Yesterday and at the YGO I hold it in my hands. Very light and a bit head heavy. For me not a must have. I don't prefer such light rackets and don't find such less weight necessary for my game. Some player would be glad to get such a light racket from Yonex.
Gotcha, I was not sure which you were going by when I mentioned it. Since I haven't kept up with the BPs, hows the BP for the Arcsaber FB in comparison with Arcsaber 7?
Well, Mine was suprisingly with 320mm BP. With G5 grip size, BG66UM string, a layer overgrip on wood... After restrung the racket with lower tension, It plays much better than before, Now I like it already. Although the shaft repulsion isn't that good compare to Tenbu, but overall it is still very nice. Will be keeping it for another while to adjust myself to it.
Yes, thats true. I have swinged the racket but not in gameplay to see how the racket feels to get an idea. Thats was only the G5 one which a friend of mine got. Once I get one in the G4, I would be able to get a better idea.
To continue the review, I've lend the Arcsaber Z-Slash from my brother to verify the differences between these Arcsaber families. Just as I thought, the Arcsaber FB has a smaller frame compared to the normal Arcsabers. The stringing pattern is the same as from the Arcsaber I-Slash and Z-Slash. But the frame from the Flash Boost is not the same as the Z-Slash. It sits between the normal Arcsabers and the small frames from the slash family. In the picture below, I tried to photograph it. The top of the head from the FB seems to be wider compared to the Z-Slash: Enough said about the differences. The racket is the lightest Yonex racket. I have played with some lighter rackets. Brands like Karakal can deliver even lighter rackets, but they are also more flexible. And this is where Yonex has delivered a good job. Although it's light, it did not suffer in stiffness. It can be that the frame is so light, bending is minimal during impact. The power of a racket from this weight class is very impressive! It's still not a power racket, but the power is decent enough. I had no problem clearing with this racket. This racket is lightning fast in response. But it was expected from a light racket. Control at the net is very good, but you have to remember that you still have to 'hold on' to the racket. With heavier rackets, you can sometimes let the racket return net shots, but if you do this with the Flash Boost, it may bounce the racket back, resulting in less accuracy. The power of this racket is in defensive returns, net play and rushing in to the net. The power is not bad, but I could not create deadly smashes. Even worst, when you smash and it's not deadly, you're a sitting duck on the field, waiting for your opponent to smash. To me, the Flash Boost is an unique racket with lighting fast response and I did like the racket for defensive and against offensive players. The downside of this racket, is it's lightness. When I switched back to the 2U and 3U rackets, they felt slow and heavy. But these rackets were all more powerful. The first clears and lobs went all out on the back court. That makes the Flash Boost not a very good racket to mix with other (Yonex) rackets in your bag. For this reason, this racket will never be my main racket. But if you are used to very light rackets like Karakal, or I believe some Forza's are also very light, it can become one of your favorites. I would not use this racket as a singles racket at all. Depending on your playing style, this is a very good defensive double racket, best used from your wrist. If you like fast interceptions and counterattack style, or your opponent is so fast, you don't even have time to smash, just give the Arcsaber Flash Boost a try. To me, it's more a spare for special occasions.
Thanks for the review, [MENTION=9617]CarbonexFan[/MENTION] I assume you used the 6u version of this racquet. Do you think the 5u would prompt you to use this racquet more?
I got one yesterday but dont get to play with it until Monday. It has a mean swing that doesn't tire you much at all.
anyone keen to put a couple of grams of lead tape to the top? that may push the BP to a crazier point.. 320mm?!
I don't think so. Why weaken it's strongest point? I used it yesterday against some very fast and strong players. As I'm recovering from a small surgery, I was not fast enough. So I used the racket again and it worked great! Untill we did a partner change and my partner is more an allrounder. I just couldn't smash through him. So I changed back to my 3U rackets, but did not picked up the speed after that because the racket was heavy and slow. It was easy to adapt to a light racket, but it took too long to adapt to the 3U one. It's just a practical sample.