My badminton partner is looking to upgrade his racket but he is in dilemma whether voltric 70 is worth the price to pay for as he is intermediate player. He plays mostly doubles and is intermediate level player. He doesn't want a stiff or too flexible shaft. He wants to improve his attack without compromising too much on defense. Shortlisted options are: Votric 7 - £67 Voltric 70 - £119 Arcsaber 7 - £110 Tantrum 300 - £60 Any recommendations please.
If he is not that focused on Yonex - I would recommend him the Victor Total Inside Wave 6500. 145 € / ~115£. Light racket with very good specifications especially for doubles. From the rackets in your list, I would choose the ArcSaber 7.
I think because of the head heaviness of the Voltric 70, his defense won't be as fast as with the ArcSaber 7. His attack maybe would be better with the VT70, but with the AS7 it shouldn't be bad also. so, with the VT70 he has to comprosing more on his defense I think. But this also depends on his skills and muscles. There are also a lot of players which plays with VT80 in doubles and are quite fast - for example. The best thing would be, to order these two rackets as test-rackets and let him play with them for a session. Racket choices always depends on personal feelings.
for me, i chose VT70 over Arc7..... i also faced the same problem as your partner.... my choice at that time was Arc 7, Arc 5dx, VT70 and VT60.... and i went for VT70 4U..... yes it's head heavy but not too heavy like VT9, VT80 and VTZF.... it feels nice and my defense not affected and i feel my smash travels faster and more "boom" sound.... i can use it to play doubles and singles without any problem.... but like speedy said, racket choice is very personal....
I have played with both the Voltric 70 (3U) and Arcsaber 9FL (4U). If you're a strong intermediate player and have decent techniques I would say you could do well with both. For me, the 3U Voltric is more difficult to wield and a 4U version would have been more suitable. I also think that the 9FL would be quite similar to the Arcsaber 7. Of the two I've played with, I like the Arcsaber 9FL better. It is more forgiving and is certainly faster, more manoeuvrable around the court and one can certainly play an attacking game with it. I only smash when I can kill of a point at mid to 3/4 court and in these situations it's certainly quite capable. I also own the Voltric 7 and it's the easiest to play with and one can generate some power with it. However, the Voltric 70 and Arcsaber 7 would be a step up. Good luck with your selection
any chance that your friends have those rackets that your friend can try out so that he/she can determine what feels best. but i'll go for the arc7 if your partner wants a bit of everything.