Isometric vs. Oval Head

Discussion in 'Badminton Rackets / Equipment' started by Vy, Sep 10, 2001.

  1. Vy

    Vy Guest

    Hello All,

    Which head type do you all prefer, iso or traditional and why? In reading the raquet reviews it seems that the isometric heads offer more in terms of a larger more for every shot. The larger sweet spot gives better smashes, clears, backhands etc.. Is this true? I'd like to hear why some of you prefer the traditional head shape. I'm trying to decide between buying a intermediate iso racket or carbonex racquet. Thanks for the input.

    Vy
     
  2. jayes

    jayes Guest

    Well, I'm oval biased since I've never played with Iso before; nothing against Iso, mind you, just didn't get the chance to play with one yet.

    Oval has smaller sweet spot than Iso. However, as tension goes higher the sweet spot also decreases. Personally, I don't aim on hitting the sweet spot all the time (only on occasions, depends on what shot I want to generate) and has worked just fine for me.

    Cheers. :)
     
  3. VINCENT

    VINCENT Regular Member

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    I used to play with both Carbonex racket (oval head) and Isometric. I find that Isometric racket is easier to play with since they really have the bigger sweet spot. However, the weak point of Isometric is that the corner of the top part is very easy to crack.
     
  4. badfanatic

    badfanatic Guest

    Hi,
    Well i have always played with oval shaped rackets.I have an Iso racket with me now.Somehow i cannot get the same control as i can with the carbonex rackets.I think Iso rackets with balanced weight distribution would be better than choosing an iso racket with a head heavy.So i guess an Iso 2U but G3 would feel better than an iso 2U g2. i felt it today.The iso 2U g2 had a weird feeling- the weight distribution.well as far as sweet spot contact is concerned i think it is more
    to do with personal technical skill or ability to time rather than the sweet spot size.
    a loose grip, good racket preparation etc..
     
  5. Byro-Nenium

    Byro-Nenium Regular Member

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    Without trying to give people the impression that i'm arrogant, i'd like to say that personally i feel that consistency in shots isn't really my weakness. So i find that oval and isometric heads are about the same. I regularly switch between rackets now that include the Ti-10, Slim-10, MP100, Cab 21 Special and MP55.

    What i think really effects the game is weight distribution of the racket....
     
  6. shaun

    shaun Regular Member

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    this question is brought up again?! lol.
    anyway i personally do not like iso(even tho i personally use one). believe it or not, i find them harder to hit...........yes, you heard right, HARDER. why? no clue. I've used oval shaped racquets a lot and have grown accustomed to them. Even though i've owned my mp77 for such a long time, i still dont really like the iso design for a few reasons. The reasons being:
    its more fragile because of the angles
    the "feel" is not as good, i like cabs the most.
     
  7. Jeff L

    Jeff L Guest

    i agree with shaun, for some reason i can hit a lot better with ovals.
     
  8. trapped-never

    trapped-never Regular Member

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    Hi guys,

    I am just wondering why you put emphasys into sweet spot size. The most tricky strikes are the ones hit by frame. So in my opinion the best racket is the one with the biggest ratio (frame_length / head_surface) ;-).
     
  9. Gladius

    Gladius Regular Member

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    TRapped ..

    If you have used rackets sufficiently long enough or played the game long enough, you'll realise that control of the racket and shuttle in a game is everything. It means nothing if your racket has the highest frame length/ head surface ratio. In fact such a racket would generally be perceived by one and all to be very unwieldy ...

    And also, the IBF has already set that the playing surface of the racket shall not exceed a certain area. So, there is no such thing as a high ratio of frame length over surface area !

    And in control, its very critical that you get the shuttle off in the 'sweet-spot' of the racket face. Or else, its practically impossible to control the shot. Especially if you're out of position. Hence, the very strong emphasis by many people on sweet-spot size ...

    For me, I like Isometric head shapes better as its more 'forgiving'. My shots contact does not have to be that 'perfect'. But I playing with the traditonal oval shape as it affords a better feel of the shuttle and it trains my 'contact point' to good effect. And generally, the head is also more maneuverable, hence more precise control. ( In general only) And some how I can control my drops better with a oval frame. Its particularly rewarding if you're training or practicing your shots/ strokes. When you switch back to Isometric shapes after getting it correct uisng the oval, ... the shots just seem to shoot off !

    ... Just my opinion, may not be true for everyone ...
     
  10. trapped-never

    trapped-never Regular Member

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    Gladius: sorry I was just joking... I was reffering to situations when you spoil the stroke in such a way that the frame touches the shuttle. Then the shuttle gets unexpected trajectory and it's many times very difficult to react immediately and properly.

    Generally speaking if all other conditions are constant and you only increase (frame_length / head_surface) parameter the probability of stroke by frame increases linearily...

    I am still begginer in this game. I tried one oval (yonex b650) racket and one iso (wilson quad 95) racket. Now I play with iso because it's much better racket. But actually the comparison is not about oval vers iso because the wilson was roughly 3 times more expensive - it's different quality...
     
  11. Yogi

    Yogi Regular Member

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    I strongly believe that a beginner should use a Oval hed shaped for atleast a year.

    It would be more wise to switch later. I guess if Iso was not a success then Yonex would not have taken it to Tennis too.

    So i guess ISo is better to play with but I kind of like the oval rackets more as the look more traditional.
     
  12. Byro-Nenium

    Byro-Nenium Regular Member

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    Thats true...... The only players i think that will find a difference are those players who have played a little bit, meaning their not beginners, they can hit the shuttle quite well but are still not intermediate..... so in between beginner and intermediate. Those players who lack consistency will feel the difference
     
  13. Gladius

    Gladius Regular Member

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    Yogesh,

    I think what you meant was that its better to have a beginner use a oval frame as it would entail a more stringent requirement on basic strokes and point contact than on Isometric frames.

    As, if you can get it true and well on an oval shape racket, you definitely can get it well on an Isometric head. But not vice versa.

    I would say its good for basics training. Which in my opinion, very important.

    Juat like the simple lob, not everyone realises that to do 10 continues smooth flowing baseline-to-baseline lobs each way is not as simple as it seems !!
     
  14. Yogi

    Yogi Regular Member

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    U were Spot on abt what i was talking!

    I was not good enough to put it words! Thanks mate!

    Hey mate can u still find me a Iso 900 for 125SG? SS version is fine with me!

    It will compliment my ISo ti SS.Sorry i had to leave a post here adn i had to tell u that The Cab 21"sp" and not the SPECIAL version costs 80Sg here.

    The Cab 20 Tour(green color) costs the same!

    Hey can u help me procure a new iso Ti SS for that Rate!

    Thanks mate!
     
  15. Gladius

    Gladius Regular Member

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    Ermmm ... I dunno yet at this point of time. Maybe only. I have my own list of stuff to get too, but its not always a 'go, go, go ... ' situation. Quite hard to explain why, but its no bluff that I got my rackets at those prices. Not too sure if Byron knows about it, but Blitz, Modious and a few others definitely know about it.

    Anyway, I'm trying to get some stuff too. So, hopefully something can be worked out soon. But I doubt if you can get the ISP 900ss anymore, you can't find it in many places and the last time I got mine, it was one of the last few pieces they have.

    I'll post you if there is any good news.
     

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