Li Ning Rackets Fan Club :)

[tckang]

Well... if only if it is being officially announced by YONEX, else I will only treat it as propaganda....

There were people who go around selling YONEX clones, claiming that it was from the same factory as YONEX......

Well... may be all these are the rules of the ball game...

thanks.

You can never see this officially announced as Yonex and Li Ning would want to appear as competitors, even though the material source of Li Ning rackets is under the mercy of Yonex. The source of this news does come from Yonex Japan, all i can say for now. Believe it or not is up to everyone.
As for Yonex clone, all i can say is dont buy them online. Only buy from original dealers of Yonex to prevent such problem. In China, fakes are really a big problem to consumers, especially like handphones.

[MetalOrange]

tckang,

actually it is not very hard to fathom that LiNing have their 'leanings' from GOSEN, specifically--less with Kason--in the manufaturing and technological aspects! Well, it is a known fact.

Naturally GOSEN and YONEX would only be willing up to a point...and oh no, no, no. Doesnt matter if they paid top dollar to get 'in' with technical expertise and knowledge, LN would still not get 'in' per se.

As to the price, it's a no brainer, you've been working there in Beijing...the pricing is really geared up to rev-up their supposedly "intrinsic value" in the stock market with the addition of the racquet segment in 2007! Buying Kason, getting "in" to GOSEN and YONEX wouldn't bemused those guys holding up their shares...so what now? Pump and plump the pricing!

Are the N series any good? As I said previously, at least personally anyway, their top of the line N90 is a notch below Mizuno (of course) TC 700!

...at that price? Mizuno charges less and Yonex even lesser. Now Li Ning has the audacity to charge that high?

Kind regards
MetalOrange

P.S. However, on a purely racket issue, some people in my circle said the same, N90 is not their cup of tea and they like N55 better, just like you.

[l_i_a_m]

I think Yonex won't announce even IF it is true that they REALLY supply the carbon fiber stuff to Li-Ning, because this will make people even more likely to purchase Li-Ning. Because people will start have the confidence that Li-Ning racket was ACTUALLLY using the SAME material from Yonex, just the brand and R&D is different.

BUT by keeping quiet, people will start to question Li-Ning itself, where is the technology and material used to produce it's racket, home grown China Brand Carbon Fiber?

Come to think about it, Yonex is smart NOT to announce it. In this way, Yonex take in a lot of profit by just supplying the Carbon fiber at high price to Li-Ning, another way, the natural tendency of people is to SUSPECT product which is MADE IN CHINA...just like the rest of us, when Li-Ning deputed their racket series to the world, the first question in our mind was, Li-Ning? China Brand oh? Can arr?

But now since you said the material was ACTUALLY the SAME material used by Yonex, then now, I started to believe in Li-Ning.

Anyway, the price sucks.

[MetalOrange]

l i a m,

I second that, the price really is way over!

Think about it, if I know LN gets their supply from Yonex and their Tech from GOSEN while manufactured in Kason factory, why would I even bother to shell that money for basically a Kason/GOSEN/YONEX racket since they are already cheaper?

Cut the middleman. Go direct to YONEX or GOSEN!

MetalOrange.

[ANDY01]

i see, if the issue of yonex charging li-ning for the caron-fibre @ high premium is true, den i can understand y the price of the racket is so expensive.

however, i m more interested in their jerseys, why are they so expensive too? SGD 180 (1 of them) ! izzit that li-ning don't wan ppl to have any suspicious abt them over-charging their rackets so rise their overall pricing as well?

[MetalOrange]

ANDY01,

...that is b'cos LiNing gained exclusive rights to sell AIGLE (a premium french apparel brand)--specific contract terms is non of our bizniz--and apparently so, they get 'in' and gained those tech know-how as well too (thus, pricey too).

MetalOrange

[tckang]

l i a m,

..Think about it, if I know LN gets their supply from Yonex and their Tech from GOSEN while manufactured in Kason factory, why would I even bother to shell that money for basically a Kason/GOSEN/YONEX racket since they are already cheaper? ...

MetalOrange.

Just one small correction there MetalOrange, LN get the carbon fiber source from Yonex currently via supply contract (those used for Yonex Nano tech kinda thingy) but LN rackets, GOSEN, Wilson, Victor, Carlton etc badminton brand rackets are all produced by a racket manufacturing line factory in Guangdong province, called Jin Zhen Sports equipment, setup since July 1990. (金臻)
KASON, meanwhile remains manufactured elsewhere.
I am puzzled as well the way LN seperates the KASON and LN badminton rackets business.

[tckang]

So 2009 has come and almost near to an end. To us badminton social players and fans out there, it is hell of a year for 2009.
As promised, other than the leaked out stories on Li Ning and Yonex underground "scandal" relationship, the remaining is the strategies of Yonex for 2009 and 2010.
Propaganda? Crap? Time will tell is these below are true.

2009
It can be said as a mixed year for our badminton racket giant, Yonex. First, they lost the sponsorship of China badminton team to LN, and Korea to Victor. (Double win for China products). However, according to this insider, Yonex is actually feeling "relieved" to lose this 2 sponsorship. Reason? In the past years, Yonex has been sponsoring China, Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc etc great badminton countries. Even though these sponsorship do help pushed their brand image, but accordiong to Yonex, actually this comes at a heavy price. Lotsa R&D, rackets, etc etc services are catered and provided to these teams and all these are $$$. So, by loosing China and Korea, Yonex can now provide better services for the remining countries. (Big YAY for my oen Malaysian team )
2009 also been the year of Nano9900. It is in 2009 that the sales of Nano9900 becomes their No.1 racket in terms of volume sales. Ever wonder no professional players picked up a Nano990 yet? This is because this light headed racket is designed to be the "Best racket for social players", according to Yonex strategy and aim, and i must say they have succeded so far.
So whats install for our famouse brand in 2010 ? According to the same insider, the below are already in the pipeline:

1) To continue maintaining the development of their high end nano and carbon fibre range. New rackets of this range will be out in 2010 and some "classics" will be reintroduced for commemorating purpose. (tckang: I wonder which "classics" racket, hmmm)

2) To be more participative in building and development of youth/teen sports of Asian countries where Yonex has presence. This can mean more sponsorship, donation ,etc.

3) To switch from Top tier badminton racket image to pro-public image, meaning more sponsorship on public social tourneys and even social players

4) Partnership and collabration with modern clothing brands. Partnetship with Disney is in final stage of agreement. (tckang: My God, a Mickey mouse Yonex badminton Tee??? Please Don't)

5) May cut down one or two more country national team sponsorship and channeled the $$$ saved into R&D and other department.

So lets see how true are the news by waiting. To me, i cant accept partenrship of Yonex with Disney.

[tckang]

Reviews below are strictly personal and may differs from players to players.
So, why is LN N90 be the best sellers among their N series range? (personally i dont really like N90). The answer is only one and only, the Lin Dan effect. Since all of us can never be as good as Lin Dan even if we play for another 50 years, well to compensate and console ourselves, we can at least own his rackets. (from his Yonex days rackets till now his N90)
So how is N90 if you ask me ? As much as i dont like this racket, i will still give a neutral review to it.



Top : N90 , Middle : N55, Below: Yonex Nano9900





The above photos are rackets taken in one of my badminton sessions in Beijing. Only N55 is mine. N90 and Nanospeed 9900 are my playmates baby.
The N90 shown above is a W3S, W3 at 85 - 89g, similar to 3U ; S2 = 3 2/8 inch , around 82.55mm, similar to G5. Racket balance without string is at 300mm, while with NBG95 at 24lbs and Yonex AC102C grip, the balance is at 297mm.

How it feels?
Material and middle shaft hardness - The whole racket is fully carbon fibre built without any other addictives. Frame shape is very similar to AT700, full length is at 674mm. Head design is similar to Armotec. Overall hardness feels like MP88, but the racket flexibility is more flexible than MP88 and Arc10. From its elongated frame and soft shaft design, this is clearly a Single player's racket design.

Usability:
1) High, long shots - With N90, it surpises me with its ability to deliver high long overhead shots with such ease (Better on this aspect then YY MP, Ti, and Arc series). With little energy, u can easily deliver the shuttle right back to the opponents back line. Good for single play.

2) Flat shots - "Flat shots" are relatively important in doubles play. For flat shots, personal feel is N90 is at par with AT700, AT800OF, and AT900P but no match for Ti10 (3rd gen) and NS9900. I think partly this is due to the N90's soft shaft design.

3) Netplays and drops - For netplay, N90 is not as veratile and agile as Yonex high end series. But once you get used to it, the drop i feel is better than AT700 as it is faster and the drop is deadlier with N90.

4) Smash - For any of you who have used AT900T before, you will immediately notice that N90 during smashing is EXACTLY feels like AT900T. In a nutshell, N90 performs slightly inferior than AT700 for smashing. But due to N90's soft shaft, u wont feel so tired after repeating smashing as compared to AT700.

CONCLUSION : N90 is a racket designed for single players and its biggest surprise is it s ability to send high, long shots, with acceptable defence and smashing ability, but inferior netplay. This racket is suitable for those rally and smash type of players, not fast attacking double fans.

So what so special on this review? Please scroll down. Picture courtesy of fellow blogger, Jader in China.

Ever wonder how the N90 Woods looks like internally???


Step one : Strip off the orginal grip.


The other side of it.


To re confirm it is N90


The "bottom" of N90 Wood


The N90 Wood being stripped down to its Woods. hahahaha

These photos are courtesy of Jader, fellow blogger in China who is crazy enough to do this to investigate the "inside" of N90.

N90 owners are advised not to do this onto their RMB1980 racket. hahahaha

Cheers. Sign off.

[bluecraze07]

Wow, Thanks for sharing these cool pictures.

[teoky]

I was at ION orchard earlier and pass by the Li Ning store. Saw the conditions for the try before buy scheme.

Basically the rental fee is S$20 but you need to put a refundable deposit which is the retail price of the racquet ! So if you want to rent the N90, you need to put S$469 (I think that's the current price ?) as deposit !

When you return the racquet, they will check the condition, so if it is in good condition, you get back the deposit, if it is not in good condition, they will keep the deposit and you just bought a Li Ning racquet !

So best is to play singles and don't mishit ! Play doubles too dangerous, your friend can sabo you by clashing with the Li Ning !

[Danstevens]

Am I the only one that thinks the Woods N55 looks a bit like a Yonex Arc10?

[MetalOrange]

Just one small correction there MetalOrange, LN get the carbon fiber source from Yonex currently via supply contract (those used for Yonex Nano tech kinda thingy) but LN rackets, GOSEN, Wilson, Victor, Carlton etc badminton brand rackets are all produced by a racket manufacturing line factory in Guangdong province, called Jin Zhen Sports equipment, setup since July 1990. (金臻)
KASON, meanwhile remains manufactured elsewhere.
I am puzzled as well the way LN seperates the KASON and LN badminton rackets business.

tcKang,

Hey, thanks for shedding (more) light on the issue. Btw, that is a real cool strip naked N90 W-o-o-o-d-s huh!

DanStevens,

Yes, N55 does look a lot like Arc10-y.

MetalOrange

[tckang]

Am I the only one that thinks the Woods N55 looks a bit like a Yonex Arc10?

Hi Danstevens, N55 is Fire series. What you mean i believe is N90 Woods.
If you see my review above, yes, N90 's head looks like Arc10 while overall it looks like AT700. So it 's kinda Arc10-AT700 cross breed.
Cheers

[tckang]

tcKang,

Hey, thanks for shedding (more) light on the issue. Btw, that is a real cool strip naked N90 W-o-o-o-d-s huh!

MetalOrange

No worries. All are curious on LN rackets for now and since i am in their home country for at least another 2-3 years will dig dig and dig.
Yeah, i like the idea of N90 Woods strip "naked" down to its wood. hahahahaa
Cheers

[tckang]

I was at ION orchard earlier and pass by the Li Ning store. Saw the conditions for the try before buy scheme.

Basically the rental fee is S$20 but you need to put a refundable deposit which is the retail price of the racquet ! So if you want to rent the N90, you need to put S$469 (I think that's the current price ?) as deposit !

When you return the racquet, they will check the condition, so if it is in good condition, you get back the deposit, if it is not in good condition, they will keep the deposit and you just bought a Li Ning racquet !

So best is to play singles and don't mishit ! Play doubles too dangerous, your friend can sabo you by clashing with the Li Ning !

I think even though the system is not as nice as what they did over here in Beijing, at least u can try the racket first. but at SGD469? Hmmm i would rather get Yonex NS9900 or MP100
Best bet is to try all their N-series racket, then decide which one u prefer (or maybe none hahaha) and ask whover is visiting China to get it when it is on sale. I will keep u guys posted on the next available sales. Sept sale is ending soon. (where u can get the racket at around SGD 200 ++ after 40% discount)

[weeyeh]

Basically the rental fee is S$20 but you need to put a refundable deposit which is the retail price of the racquet ! So if you want to rent the N90, you need to put S$469 (I think that's the current price ?) as deposit !

I think its fair enough that the store tries to protect themselves. I'm just not convinced that transferring that risk to the consumer will yield any takers. Especially when the risk is transferred together with the sales profit (plus rental). Wonder what the take up rate is like .

Anyway, those rackets are too expensive to play doubles with (and I rarely play singles now). Even if I love the rackets, I'll give it a miss so no point trying.