i got a babolat nitro xl for xmas, me and my friend got bored the other day so we decided to do a little test to see which racket was the best overall. this is our results: looks: this is totaly my opinion but i think the nitro xl is the best lookin racket of the three and then the ns8k. smashing: the at800of was the best in this category (probably beacause it is most head heavy). the ns8k was very good at creating steep angles and the nitro xl was good at accuracy, but these two rackets didnt have as much power as the at800of. defence: this is where the nitro came into a world of its own (its especially good for blocks back to the net), it is the most flexible of the three rackets and beat the ns8k and at800of easily. its very good at returning smashes beacause you can gain high head speeds. the ns8k was definetly the 2nd best here and was good for returning smahes back to the rear court. the at800of was not able to defend well(probably why there is a defensive model of it to) clearing: the ns8k was the best in this category because you could produce good baseline to baseline shots easily.the the nitro and at800of were very close behind but the at800of was probably slightly better at gaining extra height and distance than the nitro was. netplay: the ns8k and nitro both performed very well here and both have the ability to produce tight tumbling netshots. the at800of lacked in this area, it would tend to give the shuttle more lift (not what you want for tight netshots) feel: the nitro has the nicest feel of the 3 rackets by far, it has a very nice balance point and just seems to be a nice racket to play with. in 2nd was the ns8k which we thought was much nicer than the at800of (as you can tell i prefer headlight rackets ) if there are any other BC members who can get there hands on these rackets it would be great to hear if you all agree with my results
