choosing 3 test-rackets

Discussion in 'Racket Recommendation / Comparison' started by alex292, Mar 27, 2013.

  1. alex292

    alex292 Regular Member

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    hello,

    me and my doubles partner are currently looking for new rackets. We have a local badminton-shop, where we can test/borrow rackets, but we don't really know which rackets to choose.
    As we also don't know which style of racket we want, we thought about testing three rackets with very different properties (head-heavy, head-light, stiff, (flexible)).

    Our current test-selection would be:
    -Yonex VT80 (head-heavy, stiff)
    -Victor BS12 ?(balanced, medium-stiff)?
    -Yonex ArcFB (balanced, stiff) ->alternative for a head-light racket

    Budget is more or less unlimited, as long as we/I really feel, that it's the perfect racket (poor college students :p).

    We mostly play doubles(80-90%) and are very offensive-minded.
    My doubles partner currently plays with a Voltric-9 and I use a Carlton-Powerblade-Superlite.


    Maybe someone can help us with their advice about some "typical" rackets for the different properties. Any recommendations/alternatives?

    thank you in advance :)
     
    #1 alex292, Mar 27, 2013
    Last edited: Mar 27, 2013
  2. phili

    phili Regular Member

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    You should say what you and your partner like in the current rackets and what you don't like. Makes the job of recommending rackets a lot easier.
     
  3. gundamzaku

    gundamzaku Regular Member

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    "typically", there are heavy, medium, and light rackets. and "typically", there are head heavy balance, even balance, and head light balance rackets. there are also two types of head frame, tradition=oval, and isometric. as you can see, there are many variables to figure out when choosing a racket.

    my advice is, pick a head light, even balance, and a head heavy racket. start with those three, just from one brand just for consistency sakes. start playing with them and see which one feels good to you. try to focus on the feel of the swing and now the actual performance because your string plays a big part as well.

    then bit by bit figure out which balance and which weight you're leaning toward. also, some rackets are made with the frame being hollow on the inside while other filled the inside of the frame with foam. see which one feels better for you. because for the longest time i had a hard time adjusting to my victor superwave35 having been using yonex since 4th grade. but then i was told that the frame is just as rigid, so i gave it a try. tho it still doesn't feel too well with me, sw35 is a great racket.

    anyway, since you get to test a bunch of rackets, keep us posted on your findings and what you finally decide to use :)
     
  4. alex292

    alex292 Regular Member

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    thank you for the replies :)
    [MENTION=94298]phili[/MENTION]: I can't really say what I like about my racket, as I never really tested other rackets, so I got nothing to compare. My doubles partner definitely likes the voltric-9's power, but he wanted to see if maybe voltric-80 can even perform better.
    But as I said, I'm not already looking for the "perfect match", I'm first trying to find out the differences between the different types of rackets, so that I then know what I really want. (Hard to describe)
    [MENTION=39250]gundamzaku[/MENTION]: I know there are more combinations available, but I can only test up to three rackets at a time. Do you think the chosen rackets cover the different areas, or are VT-80 and BS-12 maybe too similar? Do you have any alternatives, that come to your mind?
    I will definitely report my findings when I'm finished with testing :)
     
  5. gundamzaku

    gundamzaku Regular Member

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    vt80 is definitely head heavy, and bs12 is leaning toward head heavy as well, but you will find bs12 a bit more even balance because it is less head heavy. i say try a voltric, nanoray, and arcsaber racket. you already picked the vt80, you might as well pick up an arc11, and a nanoray800. just so you can feel the difference between the different balance rackets. then based on what you feel like, try out different rackets of a particular balance. that's what i would do.
     
  6. greblu

    greblu Regular Member

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    I would consider these Rackets

    LN N55 II, LN N50 II,LN N50 I, LN N70 I or Yonex Z-Force(4u)(for the back player, your partner seem physically very fit at the video you showed before I think he can handle the heavier rackets))

    Karakal BN60, ArcFB or NR 800 (for you the net player)

    (These are the most used rackets by professional Doubles-players http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php/2306-Professional-players-and-their-racquets/page100)


    (VT 80 ,VTZ-Force and maybe NR 800 are common rackets you see them everywhere, maybe a club mate of yours has one of them.)

    For me the right string and string tension plays an equal role as the racket. I get from a random racket strung at higher tension more power than from a power racket at low tension.

    If I had to decide on 3 rackets I would take LN N55II, Karakal BN60, and the ArcFB , the other rackets I have or I can test them from club-mates :p
     
    #6 greblu, Mar 28, 2013
    Last edited: Mar 28, 2013
  7. alex292

    alex292 Regular Member

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    I'm just coming home from testing the rackets. The shop didn't have the BS12 as test-racket, so I only tested VT80 and ArcFB.

    ArcFB
    :
    After holding it in my hands for the first time I was very surprised how light it is, I knew it would be only 73g but it really is very different to all other rackets. It doesn't feel like you are holding a racket. The racket was strung with a BG66-ultimax at estimated 20-22lbs.
    My doubles partner started with this racket and he was pretty amazed. This racket is lightning fast and it was almost ridiculous how many shots he could defend with this racket. He has a very powerfull smash, but with this racket he had serious trouble generating any power from the back court. At first he had slightly timing issues, but even with the correct timing his smashes were much weaker than usual, nothing your opponent would be feared off. Although he loved the ArcFb's defense/reaction abilities, the missing power was a criteria for exclusion.
    After we switched rackets I got some time to test this racket and I can only agree with the thoughts my doubles partner had. He was thundering down smashes at me and I could easily defend them, without even thinking about it. But I also had serious problems generating any power with this racket.
    But the real bad thing happend after about 15 minutes of testing. I mistimed an average powerfull shot and the racket simply broke apart at the 2 o'clock position. I was very surprised and in the first moment, I thought I broke a string. The shot wasn't very powerfull, just a simple clear that hit the frame. The frame definitely wasn't damaged when I borrowed the rackets and it didn't clash or hit the floor, so I hope that I maybe get warranty. Otherwise it's going to be a very expensive test-session (15min -> 140€). :(


    VT80:
    The Voltric80 (3U) was also strung with a BG66-ultimax at estimated 20-22lbs, but the string was very old/used already and it looked like it was going to break any second.
    I started playing with it and it held it's promise about being powerfull. It felt unusual playing with such a head-heavy racket, but as long as there's enough time to make a proper swing the racket is really powerfull. Even my doubles partner was surprised about the power in my shots. But the bad thing with such a head-heavy racket were of couse all defensive and quick shots. I knew this was going to be one of the weaker areas of the racket, but I didn't expect it to be that big of a problem.
    After I gave the racket to my doubles partner he wasn't really convinced by it's performace either. His smashes weren't noticebly faster than with his Voltric-9 (but I think that's not even possible due to his smashes already traveling at the speed of light :p). He also struggled to get used to the slow movement in defence. It didn't take him very long to decide, that the Voltric-80 wouldn't bring him much advantages that he didn't already have with his old Voltric-9, but therefor more disadvantages. He's probably going to buy a second Voltric-9 now.


    Summary:
    Both rackets didn't really convince us as both extremes had their known disadvantages (light->quick but no power and head-heavy->power but to slow). I am going to test the VT80 again on monday and maybe I can get used to it at least a little bit better. At tuesday I will bring the racket(s) back to the store. If I still can't get used to VT80 on monday I will maybe try to borrow the VT80 in 4U or another racket with not so extreme specifications. Any recommendations?
    After testing both rackets I would really want to test the BS12... it would probably be the perfect piece in the middle of the two tested rackets.

    But first I hope I don't have to pay the full price for the broken ArcFB. I've looked up some other threads and found that broken ArcFBs is a regular problem and some people got their warranty. Of course the extremly low weight will reduce the stability of the frame, but a simple non-powerfull mishit shouldn't lead to breaking the undamaged frame.
    Hopefully the warranty covers the broken frame because else I have to pay my expensive 15min test-session with an hourly rate of 560€ :p

    When I looked at the rackets before making the first shots I was really expecting the VT80-string to break, not the ArcFB-frame.

    I don't know if my review is any good for people thinking about buying any of the two rackets. There is pretty much nothing new or unknow, just that the known disadvantages were bigger than expected to me and that people who want to buy the ArcFB should atleast buy 10 rackets if they want to have enough rackets for two sets :p
     
    #7 alex292, Apr 5, 2013
    Last edited: Apr 5, 2013
  8. swunk

    swunk Regular Member

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    you should consider something like Arc11 for doubles.
     
  9. bobphua

    bobphua Regular Member

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    You should try getting or trying the kason twister f9, mid flex / even balanced. I played with the voltric zforce, head heavy / stiff but i guess i wasn't strong enough to generate power from such a stiff racket. Having trouble clearing the shuttle back to the baseline, especially from my backhand clears. after i changed to the kason f9, all of my shots improved alot! My backhead clears now are pretty decent (before was very very pathetic LOL), defending smashes and lifting drop shots are so much easier as its quite light swinging it. Smashing was so much easier and so much faster at least 25% more power. If you can get them from ur local shop you should definitely try it!
     
  10. alex292

    alex292 Regular Member

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    [MENTION=103215]bobphua[/MENTION]: my shop doesn't have the kason f9 :(


    I tried the VT80 again on monday and I don't know what happend in between, but it definitely felt way better than on friday. I think I'm in love with this racket :)
    I only played doubles and I felt that the racket was really improving my game. The power from the backcourt was unbelivable and I made a smash-winner almost everytime my opponent made an high lift, even though most of them were quite good at defending.
    I also didn't have any big problems with this racket concerning my defense. Of course smash targeted at my body/shoulder we're harder to defend, but not impossible. But with alle the other defensive shots I really felt comfortable driving their shots cross court and counter-attack.
    The amount of shuttles I could retrieve wasn't noticeably lower than before, but the quality of my returns greatly improved.
    My drops also felt much more controlled with that little additional weight in the head and I can really say, that I could control every shot just as I wanted to. Great improvement to my current racket.

    But of course, as I am being followed by bad luck, the string broke in the last set of the evening, but as I said the string was already very used when I borrowed the rackets. So I had some explaining to do when I returned my two test rackets with a broken string and a broken frame...
    Luckily I didn't have to pay for neither of them. My retailor said, that the he already suspected that the frame of the arcFB was damaged before because he knew the last client returned it with a little scratch. And he also knew about the voltric's string condition and because I am a good client, I didn't have to pay anything (wuhuuuuu :)) He will try to get warranty for the ArcFB now.
    As a small thank you I just sent of an 260€ order of shuttles and grips for me and some friends and I am probably going to buy the VT80 in the near future, so you can definitely say, that I am a good customer :)

    I will borrow the VT80 again when it's restrung and I hope that I will still feel the same about this racket when testing it again.
    I'll have 11 tournaments coming up in the next 14 weeks, maybe the new racket can already help in getting some good results :)

    her are some picture of the broken arcFB:
    IMG_0161.jpg IMG_0162.jpg IMG_0163.jpg IMG_0164.jpg
     
  11. sychong95

    sychong95 Regular Member

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    Hm... Since u guys are playing doubles, would u tell us who plays which role when attacking in doubles? Who is normally responsible in the front court? And who in the back?

    Your positions may let us help u give a much accurate recommendation.
     

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