Racquets to try before upgrade

Discussion in 'Racket Recommendation / Comparison' started by DuckFeet, Apr 5, 2012.

  1. DuckFeet

    DuckFeet Regular Member

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    Currently using: yonex nanospeed 200. Lovely racquet, "this will do for me" or so I thought.
    Want: Ashaway superlight 79. I tried it and got SO much more power, and those strings... so much control. About 3 hits with it and I offered to buy it right then and there, but it wasn't for sale.

    I now have some red/blue/white ashaway strings on my Yonex racquet, massive improvement on the feel and control but not enough to put me off getting the superlight.

    Are there any similar racquets I should try first? I can get it for £55 so my budget is under £60.
     
  2. tomwfc

    tomwfc Regular Member

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    go for the ashaway, unless you can stretch to the new ashaway superlight 99sq, the 79 is such a good racket, it's been my main racket for two years but I have just upgraded to the carlton razor v1.0
    Buy the ashaway and you will not regret it
     
  3. DuckFeet

    DuckFeet Regular Member

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    Blast form the past: my sister's old slazenger silhouette. Seems to weigh about 80g very headlight and VERY tight strings for me, tighter than my current racquet which I requested 24lbs on, I suspect it's nearer 22 though. At a guess, this racquet has been sat for about 15 years, but damn is it nice. Stiffer shaft seems to let me get more power from it. Slazenger don't even include badminton on their webiste so I have 0 chance of finding another one of these beauties. tl;dr tried another racquet, I think I want stiffer shaft and head-light now.
     
  4. DuckFeet

    DuckFeet Regular Member

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    Is the 79 NLA? I cannot find it anywhere now. It was £55 last month. Now I'm looking at 79sq or 99sq for £70. Booo. I assume they are all similar enough?
     
  5. Badderz_Alpha

    Badderz_Alpha Regular Member

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    ... this was my 1st proper racket! i still have it, its a bit battered, but still good! haven't used it in years though!
     
  6. Dave1011

    Dave1011 Regular Member

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    My friend bought 2 brand new SL79s from me last season and had to stop playing through injury, I can see if he is willing to sell them if you are still looking for one.
     
  7. Dave1011

    Dave1011 Regular Member

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    My friend bought 2 brand new SL79s from me last season and had to stop playing through injury, I can see if he is willing to sell them if you are still looking for one.
     
  8. DuckFeet

    DuckFeet Regular Member

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    ...or both! Yes please. On condition that if he recovers I sell them back to him with discount for any battle scars. PM me please. I know folks up north so can prob offer to collect when I visit.

    I've just figured out my own elbow injury, so bring on the power :)
     
  9. DuckFeet

    DuckFeet Regular Member

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    Lol! Just spotted this reply too. Let me know if it's just gathering dust, I'll give it a good home for a small fee.
     
  10. DuckFeet

    DuckFeet Regular Member

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    Dave sorted me out, much obliged to him and his mate. Wish him a speedy, nay FULL recovery please. They aren't NLA after all but I am not complaining. Strings are crazy tight! max is 25 and last I read these are strung at 22. I will look up how to test for myself but these make my last "24lbs" restring feel like office elastic bands. I say "24", so I was told. The label just said "tight". I'm looking for a new stringer. Can't wait to try it out but I'm saving it for matches while the slazenger is still working for me. I have no idea what tension they are at but I am pulling off some sweet dropshots :)
     
  11. DuckFeet

    DuckFeet Regular Member

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    Dave sorted me out, thanks again, to your friend also. I wish him a full recovery. These are still available btw, googled it -SQ and it found a couple of places. lol @ saying the slazenger strings were tight, they are nothing compared to the ashaway strings. I made the mistake of doing a couple of test hits on the heel of my hand, it is still tender. Got to wait until monday to try it out, probably even thursday as I've a match on monday and don't want to upset anything and the slaz was working well for me last week. Comparing the two, they weigh and feel the same but the SL79 just seems to move through the air faster, is slightly more flexible too. I tried a couple of other rackets, arcsaber I think was one of them. Too whippy and I couldn't get on with them. The slazenger is the least forgiving racket I have played with but when I hit it right... The yonex nanospeed 200 is demoted to being left at work for lunch time playing with plastics. It feels slow, heavy and spongey now. I would say restringing it was a waste of money but at least it's low tension means durability and my other rackets should last longer.
     
  12. Dave1011

    Dave1011 Regular Member

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    No problem, glad to help.
     
  13. DuckFeet

    DuckFeet Regular Member

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    So far so bad - couldn't get the grip the right size before/during court time. Feels right now though after the 15th application of the grip. There is definitely more power to be had from it, going back to the slazenger just felt more natural though. I spotted a fraying string on the slazenger so I'll make the swap soon enough. I am sure it will be worth it when I start hitting it right. What strings are these? I think flex 21 micro, but I cannot find ANY strings that have this red/yellow colour scheme. Stock tension is 22 and max is 25 I believe. Is that 22 initially or after it's broken in??
     
  14. Dave1011

    Dave1011 Regular Member

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    The strings are micro power or micro legend if I remember rightly. Not sure about the tension. Dave
     

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