Hi all: I was just wondering if the AS-Ti is a good price at $99 CDN? I saw it on sale at Sportchek and it felt really nice. I'm looking for a new racket 'cause my 62 Isometric MF broke when it clashed with my partner's racket... I was thinking about getting a 63 Iso but I didn't like the 62 that much, 'cause I thought the control wasn't too good. Anyways, can anyone give me a comparison between the AS-Ti and the Airblade Tour, and maybe the Airblade Lite? Also, can anyone recommend a Yonex or Victor in the comparable price range? I'm not a raw newbie, but still pretty newb. Will the stiffness of the AS-Ti kill me? Thanks!
Hey CingKrab, You from around Burnaby area? I saw the same deal and would have bite had I not already decided to purchase a CAB22 from China. It's a good deal, but I went back to SportChek yesterday and it's no longer on sale. The stiffness of the AS-TI will definitely turn you off if you're not used to stiff racquets already. So, it's best that you find something more flexible.
No actually I'm in Vancouver... I went on Saturday and it was on sale then. Can you recommend a racket around the same price range?
Nah, sorry CingKrab, can't help you there cuz I only go for upper end models and they're usually stiff. However, Carlton is a very decent brand except that they don't have many ISO frames in retail chains like SportChek. Do you like your ISO 60 MF? If you do, my advice to you is to stick with the same racquet or at least get a racquet with the same frame shape. Techno Pro is not too bad for beginner and intermediate players, price is very good if you're not too up about performance.
I'm not partial to my ISO 62 MF... I thought it was too light and it was hard to control. I tried my friend's Carlton Titanium (something) and it was good... and it was $45 at Canadian tire. That is in fact the racket that broke mine, lol! Not a dent on his racket. I don't think that model is available anymore but apparently the Airblade Lite can be gotten for $50 there.
Heh! Then you definitely shouldn't miss out the fun of demoing the racquets in the store. Happy Hunting!
Sorry CingKrab, none whatsoever. The racquets I got are usually from specialty stores and I have only had one Carlton racquet in my collection (a cheapie from CanTire). However, I had a look at the Iso 63 MF in the Yonex 2003 catalogue, comparing the two of them, the Carlton Airblade Tour is slightly heavier. You have to check out the flex yourself as the Carlton website didn't specify. It's most likely medium flex (which could give you more control) But its tension threshold is rated 18-28lbs, so it gives you more options to fudge with the stringbed. Have you used oval frames before, if not better stick to ISOs for easier transition.
carlton flex: carlton ab lite 03: medium carlton ab pro 03: flexible carlton ab superlite 03: medium other non yonex suggestions for testing: talbot torro: isoforce 711: medium isoforce 511 wave: medium isoforce 911 c4 ti lite: medium isopower 4000 c4 ti wave: flexible babolat: satelite nitro: medium booster max: medium booster lite: medium oliver: vision 4004: medium victor: magan beryllium sq 1000: medium magan beryllim cx 500: medium
You mentioned that the Yonex ISO 62 MF was too light for you. Do you mean the racquet itself is too light (it's 3U, right?), or do you find the even to head light balanced too difficult to control? -Rick
I felt it is too light overall, but when I held the 63MF I thought it wasn't as bad, so it could be the balance.
I've got the Airblade Tour and Airblade Lite. The Lite is very very good at the net, plenty of feel and very simple to drop with. However for the rest of the court it's a bit average, doesn't make clearing very easy, long drops from the back of the court to just over the net can be tricky to pull off, however, the smashes are easily as powerful and precise as my AT 700. The Tour is very good from the back of the court and the middle, the smashes go down hard and steep, clears are easy and it gives a nice powerful backhand drive and clear. Backhand smashes can be a little taxing on the wrist because of the heavy weight however. The Tour is easily the most powerful racquet around for me. The only thing that caught me by surprise with the Tour is that when dropping it will kill the shuttle dead. Which is either a good or a bad thing depending how you look at it. I like the Tour more than the Lite of the AT 700, but it’s very different to all the other racquets I’ve ever used.
AS 1 Ti have been my racquet of choice for the past 2 years...having owned 5 of them..and I still have 3 strung with diff tensions. I would say $100 is a very good price. My feelings about the AS1 Ti are that it's sweetspot is small and that the shaft is a bit on the stiff side, requires good skills and racquet speed.
Wow. $99 CDN. I bought mine for $105 US dollars 2 years ago and it was the lowest I could find. To me AS-TI is an excellent raquet, very light with lot of power.
Meet my new sidearm... Thanks to this thread and my CAB20 MS' untimely destruction, I planked down the plastic and bought the Carlton AS-Ti (yup... sale's still on) today. Had a go with it for a few games tonight and it was quite good. Very stiff and good handling, but it felt somewhat weird with dropshots. Maybe a new string will do better justice to it. It's all good except one thing that bothered me though, the cone is awkward to hold while I am at the front. Still, comparing to the CAB22... I would go with the CAB any day. Hopefully, the AS-Ti will be able to take my usual 23X25lbs setting.
I think the As-Ti is one of the high tension racquets which can take 30Lbs no sweat. Search the forums.
You'll be surprised how different machines limit the tension. My Victor Super Ti-7 was guaranteed up to 27lbs... it's strung with handcrank before and survived, but didn't survive with same setting after an electronic 6-pointer had its way with it.
The racquet spec even said "Up to 40lb". No gut no glory. Don't know if anyone had tried 40lb before .
