I am an intermediate player (represented my college, office etc) and have been playing on and off for 12 years now. I recently started playing regularly (90 mins/5 days a week) and wanted to replace my old Yonex Cab8000 racquet whose strings I broke two months back. I got it re-stringed but it just doesn't feel the same anymore and I have bursts of pain in my shoulder when I try hitting a powerful smash. About my game: I started out as a singles player, so my game is based more on control. I love making drops, flicks, baseline-clears to get the other guy out of position and then going for the kill - a defensive player I guess. If it were upto me, I wouldn't hit a single smash until absolutely necessary But since I am now playing doubles, I have to rely on my smashing ability fairly regularly. So I'd prefer a racket which has good control but not bad with a smash either. My choices: Since I haven't been in the market for a raquet in a long time, I don't really know a lot about whats out there. A little bit of research from BC and other websites tells me Arcsaber and Muscle Power series are probably a good bet. Since budget is a constraint (preferably around 2.5K Indian rupees) my choices are limited and I could realistically only go for the following: Arcsaber: 001pro, 002, D18, Lambda, Delta MusclePower: 22, 23, 29 Can anyone guide me which one out of the above would suit my game best? Is there any other racket that I should look at? Also, what combination of shaft flexibility, head heaviness would best suit my game? I am a little confused about reading all the racquet choosing guides here. Appreciate your help!
Good questions. No, the string wasn't the same and neither was the tension the same as before. I had recently moved to a new city and had to ask an office colleague to get it re-stringed for me. Needless to say, it dodn't work out. Any recommendations on the racquets?
MP22, that is the most popular YY budget racket in Indonesia (< $40 USD). Can a few hundreds of thousands of us Indonesian badminton players be mistaken? I personally don't own one but my friend owns a sportshop for 30yrs already.
That's quite a tight budget, and options are very limited in terms of flex and head balance specs. Both MP, and Arc are even-balance series, and targeted towards all-round play. Out of your list, I'd say your picks should be Arc 002 or MP 22.
Also, if u choose MP22 get the classic one. Just MP22 and not MP22 LITE or Limited or Plus or whatsoever. The current color is medium/dark blue.
How about MP29 Lite? I checked it out yesterday and it felt good. Stretches my budget by a few 100 rupees but thats ok.
Sorry I don't know anything about that racket, maybe someone else does. If your budget is tight u don't want to change yr racket often then u should try to get MP22. Also, try to avoid a lite version of any low-mid end rackets. To me, a lite version of a racket is like a QC reject product because otherwise they will call it MP29B or MP32...etc. Just my own opinion that might not be true. For high-end rackets it is ok to get lite version because the regular version maybe a bit too much/too heavy to handle for average players like us.
However, if u cannot find MP22 and already 'felt' MP29 Lite is OK then go ahead. I am just not too keen about lite version, fear of lack of power when needed. Another personal recommendation might be ARC008 if it is within yr budget, it is good for all around play.
If it feels good then you can go for it. But racket feeling in hand while static, and racket feeling while playing could be different. Try to compare the feel of MP22 with MP29 Lite and if 29 lite still feels better to you go for it. However on your tight budget, I'd pick up a racket which is "proven" rather than experimenting.
i would recommend you a medium to stiff shaft, 4u in weight, head heavy in balance. voltric series would be nice.
^^ you'd go with the arc002 i know 1) why just yonex? 2) arc002 = flexi, control, mp22/29 = stiffer. they should be still in the market. 3) not sure about your budget (exchange rate) and what're available for that range, but if you're as good an intermediate player as i assume from what you said, you probably would've outgrown them by now and need better gear, i think?
MP 22 is rated as flexible. The difference between MP 22 and Arc 002 should be in the muscle power frame and shockless grommets on MP. However Arc is intended for control type of play by Yonex.
Thanks guys. Here's some news. I brought my racket two days back - a MP29 Lite. Second day, it broke in a particularly freakish fashion. One of the guys in our group stepped on it as he crossed the side line while trying to return a drop. The racquet lay a few feet slanted against a chair and the shaft broke in two on impact. Lesson learnt - while resting between games, keep your racquet as far away from the court as possible. I am going to re-string my old racquet again and continue playing with it for a little while longer. Have to pass this bad luck phase, I guess!
It was good. Great with clears. I was able to clear smashes from mid-court to the opponent's back court easily. Good with drives too. Decent with drops or net flicks although I guess since it was a new racquet I was getting used to it as well. Smashes were ok. Not too much of improvement in terms of power generated as compared to my older Carbonex.
Oops that's really bad luck I guess. Another lesson learnt could be on racket selection. May be you got a better idea on how to select your "next" racket.
I gave my Cab8000 for re-stringing today and checked out some new racquets too. An Arc 001, 002, NR 20, Voltric D38 and MP 22. The Arc001 looked very flexible but could allow for some loss of power in a smash. The NR 20 seemed ok but I read somewhere its not suited to a control game.
I didn't mean to say you should learn a lesson not to buy a breakable racket. Of course any racket will be rendered useless (whether it breaks or bends) with that kind of impact. I meant to say, this process of racket selection would have given you an experience which will help you to buy your next racket.