Hey guys howsa goin? I just wanted your opinion on these two racquets and which one you'd prefer to use. Also if you could state which one would be better for me I'd greatly appreciate it. I'm mainly an offensive player, I usually play singles, and I like to smash a lot. Physical characteristics: 6'1", 150lbs, medium strength. Hopefully this information can help you help me.
I have only played with the Black Knight i960 very briefly, so I don't have too strong an impression about it. From what I can remember, the racquet was quite powerful. Clears can be easily made to go high and deep. Smashes, on the other hand, were a little more difficult to pull off. But that's probably because of the difference in timing with a different racqeut (and especially one with flex points). I've tried a 3U MP99, and found it to be very easy to wield. Smashes felt right at home the first time I smacked the shuttle down -- the birdie went off with a boom, and feedback from the impact (via the racquet) was just perfect. The BK i960 would probably sell for just below Cdn$200+taxes. The MP99 is probably in the Cdn$220 to Cdn$250 range. -Rick
I used to have an i960. I found it to be quite powerful due to its length (68cm), and stiff shaft (RF90 or something with flex points). Black Knight is a very durable company, so durability shouldn't be much of an issue. So this racquet was definitely made to produce power. The only thing I didn't like about it was that it took 2 weeks of like ~12hours of playing to get used to the racquet, I mean, it was non-iso, 68cm etc. The only thing I found bad was that it was non-iso, I simply can't work with that very well! I'm sure there are many reviews of the 99 around here.. but vs the i960, it's slightly different. It's balanced for one, it's iso, and well, the durability is questionable depending on your luck. I found that the MP99 produced equal or possibly, more power... and it was iso and balanced (My preference is balanced). So I definitely favoured the MP99 but its durability questoned me.. I mean.. since you play singles, that extra cm can really mean a lot. I mean that extra cm gave my smash a lot of angle and power. Is there a BK rep in your area that will let you demo the i960?
