Hello folks, As mentioned in the thread title saids, does anyone know? Or the trend now to the 900s now. Thanks Matt
Well, if the racket really is good, it should stay popular, the AT700 for example, pretty old, but still popular because it is a good racket. We'll have to see later on. But right now, I would say it's still a popular racket, a lot of players at my club still use it
hehe, AT700 isnt THAT old better examples would be racquets like the Ti-10 and the Cab30ms and yeah, i believe that if the racquet is good, it will have a loyal following that should make it a lasting favourite
true dat JonYKN, should've used AT700, but since he was talking about AT series I used the 700 as example.
i do hope the AT700 stays for a long time because im really hoping to get one in the near future I just bought a Ti10 and i can really understand why people are so loyal to this racquet, i would believe the AT700 following is just as loyal to it from what ive read...but has anyone noticed that the original model is always more popular than new revised ones??
Well it could be user preference, if a model is popular, then most badminton players prefer it because of its feel in play. The new ones often have a different unfamilar feel, sometimes not the same as the original, which gave the racquet its popularity in the first place. The original model is also in limited stock and can become rare over time, some people like to have things that aren't easily obtainable, Lastly, if an original model was very popular, then the companies themselves (Yonex here) probably think they can cheap out and cut back on materials and costs. Seeing if the model is such a good seller, people will buy it for the name regardless, if the buyers realize that the racquet is different from the original, then usually they'd have already bought it (unless demo'ed). This may affect the racquet's feel entirely, the Ti-10 for example (All UHMG construction to HMG now). It's a buisness thing, maximize on revenue while sacrificing as little as is needed.
u r way over your head on your analytical explanation. First, there aren't version 2 or repeats of AT800, so of course new models will be different, dawhhhhh. Discontinued models wills alway be hard to obtain later on, dawhhh. cab20 is very popular, did yonex cheapen it? isometirc 800 and MP99 are very popular and still available for sale, did yonex cheapen them to maximize profit? The only exception is ti10 which yonex used the less costly HMG on the new version. The saving by my guess maybe 5$ for the amount of UHMG not used but anyone can now buy the new ti10 at 40 to 50% cost of the original ti10. So, yonex is maximizing profit by selling new ti110 for more than 100 $/racket less than the original ti10 to save 5$ in material?Dawhhhh Maybe the revised desgin call for HMG usage to meet the required flex and weight of the new ti10. U bought into cooldoo6 crap, that only UHMG are found in top rackets. Ask kkk, tbh, haifang if their new ti10 is lacking in performance
i dont see many at800 users anymore. i myself still have an at800off but its not used being used since i either use the 700 or 900T. whenever i go to GGBC, everyone's using nanospeeds (mostly 9000) or different brands.
In this part of the world, the price difference between AT800 and AT900 is about USD30-40. If one is to fork out around USD170 for a racket, he would probably won't mind the difference for a much newer model. This is especially true for someone who is looking for a new racket/upgrade. Personally I've been using AT800DEF, and honestly I've found AT900T is a more solid racket and it is meant to be it's improved version anyway, so on that aspect, I think AT900T has fulfilled that tag. If things remain as it is, that AT900T/A is better than its counterparts of AAT800DEF/OFF in performance, and their price differential remain small, I donot think AT800 series would last in the market.
Well I was referring to new versions/paint jobs/revisions of racquets as a whole, though my thoughts were at the AT-700 at the time of the posting to try and answer the poster before (Jon), not the AT-800 specifically. If a racquet is selling good and maintaining good production costs, then there isn't a need to change the formula of the racquet. Racquets such as the MP-99, there isn't much to cut back on, if so, then specs-wise (the ones that appeal to the uninformed buyer through advertising, not including overall feel, stiffness, head balance) would be similar to a lower model. Looking at all the Yonex racquet models as an example, each one has an increasing number of features, with small 1-2 changes (eg. MP-44 being all HMG, MP-66 adding Ti to the shaft, MP-99 being made with Ti in both parts of the racquet). You do spring a good point however, they could remove the UHMG from the MP-99, it would still be different from the 88 about its composition with Ti in the frame, maybe they'll do that later, maybe they won't. The future of the MP-99 is uncertain, it is a good seller, but it looks like Yonex is thinning out the Muscle Power line and focusing on the AT and NS lines mostly, most of the MP features are being replaced with newer ones as well, UTi to ElasticTi, Ti Mesh being restricted to MP-29 and the TI line. If so, then they may not bother updating the MP-99 if it only has 1-3 years left, of course I may be wrong again. $ 5.00 may seem like a little, but if produced and sold in the masses, then the difference is significant (eg. people playing the stock market getting depressed if their stock drops a few cents, ). The Ti-10 itself is an aged model, so its price will drop over time until it is discontinued (in this case, new paint job and feel). If the new Ti-10 had the same price as the original at the original's first MSRP, then YY would lose $$$, people would rather buy the newer Racquet models for a little more. Just before the old Ti-10 (or old color version) was discontinued and replaced with the new Ti-10, its price was nearly the same as the going price for the new Ti-10 now, +/- ~60 HKD, which is a few dollars US/CDN. A question that has been going on is, if the change in the Ti-10 was this significant, why not market it as a different model name, or at least add something in its name to distinguish it from the original? The new flex and weight are quite different from that of the original with the name of "Ti-10". True, UHMG isn't always in the best racquets only, but as said before, price is always a driving factor in making a racquet, on a large scale, even small changes count a lot (probably why YY doesn't use any of it in the mid models, as well as marketing, "Wow! That racquet has ULTRA high modulus graphite! It sounds stronger and better than HMG! I gotta buy that instead!"). As repeated before by just about everyone, a racquet will only improve one's game slightly if they have the skills themselves, that is the most important thing about badminton these days (apart from having fun, ). So in the hands of professional players, just about any light racquet, or even any racquet for that matter will play the same...that is play with great performance. Also they get sponsored to use the racquet, no doubt that if the public sees a pro player use a racquet, then the public may want to follow in their footsteps as well,
My friend bought both AT800's instead of the AT900's because he said he liked the feel of the 800's more than the 900's but I just love my 900T!! XD
well, i just re-read the thread discussing this and i stand corrected...as for the popularity of the racquet, i guess AT900s will overtake it in time to come because of the heavy promotion being put into the series, seems like theres more hype than the NS9k
From my own observation, there are still tons of local player using AT800, especially the DE version.
From my point of view, I see many recreational and provincial players still using the AT800, both Defense and Offense, probably because they don't want to pay for the AT900 yet, until they have to.
yes, object B will alway overtake object A if object A stop moving while object B continue onward. Breakage of NS7000 and NS8000 are just as high as AT800 if not higher but these 2 NS models weren't discontinued.
If my 800Off hadn't been lost in the post, I'd still be using it now. You can still get them in the UK, but stocks are dwindling... The point about promotion is very pertinent - I've been watching badminton for a long time, and I can only remember ONE pro who used an AT800 (Lars Paaske, who used the D version). Compare that to the roster of AT700 users and, of course, Lin Dan's adoption of the 900P. From a technical standpoint, I'd say the AT800Off is less of an extreme singles racket than either the 700 or 900P, so it has suffered in the recent shift towards ultra head-heavy sledgehammer rackets.
