hey guys hows it going? i have not been on this forum for a LONG time. i have been out of the badminton scene for a while. things just got in the way, and eventually i stopped playing. however i recently started playing once a week, and its great to play again. anyways this thread is not about me. i am once again looking for a suitable racket for my dad. 3 years ago i bought him a 3U MP100 which he liked a lot. he got the used to the power, and never went back to his NS6000. the problem is around 2 years ago he broke the racket. i dont know if it was from a racket clash or him hitting the floor, but either way it is clean broken on the side. i bought him an ARC 10 to see if it would be a decent replacement, but he told me that it was lacking too much in power. before i mention the rackets i am looking at, i need to mention the tricky part to this. to sum it up, my dad has minor tennis elbow. he only plays once a week, and it only acts up every now and then. he bought an arm band thing and uses it most of the time to prevent it from acting up while he plays. so you see, if my knowledge is correct he cannot use too light or too heavy a racket. if it is too light, he will spoil his arm. if it is too heavy, he will over-exert himself and that is not any better. doing some quick research the MP100 is actually more balanced to slightly head heavy. so i poked around the forums a bit and did some research. i was thinking of getting him an AT900P but that might be too head heavy for him. so now i am thinking either the 3rd gen Ti10 (purple) or maybe the AT500. is the AT500 replaced by the AT600? i dont see the 500 on most websites now. oh and if you did not already gather from my initial description, my dad is more of an attacking player that likes a proper racket that makes good power. he likes doing clears and smashes, with a few drives and net shots in between. i think he does more doubles than singles, which explains him wanting a more powerful racket than the ARC 10. i believe he will be using BG65 at 20 - 22 lbs. so let me know if i am going in the right direction, or if i might have missed another suitable option. thanks.
the new Precision or older Trinity 2 may be perfect for your dad light, balanced, not too stiff, yet powerful and fast in ON, you may be able to test out the rackets from mjstrings.ca
wow thanks for the fast reply. panda power eh? i will do some reading on them. i dont know much about the other brands of rackets, but the funny thing is the only racket i use now is a SOTX woven 8A. and thanks for reminding me, i have emailed mjstrings.
I concur wholly with Visor. T2 is probably the way to go, it is slightly flexy but not too much, and if strung correctly, can give you an absolute explosion of power along with great accuracy. I haven't tried the Precision as yet, but have yet to read one significantly bad thing anyone has to say about it.
If your father liked mp100 & left his ns6000, then he likes a stiff racket. Don't go to a flexible racket, at600 is flexy. It's hard to find an at500 nowadays & it's a head heavy racket. At900p is also head heavy racket, but a 4U racket (lighter weight) might prevent him from over-exert, IMO.
Anyways, I agree with visor and cobalt that panda power is the way to go. Since your dad has tennis elbow you can choose the most desirable specs (BP/weights) for your father. To me it's kinda hard to believe the Arc10 lacking in power, it's a awesome racket as well.
Haha if he wants a stiff racket, the Trinity 1 might be the best choice, though it may be a little hard to find now. Trinity 2 is also a very good choice. Precision is kind of flexy for him it sounds like, but it does generate a lot of power for its weight.
lol maybe. or he just likes the weight to help him with the swing. hmm so i take it there is some significant difference between the older and newer panda power T2? thanks for the suggestions guys!
Ya, the newer T2 is designed to be faster and more forgiving than the T1. Depending on your dad's technique, either the T2 or Precision would fit him well
Does that mean he likes a heavier racket or a lighter one? Is there any specific reason why he liked the MP100 or any reason why he doesn't like the Arc10?
sorry if i have not been very clear. yea he likes a heavier racket to help generate power, which is why he liked the MP100. he said the ARC10 does not have enough power, so i am assuming it is because it is not heavy enough compared to the MP100.
The ARC10 is an evenly balanced racquet. Maybe he needs a head-heavy racquet, but it does not necessarily have to be a heavy racquet?
If he already has slight tennis elbow problem, he shouldn't go too head heavy. Just get the T2 or Precision at about 85g, 290-295mm bp and he'll be more than pleasantly surprised.