From what I've read and heard, Yonex badminton racquets have become less durable, unless you're comparing the Boron-2 with one of the latest models. Is it really in Yonex's interest to make their racquets durable? After all, if the pros use them, regular players will continue to buy them, despite high rates of breakage. That's the trend I've seen, in my reading and to some extent in personal experience. A friend of mine bought an 800 DF and it broke right away. He's using a Chinese off-brand $50 racquet now. I don't remember the name. His previous racquet, a cheap off-brand racquet, lasted for over 10 years, and he replaced it because he have it go a friend. I bought a Yonex Isometric 75 MF and it broke internally in two places right away. My Wilson Hyper Hammer 85 is working fine, and so is my previous racquet, an aluminum/graphite off-brand "Hot Man". The Hot Man racquets had to have grommets replaced, though. I've been thinking about getting a high-end Yonex, because I really don't like playing with inefficient power-absorbing racquets, or really heavy racquets. My friend's Carbonex 20 Muscle is pretty good, but a bit heavy. I like the speed of my Wilson, but not its unstable feel, weak smashes, and mediocre control. I don't want to get an expensive (overpriced, in my opinion) Yonex and have it break, though. I can't afford to keep replacing expensive racquets. It seems like the Carbonex series is more robust, but the only light one is the 30 Muscle. I'd rather have a hybrid partial isometric head, though, to help my backhand, and I'm not a fan of long racquets since I have very long arms.
u didnt tell us whether your fren 800 de 1. clashed? 2. fake? 3. what tension, who strung it? when u crash your car, do u blame the car first?
I don't know about the string or tension. He said there was no clash, but he hadn't played in a while so he hit the frame with the bird a few times. He is not a powerful player, however. He is more of a precision player. He's never had a racquet break before. As for it being fake... I have no idea. I think he got it in California, which is where he lives now. But, perhaps he had it shipped from China. I don't think so, though. I think he got it here in America. As for my 75 MF, there were no clashes, and the string was factory. It broke in two places internally.
If Yonex made a super-great-racquet that was also completely scratch proof, and indestructable, capable of any insane tension, and somehow magically pleased everyone, it would ruin them, wouldn't it? They wouldn't be able to sell any new racquets. Once someone had bought one, they'd never need one ever again. I believe people buy Yonex for Quality, not durability. Durability is a bonus to higher-level players depending on their play-style often, and players who are less able financially; it's also good for beginners, I know I didn't treat my racquet with much care at first, even though I did love the sport! ...To truly intermediate level players, I don't think racquet makes too much of a difference, it's very important yes, but However, I know of people who have had a single low to mid, or high end racquet all their lives, or several, and have never had a single problem with any of them. On the other hand, I know people who have had bad luck and just had a probably poorly manufactured racquet, or batch, etc. I don't buy Yonex, thus I consider my view unbiased. (One could, though, argue Because I don't buy Yonex, I may be against them). This is not true. I don't buy Yonex because I simply can't afford their mid/high end racquets. I'm not angry at this at all. I buy other manufacturer's racquets. Partly because I personally feel mid-range racquets produced by other companies are cheaper (although not as good) as Yonex's middle range products. But they are also better IMO, than Yonex's low end racquets. But I don't, not buy Yonex racquets simply because they are Yonex; I don't do it because of quality, nor durability. I feel the difference in durability is 'probably' negligable, at best. I do it because I like the racquet I use, I play well with it, and if I lose, it is my fault, not the racquets. In relevance to: I think SOME Yonex racquets, like ALL by ALL manufacturers, occasionally, on mass production some will have faults which will later cause them to break. The point being, if the breakage Isn't your fault, or Isn't your friends fault, I believe you can return it to Yonex, and they should fix or replace the racquet. As to your comment on the Carbonex series, I'm quite a fan of the head-light Cab 10 Muscle 2U, it is a pretty heavy racquet considering what I normally use, but Most Cabs come in two different weights, 2U and 3U. Is your friends Cab 20, 2U or 3U? I think it says on the ferrule connecting handle to shaft, but he should know himself/herself if you ask. If you like it, and their racquet is 2U, consider going to a shop and testing what a 3U Carbonex 20 feels like. Try a Cab 10MS and 30MS while you're there two, don't be put off by the Cab10MS being a lower end Carbonex, it's still a great racquet. A friend of mine who plays at county level (singles mainly) has been using it for quite a while now. If you want a Yonex, get one. If you don't, look for alternatives; there's plenty around. Hmmm, this post is a little long , my apologies. I'll be getting a reputation, ha. Sorry for going a little off-topic earlier too! EditS! - for the sponsored players of course durability doesn't matter as long as the racquet can withstand their high tensions for a match or two, I guess. Their racquets are provided by their sponsor. So at the ultra-high play level i.e. Top level, durability doesn't really come into play often, as the racquet usually always survives at least a match, it's more string that breaks.
Her Carbonex 20 Muscle is 2U, which is why it's heavy. I don't see any dealers in the US who offer a 3U Carbonex 20 Muscle. If they did, that's the one I would get, probably. I consider durability to be part of quality, unless you're talking about a special material like boron that simply can't be durable when used in large amounts but which people buy simply because of superior performance. I think such racquets, if they exist, should carry a warning label. Actually, not having been burned by the loss of a $200 racquet due to fragility seems to be a form of bias. We're all biased, by our personal experiences which include what we've read and heard from others. Despite bias, though, we must try to be rational. That's why I'm asking questions.
That's what I told my friend. However, my dealer (the one I got the 75 MF from) said implied thinks it's unlikely I'll get a replacement because in tennis racquets having two broken spots is not covered. The thing is, though, the breakages are internal, and there is no abrasion where they occur, so how can it be from a clash or a drop?
Actually, I've had One racquet by the current brand I'm using break, before. Which did bother me, but since one of their current racquets agrees with me very well, I don't see a reason to change. I've had about 3 of their racquets, one was extremely durable, one broke by a fault, and my current is perfectly fine. --- Also, you say you like your Wilson Hyper Hammer 85. This, being a head-heavy racquet, and 3U weight, shouldn't have a weak smash at all...I suggest getting it restrung, if you haven't. Getting used to a racquet instead of buying a new one would save money.
The Hyper Hammer isn't head heavy. It's also flimsy/unstable and weak. I had it restrung, and it actually played better with the Wilson factory string than the higher-quality Yonex. The Hyper Hammer was a hand-me-down that replaced the Hot Man. I've never liked it. I liked the Carbonex 20 Muscle better, but I want something that's lighter for faster response speed in doubles.
Well, because you haven't stated your skill level, prefences, budget etc. I can't really suggest sensibly any racquet so that you'll continue to play happily. I guess either import a 3U cab 20, or look at something, if you can find one, like a Karakal SLTi-80. (Oval head, durable IMO, very light (80g frame weight, 85g racquet strung weight), excellent for doubles, 66.5cm, stiff shock absorbing shaft). Try it on it's factory string, if you don't like the factory string as I didn't, string it to your preference or however your friends' Cab 20 is strung as you liked it.
I think whereever you got your racquet from the dealer is not a very responsible one. I have broke a Cab 30ms due to a mishit. The racquet broke at 1 o'clock position and I call in to the place where I get the racquet from and immediately they have me sent it in for a replacement. No question asked. Although I have to pay $20.00 to cover shipping and stringing charges. I think that's the way business should be done. BTW I got my racquet from www.badminton.net So far I find them pleasant to deal with.
That seems accurate. The store, Midwest Sports' Courtside, isn't particularly competant when it comes to badminton. The manager didn't even know whether she had racquets in stock or not. I've been told in the past that the company stopped carrying badminton supplies only to find them months later in the store. I was just told again by an employee that the store no longer carries badminton supplies. I expect to find them again in the future on a random basis.
Thanks for the suggestions. I'm not sure about importing racquets due to the possibility of fakes and the reports I've read about uneven quality (quality is better in Japan than in China and Singapore, I've heard). Is the Carbonex 20 still sold in Japan? What about the TI-10? Although I think the TI-10 is more for singles, I'm considering getting a pro racquet for singles and sticking with a less expensive and more durable racquet for doubles. I can't read anything but English well, so I can't deal with most Asian websites. I have a friend who is Japanese and one who is from Hong Kong, though. They could help me if people can refer me to specific sites. If you had to choose a racquet for singles without worrying about the budget, but with the restriction of reasonable durability, what would you choose?
Many of the above issues had been discussed in different threads previously. I am glad to see a short list of summary here. The following are some of my own thoughts: 1. Yonex (especially high end) reputation being greatly damaged by fakes lately. Ppl thought they got a good deal from fairly un-reliable sources (i.e. ebay) for 50+% off the "suppose to be" price, and blame Yonex for poor durability / performance. Of course, it's not fair. The sad thing is, many ppl don't know it, just throw in $$$ blindly for the name, and blasting yonex. 2. The newer models are mainly light, say 3u nor 4u. So, the design itself means performance while not durability. 3. Yonex rackets are widely used by most of players. I used to provide this example in other threads. Say, there are 110 players in your club. 100 people using yonex, and 15 of them broke. So, the rate is 15%. The other 10 players using brand xxx, and 3 broke. The rate is 30%. So, percentage wise, you can see Yonex is better. However, in reality, you will see/hear many more yonex brokeage stories, as the base is huge. To put things in extreme, if everyone use Yonex, can we draw the conclusion, "Yonex is the worst, as we never heard any other brands break...."
except my good old prokennex boron lived well over 12 yrs i believe... I've gone through numerous racket breakages and amazingly my boron survied it all... guess this one is a fighter..
I've heard that Pro Kennex's boron tennis racquets have very little boron (unlike the $500 Prince boron). Perhaps that's true for the badminton racquets, too?
Your question is based on you assumption, "Pro Kennes's boron tennis racquets have very little boron" is correct, if your assumption is wrong, your following question will not hold. Also, tennis is very different from badminton, what's true for tennis will not be always true in badminton. So I wouldn't use the tennis case to project badminton cases.
