Does anyone have info on the POWER CUSHION 98 MID shoes from Yonex? I found it on the Japan site, but have no clue what it says.. When did these come out? Where can I buy them in America? or even Hong Kong? Any info will help. Thanx
That model isn't available in North America. I don't know about HK though. I only know a couple people who own that model here and they brought them from Japan.
Someone told me that some shops in HK sell it at HK$6xx. I'm not sure whether those are localized version or "special" goods imported from China. Mine was bought by my friend from Japan (which costed more than HK$6xx). You can also order the shoes via Luxis. Of course the price will definitely more than HK$6xx.
I forgot to mention that the 98Mid was out for the 2002-2003 year. It's their flagship model shoe. They only show it as a mid-cut on their website but I've seen a standard low-cut version on the web as well (although I don't know if it was a genuine Yonex product). A Japanese friend of mine has a brand new pair which I tried on and they're quite comfortable. They're also fairly light for a mid-cut shoe but then again Yonex shoes aren't exactly built with a lot of material in them. Personally, I'm not a fan of Yonex shoes because I feel they don't offer enough support or cushioning compared to other brands. Probably explains why Yonex shoes are cheaper though.
I bought a pair about 2 months ago. I've only worn it once so far (due to NS, no time to play), initial impressions are good. It's definately way lighter than the SHB 88 which I had import from Japan last year. It seems to be more stable, comfy and light than the SHB 95EX as well.
I'm pretty sure those are brought over from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, etc. Not from Japan. Most of those products for sale on EBay are not from Japan. I believe the same couple people on Ebay do it as a small business (ie. bring over cheaper Yonex goods and sell them on EBay here in N. America). Not that it matters if you don't care where the shoes come from though .
Here is a link to the description on the Yonex Japan site in English: http://babelfish.altavista.com/babe...on/products/shoes/shb98m.html&lp=ja_en&tt=url I have seen somebody wearing the low profile version of these shoes, however, I have no idea where he got them (he's Malaysian if that helps); they look much more stylish and comfortable than those awful mid-cut shoes which are more like basketball boots ("for the upper-class person" )