Wow, look what just came in the mail!

The Taneepak/Inskysports/Vectran E-1000 is in Southern California. Let's see if all the hype can = reality. I'll keep everyone posted...

 

Oh, some initial impressions:

+Superior paint job, the E-1000 is the prettiest looking racket I have ever seen. The picture does not do the racket justice.

+Frame design is excellent (for performance). Very similar to the NS7000, so you maximize swing speed.

+Excellent balance, very easy to transition.

The E-1000 is ON-SPEC, strung with BG80 at 27/29lbs. so I will have a good frame of reference. I can't wait to test it.

 

I don't know who strung the racket prior but I recall it was 27/29lbs. If feels about there, maybe a pound or two less at most. It's fine.

Of course I modified the grip. As you know, what's "ON-SPEC" for everyone is different. For me, I made the grip the same size as I'm used to so there will be minimal comparison discrepancies.

 

Yes, really awesome. I need to take some better pictures, the racket is very nice looking. Again, the current pictures don't do it justice.

 

The "Search" function is our friend.
http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29446&highlight=E-1000

 

Please note: these are my initial findings. They may change over time.

OK, I got back from testing the E-1000 for about 2 hours and these are my findings:

+The balance is very good, even though I swing a 93+ gram Woven 11, I got used to the E-1000 right away. No mishits or timing problems with the racket.

-Unfortunately, no way this racket has "effortless power". For a lighter racket it's decently powerful but it cannot compare to the heavier rackets such as the Woven 7, 11, 2U Ti10, and 2U MP100 (or even 3U).

-Way too flexible for hard hitters. The harder you smash the more flex and rebound you get from the shaft. The racket does a decent job of minimizing vibration but the shaft gives you too much feedback. If you smash hard with a good heavier attacking racket, the racket just punches right through. Not so with the E-1000, the shaft recoils/rebounds and you can really feel it. When I hit relatively light up to 50% my max, the recoil was minimal but when I started to crank it, lots of feedback. I had three other hard hitters test the racket and two said the same thing, too much flex/feedback from the shaft. The third said the E-1000 felt good. The two that didn't like the E-1000 generally use heavier/attacking rackets while the third person uses 4U rackets. That could make a difference in the disparity.

+Excellent for defense, net play and driving the shuttle. The E-1000 is very maneuverable.

-Control: OK. Again, the shaft is too flexible and the feels spongey, making it harder to control.

-Feel: OK. This is personal preference but I prefer a tighter, stiffer more focused feel.

To compare the E-1000 power-wise to a good, heavy, attacking racket is not fair. I feel it should be compared it to similar lighter rackets. My benchmark light racket is the 4U AT800-DE. For argument's sake, my initial informal ratings compared my Woven 11 and AT800-DE (from 1 to 10, 10 being best, 5 being average, 7 being good):

Power:
AT800: 8.5
E-1000: 7.0
Woven 11: 10.0

Control:
AT800: 10.0
E-1000: 7.0
Woven 11: 9.0

Feel:
AT800: 10.0
E-1000: 7.0
Woven 11: 9.0

Stability:
AT800: 9.0
E-1000: 4.0
Woven 11: 10.0

Maneuverability:
AT800: 10.0
E-1000: 10.0
Woven 11: 8.5

Defense:
AT800: 10.0
E-1000: 10.0
Woven 11: 8.5

Initial conclusion: the E-1000 is a decent racket recommended for players who want a lighter, more mobile, flexible racket. I would not recommend this racket to hard hitters who use heavy, stiff rackets.

I'll test the E-1000 a few more times in the next week and update you all if there are any changes.

Thanks for listing.

 

The E-1000 appears to be well built. The "paint" seems to be electrostatically applied. I don't think it's going to chip off. It's a very attractive looking racket. Many people asked me about it because of the "glitter" effect.