Hey, seasons around a month away here in GB and getting a lot more into mixed this year. I want to buy a racket that's very attack minded, head heavy with quite a bit of weight behind it. I was wondering on opinions as the best around? Thinking of the Li-ning N90, Carlton Elite and AT900p. I've had a sw35 only in 4u, but i didn't feel any weight behind the head and i don't reckong that'd change in the 3u. Any help would be great!!!
You can always use some lead tape if you want to save some money and change the characteristics of your racket. Amazon and Tennisplaza sell them for around $3-4 for a small roll. Otherwise, I really like the Apacs Lethal 70 (if you haven't seen my review). Very solid and stiff racket, not quite as head heavy as the AT700 but with some lead tape it can be head heavier (and has the shaft stiffness to support it). It's a 3U racket.
hmm maybe try a flexible racket? or lower ur string tension, becuause sw35 is enough of a beast already and being 4u only makes it lighter. but racket wise u cant go wrong with at900p,
If you want a powerfull racket for smashing when you are in the back of the court in a mixed game; SOTX Woven 11.
I love the Carlton Vapour Trail Elite. I cannot tell you how close I was to switching to it back when I still played with Karakal rackets. That racket is one of the very few that have the whole package. There is literally nothing it does badly, if I hadn't seen a Panda Power Ultra 1 in the Buy and Sell forum going cheap I imagine that I would be playing with the VT Elite today. I do think that the Ultra 1 is better in almost every area than the VT Elite, that is if you're comfortable with the weight (I say this because I imagine one of the lighter ones would have no power at all) and can make the shaft bend. It just feels a little bit more crisp on contact and provides a bit of extra power and control. The VT Elite has a lovely feel on contact that I haven't seen replicated in any racket outside the rest of Carlton's newest ranges - it really is something special. To be honest, I don't buy in to the "Optimetric" head shape thing. Whilst the VT Elite is an extraordinary racket, I don't think it has anything to do with the head shape which isn't that different from a normal iso - just a bit rounder. I don't know if you've hit with the VT Elite yet but I urge you to get hold of one just to experience its brilliance. I wouldn't call it a beast because despite its immense attacking power, it defends so beautifully as well. If you're interested in a more detailed opinion on this racket, check out the Carlton Vapour Trail thread, I reviewed quite a few of the other VT rackets in there as well. I think that of all the currently available mainstream rackets I have played with, the VT Elite is head and shoulders above the rest. It's a lot of money to spend on a racket without trying one though so please try to get a chance to play with it before buying.
Dan you must be a beast of a player to be able to weild the Elite and the Ultra. both are heavy and extra duper stiff rackets only suitable for powerful players.
I wouldn't describe myself as a beast but I try to stay in good shape and practice hard. You don't need to be a man-mountain to hit with ultra stiff, heavy frames, I get a lot of my racket head speed from my technique. I am thinking of getting hold of some more flexible rackets now though just to do bit of a comparison and see how I like them - it's been a while since I played with a softer racket. Now I've got some time off from any serious competition this is a good time to experiment. I think quite a few people read things on the internet or hear things at their club and are slightly afraid of trying one of the more "hardcore" racket models. In actual fact though, if you have sound technique and get in to position early there are a lot of benefits to be had from these more demanding models. I don't really see the Elite as a massively demanding racket. As strange as that may sound I thought it offered relatively easy access to power despite the stiff shaft. Perhaps the weight had something to do with it. I'm not saying that a beginner should go and pick this up straight away but it's one of the more accessible high end rackets. I certainly think it's friendlier than most of Yonex's high end offerings. On paper it might not seem so but it the real world it isn't a hugely challenging racket to play with; I suppose you could liken it to my neighbour's French bull mastiff dog. It would look utterly terrifying to most people that didn't know it but in reality it is in fact very timid and wouldn't hurt a fly.
Believe me the 3U SW35 is an extremely powerful racket, I would suggest trying one out, I tried a 4u AT900p and own a AT900t, and I have noticed that the SW35 3U is by a long way a lot more powerful.
Has anyone ever used both the N-90i and the trail elite? Know the specs are similar, both 3u extra stiff with lots of weight in the head. Do they play any different, is the li-ning worth the extra 60ish quid??
I think you can get the N90 for about £50 more than the Carlton if you shop around but that's still a huge amount of money in badminton racket terms. That £50 would have you half way to being able to buy a backup VT Elite. If you could get an N90 at a similar or the same price to the VT Elite and SW35, things get a lot more complicated but that's unlikely. The SW35 gets a lot of praise on these boards and the specs lean towards a racket that would give a big punch. I think you'll be suitably impressed with either. If anyone you know owns either of these two rackets, it's a good idea to try one or both of them before making a decision; that said, you probably won't be disappointed regardless of which one you go for.
