Karakalkat, I'm emailing you now. Will you please send me pictures of your new racquets? Especially the M Tec 70 gel and 75 Tattoo.
Hi everyone. I got my new Karakal catalogue today. It's definitely an improvement over the old one. There's some new clothing with a system that is meant to make movement easier and freer. It all looks good aesthetically too. There are a lot of new rackets, as Sunny said. The MTec 75 is essentially last year's MTec 75 but mostly blue other than when it fades to white near to the top of the head. Like all the tattoo rackets, it has tribal patterns on. IMHO, it doesn't look as nice as the MTec 80 tattoo (which appears to have been discontinued along with the normal MTec 80 and MTec 85 - this is probably due to the new tour series). I expect this paint redesign may be a grower. If you liked the MTec 80 tattoo, I think you may be a little disappointed but I'd expect that opinion to change - the MTec 75 tattoo seems to look better every time I look at its picture. Oh and the MTec 75 has gel. I suppose this is to be expected as all the other high end Karakals do now. The only other MTec this time round is the MTec 70. It has a new technology, which as Sunny mentioned, is called gel. It still has its 70 gram frameweight but may be more forgiving than the old MTec 70 because it has gel. Karakal say: "When this [gel system] is combined with Nano graphite and titanium, it makes and incredibly strong frame so when the ball strikes it absorbs and disperses the impact over the entire frame". The paintjob on the new MTec 70 is gorgeous - white and black. It has a sort of tribal pattern and overall, looks incredible. The SL-70 has also received a new paintjob and gel technology. The paintjob is the most striking thing about this revamp - it seems to be silver/grey (it looks a little shiny in the catalogue but I haven't seen it in the flesh yet). This sounds very ordinary, and it is. However, one side of the head is blue and the other red. It's a really nice looking racket. On the T-joint, there appears to be a new design. Instead of the usual Karakal logo, the SL series rackets have the same logo as some of the Karakal squash rackets. It says nano. The SL-80 also benefits from gel this year. Other than that, it appears to be the same SL-80 (gel could make a big difference though, I haven't got my hands on a gel racket yet). The shaft is essentially plain black with a small SL-80 logo thing on it. The head is white and red with a little black. Very nice looking racket on the whole. It has the nano logo in place of the Karakal one, much like the SL-70. The MTec 80 and MTec 85 seem to have been eliminated to be replaced by the Tour series. This consists of the Tour gel and Tour lite gel. The Tour lite gel has a frameweight of 84 grams. It is mainly the grey colour that the MTec 70 had last year with some black and blue on the head. It's not a bad looking racket at all. It will be a decent enough price for those of you who aren't sponsored - I can see the tour series being really popular. The Tour lite gel will be a mid to heavy 3U weight with everything on it. The Tour gel is only 2 grams heavier than the lite gel with a frameweight of 86 grams. I would imagine that when it's strung and gripped, it'll be a light to mid weight 2U. The shaft is the same thickness and taper as the lite gel so I wonder if the material used in the Tour gel is a bit denser than the Tour lite gel. It might not be, I just can't see where the 2 grams will be added. I hope they've been added on the head . For some reason, it looks like something Wilson would make, maybe it's all the red. It also looks a little like a Yonex Arc 10 due to the white and red pattern on the head. The Tour gel is going to be an awesome racket. It seems to have good specs and will be a very good price for you guys. Due to only being 2 grams heavier than the Tour lite gel and a fair bit more expensive, I would imagine the Tour gel will be the one people go for. I certainly am! I think I'll order one or two to try out. For the people in Asia, Karakal have an extended racket line-up. All the others described above (I think) and the Revo series. These are the Revo M-76 and Revo M-77. They have frameweights of 76 and 77 grams respectively. Sunny will know more about pricing but I can tell you that they're likely to be very good value. Both have really nice paintjobs. The designs are the same but the M-76 have blue tints whereas the M-77 has red ones. The CBX low end range has also been revamped paintwise. I doubt many of you will be too interested in this though so I won't bother to explain about it. If you want to know anything, send me a PM, add me on MSN or email me (same as the address I use for MSN). I hope that has helped at least somebody. I'm very excited about these new rackets and when I get my Tour gel or Tour gels, I'll give a review.
The email has been composed. The images are taking ages to upload but expect your email in a few minutes. I will also upload the images Sunny emailed me to BCF so all you guys can enjoy them. If anyone else wants the pages from the catalogue with the new clothing or rackets, drop me a PM with your email address and I'll send them as quickly as possible.
Below are some of Karakal's new rackets. You have Sunny (Karakalkat) to thank for these - I just uploaded them for him as he's rather busy at the moment and probably has more important things to do. Anyway, enjoy Top left is the MTec 70 gel, top right the MTec 75 tattoo, bottom left the Tour gel and bottom right the Tour Gel lite.
Hey Dan, thanks for the email. Seeing as you've posted the images here I thought I might as well post here instead of PM. I like the look of the new Karakal racquets, but to be honest I still prefer the look of the 80 tattoo rather than 75. Now that it's dis continued perhaps I'll be able to get it cheaper (like I did with my MP99). I'm also surprised you have an Arc 10.. aren't you like 15??
Indeed I am but I'm an advanced player and I value my badminton experience lol. I agree that the MTec 80 tattoo looks better than the new 75. I was hoping that they'd give the MTec 75 tattoo the old 80's paintjob. That would've been fantastic. You may get a good price on the MTec 80 tattoo (and I would highly recommend that racket), making it even better value. One of my friends has it and I've hit with it before. It's very easy to play with - much, much easier than the Arcsaber 10 or MTec 70 (my current racket). Also, is there any reason you want to change your MP99?
I don't know if it's paranoia, but I'm definitely getting a weird vibration off my racquet ever since that incident. Here are some pics- It seems to be just paint that has come off the shaft, but it was quite a bit of paint as you can see, and I'm worried it may have cracked something in the core of the shaft. Like internal bleeding, I guess. I've only had the racquet since December, and I love it, and now it's been discontinued. But the ARC10 just felt so elegant in comparison, it really was a cut above. [There should be two thumbnails above, please let me know if you can or can't see them] Edit: just checked the size of the scrape - for scale, it's about the same size as a 2 sterling coin in diameter. That's about an inch I guess.
Wow! The paint jobs on the M-Tec 70 Gel and the M-Tec 75 Tattoo are very nice. I feel some regret of having ordered the M-Tec 70 only a few months ago. I missed out on that awesome paint job, hah, bad karma. The M-Tec 70 is a great racket though, extremely stable and powerful, despite its weight. I was eyeing Karakal's new tennis rackets too they have a Tour Tattoo Gel and a Tattoo Gel. It looks very nice, although I doubt to ever have the chance to demo one in Canada. Sunny, do you know anyone near you that distributes the Karakal Tennis rackets? Anyways apart that, back to badminton!
got my catalogue throught oday and there seems to be numerous new designs and racquets. i was a little dissapointed with the mtc 80 tattoo as it didjt suit my play, good racquet regardless, but wasnt really for me. ended up using my arsaber 10 for a while whilst trying to adjust to the tattoo, but it just wasnt happening. the racquet was too headlight for me. karakalkat, danstevens, could you give a review once you tried the new racquets. cheers
I'm ordering the Tour gel (or gels maybe lol) either today or tomorrow. The SL series rackets look very tempting too. Everything is too nice. I love the look of the new MTec 70 and to a certain extent, the MTec 75 tattoo. Visually, they're a huge improvement over last year's line up. It's Ricky isn't it? I think you may be more at home with one of the Tour series. Destricto_Ense, whether it's all in the mind or not, that's a pretty ugly piece of damage. I am very sorry to see such a nice racket maimed like that by a beginner. Again, I think you should have a look at the Tour gel or Tour gel lite. From the specs, they look most ex-Yonex user friendly. I'll compare it to the MTec 70 and Arc10 in my review.
well, had a look through it myself as well (the digital version, I didn't get a print). The mtec70 / 75Tattoo both look stunning...Too bad they're both just too light for me to play singles with Hope my mtec80Tattoo's hold up, because they'r beeing discontinued. I'd love to test out those Tour-Gel's though (hope they're a bit headheavy). The only thing I think is a shame is the so called "flex cap" or something.... I have to grip over over, because otherwise it starts squeeking when I smash or do a wristshot...
Change the oil Seriously, sometimes a little oil works (easy if you have an old syringe) to stop the squeek...Even though I dont like them either, they do serve a purpose...it allows the shaft to be longer before making solid contact with anything other than the grip itself...I see the logic however slight the advantage is... I wish I could afford to order 200 in each balance point but just dont have the capital to do it...Maybe one of these days I will contact the other distributors to work out a combined order....sure would be nice...
LOL 200 in each balance point. Saying that, I suppose you have an excuse with being a distributor and all. I'd love to order (at least) one of each new racket but just couldn't justify it. I'll just go for the Tour gel for now.
Just curious - if someone've seen or heard about any fake Karakal rackets? Because of this: Click! Pretty tempting, though I was about to order M-Tec 80
I just tape my grip up the the '8' in the "tattoo limited edition Mtec 80" on the shaft. it works But oil is a nice way to do it as wel But, just being a player myself. When will the new clothing and rackets get distributed to all the country's? Is everything 'already set in motion'? (because, from my experience with sotx, the new rackets would be set up to be 'new' but not available for another month... And yonex always gets a limited sample of all the new stuff in march, but no full availability for another month or so)
I hope they're distributed soon/now. I'm ordering tomorrow and I know I won't be able to contain my excitement. Sasho, that MTec 75 looks fine. It's last year's one but there's nothing wrong with the 2008 MTec 75 at all. If you're sure it's not too light, go ahead.
The only thing being sent out now is the distributors samples...I even tried to get 3 sets and couldnt....:crying: Delivery is set for May so its not so far off
May???? That seems like a lifetime away lol. I'll still send my order and see when I receive it. Either way I'll be one of the first to get the Tour gel.
Fake Karakal ??? I have been distributor for 3 years and have never seen a Red M-Tec 75???? We have had many Karakal fakes here in Vietnam so be careful...Karakal does not serial number their rackets and this makes it easier to copy them...we offer 6 month warranty that is based on sale date from us....Nobody else that I know of offers a warranty...ask them if they have warranty from the factory and if they say yes then they are fakes for sure...
