*New! Adidas Badminton

[CantSmashThis]

Aeroplane Black sucks. at least the new ones does. they changed factory and is not longer anywhere close to the original. next round i am leaning towards Chaopai Red.

Hm, interesting. I don't play much anymore so I don't know. This can open the door for Adidas birds then! I remember Holvy let me try out one of Wilson's new birds over the summer that was really good, but I think Wilson tends to overprice their birds quite a bit.

[gundamzaku]

Hm, interesting. I don't play much anymore so I don't know. This can open the door for Adidas birds then! I remember Holvy let me try out one of Wilson's new birds over the summer that was really good, but I think Wilson tends to overprice their birds quite a bit.

i've tried wilson topline 60,80, and 100. they all tend to be a bit faster than aeroplane black label and yonex aerosensa 30. however, i find the topline 100 still cheaper than the other two mentioned when they are on sale at badminton alley. i have no relations with badminton alley, it's just that they are within a short bike ride, that's why i get some of my gear from them. but this year i'll be going to HK three times so i'll be able to replenish whatever i need from HK...tho E78 have told me that it's cheaper to get feather shuttles from "abroad" than in HK because he's not getting any discounts...

[Shinichi]

Im interested in how they will price their top end range.

[kwun]

I was told that it will be competitive and not higher than yonex pricing.

[kwun]

Hm, interesting. I don't play much anymore so I don't know. This can open the door for Adidas birds then! I remember Holvy let me try out one of Wilson's new birds over the summer that was really good, but I think Wilson tends to overprice their birds quite a bit.

i never liked the Wilson shuttles that i have used.

I will test out the Adidas one this weekend. Hope it will be good.

[raksasa.gorgon]

has there been a lot of activity in Malaysia for Adidas? they should already have reps going around talking to retailers by now.

as i was told, the team is pretty world wide. there are engineers in Japan hired from Yonex. they are based in Japan thus they are able to claim 'Engineered in Japan' on the racket itself. the manufacturing is actually done in China. there are also team in Germany as well as Hong Kong.

the racket feels solid and responsive, definitely higher quality feel than even other 2nd tier manufacturers out there. using good quality carbon fiber is definitely a good idea.

as i have mentioned, i think Adidas is doing their very first launch "right". they are doing all the right things. solid engineering, solid design, extensive range, and comprehensive marketing and distribution around the world.

Not much happening in Malaysia yet. I think itll be a while before ADIDAS can penetrate the market here as most local retailers are pretty hesitant and reluctant to explore alternative premium priced brands other than YONEX. The only way I see ADIDAS hitting it off here fast is if they start sponsoring top teams and launch event promotions.

How good a racket is really depends on how good the quality of fibre, shaft and its manufacturing process. But how many players out there really do their research beneath the rackets fancy branding and paint job?

[george@chongwei]

I was told that it will be competitive and not higher than yonex pricing.

This is certainly the 'key' point i'm looking for.. If the price is 'ok', why not give the racket a try?..
With adidas already venture into badminton world, i'm sure other sports giant company like Puma or Nike will follow suit very soon..

[yan.v]

Was able to talk to the person in charge for the US today, but I didn't have much time to talk. Did get some info though.

Launch in the US will be delayed a little (beginning of April).

Launch in Canada will not be until this summer because nothing is ready up here.

[CantSmashThis]

Just saw the new photos on their facebook page. Looks exciting!

[kwun]

How good a racket is really depends on how good the quality of fibre, shaft and its manufacturing process. But how many players out there really do their research beneath the rackets fancy branding and paint job?

That's a very important point.

Sad as it may be, most people buy racket based on the brand, the look, and how "top of the line" it is.

More than a few times, we have heard people says, "recommend me a racket/string, as long as it is Yonex". it is kind of like the iphone mentality. people buy iphone for the brand, but in reality, many Android phones have already surpassed the iphone in technology.

for Adidas though, they are ahead of anybody else in the they have a internationally known and reputable brand. it will be hard to find anybody who have not heard of Adidas. that give them the brand recognition which is very very big. next is they need to make sure the designs are attractive, and then have a decent pricing level for their top of the line, not "Li Ning" high that price them out, but also not dirt cheap. add those plus a generous amount of marketing, from in store displays, from exposure in traditional and web advertising, and from sponsorship at both international and local level. that should give them the best formula for success.

it will take a few years.

[kwun]

Just saw the new photos on their facebook page. Looks exciting!

nice. a glimpse of the bags as well as the clothing which i am quite interested in. Adidas traditionally have really nice clothing and I believe that will be carry over to badminton.

[Shinichi]

Im sure adidas Badminton Apparels, bag and shoes will be a huge success. Love the colour and the design. They even have the adizero series

[kwun]

I made this unboxing video after I received the package from Adidas. Just want to share the goods as well as excitement with you guys...

[paroxysmal]

Thats a lovely unboxing review.

Could you please mention the weight of each racquet? Adi Pro is around 85-87gm and the last one was around 80gm. What about the other 2?

Coming to switch - Though the concept is interesting, how much difference would it make while playing? Earlier we used to wind a tape on the rim of the racquet. How much is the weight of the racquet without the additional rim?

Eager to hear the individual racquet review from you.

[demolidor]

nice. a glimpse of the bags as well as the clothing which i am quite interested in. Adidas traditionally have really nice clothing and I believe that will be carry over to badminton.

I hope these are not the "other designs" you were talking about that were in the catalogue or plans. I was thinking more in terms of another range besides these blue/silver & black-white/red ones
Nice vid, love a good unboxing video on youtube , rackets look better than in the [official] pictures ...

[Fidget]

• The Acadademy Awards has announced four new nominations in the Best Documentary category. I vote for kwun's submission!

1) Adidas Badminton Unboxing - a gentle genius discovers that amazing things sometimes arrive in plain packages.

2) Dust: The Untold Truth - a substance that is so easily ignored, yet surrounds us all. What is it really up to?

3) Justin Bieber: TMI - could there possibly be anything else about one 18 yo human that is worth knowing? A 3-part, 9-hour investigative report.

4) Sleep - should it be mandatory before posting to internet forums? most probably.

[kwun]

I hope these are not the "other designs" you were talking about that were in the catalogue or plans. I was thinking more in terms of another range besides these blue/silver & black-white/red ones
Nice vid, love a good unboxing video on youtube , rackets look better than in the [official] pictures ...

for rackets, there are 4 ranges. adipower / adizero / precision / switch. the tradeshow photo they had posted on their facebook page shows approximately how many rackets are in each range. each rack is one separate model (almost), which give an idea how extensive and comprehensive their initial launch would look like: