Panda Power: A Racket That Can Take 40lbs. String Tension!

[cobalt]

I think I can help out here. I am a high D/low C level player, so I think that falls into the catagory of "advanced intermediate."The VT70 I find, because of its head-heavy nature and its slim shaft lends itself to a very balanced racket in terms of swinging style. If you have the wrist for it, its great for whippy smashes and flicks and drives. I find the TPro to also be a whippy racket, but less demanding on the wrist.I find the TPro has higher power and more feel, and a tad quicker on defense, making it more suitable for doubles compared to the VT70. However, the VT70 is a tad more forgiving, and the higher weight in the head allows for stronger clears and better full-body smashes.That being said, I did not find the VT70 very enjoyable, just as I did not find the Armortec series to be really enjoyable. I have always found rackets below 290mm to be the best for me. Someone who enjoys the feel of head heavy rackets may tell you different.

Thanks for the info. Your post has helped me a lot. Personally, I agree that anything over 290mm is a bit too head-heavy for consistent handling when playing doubles. But maybe that's because I'm just a wimp!

[Avenger]

Thanks for the info. Your post has helped me a lot. Personally, I agree that anything over 290mm is a bit too head-heavy for consistent handling when playing doubles. But maybe that's because I'm just a wimp!

my tpro spec is 84.9gr and 295mm
I feel that Tpro is fantastic for doubles
it is fast enough for defense, and strong enough for attacking

[Mark A]

I've lost all contact with a buyer who wanted a yellow TPro that I kept for him, so I think I'll put it up for public sale. Spec is 86.7/293 (like a 3U Arcsaber, IOW) and the thing is brand new with the handle still wrapped. Price £80 + delivery and stringing (if needed).

(Original customer, if he's still out there - I can't for the life of remember his u/n or email address - feel free to get back in touch!)

M.

[AlanY]

I've lost all contact with a buyer who wanted a yellow TPro that I kept for him, so I think I'll put it up for public sale. Spec is 86.7/293 (like a 3U Arcsaber, IOW) and the thing is brand new with the handle still wrapped. Price £80 + delivery and stringing (if needed).

(Original customer, if he's still out there - I can't for the life of remember his u/n or email address - feel free to get back in touch!)

M.

Mark,

I seem to keep picking up your 'extra'! just too lazy to order, wait and wait...
Yes, I'm interested. If you want to give the original buyer a couple of days more i'm fine with it.

btw, what else are in your inventory?

[amleto]

t-pro

white string/unstrung are 286/86
bg80 is 285/86

black string is ~ 300/86








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Courtesy of Dink / Mark A

I'm yet to play with my any of my new ones though

[amleto]

I noticed that shaft is a little longer on the gold ones.

[Blitzzards]

I noticed that shaft is a little longer on the gold ones.

If it is by 0.5mm longer then it would mean that it is of the same shaft length as the Ti10, which the Trinity models are based off on. Which is a good thing

[Sketchy]

No, it's not that much.
According to my measurements, the handle lengths are as follows:

UPro - 198mm
P1 & U2 - 200mm
U1 & T1 & T2 - 204mm
TPro (gold) - 207mm
TPro (yellow) - 210mm

Obviously the shorter the handle, the longer the shaft (bear in mind the Ultra series frames are about 1mm longer than the others).
The TPro handles do feel a bit long for my small hands, but it doesn't affect performance (honestly, I think Yonex are talking rubbish when they claim that a marginally longer shaft is going to have any significant effect on power).

Anyway, a quick comparison of the new and old TPros:
(in case you're wondering, no the shaft is not tapered - my camera just distorts things quite a lot in macro mode)

[what07]

Just bumping this thread up with a question to master panda May I know what you are currently working on? New racket? Bag? T SHIRTS! ?

[Ramcov]

Trinity Pro Review

Just took out the new racket from Mark A for an hours test and ... Here is the review.

Balance: 292mm and weight: 84g (not sure what U) but over gripped with Karakal PU Super.
I would say I'm probably around intermediate level. Test was with feather shuttle. Doubles games.

The only other racket I used before was LN UC2100 so I can only compare to that, really :/.

Clears required much less effort than with the LN. Didn't get to clear a lot in doubles though. I could send them higher without worry of them being shorter.

Smashes- one of the largest differences. Compared with the LN even balance this seem to be able to hit with so much more pooowwweeerrr. I'm usually quite a weak smasher and sometimes my smashes get driven back The slightly extra weight in the head did make a difference. this my smashes were steep and solid. And felt faster. Honestly the racket just 'felt' good to hit with. Most of my smashes are stick smashes and they felt great the stiff shaft sprang right back into place making the head/shaft really stable and shots controlled. But when you can load up full smash you just want them to keep on lifting just so you can smash more .

Drives are my weakness. as to be expected I didn't play a lot of drives and they were of quite low quality but I did feel the drives felt cleaner and the racket had almost no vibration at all! The stiff shaft was really good.

The racket I found was slightly slower at the net compared to the LN but as expected head heavy/even. The newly string strings were really 'crisp' and net shots could be played tight and delicate. However, that is not to say the racket is not fast, it is like a thicker sword (yeah.. sorry bad simile). Anyway it does cut through the air veeery fast.

The verdict: this is definitely an excellent racket for those who find their racket their racket shaft too flexible. I'd say it is a fantastic all-round racket. Also the holographic effect on 'Trinity' looks cool . 5/5 but reviews are subjective.

Anyway awesome racket also 5/5 for Mark A too. Fast (as can be) and quick to reply to any queries. THANKS MARK A AND THANKS DINKALOT.

[cobalt]

@Ramcov: thanks for the nice review! Do you know which string you were using, and at what tension?

[Ramcov]

I think ashaway zm70 at 21

[Tactim]

I got my Trinity pro at 84.8g and bp 305mm around this July. Strings are zymax 67 (newer one) at 23 lbs.

So I've had a few months to test it. My previous racket was the Victor Artery Tec ti-99 3U. String was zymax 67 (older one) at 22 lbs.

Initially I actually had a hard time switching and my performance went down for a few sessions. I think part of the reason was the weight difference in going from a 3U to a 4U. But my experience with the racket only went up from there so if you're afraid you made a mistake in buying the racket, try it out for another month and you might change your mind =).

Clearing had a nice feel to it, though I would say it's about the same as the artery tec ti-99. Though when in tight situations or when you're off balance to hit an awkward clear, I would say I was able to use my wrist better with the TPro than I could with the AT99. I think the biggest difference I saw in this area was definitely for my backhand. I don't know but I was able to hit much cleaner and powerful shots with this racket than the AT99. My backhand net shots, clears, drops, and smashes definitely saw an improvement within the first couple weeks. My control over the shots overall was better as well on top of the power.

Smashes- My swing didn't initially agree with the TPro to be honest. I think I wasn't as used to using more of my arm to generate power with the TPro lighter racket, even if it was head heavier. But now after 3 months, I can't smash the way I did with the AT99 than I can now with the TPro. It took some breaking in but my power has definitely increased once I adjusted my swing to the new racket. I'm mainly a doubles player so this area of my game saw huge improvement. If I were to describe the biggest difference between the two rackets, I think it's that the TPro somehow cuts through the air easier than the AT99, maybe it's just that way because it's about 10mm head heavier than my previous racket, I don't know. But I like it =).

Drops and Netplay- This is another area in which I have made a lot of improvement with a combination of better technique but also the racket. I was much more prone with the heavier AT99 to make net shots or drop shots too high or long, allowing for an easy net kill or retrieval by the opponent. I have a noticeable improvement over the control at the net, particularly the forehand net kill.

Defense- Definitely a quick racket despite the head heaviness. In sometime I like the head heaviness because my smash drive returns have definitely picked up the pace. That being said I'm still having a bit of trouble make a smash return drop, whether that's technique or the racket. I had a little easier time with the AT99 than I am having with the TPro. From that aspect, I like the racket much more for doubles than I do for singles as drive returns are tactically a much better shot in doubles.

For the price value to performance ratio, this is definitely a solid racket that rivals many of the big names on the market =). For a $125 price for the racket + strings + stringing, it's one hell of a bargain. I would probably pay no less than $150 U.S. dollars for a racket of this quality had it not been a special deal (thanks!). Dink you and whoever helped develop this racket have a lot of potential in the future =).

[ormy4]

Bit of a funny story as had a badminton chum come over to me and tell me how strong the Panda Power racket was. I asked as he had 2 and it was the Ultra version 2 he was talking about. He was playing in a new gym and didn't notice ropes hanging from the ceiling held together sort of out of the way with a beefy metal hook. I guess he wound up to smash and hit it the hook part square on it. Blew out all the strings in the middle and deflected off the frame. He said all you could smell was graphite and everyone in the gym heard it and cringed. Looked at the racket and figured there is no way it survived. To his amazement it just had a scratch on it otherwise it was fine.

Few months back fellow was playing with an older fellow in his 80's who likes to come out and we just hit it to him as he loves playing still. So you tend to just hit close to him and take things out just to
keep the rally going. He had just bought a Yonex at 700 and there was a metal scaffold 3 feet off to the side and going for an out of court shot hit it. Poor guy had used the racket for 5 minutes and it
broke on both sides and folded in half.

Super nice guy but bad depth perception or luck.

[Vicky Chips]

Is it still possible to get my hands on a shiny gold T-Pro?

[Mark A]

After some wheeling and dealing, I have a Mk2 (gold) TPro left. 291/83.6. Still has the wrapper on.

PM or email if interested.

[alana07]

any possibility of getting a Ultra 1 nowadays?