I used to have a bonny racket,oval frame..n it occurs to me that it's one of the most powerful racket i've got.Too bad it's broken.Although i always uses iso frame racket rite now,but i still think oval frame is actually good as well.It looks old,n sometimes preventing me from buying one.But after u have one,u'll probably change ur mind.
It is like some men prefer classical, elegant and mature lady while some likes young, light headed, hot looking and flavor of the day. It's whatever wins the game for you.
that is my prob., my taste changes daily so i own both kind I store them in separate compartment of course
Unfortunately on the Yonex end it is hard to make a fair comparison between Ovals and Iso frames. All of the currently available Ovals are essentially old models that don't use many if any of the new technologies that the ISO frames sport. It would be interesting to get comparison of the Carlton rackets that are offered in both an ISO and Oval frame and see how they compare with each other.
The following comparison is based on my personal experience, other ppl may feel otherwise I've been using oval shape rackets all my life especially the yonex cab series - cab7, cab8, cab20 & nowadays cab21sp. I have both the older cab21sp racquets (dark blue & beige line color scheme) & the newer (black & red line color scheme). Used to play singles in my school team but switched to doubles and has been playing doubles ever since. I have flexible arm & wrist, which is beneficial in playing fast drives & flicks in doubles Me & my brother playing together with my friends twice a week, & I always use my cab21, never feel the need to try my friends' high-end racquets. Even my bro tried to convince me to get those high-end racquets (he's using Yonex AT Special Limited Edition & N9000s at the moment), but my replies are always the same: "your fundamental skills & techniques are more important than an expensive high-end racquet". Until recently, I started to feel sore & pain in my arm & wrist after long hours of playing (probably because of cab21's head heavyness & my arm not as strong as b4 ) That prompt me to give head light/balance ISO racquets a try, so I purchase my first ISO racquet - the AT900T after reading many good reviews about the racquet. I've been using the AT900T for nearly a month now & I must say I feel being 'pampered' by the AT900T . All the shots I used to execute with my cab21 can be done effortlessly with the AT900T, in fact, the AT900T improves my playing maneurability & accuracy because of it's head light/balanced & longer grip handle. When compared to my cab21, the AT900T is flex-medium stiff, ultra light weight & has a bigger sweet spot (thanks to all those high tech apllied to it). However, I do need to adjust my swing timing, but that's not a problem at all after a while. I can swing faster & move around the court easier using the AT900T, & my friends are having difficulty retrieving my shots The reason why I say I feel being 'pampered' by the AT900T is probably because all those sores & pains of using the cab21 are gone, replaced by the joy of able to outplay your opponent in most shots. I notice there's a lot of discussion going on over which racquet is the best...& blah,blah,blah. If somebody ask me should I get an Oval or ISO racquet? my replies are the same as b4:"your fundamental skills are more important than the racquet's head shape" However, in my personal experience, I do find the high-end technology ISO racquets nowadays giving me that extra "edge" I need to win over opponents at my or higher level. You will only notice the difference when u play against tough opponents in closely matched games, where every point counts, & u need that extra push to help u with split-second shots. For amateurs, forget about getting the most expensive racquets & hoping that it will improve your game 100%, it's impossible. If you are an amateur using the latest most expensive ISO racquet up against an experienced good player, the good player will outplay you even with an old steel racquet. Trust me.
i have heard (and am inclined to believe) that though it is true that the iso has a bigger sweetspot, the sweetspot of oval heads are more concentrated, and therefore are more beneficial when you hit right on the spot, as opposed to isos, where even if you hit in the dead centre of the sweet spot, it won't be nearly as efficient. plus, if one were to at least practice with oval head (smaller sweet spot) and play games with an iso, it would train them to be more precise to hit the spot, and not be as sloppy. personally, i use the pro kennex boron 808 and pro kennex concave 700 (both oval), so i might be a bit biased, but that is my two cents.
New materials technology are equally applicable to oval and iso. Whatever new high-tech materials the industry comes up with are used on both iso and oval.
Maybe in statistics, but by feel, it feels more mobile than a Cab30ms. My AT900T moves faster around the net then Cab30ms, so do not be fooled by the marketing lingo. Yet Cab30ms is still sweeter when you hit the sweet spot.
1) AT900t has shorter shaft. (no dirty thought please) So depend on where you hold the racquet, AT900t might feel head lighter when you hold it up close to the cone. 2) In US, AT900t come in 4U vs Cab30ms come in 3U. That is another reason. Still Cab30ms is one classy lady. And sexy too
