Flex or stiff ? More or less string tension ?

Discussion in 'Badminton String' started by Tomas, Jan 28, 2003.

  1. Tomas

    Tomas Regular Member

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    Im looking for racquet, that can improve my game - my wrist is not the fastest and strongest. I prefer doubles - the racquet should be lighter and good manuverable (i prefer well balanced - not so much head heavy).
    I can buy here racquets from yonex, victor, babolat or carlton.
    Any suggestions for a racquet ? with my old Yonex ISO VF 76 i cannot generate powerfull smashes. I am good defender in doubles and can play delicate netshots and drops with good control, but cannot play a right killer-smash.
     
  2. Yodums

    Yodums Regular Member

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    So, does that still make you an arm or a wrist smasher? Again, I was told you always want a stiff raquet when you use your wrist to smash whereas you want a flexible one when you're an arm smasher.

    I'd probably recommend the MP88 or 99.
     
  3. Tomas

    Tomas Regular Member

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    Thanks - i was looking on Iso swing power SR - maybe this racquet can help solve my problems ? is someone of you using it for doubles ?
     
  4. ronk

    ronk Regular Member

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    I wonder how this heuristic works. I would have guessed the reverse, that a wrist smasher would want to use a flexible racket so that the wrist flick at the end of the smash together with the kick from the racket would generate additional power.

    I find that with the MP 99, the wrist flick at the end of any stoke, be it a smash, a forehand clear, or a backhand clear, is crucial for generating power and the MP 99 is a medium/stiff racket according to its ratings, but not as stiff as the MP 100 or MP 55.

    Ron
     
  5. LazyBuddy

    LazyBuddy Regular Member

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    Wow... sounds that ur game style is exactly the same as mine.

    Within ur list, I think I will go with Babolat (Satellite Synchro). I just got this racket for a wk, and only used for less half an hour for now. I used it to play aginast wall at home, and so far, prettey satisfied with the weight (85g), and the soft feeling (med flex shaft).

    However, I can't provide too much detail until this wkend or next, after I get some real games going.

    Another choice will be Yonex cab20ms, 3U. I have a 2U version, balance, excellent control and decent power. However, I think 3U should fit for me more, due to it's about 5g lighter.
     
  6. Tomas

    Tomas Regular Member

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    Lazybuddy: please give me your comments on the Babolat racquet after you have more played with it... as i have read here it seems like this is a good and light double racquet.
     
  7. LazyBuddy

    LazyBuddy Regular Member

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    According to the website:

    www.babolat.com

    Satellite Synchro is a light double racket. It's 85 g, and med flex. However, that's all from their spec. With my very limited experience with my new racket now, I think it's good so far, since playing aginst wall surely need a light racket for quick response, as well as control.

    I strung it with BG68Ti @ 22 lbs. Since never perform a smash yet (u know, my living room, parents going to kill me, :D ), I can't say anything about it in power. Also, in game, it may have different issues.

    Just give me more time, as my clubs will all start this wk and next, I think by the end of next wk or so, I can provide a more detailed review on this racket.
     
  8. LazyBuddy

    LazyBuddy Regular Member

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  9. ronk

    ronk Regular Member

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    The Gosen Aermet Roots Gavun 3400 is a mid flex racket and is available in 2U and 3U. The 3U should meet your needs nicely and it plays well. With the 2 kick point system and the mid flex frame, this racket can generate a lot of power with the right technique. To me, it is more of a wristy racket rather than a full arm swing racket. The wrist flick is crucial for generating power.

    One note is that the outer paint chips easily as I discovered to my dismay. A slight crash resulted in an unsightly 1 inch paint chip but with no damage to the frame.

    Here is the URL to the Gosen Aermet Roots Gavun 3400 and the 4500. The 4500 is a regular shaped racket while the 3400 is an iso frame. The 4500 is also slightly stiffer.

    http://www.gosen.com/new/index20a.htm

    Ron
     
  10. biggy

    biggy Regular Member

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    hi thomas

    here is what i have to say about the satelit synchro... i've been playing with it for more then a month now and honestly speaking it'd wounderful ... specially for playing double D... if you know what i mean... eventhough the rack. it's kinda light i can still pull out master smash with it :) I would say for the price of the rack ... it's woth it ... i would strongly recommended this on ....
     
  11. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    Not sure if a new racquet will help as much as you hope. If you smash cleverly, you can still produce smashes that win points or setup up your partner for the easy kill.
     
  12. LazyBuddy

    LazyBuddy Regular Member

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    Re: Re: Flex or stiff ? More or less string tension ?


    This is my dream...

    Just hope, one day, I can masterize skills in this field... :eek: :(
     
  13. Neil Nicholls

    Neil Nicholls Regular Member

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    If you pick a racquet with a more flexible shaft to give yourself extra power you will probably lose some of your control.

    A while back, a guy at my club who normally plays with a Carlton AS-1 (rated medium-stiff) was using his girlfriend's Carlton MegaFlex F3 (rated flexible).
    He said he got more power from the F3 but much less control.

    regards,
    Neil
     
  14. Tomas

    Tomas Regular Member

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    Thanks for your posts, somebody of you have experience with VICTOR racquets ?
    Is there some good double racquet of Victor that is balanced (not much head-heavy ?
     
  15. LazyBuddy

    LazyBuddy Regular Member

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    Played with Satellite Synchro for about 3 hrs last night, here's my 1st impression for "real game":

    1. Lightening quick in front of the net. With 85 gram, and almost perfect grip size (sorry, no g# avaiable, since babolat seems only have one grip size), the return in front net is fast.

    2. Control: maybe it's med-flex, or I did not get used to BG68Ti (1st time, always use BG65 back then), my control was not as accurate as before. The first several games, the net drop became wild, but later, it came to be more effective. Need a little bit more time for further "investigation".

    3. Power: suprise me that I thought BG68Ti suppose to gave a lot of power, but did not see that very often. It's possible that I still need some time to adjust to the racket and string, but the the "bang" sound (some net smash) was nice. :D Even though, not seems a big lift compare to my old ProKennex Kinetic ULX + BG65 combo, but at least not any worse, either.

    4. Bonus: the "polit system" on teh cone. Very smart design. Babolat installed these 2 little piece of elastomer stripes on the cone, which give me (net player) more control when choke the cone for serve. Very effective, as my serves (back hand)became more accurate.


    Still need more time to discover more issues on this racket, 3rd version will come out withint another 2 weeks or so.
     
  16. ronk

    ronk Regular Member

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    I don't find all that much power with the BG68Ti. I think that it does not have a good feel and it is not all that powerful. BG66 and BG65 seem more powerful.

    Ron
     
  17. Yodums

    Yodums Regular Member

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    The BG-68Ti was ok for power. Nothing special IMHO.

    It didn't have a crazy kick like the BG-66 or BG-85 does. It was basically an all around string.
     
  18. LazyBuddy

    LazyBuddy Regular Member

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    Hmmm... seems I will go back to my beloved BG65 when this BG68Ti is done?

    Good, 1 more way to save $$$ now. :D
     
  19. biggy

    biggy Regular Member

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    hey tom
    if you want a victor rack i would suggest the TI-1 it the one i prefer the most ... i tryed many of them and i find them most of the time head havy ... don't know if you like it but if you are looking for something light and strong it would be the good one :) my first experience with it was impressif i had good speed and decent power ..
    best regards
     
  20. biggy

    biggy Regular Member

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    and for those guys who are talking about strings ... well i played with all possible string that i could find... so this is how i would classifie the order
    1-yonex bg-66 with 0.66mm wich give amasing power decent control.
    2-ashaway rally 21 - 0.66mm master power but less control and short life
    3-yonex bg-80 0.68mm more powerfull then bg-65 average control med life time
    :)
     

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