Being a fan of Fu Haifeng (FHF) - one of the best smashers in badminton, I ended up owning 3 F9's rackets , yet when he switched to Lining (Kason contract expired or what ) racket, I also managed to grab his current N9 and had a chance to wield the racket during yesterday game. I'm not a pro but I would like to give my 2-cents write-up about the racket (please note that this is my personal thoughts, yours could differ). English is not my first language so my apology for any mistake/spelling errors In design, I think the N9 is a great combination of black, white and shining gold colors. I feel it's a little stiffer than the F9 and if you consider F9 as 4/5 in terms of Head Heavy, then N9 is about 3.5/5 or 3/5 in my opinion. Still it's rated as a Head Heavy racket, but doesn't feel as heavy as F9. Mine weighs as 3U and grip is S2 in Lining standard. My N9 was strung with my favorite NBG98 at 25 lbs to my liking by a local stringer. On a side note, there are several newly launched rackets from Lining though, from MBS site you can see there are N90-III, N50-III, N55-III and N7 (made for Cai Yun) with some new/improved technologies as well. Warm-ups were effortless with N9, I can lob/return the shuttle to the opposite rear court easily. Being a lighter head racket, I did feel Net Playing with N9 was easier and quicker as well as defence wise, return and back hand with N9 feel less effort than the F9. On to its power of smashing (the most intriguing about a tailored-made racket for FHF), honestly I feel a bit disappointed, it did not deliver the power that I expected it would. If I could hit a thunder smash ( I wish, lol) with my F9, then I gotta say my smashes with N9 are just about Sharapova's screams , accuracy is good, but not great. On a bright side, it did have a little faster swing speed though. However... Despite having the "HDF shock absorption technology", I did feel a little muscle stiff which I did not have any with my F9 whether or not I kept smashing many times using the F9. That was just a day's game and my health condition may change on another day (perhaps with your string/tension/condition things could be different), but for now my personal rating for this racket will be : - Power/Smash : 8.5/10 (I'll give 9.5/10 to my F9) - Net Play : 9/10 - Defence/Return : 9/10 - Control : 8.5/10 Another drawback of this N9 is its price, depends on your shop/retailer, you can get it for around +/- US$ 200, much more expensive compared to the F9 IMO. Please feel free to give your comments, cheers
[MENTION=96590]Himari[/MENTION] , thanks for your review. I am quite surprised that you found the F9 is head-heavier as I tried to compare them both at the shop, seems like the N9 is slightly head-heavier instead. Almost the same with the N50II. They were measured dry, without string and overgrip.
Thanks for the comments, well, perhaps it was due to I played with the N9 most of the time, only the last few minutes I held the F9 to check it out. I'm gonna have a game this evening, will try to test it more
Sorry guys, was busy with work last weekend so did not have enough time for the racket, nevertheless, I lent it to my friend whom (I believe) has stronger arm than me, he said that he also felt the racket is a bit stiffer and a bit head lighter than my F9 - which he also tried out. If someone already has the racket, please share your thoughts
Your friend is right - half of it, that is. The racket is indeed much stiffer than the F9, but it's also head heavier, not lighter. To me, the N9 is in between the F9 and N90(I) - that is the reason why your muscles feels stiff and sore after one game (I experienced it too).
edit : to include the link of the video @16:24 is what I like the most LoL ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVHWlc7B6ww
Most of FHF's rackets (N50 & F9) are not head-heavy racket. They are designed as balanced towards light-weight head to compensate his defensive attributes. Raw power (smashing) is definitely not a big issue to him. CY's rackets, on the other hand, deliver more power since it weights a bit toward head-heavy balanced. I was once expecting powerful smash from buying all N50 & F9 rackets and ended up like getting what nanospeed delivers.
The racket has a nice weight distribution that puts the weight towards the t-joint. This gives it a little more speed without too much compromise on the power. Overall the N9 is a heavy racket to wield. Found that the N9 offers a lot in terms of control and power, a nice alternative to those who might find the N90 too stiff. Did a little review on the blog.
Ungh, the first generation BS12 had most if it's weight near the T, and felt horrible. I'm considering buying a new racket soon just for fun, but not quite sure about the N9 and N7. Sounds like they upped the stiffness which is great (C7 is too flex).
Just had 2 solid games of singles with the N9 and it felt awesome!! The opponent was the sort who took his time with the rallies and pushed your stamina and accuracy. One wrong hit and you get an attack... The N9 gave such a good feeling, even on the harder shots like the backhand clears. So little did I feel like I didn't have control of my shots And the smashes from this beast are awesome!!!
Did you play any Doubles? Is it recommended for normal intermediate doubles player who may not have strong muscles?
Yeah I do play doubles, but have yet to feel comfortable with the racket. Can't really say it will give you a super smash, but if it's anything like my singles games you'll probably get more power out of this.