2009 Babolat Badminton Rackets

Discussion in 'Badminton Rackets / Equipment' started by Ah_Shum, Sep 29, 2008.

  1. SAMUDERAINDIA

    SAMUDERAINDIA Regular Member

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    IN my opinion babolat make wonderful racket

    i have 2 of them, Booster max and satelite comet

    It's great racket, really nice to play, and cheap compare to comparable yonex racket

    I broke my AT700 without reason(no clash), and I had many clashes with my babolat but it still going strong

    Now I retired my another At700 and always use babolat

    I really like to try new x feel series, but with current price tag it will be difficult
     
  2. Sealman

    Sealman Regular Member

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    huangxl, in your opinion is the x-feel blast more 'demanding' than the x-feel power?
     
  3. Easy Tiger

    Easy Tiger Regular Member

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    Isn't the Power stiffer than the Blast?
     
  4. huangxl

    huangxl Regular Member

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    I haven't got the chance to try X Blast. But according to Babolat website. It is 2g heavier, rated extra stiff and balance point of 290 as compared to X Power. In my review i said that you need to put in abit more effort to generate smash. That's why I am thinking the extra weight will help. However if your game is more about defending. I believe this is a good racket for the price. Light yet able to generate sufficient power and user able to generate a fast swing speed easily. Stiffness is also just nice.

    Anyway, I might get X Blast later. Not in the near future. My wife will give me the "X Blast" for buying so many rackets.
     
  5. huangxl

    huangxl Regular Member

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    Oh i forget to point out. Babolat racket has a longer shaft. Abit like the Ti 10 or AT 700.
     
  6. teoky

    teoky Regular Member

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    Blast is the stiffest and most head heavy racquet in the X-Feel lineup.
     
  7. BlueBanana

    BlueBanana Regular Member

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    I have X-Feel Blast in my arsenal and i must say it is the most powerful racket and one of the stiffest i have ever had in 26LB Babolat Hyperbraid Micro 0.67mm. Below is the comparison btw Babolat X-Feel Blast, Mizuno TC700 Yonex AT700:

    Specification:
    Babolat X-Feel Blast
    Babolat Hyperbraid Micro 0.67mm 26LB, Babolat Pro Tour overgrip, 675mm, 3U/G5 final BP:~290mm

    Mizuno Tetracross 700
    Gosen R4x200 0.66mm 26LB, Babolat Pro Team Tacky overgrip, 675mm, 3U/G4, final BP:~300mm

    Yonex AT 700
    BG-66 0.66mm 26LB, Toalson Volcanic overgrip, 3U/G5, final BP:~305mm

    Review:
    1) Aesthetics:
    Babolat X-Feel Blast is a beautifully constructed racket with an excellent white paint work with black and red patch on the head and a very exquisite silver hologram butt cap. Mizuno Tetracross 700 feels equally solid with a green theme that has a lasting impression though you will always think green reminds you of a certain special public holiday in our calendar :) However paint work seems a little rough. Of course AT700 needs no mention..juicy fiery red. Thus IMHO,
    (Most beautiful) Blast->AT700->TC700

    2) Head heaviness:
    It doesnt really reflect on their respective actual weight, but this is what i feel:
    (heaviest)AT700->TC700->Blast(least heavy)

    3) Stiffness:
    TC700 and Blast are the stiffest rackets i have ever handled by miles though i haven tried NS9000X and NS9900. They are so stiff that you need some good psychomotor movement, muscles and technique to put it to good use. Rather unforgiving and steeper adapting period than normal for me.
    (Stiffest)TC700=Blast->AT700(least stiff)

    4) Lobs/Clears:
    All are excellent and special mention must be given to Babolat X-Feel Blast as they are almost effortless and yet flew miles out of court! This tiger needs some taming.

    5) Smashes:
    I'm personally known for power in my smashes for reasons unknown to myself :) Because of the stiffest, swing technique, speed and even the place you grip needs some adjustment. As i was abit reluctant to fully snap my wrists during smashes, smashes with TC700 and Blast gave a rather flat trajectory rather than the usual sharp straight down ones that i have no problem with AT700. Maybe this is due to my wayward technique? All rackets have the same shaft length if i am not wrong. However TC700 has a slightly longer handle, about 1/3 of a cone longer. TC700 seems to have a slightly smaller sweet spot. It could be due to the longer handle that you have to make adjustments to? Both Blast and TC700 have swings that i cannot easily get used to somehow unlike AT700 which works like a charm. Verdict: All are monsters if you get the sweet spot right.

    6) Drives:
    Excellent "whipping" feel in AT700. But trouble adjusting TC700 and Blast. Stiffness problem?
    (Easy) AT700->Blast->TC700

    7) Defence:
    Don't be intimidate by the "head heavy" balance of Tetracross 700, amazingly it is very much more maneuverable than you would imagine. Perhaps the slightly longer handle forces you to hold really high up in doubles that gives me the maneuverable feel? AT700 is simply so dreadful in this department.
    (Easy)TC700->Blast->AT700(difficult)

    8) Power:
    I really have problems taming Babolat X-Feel Blast. I do not know if it's bcos of the hyperbraid. Almost every lob/lift with Blast in my normal strength were miles out of boundary. I have a feeling the fact i am not very used to Gosen R4x200 on Tetracross 700 didnt give me the extra power that everyone is talking about.
    Blast->AT700=TC700

    Verdict:
    I must say AT700 is better suited for singles as maneuverability is pretty poor while the other 2 are reasonably good all round rackets. All of them are power crazy monsters but AT700 is easier to adapt for me perhaps due to the less stiff shaft. All rackets requires some strong arms to play with. AT700 feels the most head heavy but maybe due to the less stiff shaft it somehow absorbs the impact while you get the full force of the impact using the other 2.

    As all of them have their merits and weaknesses, it depends on what you are suited and looking for. For me, i prefer the maneuverability of Tetracross 700 than AT700 but if i were a singles player, i would have picked AT700.
     
    #127 BlueBanana, Jul 2, 2009
    Last edited: Jul 2, 2009
  8. Dansk

    Dansk Regular Member

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    I have played with my X-Feel Power again for an hour after re-stringing it with Gosen Pro 70. Net play is easy and accurate. It is also easy to smash. I feel it is quite easy to generate power in smashing. I think it is powerful. It is easier to generate power than MP99 maybe due to the grip is shorter. It is more comfortable to hold the X-Feel Power. I think it makes me smash harder easily. I am very satisfied with it.
     
  9. huangxl

    huangxl Regular Member

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    Dansk. Is it because of the increase in swing speed? For me, i feel that power is not sufficient compare to my other rackets (Read Arc 10, MP99 and Ti 10) as head not heavy enough but there is a lot increase in swing speed. I need the extra push to get more power. But net play was excellent. For me i feel this is more of a control racket than power racket.
     
  10. Dansk

    Dansk Regular Member

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    Swing speed maybe one of the reason as the racket is so light. I also think it makes me easier to concentrate the power when I hit the shuttle. I think MP99 is a bit heavy after using X-Feel Power.

    According to the spec. sheet, Both X-Feel Blast and X-Feel Power are for offensive play but X-Feel Power is not as stiff as Blast and not head heavy. It is classified as an all rounder but offensive racket.

    I held X-Feel Blast on hand on Sunday. I just tried to see how it feels. I think it is too stiff for me. I feel that I am holding an iron rod on hand. I don't like the feeling and it is head heavy. It may not be easy to maneuver it. X-Feel Power should be more user friendly.
     
  11. huangxl

    huangxl Regular Member

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    I see. Thanks for sharing. As i like to have more control and less power for my racket. Guess i will give X Blast a skip
     
  12. shinn

    shinn Regular Member

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    i'm just waiting for my Babolat Satellite Energy and Solar to come from e78....

    must say they do respond quite fast bought them both for 1515HKD.....

    will review them next week when they come...i think it takes about a week for it to arrive.

    hand itchy for the racket

    its a flexible and a mid flex racket....look it up at the babolat website.
     
  13. shinn

    shinn Regular Member

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    got my babolat solar and energy already for 2 weeks......

    sad to say i snapped my string for the solar......too much smashin i guess

    but to review

    solar is light weight....alot lighter than my other rackets going at 82g and very flexible. strung at 24lbs and very good as smashes. had a bit of getting used to becasue smashing was more powerful than usual. it was ok for net play not great but good enough but because of the light weight made it a bit harder to do cross court net plays. since its very flexible it does give that slingshot effect like a heavy head

    energy is heavy head racket. feels a bit heavier than solar and well balanced for net and smashing. not so sure wat it was strung at but well it is lasting longer than my solar......no money to restring solar now. would say it is better for control coz it made cross court plays easier.

    solar - light weight, excellent for smashing, average for net plays(control)

    energy - heavy head, good for smashing, very good for net plays(control)

    could just be me but i prefer a bit of a weight on the head for net plays
     
  14. Thom_bad

    Thom_bad Regular Member

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    Not much about the X Feel Lite here..
    I'm interested by this racquet, have someone tried it ??

    Reviews anyone ?
    Is it comparable to NS9900 ?
     
  15. Thom_bad

    Thom_bad Regular Member

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    I found it near from my apartment in Caen in a sport shop : they sell it 119€ :):)
     
  16. teoky

    teoky Regular Member

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    That's expensive ! Maybe you can order it from e78 and even with shipping end up paying lower.
     
  17. Thom_bad

    Thom_bad Regular Member

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    Did you tried the X feel Lite ?

    At the moment I'm not interested in web-shipping..
     
  18. Thom_bad

    Thom_bad Regular Member

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    And 119€ is a goood price as a badminton spécialised shop sells it for 140€..
     
    #138 Thom_bad, Sep 7, 2010
    Last edited: Sep 7, 2010
  19. demolidor

    demolidor Regular Member

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    Isn't it super flexible? More like NS6000, oh wait BP285mm ... maybe more like a 4U Arc7?
     
  20. Thom_bad

    Thom_bad Regular Member

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    On the babolat website they say it's stiff
     

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