I am an all round player with a tendency to smash more. I play mostly doubles. I am currently using Wilson NCode N3. I am looking for even head rackets with Balance point from 5 to 6. The price range is 100$. I have narrowed down on 3 rackets Yonex ArcSaber Delta Wilson Matrix BLX 2010 Wilson KFactor Kblaze Can anyone suggest which would be better and also if I had overlooked any other make/brand, please suggest it. Thanks!!!
Are you only willing to buy local? Or are you willing to order online? If the latter, then you will have a much wider choice and a better likelihood of getting higher quality for the same money. The drawback being, of course, that you can't hold the thing in your hand before buying.
I have to order it online. The shops here dont have rackets. So any suggestions of other variety. I have played with Yonex, Wilson and ProKennex but have not tried the others.
A good value racket with a pretty even balance is SOTX Woven 8a. Fast slightly stiff. Available at Sohubuy.com, $85 US. http://www.sohubuy.com/slist.asp?factory=sotx&sort=2&topage=2 A racket that I am enjoying recently is Victor Tornado 662. I found it in local store, so not sure where to find online. Was a steal at ~$70 CAD. A bit head heavier than the above, but plays fairly light, and you just can't help but smash with it. Hopefully many others will chime in with their good deals.
You know me and my XP series from RKEP. Select your preferred stiffness, etc, and bp. Contact Eric directly for the best deal.
Yes, I was commenting to Fidget. Check out the reviews on the RKEP racket thread. Depending on the specs you choose, it can be as head heavy as VT80 or head light as BS12, as stiff as MX80 or as flexy as Arc9. But it will be unusually fast and powerful for its specific specs.
I did have the opportunity to play with Arc Saber 3, Z Slash(Hidayat), Prokennex 5000/6000 and Wilson KFactor KRock (couple of guys rackets in the court). I am confident of Wilson and Yonex having had the opportunity to play but not the exact ones I listed. So anyone played on the 3 rackets I suggested, any feedback would be welcome. I did check out on Victor on Badminton Alley. But I am hesitant having not played with any of their brands. The guys in court are also unsure about it. So I am kind of iffy but worst come worst, I dont get a good opinion from you guys on the 3 rackets, then I will venture into the other brands. But thanks for all the suggestions so far.
Unfortunately the rackets you mention are not very commonly used, except for Z Slash. What did you think of it? Also that'd be 2x your price limit.
Totally respect your preference to choose brands with which you are familiar. But if it sets you at ease, know that Victor is not a sketchy organization --- they sponsor the Korean national team. Of course the team doesn't play with the <$100 rackets, but you get the point. ;-) SOTX is not so high profile .... But that old Woven series of theirs is good quality and provides 'more racket' for <$100 than you ever would from Yonex's lowest end gear. (i.e. it's cheap because it's an older model not because of poor quality). Good luck with whatever you decide. Choosing a new weapon can be stressful, but exhilarating. ;-)
Yes you are so right. I am actually not intending to spend crazy money as I am not going in the direction of pro. I felt a 100$ racket would be fine if I play for couple of years. I totally accept about Victor but since I have not seen anyone use it, I am kind of thinking about it. I did see this review of Kfactor KBlaze and KTour http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php/51995-Wilson-K-factor Looks like everyone raves about KTour. Suppose I go for KTour, it has a BPt of 7 as opposed to 6 for KBlaze. So its leaning towards head heavy. Does it make a big difference? If I were to get a solid grip then head weight would decrease significantly correct? [MENTION=32159]Fidget[/MENTION] I checked out sohobuy. Does it ship all the way from HongKong? What happens if they ship a defective racket supposing its from HongKong?
I totally agree with what you wrote. Its because I do not know about Victor that I am hesitant. But if there is no other better option then I will definitely go for Victor. I dont want to spend a lot since I am never going in the range of a pro. Of the rackets, the Wilson KTour and Wilson KBlaze have pretty decent reviews. But the Balance Point of KTour is 7 meaning "even heading towards head heavy" compared to KBlaze which is 6. So does it make a big difference. Is it possible to offset the head with an external grip? Secondly I have this doubt. Most of the rackets be it Wilson, Yonex etc have the same specs but different material. So apart from durability what other factors affect the racket if I opt for an expensive one over the cheap ones?
I would go with an arc saber delta , arc saber is the even balanced category for yonex racquets, I currently own a at saber 009DX it feels evenly balanced
Well, that is the hard thing to define. Before I bought my first racket online, I was disappointed with what I could get where I lived. The step up from a low-level Yonex strung locally at an ice hockey shop to a better quality racket strung by a Hong Kong badminton seller was amazing. Something about the feel was lighter yet more solid. I guess it's akin to buying a bicycle at Wallmart or from a bicycle shop. They both have wheels and a chain but the cheapo is going to make you work a whole lot harder to get where you want to go. Now perhaps the rackets you have available to you are better than what I had. And in fact, the Tornado 662 I have is a low-level Victor, bought at a locally. It just came alive when I strung it with proper strings. So such gems do exist in the lower range. All this to say, that you will likely do fine with whatever you choose. Just make sure that you get a decent string job on whatever you buy. Best of luck !
