Hi! I wonder if durability depends more on brands than the exact model of the racket? The Yonex rackets I've used so far (VT80 and Nanoray 700FX) were very nice for playing, but in terms of durability, I got very disappointed. The VT80 died after a clash, the 700FX caught something in the frame after a clash, not sure if it's a crack really or only a scratch. My Carlton rackets, however, (both Powerblade Graphite) seem to be indestroyable! I had some clashes with them, they killed at least 3 other rackets while my Carlton rackets looked just as before the clashes, maybe just some color went off! Now I wonder what are your experiences? I'm thinking about buying some more high-end Carlton racket, but only if the durability (as described above) is typical of Carlton and not just limited to the Powerblade Graphite. Even though I liked my Yonex rackets, when you spend much money on a really good racket, I want it to be not only good for play but also to survive some clashes, as I often have to play doubles with beginners who suddenly "threaten" my rackets... Thanks in advance!
i think it depends on how the clash happened. it would be less severe if both of you were swinging toward the same direction as opposed to swinging in opposite direction. maybe the weight balance on the racket plays a role as well, i.e. head heavy racket has more material on the head frame maybe??? there has been discussions on multiple threads about companies using different types of graphite so maybe that's a big contributing factor as well?
Yes, durability depend a little of the model (not the brand), but a LITTLE. I can say that breaking a racket is more a question of luke, racket are solid and the materiel is very similar from a model to another. Personnaly, I also have a VT80 which I buy one year ago and it's not break. My "record" is my NS 9900 : too many clash but not break after 2 years of play ... An another hand, I had a NS7700 which last just few month, with just few clash. So, don't buy a racket for the durability.
Sure clashes differ in direction of swings etc. To me it just seems "above chance level" that my Carlton survived even the heaviest clashes while my Yonex rackets caught scratches or even broke after less severe clashes. I understand that this is more likely to happen to head-light rackets like my Nanoray 700FX as compared to the heavier and also more head-heavy Carlton. But this doesn't explain why my VT80 broke rather easily, too. I'm not sure which racket will be my next one, for sure it will be head-heavy or balanced, medium or flex. After my really good experiences with Carlton, I'm thinking about Carlton Kinesis - if it doesn't survive for long, I will give up my prejudice(?) that Carlton has better durability.
