(Gah, I thought i had lost my post typing this... thank you auto-recover) I guess I'll give my comparison between the MX JJS (3U) and the Thruster K8000 (3U). I 'm a newbie at this. I mostly play doubles so take it with a grain of salt. String tension: JJS @ 24 lb with NBG98 TK8000 @ 23.5 lb with Li Ning Ap 90. Prior I had also used the NBG 98 @ 24lb. I had used both rackets the night before but I had wanted to give it one more try today to just confirm my thoughts on both rackets. I won't spoil my final impressions of the two until the end. When I hold both rackets, I wouldn't have noticed the weight between either one. The difference however is really noticeable with the swings. I didn't have much difficulty with a downstroke then immediately performing an upstroke on the JJS. The Thruster, on the other hand, was fast on the downstroke but you could feel immediately the head heaviness when you tried an upstroke right after. Warm up: The JJS felt very smooth when completing hits or clears. The Thruster's head heaviness was quite noticeable as it wanted to propel to one direction. No pun intended. It is possible the slight flex the TK8000 has makes this feeling really noticeable. Clears. Both were pretty decent in the this area. I couldn't notice a real difference between the two. The TK8000 was slightly head heavy but it wasn't too obvious. Backhand the JJS was rather straight forward to backhand clear. The TK8000 with its flex made me more conscious to time my backhand clear. The TK8000 has power but I had to retime my hits to accurately hit where i wanted it to go. Drives: Both rackets can drive the shuttle fast. The return of the drives: JJS >> TK8000. I had to concentrate a lot harder with the TK8000 when it came to the drives as the slight head-heaviness made it harder to respond to incoming drives. The JJS was felt lighter and more responsive in defensive. Drops: Both rackets were fairly even in this department. I feel its more about technique than racquet to execute it well. Smashes: I think this is the one section that the biggest difference comes into play between the two. When i first picked up the MX JJS and tried to smash... it was a huge thrill. Great angle, huge sweet spot, came with a bang. Fairly quick. This was first try with the JJS. The time to adjust wasn't hard at all for a smash With the TK8000, I looked like a tool the first time. Smash attempts became drive attempts. It was a terrible first session. The flex and the head heaviness of the racquet made me rethink how i needed to time my swings. The swing timing was different and I had to use a more whippy swing. After playing with it for a few more sessions and it clicked, I can do a more direct comparison. Power: TK8000 >>> JJS. The speed of the shuttle and power are a lot more obvious. Its thunderous when you smash with the TK8000 and I've caught a few people offguard with the speed of the shuttle. My friends receiving my smash noted that the smash speed is a lot faster compared to the JJS. I snapped my strings with the Thruster K (23.5lb) today. I haven't ever snapped my strings with my JJS (24lb Nbg98, 25 lb Bg66UM). Angle: JJS >> TK8000. The JJS is better at placement and is easy to produce steeper angles smashes at the sacriface of a little speed. The TK8000 is harder to smash accurately with steeper angles. Defence: JJS >>> TK8000. The headheavyness of the TK8000 is very obvious after the powerful hit. You feel very slow to respond if your opponent is able to block your smash. In singles, its not as obvious. In doubles, its really obvious. Also in drives in doubles, I wasn't able to respond to some incoming drives with the TK8000. The JJS is very responsive in comparison to the TK8000. Overall: Power: TK8000 >>> JJS Control: JJS >> TK8000 Def: JJS >>> TK8000. My thoughts on the two racquets The JJS was very easy to like even in the first session. Its a good all-rounder. You can do steep smashes, and good defence responsiveness. You can probably pick it up and go to town with it. The TK8000 was a mixed bag for me. I had a hard time adjusting to smashing with it. The head moved very fast and I mis-timed a lot. I played with the racquet for 3 weeks to try to like the thing. (3x a week at least 1hr each session).I changed the grip, strings, my strokes to try and adjust to the racquet in that time. Then it clicked... I could hit really hard with the TK8000. The problem was when my opponents were able to stop my smashes and the defensive drop was noticeable. The Thruster likes to go one direction and dislikes making any sudden changes . I spent more time at the gym to adjust my reflexes and endurance. I felt like I had to work to get to that level to adjust to the racquet. My concentration had to go up as I realized that my defense would take a hit. Going back to the JJS after playing with the TK8000, felt very balanced... If you want to more power and smashy hits with a drop of defence, the TK8000 is worth looking at. However, I may recommend you try to stick with the racquet for a while as it takes times to adjust and play to its strengths. I was compelled to get more fit to make use of the racquet better.
Nice review. Having both rackets as well I have the same impression and feelings you have with both rackets. Just didn't know how to put it into words
Hello, Bros, Any comparison btw TK-8000 vs Kason F9 Ltd? Pls share your comments. Many Thanks. Rgds,,,Ken
Not to be picky but, it would be better to post comparisons such as the JJS vs. Thruster one above in its own thread in the "Rackets Recomendation / Comparison section". That way it is easier to find by those interested, rather than hoping to chance across such a comparison buried in a 21 page (and growing) thread. Either way, thanks for posting the comparison.
Haha... if you search the "Rackets Recomendation / Comparison section", you will actually find the thread Victos MX JJS vs TK8000... I started it since 30th March but still zero reply... Hahaha.
my bad on that one ^^;. I didn't know which one was better to post at the time. Hopefully, I can test the Kason F9 ltd and the TK 8000 tonight. I'm on a happy streak of drives and smashes... so I can compare the two of them if my opponents are willing to lob a high one ^^.
So a quick round afterwards... One thing to note is that if you go from the Kason F9 to the Thruster and back is bound to mess up your game ^^;. Due to the change in heavy heaviness and swing. I need to stick with one racquet... Because I had adjusted to the TK 8000, it felt weird using the F9 so just be aware my observations may be skewed. The F9 is a) lighter than the Thruster and moves faster. I think I'm moved too quickly due using the TK 8000's head heaviness and reached blank space before the shuttle even started to propel there. Smash wise: The F9 is easier to constantly smash and reload due to its weight. Its very slight assuming you have opponents that would be kind to lift it up . The TK8000 had a slightly more solid feel when you found your sweet spot on your smash. Feeling wise, it felt like there was more punch. You can smash fast if you have the technique. I had someone who smashes better than me try and he can smash pretty fast with both. Both are really good racquets although I would give the F9 slight points to faster response swings for defense due to the balance weight. The Thruster's smash feel made me more inclined to feel good about smashing each time. I'm going to stick with the Thruster K as I do not want to damage my F9 . I would like to keep the F9 in a more pristine state.
It seems that we both have quite the same racket.. I am also using F9 and now TK8000... my findings are just the same as you. F9 still faster while TK8000 response time is slower due to the HH. But the power from TK8000 is just simply great!
Seriously, we're 21 pages in and I still have no real idea of the specs of this racket, how it fits into the victor range, or anything. Victor hasn't made anything over 300mm, and with its mid flex it seems like it would be something like an MX60 or BS11?
Let me help you out here. Though I couldnt measure the dry BP cause it is strung, I managed to measure some BP as below: BP with string, without any grip (bare wood handle) - Around 325mm BP with string and Karakal PU grip - Around 300mm As for the flex, it is something like MX60
Picked one up today strung with BG66UM @ 23lbs and played for about 2 hours today and it was just perfect! All my smashes were steep. The amount of flex is similar to my Vt-80. The racket felt like an extension of my arm which I was hoping my JJS would feel like and has failed to do so with almost 10 hours of play with it. Victor definitely has an ace in the pocket with the Thruster!
Sure felt that way to me. It's 3/5 on the Victor stiffness scale and the JJS is 4/5. The Vt -80 is considered stiff and Vt-ZF is considered extra stiff on the Yonex scale!
