Hello I am a badminton player in high school and I feel I am very serious about this sport (not as a profession). Anyways, I decided upon the AT 800 DE as a treat to myself. Heres the dillema. Yo's sell AT 800 DE 3U for 290$. The really trustworthy guy on ebay sells it for 110 but its 4U. I definately like the smash aspect of my play. I am not very rich only high school you see. Durability is also a big concern for me as I play doubles. I was wondering where Yonex takes out the 10g from the racket. Is it significant enough to : change the smashing power and durability? Thank you!
If you're truly serious about the game, you're looking at the wrong aspect to invest in. Get something cheaper and use the rest of the money to get some proper coaching. BTW if you're a doubles player playing in an environment that has way more newbs and crazy players, it's better NOT to get the AT800 DE.
I understand what you mean. However, Coaching in the GTA area means club. Club means open. My partner and I play closed and we are not that noobish as to clash and if we do clash, its not one of those breaking racket ones (we've been playing for over a year). and I've been playing for around a year. I can perform all shots pretty comfortably except the inconsistency in power of my smash. P.S. I play at the YMCA. I know its not where the best gather but the level of play there is not THAT noobish. Thanks~
Well, that's good Manduki. In Vancouver it's hard to get a good competitive game outside of clubs, so please forgive me if I offended you. I was merely using my local experience as the base to ascertain levels of play in your area. It's wrong but completely automatic response on my part. Anyway, back to your issue here... clashes do happen and it might happen less as you improve, and even less if you partner with the same person over time. However, AT 800 DE is a very expensive piece of equipment for you. When you bought it, you don't just get the racquet but also lose the peace of mind that comes from owning the racquet. I am not sure how trustworthy the guy on ebay is, but $110 is a very good price for AT800 DE. Almost too good to be true. Even if it's authentic, you have to pay extra to have it shipped over to you and it'll probably be subjected to custom charges as well. Whereas Yo's AT800 DE is already there waiting for your taking and you know it's real for sure. If you're looking for durability, heavier racquets are generally more durable. We're talking about risk tolerance here... how much are you willing to risk?
with 110 dollars US of course, I can get 2x DE for the same price at Yo's. My main concern is smashing power over durability but as you say it is very expensive. This ebayer has a great reputation for selling genuine rackets even within BC. P.S. no you did not offend me ^.^
Did you try to contact the ebay seller to see if he has 3U? If so, can you bid on the 4U and get the 3U? Good luck!
AT 800 OF is a bad choice for me as I hear the difference in power isnt that great, I want a nice forgiving racket with speed. A question about ebay: If your purchasing something oversees, Canada, do you pay customs, taxes, additional delivery fees?
For Canada, most likely because they have tighter restrictions on imports. One way you can get away with it is if somoene was visiting from another country because they can get exemption. For my case, I purchased my SP 900 from HK, I had it shipped to my US home to avoid Canada customs because US is lineant on imports (no taxes, etc...). Since I'm also back in US since school at the UW started today, it's good timing.
Lucky You. I decided to buy the AT 800 DE after further calculations of hidden fees and such, I discovered it was 250$ canadian without stringing. With stringing it is 275 which is 15 less than Yo's for the 3U. Thanks for all your help guys
Hope the racket works good for you manduki. Personally I just swinged around a 800 DF in a badminton stop to see how it felt. Couldn't give an opinion since it wasn't in play.
someone once said that the AT800DE is his fallback racquet, he usually plays with a NS7000, NS8000 and a MP99 and whenever he has a bad game he switches to the AT800DE and everything is good once more and that he has yet to have a bad game with the AT800DE - makes me wonder why he dowsn;t use it as his main racquet. But for me, I came from a MP30 then I switched to the AT800DE I need to adjust the swing speed and timing at first but after a game, I adapted to it pretty good and it has been good and forgiving to me. I hope my skill level (beginner -intermediate) will improve to a point where I can use the full potential of the AT800DE. You can't go wrong with one.
danielg: Thanks for the information. When you adjusted to your 800DF, did you have to swing faster? Also, which #U you are using? If I spot someone who has this racket at open gym badminton I'll give it a try, maybe I'll consider it. Matt
I needed to swing slower - time my shots/swings half a second slower than I did with MP30 but after a while you don't even think about it anymore.
That was me. I keep falling for the Yonex marketing every time =) I dont use the MP99 though, and by the way, Im currently trying out the new top-of-the-line Kimoni Nano, and I'm suitably impressed!
u don't need expensive racquet like AT800 model to get smash power. I think any head heavy racquet will do just fine. I have a an AT800OF and a Ti Swing Power ( not from yonex, it is bedini branch, which I never heard of) cost $20 usa, the power it produce is amazing no more or less of AT800 OF. If u want a racquet in power I recomment to try to find this one.
No i am planning on buying the 3u at Lee's. This will be my main racket and a few years later, I will purchase the MP 99 and such. I've only heard good reviews of the AT 800 DE and I hope it will do me good as well. Price is a little expensive for a racket thats been on the market for a year (expensive as the NS 8k)!
I am sure it will, If you have a friend who owns one in 3U and has the grip and string tension you will most liekly use, try it out and give it a few whacks to see how it feels
