help choosing racket (flex and balance)

Discussion in 'Racket Recommendation / Comparison' started by haplo, Aug 9, 2008.

  1. haplo

    haplo Regular Member

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    Hi It has been a while that I posted on this forum.
    The reason is clear: I need a new racket.

    I have been playing with my AT500 for 4 years now and I need something new.
    There are two parameters that are always tricky when I have to choose a racket:
    flexability head balance
    my current racket is stiff and head heavy (why I don't know,...)

    information about me:
    I'm a 18 year old decent player (king of my city/good in my province/growing national). I'm quite skinny and have long arms and legs. If I play singles I'm more of a defending oriented player, you won't see me taking lead in a game with an equal leveled player very quickly. Most of the time I wait for him to make an offensive mistake and then make him pay. In doubles I like to play the net (even in mixed :cool:) and take the game to a higher speed.
    My armpower is not amazing (decent but not like some body builders,...).
    make no mistakes, if my day is a good armday I can produce a strong blow but still...
    As I don't buy new rackets often money doesn't matter that much.
    (I'm not gonna save 30 euro's on a racket that will be my best friend for the next 5 years)

    feelings while playing:
    I like a racket with a solid feel, I like to feel that I hit a shuttle, hear it.
    heavy rackets greately improve my smashspeed on easy smashes.


    Against a strong player my smash isn't strong enough to finish the game, so most of the time I use drops, clears and position to finish him on easy smashes. I love to smash but my main smash from the base just isn't strong enough.

    So advice on flex and head balance would be nice.

    I have a list of rackets I'm considering so help me in any way you can.

    the list:
    AT700
    AT800 DF/OF
    AT900 TE/PO
    MP99
    MP100
    arcsaber 7
    arcsaber 10
    nanospeed 6000
    nanospeed 7000
    nanospeed 7700
    nanospeed 8000
    nanospeed 9000x/s
    (add if you want, I prefer yonex as I can get them cheap,...)

    so thanx in advance.
     
  2. haplo

    haplo Regular Member

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    my AT 500 is a 3U/G3 at least I think it is,...
    It's as heavy as my 2U isometric, but the grip is thicker.
    It always seemed quite a heavy racket, more like a 2U. Maybe it's just me because I don't think the AT500 ships in 2U!?
     
    #2 haplo, Aug 9, 2008
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2008
  3. phandrew

    phandrew Regular Member

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    Yonex isn't cheap. Get SOTX or RSL racket instead since it is cheaper and performs the same or better as Yonex. Go with RSL X2 series or SOTX W7 or W11.
     
  4. haplo

    haplo Regular Member

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    well I have my reasons to stick with yonex:
    - I can get them rel. cheap
    - I'm used to yonex
    - I know the rackets, saw them, played with them so it's easier to make a good choice.
    - I like yonex rackets
    - price is not that important

    As I have just contacted my yonex guy, the list got a little smaller,...
    because he couldn't deliver me some rackets at a decent price.

    AT700
    AT900 TE/PO
    arcsaber 7
    arcsaber 10
    NS 6000
    NS 7000
    NS 8000
    NS 9000 x/s

    ty for replying anyways
    ps: please don't make my thread a "yonex or not thread"!
    ty in advance.
     
  5. phandrew

    phandrew Regular Member

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    How cheap can you get yonex rackets? if it is too cheap too believe then the chances of it being fake are high.
     
  6. martin8768

    martin8768 New Member

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    new ti 10?
    10 char
     
  7. haplo

    haplo Regular Member

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    Well I will give you an example:
    arcsaber 10: 120 euro's
    And it's not too cheap, and yes I'm very sure they are real.

    The problem with the rackets you proposed are:
    - I never heard of them... (srry for me being unknowing)
    - I have no idea where I can buy them...
    - I have no idea how different they are from yonex rackets, and whether I will like this different.

    Maybe if you can give me some solid information about them, and why they would be suitable for my type of play and a place in belgium where I can get them, then maybe I might consider them.
     
  8. phandrew

    phandrew Regular Member

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    120euro for ARC10 is a bit expensive. Try searching the forum to get an idea of the performance of each racket.
     
  9. haplo

    haplo Regular Member

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    @martin where on earth could I find a (real) Ti10?

    120 euro's isn't expensive

    and you can't compare it with ordering prices online.
    He sells it man 2 man and offers lifetime service.
     
  10. phandrew

    phandrew Regular Member

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    You can buy the Ti-10 from many places.
    Mybadmintonstore, Wingeebadminton, Puppysports and Badmintononlineshop

    Out of the 3 Ti-10 versions i would get the old Ti-10
     
    #10 phandrew, Aug 9, 2008
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2008
  11. haplo

    haplo Regular Member

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    he also strings the racket so here is a list with possible strings:

    yonex BG 65/65T/68/68T/80 nanogy 95
    ashaway Microlegend/flex21/rally22/micropower xl/rally 21T
    daimond M5/M4

    proposing tension would come in handy 2.

    I'm using +-22 lbs now.
     
  12. Athelete1234

    Athelete1234 Regular Member

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    Old Ti-10 is like impossible to find nowadays though. The other Ti-10s are both excellent racquets anyways.
     
  13. haplo

    haplo Regular Member

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    Why would the Ti-10 be the racket for me?
    What about the rackets wich are in my list (first one)?
    and how about the two parameters (flex/balance) (keeping my playstyle in mind)?
    I might consider ordering online,..., as long as they won't send me a fake/broken one,...
     
    #13 haplo, Aug 9, 2008
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2008
  14. haplo

    haplo Regular Member

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    K I searched the forum.
    And I think I made a conclusion for the flex and head balance part.
    As I'm a defensive player and my rally's tend to be long...:cool:
    I need a racket wich is easy to move over the field, also because netplay in doubles require high speed movements.
    flex: med stiff-stiff
    balance: even-light head

    or am I wrong???

    But as I'm used playing a head heavy racket won't my smashpower go down even further?
    I think I'm more of a swinging player (if this helps to answer above question)
     
  15. phandrew

    phandrew Regular Member

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    Just go with AT900T then
     
  16. haplo

    haplo Regular Member

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    K after searching more information on the forum and based on my flex and balance conclusion in the prev post. I have narrowed down my list of possible rackets to 5;

    AT800 DEF
    AT 900 TECH
    arcsaber 7
    arcsaber 10
    nanospeed 9000S

    so plz post which one out of this small list suits me best and don't forget to mention why.

    ty very much in advance
     
  17. phandrew

    phandrew Regular Member

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    How about you read DinkAlot's racket review to get an idea on each racket. If you bought SOTX W8 or W9 they would perform the same as the rackets you are looking at and are also much cheaper.
     
  18. haplo

    haplo Regular Member

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    K I took a look at the dinkalots reviews.
    these made me remove the 800DE from the list due his lack of durability.
    (I hate the paintjob anyways)
    Is this really a big issue with the 800DE?
    because as I use my rackets quite long durability is important (never broke a racket!)
    to choose between the NS 9000S and AT900T seems very difficult.
    So what is the most striking difference between those?

    and then there are the arcsabers which aren't mentioned in the review, how do they compare to above rackets?

    keep up the good work and ty very much!

    PS: you don't have to mention a SOTX in every reply, I know it sounds silly and prob doesn't make sense, but I prefer a yonex and am willing to pay for it!
    I know you have the best intentions...
     
  19. haplo

    haplo Regular Member

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    after reading ants reviews on all the 4 remaining rackets I have come to remove 3 more rackets from my list:
    arcsaber 7: lack of power/budget version of the arcsaber 10 (budget doesn't matter that much
    arcsaber 10: more of an offensive racket, great netplay but lacks on defence.
    NS9000S: the head light will take time to adjust, tricky playing the net, lack of control.

    so whats left is:

    AT900T: I like armortec (solid feeling), don't think it will take me ages to adjust (armortec, head heavy). what are in fact the biggest differences between the AT500 and AT900T?
    Also Ants review was pretty enthousiastic and convincing.
    I like to be in control of the shuttle, it's a fast racket and exellent in defence.
    And will not reduce my smashpower (maybe improve).

    so now I chose my racket I will need to make some other choices.

    4U or 3U?
    stringing: what type of string should I use?
    how hard should it be stringed?
     
  20. Athelete1234

    Athelete1234 Regular Member

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    You should take the AT900T in 3U. It's very fast for a head heavy racquet, but the solid feel is there. 4U would feel too fast, and moving from an AT500, you would overswing wayy too much, and you would feel there is no power. 3U would keep the power there, and still be much faster than AT500.
     

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