The King of thin gauge strings? ZM62 vs BG66M vs. BG66UM vs. NBG98

Discussion in 'Badminton String' started by kwun, Jan 29, 2011.

  1. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    thin gauge strings seems to be the rage right now. with both Yonex and Ashaway coming out thin gauge strings like the NBG98 (0.66mm), BG66UM (0.65mm), and Ashaway trump them with ZM62 (0.62mm)

    i have been enjoying the ZM62 lately. ZM62 is very good at medium tension (~24lbs) but really excels at higher tension (27lbs). the feel is stiff and excellent touch. however, durability is a big concern even at $4/pop

    i have recently gotten myself some BG66UM and NBG98. will try to A/B compare them with each other. while the cost is higher, a potential better durability might make it worthwhile compared to ZM62.

    meanwhile, if you have any comparisons between these, please do share.
     
  2. biomik

    biomik Regular Member

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    Maybe you should also add Lining Ap62 to your comparison?
     
  3. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    we suspect that the AP62 is the same string as the ZM62. that's why i didn't list it here.
     
  4. Ah_Peng

    Ah_Peng Regular Member

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    I have been using BG66M for close to 6 months & I can safely say I'll stick to it for a very long time , the feel n repulsion tops the other 3 strings.
    BG66UM does not feels as responsive as BG66M although specs wise BG66UM beats BG66M , however I feel that BG66UM is overrated , i cut my BG66UM after my 2nd session.
    NBG98 is the most durable of all , very repulsive , but I'm able to feel the shuttle better upon contact with the string bed with BG66M. NBG98 feels a little soft compared to BG66M.
    ZM62's cost is the lowest of all , it only feels good for the 1st few sessions , my stringer has noticed that the quality of the ZM62 is not as good as the others , there were some parts of the string that feels thicker n there was even like a fold on one pack. Hopefully that's the earlier batch.

    Cost wise: BG66UM = NBG98. I would choose NBG98 over BG66UM. (better feel n durability)

    Overall BG66M is worth every single cent to play with only that it's available exclusively at shuttle-house or mybadmintonstore.com
    I ordered my BG66M from shuttle-house , the 100m reels are 2SGD/10m cheaper than the 10m single packs.
     
  5. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    That's good info. I need to get my hands on some bg66m to test it out
     
  6. Ah_Peng

    Ah_Peng Regular Member

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  7. Kiloo

    Kiloo Regular Member

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    There is also APACS strings which are mostly 0.66. I'v used quite a bit with various comments. Nothing to prove it good or bad or anything else. Just for ref: one of our national champs plays with Apacs Stern 10 strung at 26lbs PS. He breaks his strings about every 2-3 weeks. He finds it good.
     
  8. DinkAlot

    DinkAlot dcbadminton
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    There are some new ZyMax strings on the horizon.

    All have a better, more durable, more consistent outer shell with optimization on the zyex core.

    X2115, aka ZMPro so far has been the best of the bunch. Very crisp and predictable with ZM67 durability.

    X2114 which is latest iteration of ZM67 is more durable than it's predecessors. Still testing this one. The outer shell is an improvement, more consistent, better texture.

    X2113 is the latest ZM62, still testing as well with the same X2114 outer shell.

    Kwun: will send you some X2115 when Panda receives more it. :)
     
  9. DinkAlot

    DinkAlot dcbadminton
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    Panda has tried most of the APACS strings. Though a good value, this Panda feels they cannot compare to their peers in performance.
     
  10. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    ZM65/ZMPro is the best.

    X2113 is ZM62PT with hard shell? that's similarly good as ZMPro.

    X2114 is a bit too stiff. maybe better for harder hitter. but for me, i still prefer the X2113/X2115

    please beg them to put them into production. :)
     
  11. Sealman

    Sealman Regular Member

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    Has anyone tried measuring these thin gauge strings? Are the manufacturers accurate in their claims?
     
  12. ns9900

    ns9900 Regular Member

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    Switched from nbg98 to bg66m about 1 year back. nbg98 had been my favourite till i switched to bg66m.

    repulsion-wise, bg66m is slightly more repulsive altho not that significantly. when stringed at the same tension, bg66m seems to produce higher tension feel than nbg98, probably because it is thinner. took me a bit of time to get adapted to the "higher" tension.

    control-wise, bg66m is slightly better as it produces better precision in shot placement.

    feel-wise, bg66m feels softer than nbg98. if the feel is btw bg66m and nbg98, it will be optimal to me. :)

    sound-wise, bg66m produces cripsper higher pitch metallic sound than nbg98. which is what i like. :p

    durability-wise, i have broken more bg66m than nbg98. :crying: therefore, nbg98 is more durable, but not that much durable. :eek:

    review based on ns9900, at900t and arc8dx @24x26 lbs. I will stick to bg66m for the time being, and nbg98 will always be my next favourite. hope my personal experience serves some good feedback to those interested in any of these 2 strings. ;)
     
  13. Avenger

    Avenger Regular Member

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    is it X2115 or ZMPro is available for purchase or is it an experimental string? (that panda get secretly :eek: )
     
  14. ckyew

    ckyew Regular Member

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    i've been using nbg-98 for at least 2 years now and is still my current fav string. currently has one AT900P with the bg-66UM on. just played with it for one session so far. and indeed, i wasn't really impressed with what i expected when i first had the bg-66M.

    but i have to say that the bg-66UM does have more repulsion than the nbg-98 although the nbg-98 packs quite a punch in that respect. sound wise, i'll echo by saying the 66s are more high pitched than the 98.

    feeling of the bg-66UM for me is between the crispy 98 and the super soft bg-66M, so for those who like some metallic crisp feeling of the 98s would be easily adaptable to the bg-66UM.

    i'll have more say after i spend more time with the bg-66UM.
     
  15. DinkAlot

    DinkAlot dcbadminton
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    Prototype string. If "good enough", it may be produced.

    Going to send a bunch; OK, not a bunch but a good quantity to Kwun to test.
     
  16. Avenger

    Avenger Regular Member

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    oh I thought it's already for sale, because 0.65 looks good
    thin but durable
     
  17. demolidor

    demolidor Regular Member

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    Is that the on again, off again from before? Back by popular demand? :D
     
  18. johnlowe88

    johnlowe88 Regular Member

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    Hi, I just measured the NBG-98 - from a reel, I get between 0.66-0.67mm. Then I thought to try a strung racquet, NS7000 at 22lb even. I get thicknesses between 0.62-0.66mm across the string bed. It does appear that where the string was being clamped, that the string is slightly crusshed. Maybe I should have a look at the string under a microscope. My clamps had been slipping a little when I was stringing my racquet, so I tightened them - maybe that is the cause. I have since cleaned the clamps so they should grip better and adjusted for minimum pressure that still holds this string and will check on my next racquet.
     
  19. DinkAlot

    DinkAlot dcbadminton
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    Panda only makes suggestions and reports findings to Ashaway. They ultimately make the decisions.

    So far, yes, Panda highly recommends Ashaway produce "ZMPro" in red (255,0,0). :D
     
  20. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    good quantity > bunch? ;)

    i will take one, a few, some, a bunch, good quantity, a lot, a truckload, a container worth of ZMPro. any day!
     

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