My first post here, but I've been keenly reading up lot of posts about Yonex, Victor and Apacs for the past month. I started playing badminton a year back after a break of more than 10 years. At that time I bought an Artengo 800P racket (all-graphite). It is an even-balance 85-89 gm (not sure what 'G' it is in Artengo's terms) racket. I play mostly doubles, and a very occasional game of singles. I consider myself an advanced-beginner. I don't have a backup as of now so I was thinking of buying a VT 3 (which I cannot try) and keeping the 800P as a backup. In the meantime tried a few hits with the below racquets from other members of the club I play in: CAB 8010 LT: Feels good to swing, light yet stable. Has a solid feel when I hit and feels more in control. Could generate a lot of power without much effort on clears and smashes. NS Beta B: Feels good to swing, may be not as good as CAB 8010 LT IMO. Again could feel that strokes have more power (may be just the feeling) than my current racket. Both the above rackets felt more responsive and easier to hit with, and provided more solid strokes than my 800P. I have seen the Yonex chart where NSs and CABs are towards head-light balance. All these days I was thinking I need head-heavy racket (and keeping NS out of my list) for solid and powerful hits, and now it seems to be unfounded. Currently the CAB 8000 Ti, VT 3 and NS Beta/100 (in the order of preference) seem to fit within my budget. Now my questions: 1. How different or similar is CAB 8000 Ti from 8010 LT? Anybody had experience with 8000 TI? If is quite similar I know it will feel good to play for me. 2. Would I still be better off going for the VT 3? I read a mini-review of the VT 3 in one of the threads, but not sure how it will compare to 8000 Ti w.r.t control, maneuverability and power? 3. Why could I hit shuttles with more solid impact using (apparently) head-light rackets than the even-balance one? This is where I started feeling that going with a mainstream/leading manufacturer will have its benefits. Sorry for the long post and multiple questions.. but really looking for some expert opinions here.
The part about the headlight racket feeling better then even balance could have been a few things, one of them being as you said maybe the build quality wasn't very high on the even balance racket or another factor could be that you prefer headlight rackets. To be honest at your level I'd almost say you should get lessons instead of buying a new racket or if you already have a coach you could just save up because as you improve you may find you have different tastes in rackets then you do now. I know you said you wanted to have a spare racket but you also said you play doubles and if anything goes wrong your partner should have something you can use. Hope this helps!
Hmm.. I agree and the reason why I bought an even-balance racket was to evaluate what direction I wanted to go (HL/HH) as I improved. After playing for more than 1 year I was almost arriving at the conclusion that I need a somewhat HH racket to make my smashes and clears more punchy with lesser effort. In a year I have to say I have got back to 90% of the form I used to have when I was 25. I can do all the strokes with right technique and desired result, but now (after trying CAB 8010 LT) I feel my even-balance racket does not give as much feel and stability/solidity. Point taken - will play for some more time with my current racket, but just out of interest I would still like to know if anybody would like to share their experience (or opinion) playing with CAB 8000 Ti and VT 3 (while not comparing it to its more expensive Voltric siblings). Sadly all other members who play in our club don't have back-ups either so I'd like to keep this option open.
Why did a HL racket work better for you? Because your style is obviously more suited to a HL style. There is no shame in that. Of course, keep in mind that part of the difference that you feel when comparing other peoples rackets may lie in the strings. If your string job is old and loose, that is going to feel a lot different from a fresh, tight, even string job, no matter what the racket specifications. ___ As for what you should choose at this point for a second racket, my advice would be to get one of those that you have actually tried-out and liked. Where is the harm in that? There might be some greater, more perfect racket for you, yes. But for your sole back-up, it seems a safer bet to get something that you know you like. For weapons number 3-to-infinity: there will always be lots rackets for sale if your preferences change, as curiosity prods, and as the wallet allows.
Of course I agree, and on the contrary perhaps my technique is developed enough to extract power from HL rackets? Hmm.. true and strings could play a big part to the feel. Mine is still strung with the stock strings which have loosened up quite a bit. Both the other rackets were strung with BG65 (not sure what tension though), though they may not make any difference to how the racket feels to swing. For now this is my plan, stick with my current racket for the time being may be restring it with BG65 and compare. However, since the CAB 8010 LT felt so good to swing and hit, I want to know if CAB 8000 Ti will feel the same? If yes, then it could be my safe bet.
Visited a local sports shop today, 8000 Ti doesn't seem to be available. He did have CAB 8000 PLUS and CAB 6 Light. In the limited space I could just kind of wiggle the racket so couldn't get a good feel for the swing. Has anybody come across these rackets, what are the differences in feel?
Trying to find the specs of the racket(s) such as (with no success): Flex: Mid/Flexy? Balance: HH/HL? Weight 3U/4U? Grip: ? Anybody with above info especially for CAB 6 will be highly appreciated.
I don't know the Cab 6 specifically but a quick google found this site which describes the racket (albeit with a lot of hyperbole) as stiff and balanced-to - head heavy .http://www.healthkart.com/product/yonex-carbonex-6-lite-badminton-racket/SPT1166
Thanks for looking up the specs. I'm getting some contradicting information about the specs of this racket. On this site it shows weight as 3U, yet another site quotes the flex as mid-flex. Argghh.. only if one of these stores had put up a pic with the print on the cone. http://www.lelong.com.my/yonex-badminton-racket-carbonex-6-light-gooddealsport-111371430-2012-09-Sale-P.htm I will probably go to a shop again this weekend and note down the details, till then I can only hope for true information from the owners of this racket itself.
