Has anyone in Europe tried Inesis rackets from Decathlon ? How do they rate comparing to brands like Yonex or Carlton ? They seem to be quite well built, and a lot cheaper & lighter than other brands. Thanks for the info.
Hi Mag The name of the brand is Inesis (french?), their rackets are made by this UK sports store called Decathlon. The racket i bought weight only 79g. Is this weight good for an intermediate player or is it too light ? Cheers Jim
Sorry, never heard of Inesis. About the weight: 79 g is an extremely light racquet. You need very good stroke technique to make full use of such a light racquet. What you gain in maneuverability is easily lost in power and precision. Let me put it this way: it's much easier to get away with sloppy technique if you have a racquet weighs a bit more, say 90-94 g. So, generally speaking, I would say NO, this is not a good racquet for an intermediate player. You could try adding a few grams of lead tape to the frame, if you are having trouble with the lack of weight. Lead tape is usually sold in 3 gram strips in tennis stores. (This topic has been discussed in this forum before, use the search function) Good luck!
hi Mag thanks for your reply, in that case, I think i will take the racket back to the store and exchange it for something more suitable for my level. I saw a few Carlton rackets in my local store, I think the model is Carlton ??? 350 and ??? 450. (i forgot what ??? is, sorry). I don't see them discussed in the review section. Are they good for intermediate players ? (sorry if i haven't provide you with enough info...) How about Yonex iso300 ? are they ok too ? Thanks for your help!! Jim Mag wrote: > > Sorry, never heard of Inesis. > > About the weight: > 79 g is an extremely light racquet. You need very good stroke > technique to make full use of such a light racquet. What you > gain in maneuverability is easily lost in power and precision. > > Let me put it this way: it's much easier to get away with > sloppy technique if you have a racquet weighs a bit more, say > 90-94 g. > > So, generally speaking, I would say NO, this is not a good > racquet for an intermediate player. > > You could try adding a few grams of lead tape to the frame, > if you are having trouble with the lack of weight. Lead tape > is usually sold in 3 gram strips in tennis stores. (This > topic has been discussed in this forum before, use the search > function) > > Good luck!
The rule is, as always, try before you buy. But if that's not possible you'll have to settle for other people's recommendations... I think you can find something more suitable. Assuming you want to spend about 30-40 GBP (which is roughly the price range of those Carltons you mentioned) there are many alternatives. If you get a full carbon (100% graphite) racquet you will probably be able to "grow with it" more than if you get an aluminium or aluminium/graphite one. If you're relatively new at this, you probably want a racquet that weighs somewhere in between 90-95 grams. The Carlton Airblade 350 is an alu/graphite construction and weighs 100 g, so I'd suggest the 450 instead (100% graphite weighing 95 g). Or some other brand altogether. Here are some suggestions in that price range that you would most likely find in the UK: Prince Spectrum, Karakal SL-90, Pro-Kennex Carbon 500, or a Yonex racquet. The Yonex Carbonex series have a reputation as good value for money, right down from the cheap ones up to the really expensive ones, whereas the cheaper Isometric models seem really hopeless. Good luck! Feel free to post again if you find anything interesting. By the way (and it might be a little late now for this piece of advice) the best place to buy a racquet is usually in a racquet shop in a badminton hall.
Thanks Mag! Thanks so much for your advise. The Carlton rackets i was looking at were indeed Carlton Airblade 350 and 450. I will go back to the store and exchange what i got if possible. Cheers!
Re: Thanks Mag! For those who might be wondering, Decathlon is a French (I believe) sports equipment manufacturer and retail chain, with branches in Europe, US and Asia. Inesis is their raquet sports brand.
Re: Thanks Mag! Jim, too light of a racket may not be good for anybody, not just beginners/intermediate players. close to 10 yrs ago, i saw a brand named "Mais". these guys almost completely immitated the yonex's aerotus 70 and 80 widebody, which was the top of the line model at that time. the aerotus were sold for approx CAN$130 at the time and the MAIS were CAN$70 or $80. It was extremely light. After playing it for a long time, I didn't get the results that I was expecting so I bought my all time favourite, the Yonex Cabonex 15 (Purple CN version, super durable and still using it) for $115 months afterwards. I left my Mais racket for years in the closest and one day I took it out to lend it to my friend. Guess why the racket is so light and cheap: The string cut through the frame at the 12 o'clock position! Either the frame is hollow, or the graphite is garbage! From that moment on I told myself that I would buy nothing but Yonex. Because I don't want to buy ripped offs no more! I recently just switch from Yonex ISO 900 SS to Muscle Power 100. I discovered that I will need sometime to get used to this new, top, very light racket because it is hard for me to smash hard like i used to. I am adjusting play by play and my smashes are slowly getting back to where it used to now. but i find that light rackets can give you good control but low power in general.
