Li Ning Rackets Fan Club :)

Discussion in 'Badminton Rackets / Equipment' started by tckang, Sep 16, 2009.

  1. MetalOrange

    MetalOrange Regular Member

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    l i a m,

    I second that, the price really is way over!

    Think about it, if I know LN gets their supply from Yonex and their Tech from GOSEN while manufactured in Kason factory, why would I even bother to shell that money for basically a Kason/GOSEN/YONEX racket since they are already cheaper?

    Cut the middleman. Go direct to YONEX or GOSEN!

    MetalOrange.
     
  2. ANDY01

    ANDY01 Regular Member

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    i see, if the issue of yonex charging li-ning for the caron-fibre @ high premium is true, den i can understand y the price of the racket is so expensive.

    however, i m more interested in their jerseys, why are they so expensive too? SGD 180 (1 of them) ! izzit that li-ning don't wan ppl to have any suspicious abt them over-charging their rackets so rise their overall pricing as well?
     
  3. MetalOrange

    MetalOrange Regular Member

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    ANDY01,

    ...that is b'cos LiNing gained exclusive rights to sell AIGLE (a premium french apparel brand)--specific contract terms is non of our bizniz--and apparently so, they get 'in' and gained those tech know-how as well too (thus, pricey too).

    MetalOrange
     
  4. tckang

    tckang Regular Member

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    Just one small correction there MetalOrange, LN get the carbon fiber source from Yonex currently via supply contract (those used for Yonex Nano tech kinda thingy) but LN rackets, GOSEN, Wilson, Victor, Carlton etc badminton brand rackets are all produced by a racket manufacturing line factory in Guangdong province, called Jin Zhen Sports equipment, setup since July 1990. (金臻)
    KASON, meanwhile remains manufactured elsewhere.
    I am puzzled as well the way LN seperates the KASON and LN badminton rackets business. :rolleyes:
     
  5. tckang

    tckang Regular Member

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    Side track - Yonex : 2009 and beyond

    So 2009 has come and almost near to an end. To us badminton social players and fans out there, it is hell of a year for 2009. ;)
    As promised, other than the leaked out stories on Li Ning and Yonex underground "scandal" relationship, the remaining is the strategies of Yonex for 2009 and 2010.
    Propaganda? Crap? Time will tell is these below are true. :D

    2009
    It can be said as a mixed year for our badminton racket giant, Yonex. First, they lost the sponsorship of China badminton team to LN, and Korea to Victor. (Double win for China products). However, according to this insider, Yonex is actually feeling "relieved" to lose this 2 sponsorship. Reason? In the past years, Yonex has been sponsoring China, Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc etc great badminton countries. Even though these sponsorship do help pushed their brand image, but accordiong to Yonex, actually this comes at a heavy price. Lotsa R&D, rackets, etc etc services are catered and provided to these teams and all these are $$$. So, by loosing China and Korea, Yonex can now provide better services for the remining countries. (Big YAY for my oen Malaysian team :D)
    2009 also been the year of Nano9900. It is in 2009 that the sales of Nano9900 becomes their No.1 racket in terms of volume sales. Ever wonder no professional players picked up a Nano990 yet? This is because this light headed racket is designed to be the "Best racket for social players", according to Yonex strategy and aim, and i must say they have succeded so far.
    So whats install for our famouse brand in 2010 ? According to the same insider, the below are already in the pipeline:

    1) To continue maintaining the development of their high end nano and carbon fibre range. New rackets of this range will be out in 2010 and some "classics" will be reintroduced for commemorating purpose. (tckang: I wonder which "classics" racket, hmmm)

    2) To be more participative in building and development of youth/teen sports of Asian countries where Yonex has presence. This can mean more sponsorship, donation ,etc.

    3) To switch from Top tier badminton racket image to pro-public image, meaning more sponsorship on public social tourneys and even social players

    4) Partnership and collabration with modern clothing brands. Partnetship with Disney is in final stage of agreement. (tckang: My God, a Mickey mouse Yonex badminton Tee??? :eek: Please Don't)

    5) May cut down one or two more country national team sponsorship and channeled the $$$ saved into R&D and other department.

    So lets see how true are the news by waiting. To me, i cant accept partenrship of Yonex with Disney. :D
     
  6. tckang

    tckang Regular Member

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    N90 special review

    Reviews below are strictly personal and may differs from players to players.
    So, why is LN N90 be the best sellers among their N series range? (personally i dont really like N90). The answer is only one and only, the Lin Dan effect. Since all of us can never be as good as Lin Dan even if we play for another 50 years, well to compensate and console ourselves, we can at least own his rackets. (from his Yonex days rackets till now his N90) :D
    So how is N90 if you ask me ? As much as i dont like this racket, i will still give a neutral review to it.

    [​IMG]

    Top : N90 , Middle : N55, Below: Yonex Nano9900

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    The above photos are rackets taken in one of my badminton sessions in Beijing. Only N55 is mine. N90 and Nanospeed 9900 are my playmates baby.
    The N90 shown above is a W3S, W3 at 85 - 89g, similar to 3U ; S2 = 3 2/8 inch , around 82.55mm, similar to G5. Racket balance without string is at 300mm, while with NBG95 at 24lbs and Yonex AC102C grip, the balance is at 297mm.

    How it feels?
    Material and middle shaft hardness - The whole racket is fully carbon fibre built without any other addictives. Frame shape is very similar to AT700, full length is at 674mm. Head design is similar to Armotec. Overall hardness feels like MP88, but the racket flexibility is more flexible than MP88 and Arc10. From its elongated frame and soft shaft design, this is clearly a Single player's racket design.

    Usability:
    1) High, long shots - With N90, it surpises me with its ability to deliver high long overhead shots with such ease (Better on this aspect then YY MP, Ti, and Arc series). With little energy, u can easily deliver the shuttle right back to the opponents back line. Good for single play.

    2) Flat shots - "Flat shots" are relatively important in doubles play. For flat shots, personal feel is N90 is at par with AT700, AT800OF, and AT900P but no match for Ti10 (3rd gen) and NS9900. I think partly this is due to the N90's soft shaft design.

    3) Netplays and drops - For netplay, N90 is not as veratile and agile as Yonex high end series. But once you get used to it, the drop i feel is better than AT700 as it is faster and the drop is deadlier with N90.

    4) Smash - For any of you who have used AT900T before, you will immediately notice that N90 during smashing is EXACTLY feels like AT900T. In a nutshell, N90 performs slightly inferior than AT700 for smashing. But due to N90's soft shaft, u wont feel so tired after repeating smashing as compared to AT700.

    CONCLUSION : N90 is a racket designed for single players and its biggest surprise is it s ability to send high, long shots, with acceptable defence and smashing ability, but inferior netplay. This racket is suitable for those rally and smash type of players, not fast attacking double fans.

    So what so special on this review? Please scroll down. Picture courtesy of fellow blogger, Jader in China. :D

    Ever wonder how the N90 Woods looks like internally??? :cool:

    [​IMG]
    Step one : Strip off the orginal grip.

    [​IMG]
    The other side of it.

    [​IMG]
    To re confirm it is N90 :D

    [​IMG]
    The "bottom" of N90 Wood

    [​IMG]
    The N90 Wood being stripped down to its Woods. hahahaha:D

    These photos are courtesy of Jader, fellow blogger in China who is crazy enough to do this to investigate the "inside" of N90.

    N90 owners are advised not to do this onto their RMB1980 racket. hahahaha

    Cheers. Sign off.
     

    Attached Files:

    #26 tckang, Sep 22, 2009
    Last edited: Sep 22, 2009
  7. bluecraze07

    bluecraze07 Regular Member

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    Wow, Thanks for sharing these cool pictures.
     
  8. teoky

    teoky Regular Member

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    I was at ION orchard earlier and pass by the Li Ning store. Saw the conditions for the try before buy scheme.

    Basically the rental fee is S$20 but you need to put a refundable deposit which is the retail price of the racquet ! So if you want to rent the N90, you need to put S$469 (I think that's the current price ?) as deposit !

    When you return the racquet, they will check the condition, so if it is in good condition, you get back the deposit, if it is not in good condition, they will keep the deposit and you just bought a Li Ning racquet !

    So best is to play singles and don't mishit ! Play doubles too dangerous, your friend can sabo you by clashing with the Li Ning !
     
    #28 teoky, Sep 23, 2009
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2009
  9. Danstevens

    Danstevens Regular Member

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    Am I the only one that thinks the Woods N55 looks a bit like a Yonex Arc10?
     
  10. MetalOrange

    MetalOrange Regular Member

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    tcKang,

    Hey, thanks for shedding (more) light on the issue. Btw, that is a real cool strip naked N90 W-o-o-o-d-s huh!

    DanStevens,

    Yes, N55 does look a lot like Arc10-y.

    MetalOrange
     
  11. tckang

    tckang Regular Member

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    Hi Danstevens, N55 is Fire series. What you mean i believe is N90 Woods.
    If you see my review above, yes, N90 's head looks like Arc10 while overall it looks like AT700. So it 's kinda Arc10-AT700 cross breed. :p
    Cheers
     
  12. tckang

    tckang Regular Member

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    No worries. All are curious on LN rackets for now and since i am in their home country for at least another 2-3 years will dig dig and dig.
    Yeah, i like the idea of N90 Woods strip "naked" down to its wood. hahahahaa :D
    Cheers
     
  13. tckang

    tckang Regular Member

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    I think even though the system is not as nice as what they did over here in Beijing, at least u can try the racket first. but at SGD469? Hmmm i would rather get Yonex NS9900 or MP100 :D:D:D
    Best bet is to try all their N-series racket, then decide which one u prefer (or maybe none hahaha) and ask whover is visiting China to get it when it is on sale. I will keep u guys posted on the next available sales. Sept sale is ending soon. (where u can get the racket at around SGD 200 ++ after 40% discount):eek:
     
  14. weeyeh

    weeyeh Regular Member

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    I think its fair enough that the store tries to protect themselves. I'm just not convinced that transferring that risk to the consumer will yield any takers. Especially when the risk is transferred together with the sales profit (plus rental). Wonder what the take up rate is like :rolleyes:.

    Anyway, those rackets are too expensive to play doubles with (and I rarely play singles now). Even if I love the rackets, I'll give it a miss so no point trying.
     
  15. Ferrerkiko

    Ferrerkiko Regular Member

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    I think for Li ning N-series rackets , its hard for them to drop to $200 plus, near impossible.. brothers here agreed ?
     
  16. tckang

    tckang Regular Member

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    At least for 2009 - 2010 it is Mission impossible. The only place if you want to get LN N-series at ard SGD200 is China, and ONLY during SALES. :rolleyes:
    Cheers.
     
  17. Ferrerkiko

    Ferrerkiko Regular Member

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    Hey brother, when is the sales time in china Li ning N series rackets
     
  18. tckang

    tckang Regular Member

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    not sure. Normally China sales can be any time and more event oriented, not like mlaysia's mega sales or "The Singapore Sales" :D. If u got contact in Beijing,u can still be in time. Sept LN N series are at 40% discount. I got my N55 (originally RMB 1780) at 1000++ RMB after the discount. Promotion ends 30th Sept
    Cheers
     
  19. bippi_cp

    bippi_cp Regular Member

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    Its nice pics, What abt the cost of these rackets? Is that available in India?
     
  20. tckang

    tckang Regular Member

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    LN has quite a few range of badminton rackets. If it is N-series you are talking about (the ones used by the Chinese National Team) you can check out this thread which i post before:

    http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=70211&page=18

    Generally the price doesn't vary much from the Chinese pricing. So far Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore u can get them. India i am not sure, so far no news yet.
     

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