It seems like quite a number of people in this forum have more than just one or two racquets. How many racquets do you all have and which brand and model are they? I have a Carbonex 8300, which I am thinking of replacing soon, as well as an old Carlton aluminum/steel racquet (the head is warped and bent >3cm, but I think its metallic red paint job is still one of nicest looking racquets I have seen).
2 Yonex Isometric 300, and 1 Isometric 600. These are my regular racquets. For lending to other people, I have a t-joint Carbonex 9, a Victor graphite (don't know the model, very light), a low-end Pro Kennex, and a Wilson long (last 2 were door prizes at tournament dinners). The Cab 9 is the most popular among those who borrow racquets (his racquet being re-strung, girlfriend borrowed his spare racquet, and so on).
guilt guilt guilt... 2x Isometric 900SR 2x Isometric 600 carbonex22 carbonex8dx i use the SR and 600 regularly.
I once had 8 Yonex raquets. Then I sold two of them. Recently I bought a new one. So I have 7 now. They are all Yonex, 3 Ti10's, 2 Iso800's, 2 Cab20's. I choose they for my games usually according to my mood and physical conditions I also have 4 raquets at my parents place, one is Yonex 8500, very very old model. The other 3 are non-Yonex. Surelly I have not touched them for years.
I have 2 rackets. Yonex Isometric Titanium 10 Yonex Muscle Power 100 I even plan on buying another racket, I had a Ti-Swing Power in mind..but people say I should adapt to just one racket. Trust me, I'm a Yonex fanatic. I pretty much know what there is to know about Yonex products.
breadth or depth. hi all, when you start itching for a new racket, do you always try out a new model, or do you always ended up buying the models you are comfortable with? i know that if i am comfortable with a racket and decide to stick with it, i want at least 2 of them, in case string/racket breaks. etc. but i do go out and try out different models once in a while. most of the time though, i ended going back to the old ones. i know that i am really comfortable with the 900SR and the Iso600. i choose depending on how good i feel that day. the next racket i'll buy and stick with is probably the MP100. that'll be quite an investment though.
Kwun, from your review of the Cab 22, it sounded like you loved it - why have you switched to using the two Isometric models? Which gives you a more powerful smash - the Cab 22 or the Iso 600? Seeing others with many racquets makes me feel less guilty about my plans to acquire a new one. As a friend of mine stated upon his purchase of a new racquet last week, the good thing about acquiring a top-level racquet (assuming it generally fits a player's style) is that it eliminates any excuses about the equipment.
RE: breadth or depth. Hey Kwun, when I buy a new racket, I don't even try it out. I just look at the specs and if it suits my playing style. Then, when I go buy it, it's just what I had in mind. To tell you the truth, I never tried out the rackets I have right now. I just went out and bought it.
RE: breadth or depth. i find the description in the Yonex spec are quite thin, and not enough to discriminate between good/bad. eg. cab22 and iso600 are both rated at stiff, 2U, same weight, same length, the only difference is the isometric shape. i find that the two rackets are extremely different. the iso600 is head heavy, and the cab22 is extremely head light.
yeah. i did like the racket at the beginning. but like most relationships, the love fades after a while. after a while playing with other rackets, i got accustomed to the isometric weight distribution (head heavy) and the cab22 suddenly feels powerless. whenever i try using it these days, i found that i have trouble adjusting to the balance and feel, my shots become weak. so from then on, i stopped using it..
I have three for my regular games: * YANG YANG Swing Power 900 Isometric * YANG YANG Titanium Woven Ti-8.0 Isometric * YANG YANG Titanium Mesh Tit-11 Isometric All are above are 3UG2 specs. These are for lending: * PRO KENNEX Carbon Pro 727 * YONEX Ti-3 * YONEX Blacken full-aluminium
RE: breadth or depth. Wouldn't quite agree with the "extremely" head light description of the cab 22. However, I personally wouldn't go for a Ti Swing Power. My wife's Ti Swing Power doesn't seem to have any solidness, but it's very light. This is the 2nd head heavy version (sorry, get confused with the letters. I think it's SS version). This is one racquet I would definately say "try before you buy."
4 cab 22 used regularly for doubles. 1 cab 20 used for singles. 1 Slim10 - cracked. 1 cab 9 tour - cracked 1 Cab 9 T-joint - good for wrist training. 2 prokennex 787 - in cold storage.
I have 4 rackets and kind of 5 but definately 4. I have a Yonex Ti-3, Ti-10 and carb 8. And i have a Fleet Ti-99. And a winex Aerodynamic 200 which i borrowed from someone and they never asked for it back even when i want to give it back they always say later......
Here are the racquets I've : Mizuno Mystic Power 100 Yonex MP-100 SP Yonex Ti-10 CN Yonex Ti-8 CN Yonex ISO900SX CN Yonex Isometric Slim 10 Yonex Cab 23 SP Yonex Cab 22 SP Carlton AS-1 Gosen BR-3000 In addition to the above racquets, I've a few very old and low-end racquets which I normally don't use (e.g. Hi-Qua, RSL, etc.). Some of these racquets were bought when I gone out (e.g. Gosen and Carlton), I bought them simply because they were not available for sales in HK. Among all these racquets, my favorite is the Mizuno - no other racquet can come close ! However sometimes I use a less handy racquet for training (other than the Mizuno, I normally use the ISO900 or MP100), and use the Mizuno only for games. I've no plan to buy any Yonex racquet unless they come up with some new model above the MP-100. However I do look forward for the Mizuno Mystic Power 300 (to be released in Japan in Feb-2001), I'll probably try to get one imported unit directly from Japan.
RE: breadth or depth. I believe to have at least a pair of one model is necessary for the reasons Kwun mentioned. I once really wanted YY MP100. But finally I decided to buy one more Ti10, my favorite. As you know, different models have quite different tast. To be able to make all the delicate net shots, one needs quite some time to build up the 'feel.' So I like to stick to my Ti10. If I go to MP100, although they might fit me better, I need a lot of training to rebuild the 'feel' and I have to buy at least two of them. Then what I am going to do with Ti10's? I feel very comfortable with Ti10's. I use Ashway MicroLegend for practice and BG85 for serious games. Though MicroLegend is not as good as BG85, it is much cheaper in Reels (I kill strings quite often). So I may need one or two more Ti10 raquets.
I once decided to sell my Cab20's aftern I got the Ti10's. But After quite a long time switching the raquets according to my mood, finally I understood that all the three models I have are wonderful. For example, the cab20's are realitively headlight, they give me more freedom when I try to use my wrist, and I can move the raquet faster for some movements. I believe that all the successful raquets are masterpieces of art. We need to learn how to appreciate them. I never tried cab23 or something like that. But it never get the fame as cab20, I believe. So there must be some reasons from its own. By the way, I once used a cab9, the very famous old model. It is headlight and very soft. But I like it very much. Really good raquets have their own tasts. The tasts are quite different. The common feature of them is that they give you the perfect unique tast of their paticular style. No one else can close to them.This is their inner buauty.
Thomas, how do you like the Yang Yang racquets? In which country did you buy them? Are they modeled after any particular Yonex racquets or are they unique designs?
I have been using Yonex rackets for the last 20 years and in my recent switch to Yang Yang rackets, I find they are on par or even better (depends on individual evaluation) at a much lower price. Designed and tested by former world champions Yang Yang and Zhao Jianhua of China, they are manufactured in Taiwan and are of hi-tech and quality. One of my favourite is the Yang Yang Tit-11 Isometric and it's an all-rounder professional racket, light yet powerful and fast. The shaft has real Titanium mesh (visible on the shaft) which adds on to the power and the Titanium Woven series, the latest, also have Titanium mesh as well as a second kick-point. But if one is not used to isometric, there are the wide-body non-isometric headshape models to choose. Both Ti-8.0 and Tit-11 are original designs whereas the SSP900's design is of the Yonex SP900 and it's performance and quality are equally superb.
