Does yonex have quality control problems or is it just their raquets are weak?

well i've also broken a 8000 on a clash, and well its a slim frame racuqet so it should be extra fragile. as for other raacquets... i dont think any racquet was built to take a clash, cept for the armortecs, but yeah... you aint supposed to clash racquets theoretically in badminton.

 

I don't think AT's are designed for clashes. Any racquet will break from a good clash.

Take in consideration that carlton AS-1 is oval and the more you get close to a perfect round shape the more it is durable. Also, make sure your racquet is properly strung

That may or may not be the reason it last you so long compared to your previous 2 racquets. I had several MP99 before and clashes them once a while but haven't broke any so far.

 

I think this has something to do with the chemistry of the material. A material is strongest when it is intact in one-piece. Any fusion with, meshing with, glueing with, a foreign material may make the compound stronger and lighter, but also more brittle and prone to crack during crashes or impacts.

Rackets made with all-carbon graphite are less strong, they definitely don't take string tension to 30 lbs, but they are less likely to break and more durable. On the other hand, new technology has enabled carbon to be meshed with Ti or other metals, and glued with nano sized Fullerene particles, thus making rackets stronger, lighter, more manoeuverable, but also more brittle and easier to break at crashes. This is because any interruption to the original molecular lattice of the mother material (carbon in the case of a racket) would create imperfection in bonding of carbon molecules, making the carbon easier to crack.

And you might notice, most racket break at the frame, and at the 4 and 8 o'clock positions. I have seen rackets break at the shaft, but less often compared to breakage at frames. The frame is already the weaker part of the whole racket when strung. Poor string technique resulting in uneven force around the frame adds to the weakness. The frame and string is also where impact shock is absorbed at the first place, especially at crash or mishit.

 

''luckily''???

Now I hope your friend is not reading this...

If it was my friend's racquet I would feel 2 time as bad

 

1. Make sure the rackets are real ones 1st. If fake ones, then I won't be surprised that quality will be crap to start with.

2. Even real rackets, none of them are designed to be bullet proof to take clashes. Even a "minor" (to ur standard) clash, but if the tension is high, or poorly strung, or hit at the extra week spot (i.e. intersection spot = 2 string share 1 gromment), the damaged could be significant.

 

Think about it, would yonex be rich if all their rackets never break? xD I mean those steel rackets never make it big lol

 

Are the Yonex rackets TW coded?

 

Or is it TH coded? I am almost convinced that TW and TH coded are slightly lower quality racquets. I broke a TW coded AT800DE from a clash.:crying: There are lots of similar cases with other TW and TH racquets, sometimes I wonder why they are quite a bit cheaper then say an SP. Just an opinion.

 

Never ever use a clash as the standard for the durability. I think I've metioned this for like 1,000 times. Personally, I've seen tennis racket broken due to clashes, so, don't expect any better results for badminton rackets.

I've seen TW/TH served well for yrs for many players (even under high tension), and also seen JP/US/SP/CN rackets lost in battle easily, some were just 1-2 weeks old.

 

I guess it depends on how lucky you are. I clashed my mp99 like 5 times (big loud ones). Only paint chips and the strings seem to have gotten looser. Thank god, knock on wood. MP99 is really a durable racquet.

 

clashes

I have to say the biggest factor in how long a racket lasts (assuming you don't have a cheap fake racket, and I assume most people on this forum can tell) is poor stringing.

I've got an MP99 with huge paint chips all over the head, some about 1cm in diameter, from more than a dozen big clashes, but it has no problems. In 20+ years of playing, I've only had one racket break on me and I half thought it would because I could see it had been unevenly strung (too narrow head). I thought it would last at least a few games though and played with it, but as soon as it hit my partner's racket (which was a fake he had bought for $10), oomph, the top caved in.

Don't think your racket is stiff because it feels stiff when unstrung. Even at tensions of just 18lbs, the graphite in a badminton racket head is really bendy. If the tensions aren't even, you're going to get a crack.

 

I believe newer rackets is not going to be as strong as older days ones due to light weightness. My 10 years old carbonex 25sp went through heavy clashes, flew away from hands serveral times(Not under my usage), hitting floors.... and still going strong. It had retired from service and kept as a display set

My AT700 4ug4 broke one my 1st day of use, as i fall and hit the frame on the floor

 

I think its true that as the frames get lighter and lighter, durability will defnitly get worse. But it can also be due to the high tension ppl play with these days, maybe that is why yonex slap on a low recommended max tension.

 

lol.. I'm gonna try and stay away from people wiht old rackets.. Freaking invinicible rackets and their careless swinging.

 

I broke my AT800DEF in the 1st day of play aweek ago. Yes, I clash with my partner racket (I consider just a normal light kissing which isn't uncommon amongst double player). But having a Hi-end Yonex racket cracked in 1st day is truely a shock to me.

Looking at the my other OLD Yonex rackets which I never encountered crack incident despite occasional `Kissing' (except a chipoff here & there) + coming to know a few others encountered similar incidents from this website. I suspect the lastest Yonex (such as MP, AT & Nano series) do a quality control or design issue. OR may be it is designed like that as mentioned by WinstonChan in earlier message

Would I continue to insist on Yonex racket?? I am no sure now....