I went to Luxis HK today. The sticker price for CN version of Ti10, for example, is double that of SP version. Now, who in the right mind would want to pay for a racket which is similar in peformance (presumably), but tougher? The information I gather so far is that CP rackets are picked for its stronger frame, but for 2x the price. I did not bother to bargain and walked away. Tell me what I am missing here? For reference, Ti10 SP is 740 HK$, about the same price as Singapore, for sanity check. Will there be any chance some people might just erase the "SP" and sell it as "CP", since it is printed (not engrave) and there is no "CP" to be found anywhere on the racket.
1) The skill is so difficult to erase SP, then mark CP to sell. 2) Each CP racket has an individial no. marked at the end of the racket and on the T-joint position, so you must check it. 3) Since the quantity is so limit and the quality is better, the price is higher. 4) If you can buy a cheap CP racket, you should pay attention on it (may not be real). You should more careful to buy it.
it is really demand and supply at work. CP/CN rackets are "leaked out" from the Chinese team, and unfortunately such are difficult to get. you should also know that the Ti-10 CN version has been drained of its supply for at least 1 year and it has recently been back in the market again. so that makes them even more precious. and if you think the racket prices are absurd, you can talk to Luxis, they are very reasonable people. most of us who've used CP/CN rackets swears by them. YMMV, you may well find only marginal difference but many have found a huge differences, some of us wouldn't use anything else. also, remember that CN rackets are more durable than non CN ones, and your investment will pay back in the long term. that doesn't mean you can bang your racket on the ground, as they are not *that* durable as i have painfully found out recently. you'd have to pry my CN rackets out of my cold dead hands.
Just to balance things out, I know some people who have used CN/CP racquets but don't use them now. Like Shaun says, there is a price differential so it's really up to the individual purchaser. Nobody forces you to buy a particular racquet. If you'd rather have two racquets of the same model instead of one, that's a good philosophy as well. I like to use them and I can afford them (got some 2nd hand as well). But certainly I don't need to use them to play badminton. I can use ordinary racquets as well. But this is the reason why I use them: "If you get a few racquets of the same model, my personal experience is there is some interracquet variation in balance and weight. This is less so with the same CN model" Some people do not find this difference. I have also been told there is not much difference between Ti10 SP and CN version. So really, like a lot of opinions here, ideas can be highly subjective rather than objective.
Kwun, Your back. Where have you been??? Anyways Yah i'd rather have 2 than one.Cause if you think about it the durability might be better,but i'm pretty sure unless your national your not goin to break i ti-10 in mounths.So if you get a SP and break it in like 2 years or if you break it in a clash you still got one brand new one rite.
I want to clear something up with guys who own a CN /Cp racket. Does it say CN like SP,TW,TH at the end of the serial number. I noticed that the OLD YONEX symbol rackets dont haev this Numbering thing at the cone? I Used a friends Cab 20 Sp and it did not have a Number. I have seen many Iso 200 and i Dont see a serial number. Strangely i bought a couple of rackets in DUBAI from a YONEX Outlet. They were selling Ti 10's with serial number which is not like the lazer thing that u find on a CAB 21. It was more like a Engaraving thing followed by a Big 4. I am very sure that the Yonex shop will not sell a Fake as he will be murdered and neither will a SHAKE buy a fake when he has the money to buy 10CN Rackets. What the shop keeper was saying that they were imported from Japan. He showed me some GOSEN rackets too from Japan. But then i have no clue as to how Gosen works. In the same shops i saw a CAb 21 with a engaraving in OLD SYMbol yonex saying UA. I was taken aback. it had a serial number but it was not a Laser one. If someone can clarify. It would be great.
There are really differences in rackets ! Not so sure of the SP, CN, TW, CP etc, etc stuff. But recently one of the guys got hold of a brand new classic blue Carbonex 20 without any letterings following the Carbonex 20. It didn't even have the 3-D logo which Yonex used about 6-7 years ago. Well, we took it and compared it with a Carb 20 SP and, my, did it feel different ! And supposedly it played very differently too!
it's a clone or replica. I have seen enough of it. the quality is not too bad but it's not as high as the real yonex.
Its not a clone! Its the real thing! If you've seen the old Yonex rackets of say 6-10 years ago and saw this one, you'll be convinced that it is the real thing. Anyway, I've asked a colleague of mine who had one, and he did confirm that the 'SP' and the original ones did feel different and played different. This happened when he clashed it and broke it. His wife got him a 'SP' replacement as he has had the racket for some 8-9 years already and the "ORIGINAL" Carb 20 could no longer be found. It played different according to him. Logically when one of my regular guys got the racket, and had very positive vibes about it, we were convinced that its the real thing. The details very in the racket. I took a hard look at it and I'm convinced its a genuine article.
I've several CN racquets myself and I also have SP, TW and JP racquets. As I said many times, CN racquet is different from normal retail racquets. Whether they are better is depended on someone's skill level, i.e. if you are an advanced player, you should be benefited from the heavier balance and more solid built. If you are beginner/intermediate player (like myself), you may find CN racquet less manuverable (because of the weight). As Cheung said, I can play with either CN or normal CN. In fact, I feel more at home with non-CN, probably because my wrist is not strong enough. In my opinion, these CN racquets just like most other luxury goods in the world - the best product performs 10-20% better than the next best product, but you need to play double price to buy it (also the best product is usually designed for pros, rather than beginner/intermediate). Together with the fact that they are in limited quantity, I personally don't think these racquets are expensive, but whether it is worth the price or not, it is totally a personally preference.
I got no idea. I didn't have the chance to try it actually. Maybe in a week or so when we meet again, I'll ask him for a test run. From his standpoint, he seems to like it a lot. More than the MP-77 he has in his bag which seldom uses by the way.
gladius, i might have jumped to conclusion too quick on limited data u had provided. I assumed your friend got the cab20 just recently. If your friend had that for 8-9 years ago, it would be highly likely a yonex made cab20. If u have see what i've seen lately, the cab20 replica that i came across are so well made that one need the yonex's factory fakes bible to tell them apart. Yes, i did have a glance of yonex's inhouse manual on fakes. Some posters in BC have identified many of the fake characteristics already
reality check;CP Yonex racket? Compare the extra cost of a CP racquet to running a car in S'pore. Gladius, if I ever come by S'pore, maybe I could get a feel of that cab20. It would be interesting. now, where's that Monster Porsche that Mag mentioned? )
I assume that these are chinese national players racquets? You know, the upper quality ones, but wouldn't the ones for any countries national players be equivalent, say for instance the racquets used by the sponsored players in Canada. LL
LL, you have a good point about the racquets used by the sponsored players from any country. Can someone verify if the sponsored Yonex players from their respected countries use different versions? i.e. China has CP version etc...
i can assure u that canadian sponsored players are very happy just to get free yonex CD rackets. I even bet that canadian sponsored players never heard of cn or cp rackets.
