different as long as I can tell. If you want a Yonex, Tactic does very very good clones of Arc7,9 and 10 ... and some others. While a Arc10 is about 135€, the Tactic one (a little bit less stiff and a little bit head heavier) is a little bit cheaper... besides that the quality is more then just decent.
I recently tested 10 APACS racquets and was very surprised at the quality. I talked through each racquet with the new APACS distributor. Most of the racquets were good quality, one or two need some work and I understand the distributor has already had these changed and new samples are already on the way. Now that is fantastic and you've got to admire the distributor for trying to get the quality right before launching in UK. Paul www.badminton-coach.co.uk
Hi, may i know what are the 10 rackets you tested? I've always been a fan of APACS but recently there are too many models to try out. So i haven't been keeping up. Do you have reviews on those?
Chris I tested the following: Slayer 99 Lethal 11, 18, 70, 90, 100 Tweet 7000 & 8000 Tantrum 300 & 500 I've completed 2 reviews and have the rest to finish this week. My favourite was Tantrum 300, followed by Lethal 90 and Lethal 11. Tweets and Tantrum 500 were way too flexible for racquets of this level. I will be posting the reviews on my blog soon although may need to delay in view of all the other reviews I have plus coaching articles to complete. Paul www.badminton-coach.co.uk
Thanks Paul! Sorry to hijack this thread. Getting back to topic, if i am to think of the best rackets you can buy within the budget of £40-50, APACS come to mind. But try to avoid the Yonex clones if possible. Good luck finding a racket!
Saw that on your blog about the forthcoming reviews. Interesting about the QA issueas as well, i have three 2011 lethal 90s and while the build is solid, the painwork is very poor. Doesn't bother me too much though, gives them a workhorse look after a while, but when i compare them to my Karakals which have survived numerous clashes with nary a scratch, it's a little, ah ... disheartening.
you could try the new rackets RKEP just released which has been getting raving reviews, http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php/107655-RKEP-PRO6000-PRO9000-badminton-racket got mine last week within 2 days of ordering. the delivery cost might exceed your budget though so you might want to get a few poeple to order with you
APACS rackets have much inferior paint job than Yonex/Victor. they chip away easily. Yonex/Victor paints are much more durable.