looking for the good racket for me, help please?

Discussion in 'Racket Recommendation / Comparison' started by xomega, Sep 18, 2010.

  1. xomega

    xomega New Member

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    i've been trying to figure out to find a good racket but there are just too many with too many different specs and in all reviews there is always a downside...i just can't figure it out myself, so if somebody would be willing to help me out a little bit?

    I'd classify myself as a beginner/intermediate player. i mostly play doubles. My weakness(losing most points because of it) is that my "clears" only get to halfway the other side of the court, rather than the end(playing with what i would call a 'toy racket' atm), so i'm looking for something that might help me give a little bit more distance/speed into my shots.

    My strenght(scoring many points) is my drop shots and reflexes to be able to return drops.

    i do care about durability, i'm hoping to buy one that lasts for a couple of years (playing 2-3 hours a week)

    budget: i'll consider anything from €30 to somewhere around 60

    thx in advance for your recommendations!
     
  2. xomega

    xomega New Member

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    seems like you can't edit posts on this forum?

    anyway, i was thinking about the yonex nanospeed 300. i read a couple of review saying it's good for defensive play and also gives some extra speed(hence distance?) because of the medium flex shaft.

    opinions?
     
  3. erictung

    erictung Regular Member

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    If it's possible you could order some good apacs racket with your budget.

    http://www.badmintonbay.com/
    This is the site to check out the apacs rackets, they're quite good AND REALLY CHEAP but they're usually stiff rackets.
    Great bang for your buck.

    If you can't order online, you should buy a racket that's slightly better than yonex nanospeed 300, because a racket like that lasted less than a year for me before I had the BIGGEST URGE to buy a new and better racket. But at the beginning, you don't need to settle for really expensive ones.

    My suggestions would be some higher ends of Yonex Nanospeed, but it doesn't need to be expensive ones. Just better ones than the 300, but stay in your budget :D

    Good luck
     
  4. xomega

    xomega New Member

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    thx for your advice.

    there is an offer on a dutch site which offers the nanospeed delta(=the NS800, i think?) at €55, only €5 more than the NS300 atm. would that classify as a higher end one? it says it has a stiff shaft though, so i don't think that's very good for me?

    i'll take a look at the apacs too, i just researched yonex first considering that's the best known brand, but i have no problems with another brand.

    any recommendations when it comes to the apacs ones? i think something even-balanced with a medium stiff shaft would fit me best? i'm getting quite lost in all the specifications and brands, to be honest
     
  5. erictung

    erictung Regular Member

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    Brands doesn't matter unless you're a "ZOMG YONEX ONLY PLEASE" person. Personally, I like Yonex brands, BUT they're overpriced.

    You could settle for Nanospeed Delta if you wanted to, it's all up to you.

    My recommendation is the Apacs EdgeSaber 8 from badmintonbay so take a look at the website and read all the good stuff about it :)

    Cheers
     
  6. xomega

    xomega New Member

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    i just stumbled unto that one too! i'll read some reviews about it :)

    i'm not sure if i can get my hands onto it in some shop though.

    but thank you for your kind help, for sure! :)
     
  7. erictung

    erictung Regular Member

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    NP.

    You could order that online and the price would still remain under 50 USD after shipping prices. Unless you have a Apacs shop near belgium, then you should order it online.
     
  8. xomega

    xomega New Member

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    the apacs EdgeSaber 8 is out of stock on that website. how about the EdgeSaber 9 or 10, is the difference big or not?

    anyone got experience with any of these rackets and/or that website to order from? a bit weird that it's to hard to get a hand on these apacs rackets, that site is the only one i find them, and there are hardly any reviews around :s
     
  9. erictung

    erictung Regular Member

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    My friend and I bought the Apacs Nano Power 900 (Red and White), we totally loved it. When I ordered my Apacs Nano Power 900 (Red), it was out of stock as well, but they messaged me and said they will have some in stock as soon as possible and it was in stock about roughly 3 days later, so I'd say it's pretty fast because I said I wanted it ASAP :p.

    EdgeSaber 9 is designed for women (not being sexist here), because they have less power so the shaft is medium AND the design is more fitting for women, but it doesn't mean guys can't use pink. (Personally I think it looks awesome)

    EdgeSaber 10 is also a overall racket and it's quite the popular choice as well. Gives good smashes and decent drops, but I'm thinking that this racket might be a little on the stiffer side.

    Overall, there is a bit of a difference between these 3 rackets, but I wouldn't say they make such a big deal in the end.

    I made an account on badmintonbay and got a 5$ voucher :D, and I just login, click add to cart and purchased it directly from their website. Don't worry about quality and shipping because they arrived 1 day earlier for me :)D, took about 5 days to Canada, to Belgium should be shorter) and it was wrapped in bubble wrap.
     
  10. xomega

    xomega New Member

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    isn't the shaft on the 8 medium too(which is good because i believe that's better for me)?
    i think i won't consider the 10 because of the stiffer shaft.

    the nano power you are talking about is medium stiff too and all other things seem similiar to the edgesaber 8, so what makes it different from the edgesaber 8? these are the things that are confusing the heck out of me...they all look alike. is it because the nano power is head-heavy and the edgesaber is not?

    i might as well order the nano power 900 (red one :p) if they aren't much different, since they have that one in stock and the price is about the same :p

    once again, i'm incredibly thankfull for your help on this one :)
     
  11. xomega

    xomega New Member

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    and another last question (darn i'ts annoying you can't edit your previous post :-S)

    1) is it worth choosing the yonex strings and paying the extra 2 euros? i mean, i really don't care paying 2 extra euros if the strings will last longer/be better quality because of that :)

    2) what tension to put on the strings? 20 - 28 lbs to choose from but i honestly have no clue what the best option is and what the effect of a higher tension is.

    i think i'll order the nano power 900 red one, as soon as i know an answer on the two above questions :)
     
  12. erictung

    erictung Regular Member

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    The Nano Power series is actually a bit head heavy, my friend's White one is head heavy while my Red one is about even balanced and leaning towards head light. I guess if you really want, pick a design you like the most and buy it XD. When you get used to the racket, it'll be all good.

    The rackets all seem similar because they're clones of the Yonex rackets (if you didn't know), but overall they all have similar specs with the Yonex ones, but not exactly the same.

    To answer question 1) Apacs strings are pretty good, but if you wanted to, you can tell the buyer to string it with another string instead, it's really your personal preference. IMO, I'd just stick with the Apacs string.

    2) Higher tension = players with strength
    Lower tension = players with less strength

    That means for you, 21-23 is probably the ideal tension. High tension is for people who has good control, strength and proper technique in playing badminton. The shuttles go further if your string tension is lower.

    Cheers
     
  13. xomega

    xomega New Member

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    i've send badmintonbay an email requesting if i could pay by bank transfer instead of paypal and they haven't answered after 6 days.

    i'm starting to distrust this site and their so called strive for costumer satisfaction.
     
  14. erictung

    erictung Regular Member

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    Not too sure why they're not answering, but at first, I found badmintonbay on Ebay. I was sending them emails through there and I never tried to send emails through their website. I used paypal to buy my items and they responded within a day.

    This is there Ebay page: http://myworld.ebay.com/badmintonbay&ssPageName=STRK:MEFSX:SELLERID

    This was my first time buying anything online, so I wanted to make sure it was trustable source as well, so I clicked "Contact member" to give them messages. They responded at about 12 PM (Singapore time) usually.

    You can try emailing them there. If it doesn't work well... I guess you're out of luck.

    Tell me if it's successful or not. :)

    Cheers
     

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