Got my VT80 yesterday and have tried it för 1 hour . I have use AT900T for 2 years and first impression that VT80 feel powerfull and the the head its little bit heavier than AT900T but not much as AT700 .The clearing shot was very good Have not got the smash yet, some shots fall in the net, maybe im use to AT900T , have to use more hour to get in to the racket, i think it wil be easier to use than AT700 ( sold it after 3 weeks =) ) As far I like the VT80, feels better than AT700. Will tell more later...........
Haven't really tried an AT700 but if as everyone says it's head heavier and stiffer than VT80 then I'm definitely gonna hold out for something like the AT700!
It's very hard to compare racquets in some respects because they feel different to each player. However, AT900T is head heavy although the weight is more towards the T piece rather than top of the frame. So, if you know the differences between AT900P and T you've got the basis of the differences with VT80. But, Voltric is way more powerful, faster head, slimmer shaft. Paul www.badminton-coach.co.uk
Wow this thread is now 30 pages long, outstripping the X80 thead. Does this translate to more people interested in VT80 more than X80?? All in all and in such a sort period of time, its now official YY vs Victor battle is more exciting than YY vs Li Ning battle. Having attacks on both flanks, will we see the downfall of YY and see Victor vs Li Ning in the near future??
Looks like the YY and LiNing battle was a short one or sorta. Now it's definitely YY vs Victor. I got an idea, prehaps to survive (or become big) in baddy sports, one's company name must start with the latter alphabets. Apacs, um-hmm...Carlton, ok, etc. RSL, Victor, Sotx, Yonex and Zelm? Definitely Yonex! Li Ning? I believe LiNing got many competition from within his own circle nowadays, it's hard for him to corner the Chinese market only let alone the world. How about Xelm?
Apacs Bensini Carlton Dunlop E Fleet G H I Joobong Kx Li-Ning Mizuno N O Pro Kennex Rsl T U Victor Wilson Yonex, Yang Yang Xeppex Z
Apacs Bensini, Bonny Carlton Dunlop E Fleet G Head I Joobong Kx, Kason, Kawasaki Li-Ning Mizuno N O Pro Kennex Rsl SOTX Toalson U Victor Wilson Yonex, Yang Yang Xeppex Z
Nothing is impossible, no one would dare predicted Victor 5 yrs ago. ATM, Victor sponsors Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and I heard also Phillipines. Li Ning sponsors China (ofcourse), Singapore and Australia. And the rest (INA, MAS, DEN, etc) are still in YY hand. The question is how long? To me, its a matter of when more than if. I can not reveal too much about the exact figure how much Li-Ning is paying the national team players, but its more than 3 times figure YY is prepared to pay. If say today Li-Ning come to PBSI, there will be no reason for PBSI to reject the proposal.
But would LN be interested in partnering PBSI? YY has a special thing happening with PBSI, the PBSI logo is found on all their flagship racquets. PBSI would not settle for less than this distinction now, with anyone else. How do you think CBA would react if LN were to stick the PBSI logo on all their flagship models?
I doubt that Li-Ning is going to pay as much to sponsor players from other countries. Its Chinas largest sporting goods company sponsoring Chinas National Team. Just like Yonex will never give up sponsoring the Japanese team regardless of how well they do (or don't do). Regardless, neither li-ning nor victor have the world wide appeal of Yonex and probably won't for a few years yet. They also don't have the distribution channels, marketing... etc. Right now I own mostly Yonex (15), Victor (3 soon to be 4 when mx80 is released in Canada), Panda Power, Zelm and a Karakal but no Li-Ning... absolutely no interest in buying a racket for more than the cost of a Yonex from a company that's been making badminton rackets for less than 2-3 years.
Any VT80 experiences from Canadian BCers? How about some of our national players? Would they like to share?
Li Ning acquired Kason before made their own brand ... Apacs, Ashaway Bensini, Babolat, Bonny Carlton Dunlop, DC Badminton (Panda Power) Eagle Fleet, Forza, Flypower, Flypower-Arbi, Flexpro Gosen Hiqua, Head, Hart I Joobong, JPSee Kintex (KX), Kawasaki, Kumpoo, Karakal, Kaierte, Kason Li Ning Mizuno N O Pro Kennex, Prince, Proace, Protech RSL, RCL SOTX Toalson U Victor Wilson, Winex Yonex, Yang Yang Xeppex Zelm
As long as the PBSI sticker is not part of the China distributed good, there shouldn't be a problem. Just like YY put PBSI logo only in some distribution region. At the end of the day its how much $$$ a sponsor can bring in, its all that matter most.
Maybe not as much as they provide to Chinese players, but they will not hold back from beating what YY give to any player. Maybe not yet, but they will. LN will attack from the top and Victor from the ground up. By that I mean, LN is obviously a big company so it makes sense for the to have stores like the ones I've seen in Shanghai and Singapore as well as getting the products into some distributors or whole sellers, on the otherhand I never seen a single YY store in my life. Thats obviously because YY uses a well connected distribution channel through sports shops, but thats it nothing else. Victor, as far as i know is bypassing YY requirements to become a dealership, in other words, its a lot easier to become a Victor agent compare to YY. For example YY requires you to have a front shop to become an agent, Victor doesn't.
Actually we had that list (thread) somewhere here at BC. But the funny thing is, seems like only the latter LETTERS gained big market share. Like, Yonex, Victor, RSL, Sotx! LiNing actually has at least 3 competitions from defectors who found it profitable so they looked for venture capitalists to fund for their own setup (they got their own IPOs as well in a short span of time relative to how long LiNing became public)! LiNing seems to be more concentrated on apparels than racket technologies.
LN is building / has built? a big store in Seattle from what I remember. Their first store in north america I believe. Keep in mind that I think they are trying to follow the Nike model (not just their swoosh), but Nike did not try to open their own store front until they were firmly established. Also, I'm sure doing business in China is significantly different than the rest of the world. They are basically vertically integrated, design, build, sell... cut out all the middle men and all the profit goes in your own pockets. The older model of distributors and retailers is fast disappearing except for the largest stores. In the future I can see many manufacturers offering direct selling to customers (again not for a few years).