any review on Carlton Kinesis? Please help me

Discussion in 'Racket Recommendation / Comparison' started by pat666, Oct 5, 2012.

  1. pat666

    pat666 Regular Member

    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2012
    Messages:
    10
    Likes Received:
    0
    Occupation:
    PhD candidate
    Location:
    Milton keynes
    Hello all,

    I'm seriously thinking of buying Carlton Kinesis but it is just sooooooo hard to for me to find any reviews. There was a gentleman on here that was kind enough to give me some information from his first hand experience but I would like to find out more about this racket.

    I already have nanospeed 9000X (which i'm trying to sell) and Yonex Z Force (Which i just bought). So basically i think that Carlton Kinesis will fall somewhere in the middle of these rackets. Nanospeed 9000X is very easy to use, light but I find it quite difficult to get good power out of it. Z force is great for single ....good smash but my arms just get sore after awhile.

    So basically i think (hope) that Carlton Kinesis will give the best of both worlds. Light but still pack a punch. Over here in UK, it will cost me about 140 pounds so I just want to make sure that i make the right choice. I don't know anyone who owns it therefore i can't try it. I live in Milton Keynes and there are no stores around here that carry Carlton Kinesis so I don't really know if i will like it or not.

    Any advice, suggestions, review or any information on Carlton Kinesis will be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much in advance for all your help:)

    Pat:eek:
     
  2. gundamzaku

    gundamzaku Regular Member

    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2008
    Messages:
    2,554
    Likes Received:
    2
    Occupation:
    working professional
    Location:
    Santa Clara County, California, USA
    hi,
    i recently bought a few carlton rackets. from your description i'm guessing you want something between even balance to head light. basically something that's both quick and yet somewhat powerful?

    i tried all three "new" carlton back to back. the vapour trail tour, razor v1.1, and the kinesis. since i favor head heavy racket i love my razor the best. razor also has a version that is head light that you might want to look into.
    regarding the Kinesis, you are correct, that the racket itself falls between an even balance racket and a head light balance racket. the interesting thing is that even tho on paper, it's a tiny bit head light. when you swing it, it's actually not too light. as far as weight distribution, i would say it is between my nano9000 and my muscle power 100. swing weight wise, it will feel close to an even balance racket. i believe that the reason why it felt a bit head light when i swing it is due to the frame. i am not sure if the twisted frame has anything to do with it, but the thinness of the frame itself allows the user to swing the racket at a really quick speed. i say quick and not fast because any racket can go fast, it's the quickness, which allows the racket to react as quickly as you can react as a user...a major plus in doubles.
    so when i first swung it, it felt head light. and i automatically assume that i won't get as much power from it as i do from the razor v1.1. however, upon actual playing, i was able to generate as much power as the razor while clearing or smashing. of course the factory strings they came with weren't exactly the same tension, so i'll have to restring both of them to have a more accurate analysis, but still....this is my initial opinion about this racket.
    i would rate the shaft to be medium stiff to stiff since i didn't actually feel the flex of the shaft like i did with the razor v1.1. however, a lot of people say the superwave is stiff and per my wrist i am rating it medium stiff...so it's subjective.
    i actually like the carlton string a lot because the exterior texture felt similar to my favorite victor vs850 string. carlton rackets tend to have a bit thicker grips but that's not really a big concern for me.

    the key to remember regarding my review is that when i play doubles, often times i hold it close to the cone. in that sense, it didn't feel as head light as my nano9000 or nano9900 or nanoray 700rp/700fx. but when i am playing in the back and wanted to make an attempt to smash, it felt heavier than the nanospeeds and nanorays. so that is why i say it's right between even balance and head light. and that is why i love it so much as a head light racket. because i'm a weak player, generally i can't generate that much power with a head light racket, and because of the characteristics of this racket, it allows me to play quick double with quite a bit of power :)

    hope this helps and feel free to ask any questions or make any comments, i'll try my best to answer them, or anyone else can chime in too :)
     
  3. pat666

    pat666 Regular Member

    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2012
    Messages:
    10
    Likes Received:
    0
    Occupation:
    PhD candidate
    Location:
    Milton keynes
    hey...
    thank you so much for a great review. haha I just realised that you were the one that answered me in the other one of my threads as well...so thank you :)
    Because of your review, I think I will buy this carlton kinesis. I guess I won't really know until I actually try it right?;)
    the thing is that I'm so new to this (as you already know) and there are so many rackets that i'm looking at right now. I like Yonex but I just want to try something different, something cheaper that is almost as good or even better than Yonex. So I have been looking at brands such as babolat, victor and yesterday my cousin just told me about Talbot Torro so now i'm looking at that as well...
     
  4. Richard Traviss

    Richard Traviss New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 27, 2013
    Messages:
    1
    Likes Received:
    0
    Occupation:
    Badminton Coach
    Location:
    North Lincolnshire
    Hello, I've been playing with the Carlton Vapour Trail Tour over the past few years changing them as the new model came out. Just changed to the Kinesis and I find them significantly more powerful but maintaining good control. Had all 4 restrung to 27lbs in BG65ti by my professional stringer and used the in yesterday's county match against Lancashire. I love them.
     
  5. brennanlord

    brennanlord Regular Member

    Joined:
    Jan 18, 2013
    Messages:
    11
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    UK
    If you could find an old Carlton Aeroblade TI on the internet you could get the same raquet for much, much cheaper.
     
  6. sanredrose

    sanredrose Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 25, 2013
    Messages:
    34
    Likes Received:
    1
    Occupation:
    Engineer
    Location:
    San Diego, California
    I might be posting a little too late on this thread :), but i have used a Carlton Kinesis racquet for almost 3 months now and i can give a little insight into this product.

    Kinesis is an even balance racquet well suited for a doubles game. If you are familiar with Yonex naming convention, then i would say this racquet is 3U-G4 type. Though the racquet specification defines it as an even balance, i would say the head is quite light and you can feel that in a fast swing. I had no problem playing forehand or backhand clears with this racquet. Drop shots, net kills and drivers - Kinesis is the king of these shots. It feels like a ArcSaber 10 in terms of playability and is defintely a champion closer to the net and mid court area.

    Smash is probably the weak point of this racquet. I have been playing for quite sometime with Yonex ArcSaber 10. Arc10 is slightly a head heavy racquet (though yonex might claim otherwise), moving to Carlton Kinesis might be a problem. I found extremely fast swing with Kinesis and was able to push the game further than usual, but when it comes to finishing off the point, i was struggling. It will take a week or two to settle down this racquet. However it took me close to 2 months and now i feel that my smashes from Arc10 and kinesis are quite comparable.

    The factory string used on the racquet is a Carlton Xlerate 67 and the string tension feels like 23 lbs. The string is a very good one (i have never used a Carlton string before) and it gives a tad bit of hard feeling with a balance of repulsion and control. The hitting sound is close to a BG80, but nowhere close to NG98. But for a factory string, Carlton has packed a really good one on this racquet.

    Overall - I would say Kinesis is a very good racquet for folks who like super fast swing ! The racquet is sold for $199 in San Diego. Little expensive, but if priced at $90 - $120, i would buy 3 or 4 pieces and stack them. I am officially fan of Carlton Kinesis.

    However, there is a new Adizero Tour lurking in my kit bag and it's slowly becoming another doubles favorite racquet !
     
  7. brennanlord

    brennanlord Regular Member

    Joined:
    Jan 18, 2013
    Messages:
    11
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    UK
    Thanks for the review.
     
  8. Smashthecock

    Smashthecock Regular Member

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2011
    Messages:
    12
    Likes Received:
    0
    Occupation:
    Interior Design
    Location:
    London, UK
    Hi Richard,

    I have read the Kinesis has had a tendancy to snap without cause, have you had any such experiences?

    Jag
     
  9. sanredrose

    sanredrose Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 25, 2013
    Messages:
    34
    Likes Received:
    1
    Occupation:
    Engineer
    Location:
    San Diego, California
    I have been using Carlton Kinesis for almost 6 months now. The string hasn't snapped till now, though it has lost a bit of tension.
     
  10. Smashthecock

    Smashthecock Regular Member

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2011
    Messages:
    12
    Likes Received:
    0
    Occupation:
    Interior Design
    Location:
    London, UK
    Hey,

    Thanks for replying but my concerns were more surrounding the racket frame, there have been a number of people with snapped frames without collision. So i was a little worried about buying.

    Jag
     
  11. sanredrose

    sanredrose Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 25, 2013
    Messages:
    34
    Likes Received:
    1
    Occupation:
    Engineer
    Location:
    San Diego, California
    Well that's quite possible. The twisted aero frame in the Kinesis racquet is definitely a problem. I had this bad experience last week, my stringer refused to string the kinesis racquet. He had doubts that the frame would break if plugged into the stringing machine. He pointed out some cracks in the unit.

    I took the racquet to a different stringer and got it re-strung. The racquet apparently had some paint chips (seems like a poor paint job) but no damage to the frame. He admitted that he was concerned about the twisted part of the frame and was a little confused about how to mount the frame in his stringing machine. I think the stringers in my area are quite used to only Yonex & Wilson racquets. So any other brand spooks them :)
     
  12. sanredrose

    sanredrose Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 25, 2013
    Messages:
    34
    Likes Received:
    1
    Occupation:
    Engineer
    Location:
    San Diego, California
    If you are yet to purchase this racquet, then i would recommend looking for other alternatives. Don't get me wrong, its an awesome racquet but considering the bad experiences i had here w.r.t to stringing i probably would retire this racquet or sell it off in ebay.
     
  13. Doreamon

    Doreamon New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 29, 2009
    Messages:
    1
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Vietnam
    My Kinesis snapped when its frame hit to a shuttle after 2 month use. I guess it is due to the weather in Vietnam being too hot. But after sending to a shop to fix, the racquet is still great, as recommendations above, it is perfect for every shots except the smash one. :cool:
     

Share This Page