I just got back from Japan and bought two new racquets there - Yonex Muscle Power 80 and Mizuno Mystic Power 500. The former is a 4UG5 racquet and the latter is 2UG4. Still haven't played with these racquets so far and will post a preliminary review soon. There is only 3U and 4U version for MP80. 4U version is noticeable lighter than the 3U version. I bought the 4U version because I think it won't be imported to Hong Kong in future. In the shaft of MP80, it is printed with words "ultralight weight and head heavy ...". I've tried a number of shots with 4U version of MP80 in Japan (yes, I have really tried it, within the area of a shop - will post another message on this topic later) and its manuverability is excellent. There are other new racquets coming out soon : - Mizuno Mystic Power 700 (it costs the same as MMP500) - Gosen 6000 : new topic model from Gosen with Aermet material - Other lower end Gosen models with Aermet material
Hey, It has been sometime since u posted! I guess we all missed you a lot. We still miss Cooler,Kwun,Shaun,Quan,Ari. I guess that is all i can think of. I am expecting your review to be out soon so that i can read it! Thanks a lot for the news mate! Take care and carry on the good work!
yogesh, thanks for your concern about my well being. I still lurking around here. Started playing more badminton lately as 'cooler' temperature of fall/winter set in. I think the competition had force yonex to make a 4U grade as lot of clones make 4U version. Yonex sure don't want to miss out that market segment. Lately, i'm seeing better and better rackets from the clone makers.This would also put pressure on yonex to invent a new marketing spin as the Ti racket is now quite prolific from all racket makers. I think from earlier posts somebody had hinted magnesium is yonex's next holy grail. Oh well, i personally have not purchase a new racket for 3 years nor broken one in about 8 years. Ricky, thanks for your reviews of all those neat rackets you have purchased .
First of all, as Cooler said, I want to thanks for yogesh's concern. Actually I was still reading from this forum regularly in last few months but just didn't have much time as before to response or post new message - but I'll definitely post those first hand information to share with all of you. I agree that it is due to competitor pressure which Yonex releases 4U model, but not from clones in my opinion, instead from other competitors in Japan such as Gosen and Mizuno (especially Gosen, since Mizuno is not strong enough in the market of badminton racquet, even though it did very well on shoes). The 1st 4U model from Gosen is ROOTS 4400 which was released earlier this year. While Mizuno still does not have 4U racquets nowadays, racquets like Mystic Power 100 is as light as a 4U racquet (may be even lighter). These racquets do give an option for those prefer ultralight racquet with moderate amount of power - while Yonex also has very light racquets (such as Ti SP SR or SA), most of them are weak in terms of power generation. I've visited a few shops in Japan which sells badminton racquets, and it seems that 3U model is more popular in Japan as more stock for 3U racquets are available (those shops I visited stack the same model of racquet in each row, customers can pick whatever unit he/she likes). Perhaps majority of the customers there would prefer lighter racquets, and this may also explain why there is market need for high-end 4U racquets. Back to the 4U MP80, I do worry a bit on how high tension it can held (as I prefer high string tension). As Luxis told me that there is still no news for Yonex dealer to import this model so far, i.e. it will be very costly to get a replacement if I break mine. Fyi, I will probably try my new MP80 on coming Tuesday. I've asked Luxis to string it with BG85 at ~25 lbs.
Ricky, it has been awhile since you posted here. Busy with work, school, traveling? When is Luxis putting up a website?
Yes, very busy ... Actually I don't travel quite often - especially for places like Japan, almost everything there are so expensive. I think I won't be gone out again in recent future. Fyi, Luxis's Web site has been already up and running for weeks. The address is : http://www.luxissportnet.com
you're right ricky, i wasn't specific enough and lumped prokennex, mizuno, gosen, etc as clones. Sometime it's hard to tell where to draw the line between clone and non-clone. As most badminton racket makers tend to mimic yonex design (iso head, Ti mesh, head heavy, long version, etc), i do sometime label all other non-yonex racket makers as clone. yonex is a conservative company, they would like to prove up their 4U products first in the japan market b4 exporting them. I have my own preference on design parameters of badminton rackets and i do say i'm seeing more of them becoming to realization.
The Luxis website is pretty good. Prices will scare people away though. Yes, CP/CN and JP versions are offered which other badminton retail stores don't have. You pay for what you get. There should even be more discounts when purchasing in large quantities.
