What's the nearest equivalent Yonex racket to the old MP 88 4U? Looking for something very light (80-84gms), mainly for doubles play but also with good power for smashing. Armortec 900T looks closest to me?
4U is too fragile besides of it being too light. You probably want to most likely go with 3U rackets. Something which could be close to the MP88 could be the Arc7.
MP88 is even balance to head light while AT rackets are heavy head. You can just buy a 3U MP88. 4U are too fragile.
I thought everyone knows that MP88 (of all versions) are unique among all rackets that it is super light weight, very flexible and head heavy. You are the first one I know who calls it head light. On another hand, most AT series rackets are even balance while all of the NS series are head light...
I have to slightly disagree with this because the Swing Power 900 SA is also unique because it is 81g which would be super light as well. Also, it is a better racket than the MP88. Both of them perform similar to each other.
Flexibility of MP88 http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12833&page=8&pp=18 Head heaviness (balance) http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12833&page=2&pp=18 I rest my case...
This is your personal preference, I won't argue... So you can go ahead and beat up on Lin Dan with your SP900SA. Be my guest...
Yeah and what makes you think you can beat up Lin Dan lol!! Oh wait, I beat him in the $$$ department enough said there lol! If you know better, use the search and find the thread what made the SP900's great
Don't bother, he thinks he knows his stuff but does not. A had a few friends had a look at the thread a few moments ago who use these rackets is like what is this guy?
I am also looking for the same thing. NS8000 feels completely different than MP88, NS8K being a stiff head light racket, the 88 being a balanced/head-heavy flex. From the few rackets that I tried, the difference between 3U and 4U isn't all that different. It is the flexibility that the MP88 has that gives it the special feel. The closest I got was the Head Airflow 5.
Why should I waste my time here? SP900SA is not even in production, nor is it in the current Yonex catalog... http://www.yonex.co.jp/digitalbook/pdf/badminton_racquets.pdf I hope yours will last as you probably cannot replace it if... To phandrew... My bad, not all AT are even, except the 800 that I had, which is also out of production and replaced by 900's...
Dnacid, It dpeends on which racket you have tried. I know for the AT800s for 3U and 4U, the 4U had a tendency to overswing. Besides the durability issues, people had literally broken their rackets string at 24lbs and slightly leaning on their rackets like a cane. Whops!! The MP88 isn't that bad as I have used it however the SP900 series is a better built racket than the MP88. Even thou I no longer uses these rackets, I've moved on, such as using the Armortec, Nano and Arc.