Hello everyone I needed help on choosing a nice powerful racket that can be used in back court doubles but doesn't lose the doubles characteristics First, some things about me Shuttle : Feather. Level : Upper intermediate (Do get coaching, couple of tournaments) Game : Doubles for competitions, singles just for fun (Winner gets to buy lunch and stuff like that) Current racket : Nanoray 300, Iso Tour 800 Play type : Fast pace, control, not so front court, only smash when seeing a good angle, love dropshots, Back court doubles Reason why wanting to change racket : I have a doubles tournament in a month and may be going on to nationals. I mostly use the nanoray 300 for my doubles game but lately I noticed the strings were getting lose before my tournament so I cut off the strings and was gonna get them restrung when I found a crack in the head. I am afraid to restring it at my preferred tension since it IS a taiwan yonex racket.......and I can't use my 2U Iso tour 800 for a doubles tournament can I? ... Then I tried out a friend's friend's victor BS10 and had a singles game with it for fun. MAN it was just wonderful............Pin point accuracy, continuous smashes without arm pain, razor sharp drives, smashes........When I wanted to do a doubles match with it...he left ._. So I thought I needed one of these for my tournament. Rackets i'm thinking of : VT70 3U, VT80 4U, BS 10 3U, BS 11 3U Reasons? VT 70 : Heard it is a good doubles racket with quite a punch VT 80 : Never tried it...don't really know if the head heaviness and stiffness would be ok with me. BS 10 : Great time with it. Really impressed me. BS 11 : Just a little more flexy BS 10. never tried it but thinking the extra flex would give extra power while losing a teeny bit of control THANKS PS : BS 10, 11 became really hard to buy in Korea these days.....They're replacing BS 11 with BS LHI s and BS 10, 9 are practically gone, BS12 is getting replaced by BS12L, BS LYD. I would get BS15 because it sounds like a steroid VT70 but the semi oval head shape just doesnt get me on........sad.....i'm thinking it's because of the jetspeed series or something...never interested in them though.
Can you afford two racquets? If you are playing tournaments regularly, it is highly recommended to have a minimum of two of the same model racquets. Are all those racquets you stated easily available (i.e. walk into a shop) where you live?
I reviewed a number of racquets recently. Of them all, my personal preference for doubles is the Forza Ti11.000 F. Second choice would be a Gosen Customedge Type V. I haven't tried Yonex nor Victor racquets.
If I do get another racket, I would have my nanoray 300 as a backup....I probably won't be buying 2 same new rackets at once.... Well VT70, VT80 are easy to get around here (Korea) but somehow the BS 10, 11 are nowhere to be seen in shops....weird.... All I see around is BS LHI, BS12 L, BS LYDs..... :/ since Victor started sponsoring Korea and LYD used to use BS12, All the BS series were just sold out in a few days or so.....
I don't really meet a lot of FZ Forza rackets here........Not really a big brand in korea Gosen customedge....Never really was interested in it. If you do get a chance to try any victor or yonex rackets, let me know! Thanks
If you like to buy BS 12 blue first gen that LYD and YYS used in the WC 2014 http://www.mybadmintonstore.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=25_26_175&products_id=1816#.VAR16aL1bD4
Wow they have really good deals...in fact... Too good that i'm a little suspicious.... They sell limited edition, signature rackets almost the same price as the original ones...and they sell pairs?.... Is this a trustable site? And they have BS 10 <3
I bought shoe and string and racket from them before you can search in the forum that they mention about this store. They are legit store. I know the BS 12 blue gen1 more expensive then gen2. I guess cause a lot of Korean players still use it. Check out MD final world champion 2014. 3 out 4 Korean players used this BS 12 blue racket.
If you can afford the buy BS12 blue. LYD still used in world champion. There was a reason for them to use it
Gosh the more I read about other rackets, the more I wanna try But I can't try them out before buying... very sad... So i've put a few more rackets to the list... VT80 4U - I've heard many good things about it. Maybe 4U will suit my doubles game? VT70 3U - Tried the 4U version. kinda didn't like it. It was too light. Maybe 3U will do the job. BS12 3U - Also heard many good things about it. Not sure if mid flex would suit me though. BS10 3U - I liked my short time with the BS10. It was amazing but i'd like to have a teeny weeny bit more flex to it. Armortec 900T 3U - I can buy one for a very good deal. around half price of a new VT80. Heard of some breaking issues that makes me hesitate. Arcsaber 10 - Also can get a used arc10 for a very good price. Seems like it has a few chunks(?) off it's head. It may just be big paint chips. not sure. Oh and an update. I tried a Arc8DX for a day. Even though it has an extra stiff shaft it didn't feel that stiff and I enjoyed the placement, fast reaction on it. But not really my style. Please keep the opinions coming up! It takes a lot of time for me to decide...(When I was young I used to spend 10-15minutes trying to pick the snack I wanted to buy from the store....lol)
In all honesty n imo, since u have tried BS10 n like it so much, u should just go for it. That "teeny weeny bit stiffness" will not interfere so much. Could always go to gym to build up a bit more arm muscles to compensate for it. Trust urself more...
Hi orangenetic, im assuming that you are an advance player since you play tournament regularly... now im using at700 premium 2012 and i have vt70 as second racket, both are 4U racket... at700 gives me more power since the balance is very head heavy, but vt70 gives me more speed and i can swing faster...if you want the balance between power and speed i suggest you to use 3u vt70 (since you said 4u is too light)..you will lose some power since the head is ligther than at700, but the faster swing speed will make up the lost power, so you wont lose too much power.. i suggest vt70 because i feel the stiffness of vt70 would suit you since you have problem with bs10 stiffness..yonex claimed that vt70 is medium stiff, but i feel it is between medium and stiff, i think that would suit you very well..but stiffness is a small issue, if you use the racket for a while you will get used to it.. about victor racket, i dont have many chance to try it but i managed to try my friend's bs12..bs series definitely a good racket for those who seek for speed...but the racket feels too light and quite flexy for me, but it makes me feel like want to smash everytime the bird goes up because it is easy to handle ..one more thing i like about bs12 is the solidness during impact, i like it... just my 2 cents
You could expand you search to include some rackets like the LYD and the MX90. Still, trying before buying is the way to go (if possible).
Or you could get your coach or club (if you're in one) to help you source for a BS10. They may have better contacts.
I agree on the MX90... Slightly head heavy bp 297mm, fast frame and moderately stiff but not too stiff. Great for doubles.