Advice on Yonex Rackets for Doubles

you are on the same boat as i do, cool

 

You could go by Tad's Hydro?

 

matts: yes, i go there few times, in fact i might be going there today to have a look for which one i would like to buy soon

but prices is...

at least for me since i have friends in HK to buy stuff for me

 

Armortec 800 Offensive - Light
Nanospeed 8000 - Balanced
Nanospeed 7000 - Balanced
MusclePower 99 - Heavy

 

AT-800 OF - Head heavy, powerful offensive hits. A little hard to maneauver for quick hits, stiff.
NS-7K - Head light, flexible, all around light racquet, slightly less power, but still good in swings. Fragile(I wouldn't recommend for doubles with partners that clash a lot).
NS-8L - Head light, stiffer, light, but stronger than NS-7K. Quick and strong racquet in my opinion. Fragile(Earlier NS racquets have a tendency to break faster and easier with a misshit/clash)
MP-99 - Stiff, even balance. All around balanced racquet, good for just about everything in the game, strong anywhere, or not weak anywhere.

If you're looking into the AT series, I suggest AT-800 DF more than the OF version. OF is stronger, but harder to recover during shots, and harder to hit with sometimes (in my opinion). AT-800 DF is almost exactly like OF, except different paint job, and more flexible. It is quicker, and delivers only marginally less power than OF version, hard to notice. I consider it a balanced racquet.

 

Theres a whole bunch of reviews about these rackets in the Equipment Reviews section. Reading them should shed some light on which one to chose.

 

Midget Boy: excellent post. I concur wholeheartedly with your findings.

It was funny because you mentioned the AT800-OF as a bit hard to maneuver and I was like, "No way!" But then I thought about it, relative to the other rackets mentioned, absolutely. But silly me, I was comparing it to the 2U Ti10, which is what I've been using. Then it's very easy to maneuver. But then again, anything is easy to maneuver compared to the Ti10.

 

Personally, I prefer the MP99 for doubles... I find that its the best compromise for speed and power because it is very balanced ... so too with the AT800De (my fav racket) but my 4u can lack "punch" sometimes....

I think it boils down to preference.... there is someone I know who says "don't worry about the racket - Adjust your stokes" but he is in a whole diff league interms of skills.. I still need the benefit of some technology!

 

You gotta remember, the O was made for heavy hitters, not weaker people. Alot of people complaina bout how stiff tehr acquet is and how the heavy head slows them down because they aren't taht sronge. If you're not the stronge type, I suggest using the Def instead unless you're willing to have a big jump into heavy head racquets combined with stiffness. (some get muscle aches because they dont swing the heavy head properly).

 

at800de is quite fast to swing at 4U

what i don't like is the head heaviness that make me swing too much

as for stiffness goes, its quite stiff, but not very stiff

 

That is why some people prefer 3u instead of 4u. My friend has an Armortec 700 3u and tried teh 4u and he said teh 3u gives him more power.

Yes the extra weight gives you a better hit, but the main problem is can you handle the extra weight(in head hevy racquets)?

Racquets' weight goes by U in yonex. Both Armortec O and DE offers in both 3u and 4u. 4u lighter than 3u and lighter than 2u.

The extra weight is in the head for the heavy head racquet (in this case, the Armortec 800 O).

Stiffneness doesn't determine how much stronger the hit will be. The stiffness is something that is to your personal playing style. A professional might have a good wrist and likes stiff racquet more. A beginner wont be ablet o handle stiffracquet that much because they can't full use a stiff racquet to it's full poteinal if they dont know how to use their wrist properly.

I was reading someone in the fourms that someone knew someone that used a medium stiff racquet and player agressive. They could do powerful hits. but when they switched to stiffer racquets, their performances goes down. Conclusion: it's how you play.

 

NS7k is flexible??? Hmmm... it already quite stiff for me...

 

At least more flexible than NS-8K, and AT 800-OF,

 

lol

I also had Yonex Ti3 and played with it for 2 years.
but the thing that seems different from you and me is that I found out that using Ti3 my defense was superb and my attacking not very good.

it's weird that you said your defense not very good especially using Ti3.

Anyway, back to original topic and since I have both the AT800( OFF and DF) and the NS8K I'll just give you the short story.

Personally, I think the best racket to get to the next level after using Ti3 is the AT800 DF. Why? It's because there is virtually no loss of defense qualities from Ti3 to AT800 DF AND the armortec has more attacking capabilities (limit) than Ti3.

As for AT800off I thought it's also good but I find it too cumbersome to play with (maybe as in require more effort) / maybe like some the guys already mentioned - need to be stronger to play with the offensive.

As for the NS8K although it's my main racket now. I still find it hard to forget my Ti3 shot timing and switch to the faster NS8K (maybe due to head lightness) and thus I still mishit and stuff and the fact that I already play with NS8K for like several months still don't help either. Seems to be special racket that need a lot of practice with.

So, there you go my advice..
go with the at800 defence
don't bother with the others that you mentioned unless you just happen to have too much money and willing to try new things and maybe screw your game

gd luck finding the nice Ti3 replacement

 

Relatively speaking it's flexible when compared to the said rackets.

It's all relative.