Bumblebee 01 – Power Extra Stiff 4U G5 Head Heavy – approx. 298mm Zymax 70 at 25lbs First Impressions: The racket looks great. That is what I have to say upon picking it up. I know many people will not be too thrilled by the colour scheme but I really like it. The paint quality is quite top-notch although there was an area where it wasn’t as smooth. Certain positions around the frame have nice hologram-like honey comb accents. The racket felt sturdy and of a nice weight. Warm Ups: POWER. The BB01 has lots of power. Most of my clears were sailing out pretty effortlessly so I had to really sky some of them. It definitely didn’t feel like a defensive racket as it did feel kind of slow despite being a 4U but this was all during warm-ups so we’ll see. Game Time: Again, POWER. Smashes were amazing with this racket although I must say, the sweet spot is extremely small. When you time yourself right, your shots will be amazing. When you don’t, your shots will be begging to be killed. Drives were decent but like I said before, rather slow. Defence kind of suffers a bit with this racket even though it’s the 4U version. Maybe it was just me but I felt a lag when I used this racket. Clears again were effortless but drop shots from the back took more effort to execute. The sweet spot on the BB01 is really quite small so it will take some time to adjust for most people. In terms of comparisons to other rackets, the BB01 felt most like the 4U AT900 Power by Yonex, although I must say the AT900P was much easier to use. Net shots and net kills were pretty good. The racket feels very solid when hitting the bird so I found net play to be quite nice. Although brushes and kills were rather powerful, it did tire my wrist a bit after a while. This racket was definitely interesting to play with although my arm got kind of sore after playing with it for a few hours. Conclusion: The BB01 is an interesting racket to try if you’re an all-out attacking player. Defence should not be on your mind when you use this racket, especially if you plan to use the 3U version. Ratings: Power – 9.5/10 Defence – 7.5/10 Feel – 9/10 Control – 8/10 These ratings are rather subjective and could be a bit biased. I myself am more of a control and defensive-minded individual so if you’re an attacking player, this racket might suit you quite well and be easy to adapt to. Bumblebee 02 – Control Medium-stiff to Stiff 3U G5 Slightly Head Heavy – approx. 290mm Zymax 67 at 25lbs First Impressions: The racket looks better than the “Tonka Toy Truck” or the BB01. Now don’t get me wrong, I actually like very eccentric colours so the BB01 is in my opinion, one of the better looking rackets for me XD. But when I picked the BB02 up, it just looked amazing. Props to Victor for doing a very fine job on the paint and design of the racket. Whereas the BB01 was the grunt or strong guy of the family, the BB02 is the princess being protected by the grunt. Warm Ups: This racket definitely felt more at home to me compared to the BB01. Maybe it was because of the balance or the stiffness, but it just felt right. Clears were once again effortless, and most of all, the sweet spot is much larger than the BB01. Drives were quick and easy although this racket did feel much heavier than the BB01 so I decided to play a game with my normal 3U racket first and then switched back to this one for the test. Game Time: The racket is as its name implies, very easy to control. All my shots were going exactly where I wanted them to although I still found this racket quite heavy and sluggish compared to my go-to rackets (NS9900 and RKEP AT800p). The racket felt really solid and unlike the princess it seemed to have been, this thing can really hold its own in terms of power, relatively speaking. Clears were simple to execute and easily controllable, drives were flat and crisp, net shots were great but what I found most interesting was the fact that forehand and backhand drops with this racket were extremely simple to do. Maybe it was just because I’m more used to this type of racket or whatever but it was definitely quite pleasant. Serves were right to the “T” and flick serves were right to the corner. In terms of defence, this racket is not bad, but it is in no way the best. Like I said before, it felt quite sluggish and that carried through even after using some heavier rackets. It will get the job done in most cases but I wouldn’t exactly count on it to close out the game in the bottom of the ninth during Game 7 of the World Series if you know what I mean. Smashes were pretty decent for what it was advertised as. They were by no means the best things in the world but they’ll get the job done. In terms of comparing it to a racket I have tried before, I must say it felt like the Armortec 500 or the Li-Ning N50 II. But of course, that is all subjective. Conclusions: This racket felt nice but at the end of the day, it did not suit me and my playing style enough for me to keep it in my collection. Both these rackets are technically limited edition rackets so maybe they’re more to collect than to play? But either way, the BB02 will definitely suit some people. It is more of an all-around racket as opposed to the grunt who only knows how to kill. Ratings: Power – 8.5/10 Defence – 9/10 Feel – 9/10 Control – 9.5/10 Once again, these are rather subjective ratings and may differ completely from person to person depending on skill and playing style. I am by no means a pro at badminton but this is a fun hobby of mine. Wallace
@ eastcoast Sorry, but I was never able to get my hands on the SW35 as much as I want to. What I can say is that after playing more with the bb01, it feels pretty good but it definitely takes time to get used to it. @ George Thanks for the compliments. I do what I can so people are more aware of other brands XD
Thanks anyways wallace, also how does the swing on the BB01 feel? Is it quick and cuts through the air better than the BB02? Also, the BB02's shaft is apparently slimmer than the BB01, is there a noticeable difference due to BB01's 7.5mm shaft rather than 7.0mm?
Nice! From the pics it seems the the power version has the narrow iso head (z-slash, mp99) and the control has the wider iso. Is that the reason for the difference in sweet spot size and power? Did you buy them in Canada and for how much?
Nice review Wallace, I like the color scheme of BB02 > BB01 too, so clean! Are there any reason you bought the 4U version of BB01 instead of 3U? I suppose the smashes will go even harder with the 3U. Keep up the good work!
@ eastcoast the bb01 swings pretty quickly although i wouldnt say it is the fastest. both my ns9900 and rkep at800p are much quicker imho. the shaft of the 01 is said to be thicker than the 02 but it isn't by alot. barely noticeable if at all. i think that if you didn't know that one was less than the other, you would just think they were the same. i got a friend to get it for me in Taiwan so he marked it as a gift and of low value so i avoided customs XD @ iori you are right, the frame of the 01 is definitely slimmer than that of the ordinary iso. I didn't get a chance to compare with my friend's z-slash but it was definitely smaller. sorry i can't elaborate more on that. as for the cost and where i purchased it from, like i said before, a friend got it for me from taiwan (i believe these rackets are only exclusively released in taiwan but i could be wrong) and i didn't have to pay too much. As for the prices, i actually don't have to pay for them....yet. since he's not actually in canada for a while. he never told me a price but i assume that it will even out what we owe each other in terms of rackets in the past XD, took about a week to arrive @ manabu thanks for the kind comments, the pearlescent white of the 02 is really nice to look at. really quite dazzling and classy. as for why i got the 4u for the 01, i've had some bad experiences with using head heavy 3u and 2u rackets and i hurt my arm a while back so i try to stick to the lighter things for now. i also like speed so i find heavy rackets kind of sluggish. But you're right, the 3u will be a monster, similar to how the 3u ns9900 compares to the 2u.
eric is one of my friends. i get my rkep stuff from him. i got my victor rackets from a non-dealer friend in taiwan. but eric is definitely a nice man, great person to deal with. i would fully recommend working with him if you get the chance to
Apparently, its not a BKA racket because its only a limited edition version. But I think that the new 2011 line of rackets will be similar to the BB's. You can tell that the logo's of the technology has changed, the super waves frame is gone but Victor is using power waves instead. There is also something called "flash swing velocity" and the stiffness and head heaviness bar has relocated to the cone rather than the shaft.
Yeah, the 2011 line will most likely be similar to this. You dont see the korea badminton logo on the cone. Still looks like a top of the line racket though, with all the advertising on the taiwan website and stores.