Accupower 62 Plus

Discussion in 'Badminton String' started by BlueTornado, May 4, 2012.

  1. BlueTornado

    BlueTornado Regular Member

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  2. Mark A

    Mark A Regular Member

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    I (and others) have a very strong suspicion that Ashaway is OEMing for Li Ning - this could be nothing more than the LN packaging of Ashaway's "Mk 2" Zymaxes...
     
  3. BlueTornado

    BlueTornado Regular Member

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    I have a similar suspicion.. if that's true, I'll just get the ZM's. No need to pay extra for the name.
     
  4. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    interesting part is the while the AP62 used to mark "made in USA", the latest hard plastic packaging says "made in Beijing".

    my suspicion is that LN maybe bending the rule. they made the casing hard plastic and heavier and thus occupy more of the mass/volume of the whole product, and thus now they can claim that it is not made in USA.

    i also have the AP62 Plus here and it also says made in Beijing, China.

    i have yet to open the AP62 Plus package to measure the string.

    i have opened original AP62 package and the string measure 0.62-0.63 which is within spec.
     
  5. BlueTornado

    BlueTornado Regular Member

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    Do you think that Ashaway's only OEM'ing the 62, or all of LN's strings? The rest of the AP's do not have the hard plastic casing. Perhaps Ashaway also makes the NS series strings, those come in the hard plastic too.
     
  6. winstonchan

    winstonchan Regular Member

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    well, ok... what i know and can tell you is:

    1)
    Ashaway OEMing, yes i concur with this speculation and Mark is most-likely correct (i didn't say Mark is correct as i have no solid proof). But nothing wrong with that, who can prove Yonex top-end rackets are 100% Made in Japan? ZM62 (mk. 2) and AP62 Plus is a too coincidental coincidence. However there may be some slight differences, the string core (the most difficult part to produce) is likely to be the same, but string coating, hence texture, could be varied, thus the hardness.

    2)
    Ashaway sends raw strings in rolls of 10,000m or 20,000m and some 10m cut-lengths to their Asia-Pacific Head Office in Singapore OR direct to the agents in respective countries (China, Japan, etc..). The strings are then packaged for sale in the market. I omit this step for my local customers for the sake of cost-savings, practicality and environmental friendliness. So if there is certain % of the process and material used in packaging before the end product is in the market, the string can be registered as Made in "That Country". Not necessary to do with weight or volume.

    3)
    I have yet to see a "quality" manufacturer of badminton strings in China. My guess is LN don't get all strings from one OEM, but 2 or 3 over their complete series and models.

    4)
    All LN string models are in hard-plastic casings now.

    Let's not worry too much. Usual practice in the business world.
     
  7. BlueTornado

    BlueTornado Regular Member

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    Thanks Winston!
     
  8. Mark A

    Mark A Regular Member

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    Wonder how much one of those 10 km rolls goes for...
     
  9. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    i will take 10km of ZM62N.

    sounds like a lot, but it is only 50 200m reel.

    i have a few at home already.
     
  10. Mark A

    Mark A Regular Member

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    Here's an Ashaway worker loading one of kwun's 10k reels for shipping...
     

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  11. BlueTornado

    BlueTornado Regular Member

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    I ordered a pack of these and of ZM62N to see how they are.
     
  12. Mark A

    Mark A Regular Member

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    A comparison between Z62 (ii) and AP62+ would be very illuminating:). Can't help but think the LN packaging is a bit excessive (and would add to shipping costs) - I think Winston's right about the reg. dodging.
     
  13. BlueTornado

    BlueTornado Regular Member

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    Well, I finally got my order in from MBS. Lots of string comparisons to do...

    Listed in order of decreasing string thickness:

    NS-95 vs. ZM70-II (maybe throw in AP70 but from what I've heard I don't think it'll really compare)
    BG-80 vs. VS-850 vs. NS880
    ZM67-II vs. AP90
    AP85Ti vs. AP80
    BG66UM vs. AP101N
    AP62+ vs. AP62 original vs. ZM62-II

    Sounds like fun! :D and very time consuming..

    For reference, my current go-to's are BG-80, AP101N, and BG66UM depending on what I have available at the moment. :rolleyes:
     
  14. relandwong

    relandwong Regular Member

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    In your opinion, AP90 is better or AP101N for smashing?
     
  15. BlueTornado

    BlueTornado Regular Member

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    Sorry, I actually still haven't gotten around to using the AP90 :p But according to theory, at the same tension AP90 should be better for smashes while AP101N will be more repulsive for everything else.
     
  16. Kipper_34

    Kipper_34 Regular Member

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    I have purchased the Li Ning AP62 plus strings from MBS. I've been using the string for a couple of weeks and I find the string to be OK. I find that the string has horrible defense. Everytime I'm defending, it lacks power and the shuttle only goes mid court and you really need to use a lot of force to get a good hi defensive shot. Everything else is ok (smash, drops, net shots, lifts, drives). The string itself is very slippery and feels very stiff for a 0.62 mm string. I personally take the BG66 over the AP62 plus. The BG66 I find feels more bouncy and easier to use and defense if excellent with the BG66. I still have 9 packs of AP62 plus and I'm not sure when I'll use them. =/
     
  17. anek1

    anek1 Regular Member

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    Currently I'm using BG80P...Just wondering whether it's AP62 having better power in repulsion ?
    Thinking to change to try out...
     
  18. Kipper_34

    Kipper_34 Regular Member

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    I haven't used BG80 Power, but I can tell you, the AP62 plus doesn't have good replusion. Been using it for 3 months now, and I gotta say, I'd rather go with BG66. I have some AP62Plus for sale if any of you are interested.
     
  19. Kipper_34

    Kipper_34 Regular Member

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