I just want to buy a carlton superlite badminton racket, but hesitating between powerblade superlite and rasmussen (airblade) superlite (I think rasmussen and airblade are the same one, right?). I've reviewed previous threads, in Minzin's thread in 2004, he compared carlton powerblade tour and powerblade superlite. He wrote: "the tour has a really cool metal sound if i make clears or smashes. the superlight has another metall sound. too pity, the tour is not as powerful as the superlight (perhaps because of the headlightness of the tour ???). you have to use more efforts to clear the shuttle to the back. with the tour your reaction is a little bit faster, it's more a defensive racket i think. but with the superlight it's also easy to retour smashes !!!" So I prefer the superlite to the tour because the former's smashes are more powerful, about which I am much concerned. However, in another Marcus Fong's review of powerblade superlite (also in 2004), he wrote: "After using the powerblade superlite for > 1 month ~ 10 doubles & 2 singles matches... I've developed some shoulder and arm muscle aches, could be due to the head-heaviness of the racket. Have switched back to my old airblade superlite.." Therefore, I don't know how to choose between the powerblade superlite and airblade superlite. I learned that Powerblade series have Isoframe with larger sweet spot; whereas airblade series have aerodynamic head, which "improves aerodynamic profile, less drad and more headspeed and power (I got it from the flyer)". I wanna get some opinions from those who have used both of these superlites. My questions are: 1. Does powerblade's isoframe have the features of airblade's aerodynamic head? I want to know whether the powerblades have the same headspeed and power as airblades? I know sometimes the so-called new "technique" doesn't make any difference indeed. I just want to hear the feelings of actual users. 2. Is it ture that powerblade superlite is hard to maneuver and the user is easily to get tired because of its head-heaviness and stiff shaft? Any other opinions about the difference are welcome. I know the best way to select a racket is trying it out, but I live in a small city of Canada and can only buy rackets online, what's a pity! On tenniszon, powerblade superlite and airblade superlite have the same prices - about 66 Euro or 81 USdollor. Is it a good deal? I think I am a little picky, sorry about that! Thank you very much!
On Badmintonzon both Powerblade and Airblade Superlites are listed as 4U head-light racquets? May be the reviewer was trying to say because the Powerblade Superlite is such a head-light racquet with a very stiff shaft, it can be quite tiring to use your muscles to generate the power. Then again, he seems to like the Airblade Superlite which, if the spec. listed on Badmintonzon is to be believed, has very similar characteristics. I don't know how generous their return policies are; but, once thing you may be able to do is to buy both and return the one you don't like. Some retailers are more open to exchanges, in my experience, so you may want to try buying both and exchanging the one you don't like for another one that you do like. Then you'll have 2 of your newest favourite racquets. FWIW, HTH.
the specs on badmintonzon are totally wrong. the picture is wrong. either that, or the name is wrong. the airblade rasmussen superlite is RED and black. the old 2003 airblade superlite (of which i own three), is silver and black (which appears bluish and black, such as in the badmintonzon photo). its G4, not G3. length is 665mm weight is 81g unstrung. strung and gripped weight is 86g. i don't know how they're getting their balance points, but with bg66/85 strings, and one layer of supergrap, the balance points on mines are at 288mm, 286mm. the unstrung balance point is 282mm. and theres no way that this racquet is designed for offense. its really headlight and really stiff. i think that in itself speaks a lot for the style of this racquet. for a side by side comparison i did one day, its stiffer than the mp99, mp100, ns7000, ns8000, cab30ms, cab20ms. and i think i remember a couple of those yy's are rated as ultra or extra stiff. i like the racquet, or else i won't have three of them, but honestly, its one of the most gutless racquets i've ever used. its harder to clear with, its harder to smash with. not in the sense that its impossible or really hard... but rather, its MORE difficult when compared to other racquets i've used. usually i end up relying on placement, and patience to earn points. obviously i'm not the best player or anything, and my technique isn't the greatest either. but a lot of friends who have tried the racquet shares the same opinion, and quite a few of them are high B level to low A. its a very biased racquet and is suitable to a small range of players (based on play style and such) its good to be picky when buying a racquet. even more so when you can't try it, and when you're looking at something this narrow-focused. the biggest question is, what kind of player are you? if you're defensive, you might like it, you might not. if you're offensive, again, you might like it, or you might not. but i'm willing to be you're going to like it more if you're defensive than rather if you were offensive in style. is it possible for you to find the "lite" versions of the racquets? some find the superlite and tour to be too far in their ends of the spectrum, and that the lite splits the range perfectly.
I think "4U" is a mistake by badmintonzon, when I click "add to cart" on badmintonzon, it becomes "Grip size :G3 S 3 1/2". I think Carlton rackets only have one grip size: G3. Quasimodo, thanks for your suggestion, but I can't afford two rackets each over 100 dollors. I don't know a lot about their return policy. If I could try two of them and return one of them later then get full refund, that will be a good idea.
Chickenpoodle: You are right, the picture of rasmussen superlite on badmintonzon is wrong. I will send a email to them to make sure. Do you think there is a big differnce between 2003 airblade superlite and 2004 rasmussen superlite? I think maybe they just the same rackets with different names. As you said, if the shaft is so stiff, it must be tiring and hard to maneuver. You just shake my faith, if it's harder to clear with and harder to smash with, what's its pros? why do you like it? Are you a net player? I don't know for sure about my play styple. My net play is not bad, but I also like smashing. That's why I wanna get a powerful racket. I also want the racket to be lite and fast, which is important for defense, because I mainly play doubles. Power and speed, they are contradictory, we can't have both in a racket, right? I don't know how to choose now! Do you think there are any other type of rackets that suit me well? Thank you very much!
when i tried the 2004 rasmussen superlite, it felt similar enough i guess. but its a bit heavier. the balance is around the same though. the shaft being stiff won't make it tiring and hard to move around. the racquet is light, and headlight, so its actually VERY easy to move it around. defense is effortless. wanting to generate a lot of power with it is a different story all together. it leaves some things to be desired. my smashes were never that lightening fast to begin with, so i've moved on, and worked on timing and placement of my smashes instead. its taught me that if i'm not thinking when i'm smashing, it'll be definitely returned. theres occasionally a freak smash once in a while, thats darned fast. but i know thats when everything falls into place just perfectly. one of those things that the pros pull off consistently, and i'm nowhere good enough to do that over and over. its almost "by accident". yes, i'm primarily a net player, i'd say... i feel more comfortable up front. my game from the back court is very predictable, i feel. its all a series of drops, drives, and attacking clears. i throw in a few smashes every now and then, but those are returned most of the time. drops, drives, netplay, and attempts to be sneaky, is what i'd say this racquet is good for. the control aspects of this is reflected in the light weight, headlight balance, and stiffness of the superlite. how much are you willing to spend? and is there any brands in particular that you are fond of? it sounds like you're probably looking for a more balanced racquet. a combination could be an overall light 80-85g, flexible, and headheavy racquet. you'll also want to keep in mind that string type and tensions also play a big role, and sometimes even bigger of a role than the racquet itself. all this time, i've been using bg66, bg85, and hybrids with these two strings, at 24lbs. the thinner strings and higher tensions also augment the control aspects, with the stiffer string bend and the thinner gauge allows the strings to bite the shuttle in a fashion that thicker strings do not. a string like bg88ti i heard was supposed to be like barbwire, so that might be the ultimate in control. but i never had a chance to try it yet. more slippery strings, like bg68ti have been said to be more attack oriented. but strings are a totally different topic and you can find lots of stuff on that in other threads...
chickenpoodle Thank you for your detailed description. It seems the superlite is a defensive rachet for doubles. As I know, Gail Emms (World no.1 mix double player) use powerblade superlite, her partner - Nathan Robertson - uses airblade tour. So I think powerblade superlite is good for net play and drives. I just have another question: you said carlton's shafts are stiffer than YY's. But what kind of shaft can make more powerful smash? Stiff ones or soft, especially for players like me who do not have a lot muscle power. Thank you for your suggestion about the string, I will read threads in the string forum. BTW: how's the string coming with carlton's racket itself? someone says it is bad. I've been thinking for a long time, enough! Maybe I will buy a powerblade superlite soon.
Airblade or Ramussen Hi Psywang, I had tried Carlton Airblade Tour. Carlton Superlite, Carlton Ramussen Tour before. Airblade Tour is for smasher, Superlite n Ramussen are for double and quick maneuvres. If u choose between Superlite n Ramussen, then I think Ramussen is a better racket. However, if u intend to string it with high tension, then better not exceed 26lbs? The last time, I did strung at 28lbs, it went slight ly out of shape.:crying: But still can be used. Lee
yea, if you can wield the tour varients around easily, you might want to give them a try. they're definitely stronger than the superlites. the airblade tour is yellow, and the airblade rasmussen tour is orange-red. stiff shafts lean more towards control, while more flexible shafts allow for more power, because of it's "whip" action. keep in mind that it is just a very simple way of looking at it. you have to remember that your arm plays a HUGE role in determining what range of stiffness is good, since stiffness is afterall, very subjective and relative. for me, maybe a medium stiff racquet is very flexible, and a very stiff racquet is acceptable, while someone else with a different style and swing pattern will find the more flexible shafts to be much better to use. pros tend to use stiff shafts because their power comes to naturally due to technique, and so without having to worry about power, they use the stiffer shafts to try to gain more ease of control. so if you say you don't have a lot of muscle, you'll have to see if your technique is good. if it isn't as good as you'd like it, you might want to look at more flexible racquets, rather than stiffer ones. the string on the carltons aren't very great, but its decent i guess. i never used it much, since i always cut it when i buy it, and restring it. if i do not intend on using it right away, i cut it anyway to remove it's stress on the frame. the airblade's come with carlton tour performance, which appears to me, to be around 0.75mm, which is thicker than bg65's 0.70mm.
Not that I don't trust Birdiegut, can someone else confirm about the Superlite and Rasmussen distorting at high stringing tension? I'm seriously looking outside of the world of Yonex for headlight racquets, but I do like high tensions. Thanks.
only SOME of the carlton frames have the high tension frames. those high tension frames are capable and warrentied up to a "claimed" 28lbs. non high tension frames can take 24lbs. but if yonex racquets that are claimed up to 24lbs can take over 30lbs, than obviously carlton frames can also take more than their written or recommended values. someone here actually strung a carlton AS1 i think, at 40lbs, and it was fine. i know of a carlton airblade tour user who uses 34lbs, and its working fine. mostly it depends on the stringer's ability to distribute forces over the frame evenly during stringing, i say. the following are confirmed to have high tension frames... airblade tour, superlite, lite rasmussen tour, superlite, lite megaflex F1, F2, F3 AS1 i dont' know if the powerblade series have HT frames. i'm inclined to think the distortion on his rasmussen was due to either doing it on a rasmussen Ti, or poor stringing.
Carltons & Yonex Hi! I owned the 3 rackets below....hope my review helps! 1. Carlton Airblade Superlite Very headlite and not stiff at all, but kind of mid-flex.. swings very fast due to its aerodynamic design. Very good for doubles, especially the defensive kind. Drives can be very powerful when hit right, and hard smashes need a very strong arm & fast swing, due to its headlite nature. Very easy racket to play with and great for beginners. But can be awesome in the hands of somebody that can adapt to its head-liteness... (Score 9.0 for doubles, 7.5 for singles) 2. Carlton Powerblade Superlite Stiffer and feels more head-heavier than the airblade, maybe of the ISO-frame. Still a good defensive racket. Smashes are easier, but overall more suitable for netshots, drives & control shots, that's why Gail Emms is using it. Maybe a better singles racket than the superlite... (Score 8.0 for doubles & singles ) 3. Yonex NS7000 Feels heavier than the powerblade, more just slightly, but a little bit more headlite than the powerblade. Good defensive racket, and hard smashes can be achieve by a good player. Flexibility is mid-stiff. Compared to the powerblade, easier to generate a powerful smash and a better overall racket. (Score:8.5 for doubles, 8 for singles)
It's not 100$ badmintonzon is overpricing them. you go to canadian tire you might get a powerblade superlite at around 50$. Thats where i bought mine. Time to time they might put an ariblade their too.
carlton pb super lite in canadian tire? I am planning to buy one now, do you know if they are still this in CanadianTire, I am living the Greater Toronto Area. Thanks
