1. How often do you play, how serious are you? I would dare call myself a serious player, but i LOVE THIS GAME. My frequency of play is 2-3 times / week. With my skills i have presently, i still think i'm in the beginner's league(been on and off the court for 12 years) 2. What style of player are you? (Aggressive smasher, net player ...) I would consider myself a defensive player. Just love playing rallies, the excitement of keeping the shuttle from falling onto the ground is just gives me goose bumps. Drop/net shots, net playing and clears. Smash is my least executed move. (It's slow and weak anyway) Unless it's open space, i'd prefer recieving smashes than performing one. Basically, i like playing Baselines - drop/net shot - drives. My shuttle placement is weak which is why i consider myself as of beginner's league. Most of my wins are on net plays. Hmm...i wish to train for offensive playing someday. 3. Do you care much about durability or is it all about performance? Performance, as well as, i wish i could grow with the racquet. Prefer my racquet to have all rounder performance and no light heads for me. Grip 2U or 3U no problem. 4. How much money do you want to spend? My MAX is 93USD which is 150SGD (painful) 56USD - 90SGD will be a ideal price. __ My case is this - I wish to seek opinions on what other racquet options other than Carbonex 20 or 21. Because of my limited budget(ideal budget), i need alternative brands but with similiar characteristics and performance of Cab20/21. I'm opening my options to other brands, but if Cab20/21 is the final decision, i'll get one. (I'll still have to choose between Carbonex 20 series or 21 series.) I'll be going to Bangkok on early August. And heard of good offers there. I wish to gather views from here so that i could do price surveys locally so that i could compare prices. I'm giving myself this month till August to try out the different racquets suggested here so that i could decide. I'm also going Johor (Malaysia) to look at Proaces and YangYangs. My relying a fair bit of my decision on you guys. Please be kind to me, and supply me with knowledge. Appreciate!
Hi khongming, i will recommend u a SOTX Woven 7 (S$140 with string and grip and the normal single racket bag, within your budget of S$150.) Coz its a very stable racket, slight head-heavy balance, offers very good feel and control for netplays and drop shots.... not so stiff, easy for drives and baseline clears....and when the chance for u to smash comes about....i dare say u will not lose out on the power department In fact, u can do a search "woven, sotx, woven 7 etc etc" Will have many excellent reviews of people who uses this racket.... However, this kinda racket recommendation issue is most subjective to each different individual. Best is to be able to try it out yourself various rackets.....coz only U yourself knows what's best for u.
I'm such a noob. Cause i've never heard of SOTX. Sounds good. I see you're stretching wallet's confort-zone. I'll look for opportunities to try it, since i still have till August to think through. For now, let me go google on SOTX. Thanks!
hahaha....no need go google lah...... u do a search thru this forum....somewhere on the right. Thru the forum search will be more useful as there will be reviews....and not the specs only. Anyway, here's their webby : http://www.sotxsports.de/ or http://www.sotxsports.com/
Hi, Khongming, If you are a Yonex fan, then with that budget, Cab20/21 are probably your best bet, because other than that, that range of budget would only get you the low-middle range of Yonex MP and ISO series, which to me are not up to the league of the Cab20/21. If you are open to other brand, then you can go down to Bras Basar Complex and check out "10&10" where they do carry a wide range of Pro Ace and Apac rackets. With SGD120-150, that will give you one of the top models. (I own a ProAce Sweet Spot 2000 racket) I would also recommend SOTX (Slacker knows I am using SOTX 8A , my first choice!). But the shop which sells this brand at Tao Payoh SAFRA does not always has all the models in stock, so you might be dissapointed if you want to get one quickly.
Thanks for your reply Linus, I'm more of a Carbonex fan than Yonex. Always yearn to have one Carbonex 21SP since when i was 16 years old. But i wish to try out other brands. ProAce Sweet Spot 2000. *Note down* Thanks for recommending. I have time to think over it since i will purchase my racquet in Bangkok. on August. Cheers
