i'm currently using at 250 at 24 lbs. looking to upgrade at an affordable price. around $70-$110. anyone have any ideas, i play aggressively. do u think at 500 would do the trick. can it hold 25lbs?? thx in advance.
at500 should easily hold 25lbs if strung by an experienced stringer. sounds like a good next move to me, have you looked at the at300? personally, i would go straight to the 500 though.
I will go to AT500 if you can find a good used one with no paint chip. Other wise, go to AT600 because AT500 is discontinued.
AT500 would definitely be in that price range for an upgrade. Of course, there are always other Armortec or other branch from Yonex's range you can select.
It might be hard to find a high end racket for your price range if you're only looking at yonex. Remember yonex rackets have premium costs for the name, not just the performance/quality. I recommend looking at other good brands, sotx and victor are good. Im not sure what li nings pricing is, but I know Kasons are also very affordable. I of course will have to give a little plug about Dinkalots Panda series of rackets. They are probably the best bang for your buck of all the rackets ive seen.
Li Nings are quite expensive from what I saw from a online store. http://www.badmintonshoponline.us/ You should also look into Le Fleche. The performance of their rackets are really amazing. The site above sells Le Fleche at a good price. Even though its not listed, you can get the newest one, TI 700 either in Power or Technique, for 139.99USD (This is the price the guy emailed me). You can email him to find out more. Also these rackets can be strung up to 28 pounds. So you get a little more than the yonex rackets.
- There is a very limited selection of Yonex rackets, in the $70-$110 range, if you want to upgrade. And even if you upgrade to another Yonex racket, i doubt there will be much difference to your AT250. - If you want to upgrade to something better or one that "would do the trick", then you might have to go pass the $110 limit. Or if you prefer, try other brands or find a used top of the line Yonex racket. - I'm pretty sure the AT500 can be strung @ 25 lbs. I've strung my AT250s from 26 lbs up til 31 lbs in tension and so far the racket frame has held up. I just need to request & replace the grommets at the top and bottom every time i change my strings/restring.
Chris has some good points here. AT500 can definitely be strung to 25lbs+. I just remembered one of my training partners uses that racket and I think he swings it at 25lbs exactly. Used rackets are certainly an option. As long as there isnt any structural damage it should be just as good as new. Right now top yonex rackets such as the at900t/p and ns9000/9900 can probably be had for around 120-165 usd used in good condition. I recommend browsing through the forums to find good alternatives or even the buy/sell forum too.
