REVIEW: Adidas adipower pro badminton racket

Adidas adipower pro Badminton Racket Review

Author: Cheung

Preamble

I received an Adidas adizero pro Badminton Racket, courtesy of MBS ("Mybadmintonstore") for testing. This review will borrow Kwun's earlier review using common facts. In this review, I will adding my personal impressions.

Adidas is a newcomer to the badminton equipment scene. 2+ years in the planning Adidas is finally ready to reveal their badminton lineup to the world. The Adidas adipower series of badminton rackets are characterized by their offensive characteristics. Stiff powerful shaft combined with a head heavy feel is suitable for a powerful badminton player who would like to penetrate their opponent by attacking.

There are 4 models in the adipower series that are designated as “advanced pro” models, basically these are the cream of the crop of the adipowers and have the most technology and advanced materials behind them. The 4 models span a spectrum of heavy weight, balance and shaft stiffness to cover any top level offensive users’ requirements.

Design


The adipower pro is rated as a stiff singles racket for power attacking player. The spec weight is 88g +/- 2g with a balance point of 293mm +/- 3mm. A unique reverse taper shaft (7.5mm near the T-joint tapering down to 7mm near the handle) rolled together with top quality Japanese made graphite give the racket it’s powerful designation.

Adidas incorporated some unique technology for the adipower pro’s racket head. A “Dual Force Frame” consist of both titanium mesh at the 4 corners and Zylon fibers to reinforce the frame structure. Zylon is a material made by Toyobo company in Japan and is supposed to be 1.6 times stronger than Kevlar. More Zylon is strategically place around the frame as part of the adipower pro’s “Vibration Control System”.

Structurally, the frame is a non-tapered frame that measure approximately 10.5mm in depth throughout. The top of the frame has some minor arches for string support.

Another unique feature is the 78 hole pattern. The Adidas 78 holes pattern is similar to the 76 hole pattern drilled into most modern badminton rackets. In addition to the 76 holes, an extra pair of non-shared holes is found in the 4/8 o’clock which makes it much easier for the stringer, as well as letting the engineers align the outermost main string to be completely parallel with the rest of the mains, resulting in a tidy and uniformly laid out main strings across the frame.

As with any modern rackets, single and double pass grommets are used in the appropriate locations to maximize frame strength.

Aesthetics

The adipower pro has a black base color scheme with red and silver accents. The shaft is black with “adipower pro” near the cone and silvery lines running along the shaft. The asymmetric design of the head consist of the signature Adidas Triband in silver on one side of the racket and red accent running over the T joint and the other side of the racket. the name “adipower” occupies the top corner and the racket is finished with silvery mesh which depicts the Ti mesh embedded within.

A metallic texture handle cap encased in clear plastic is found in the other end and the whole racket completes with a cone that has pronounced flat surface for the thumb to rest during a drive or push. The Adidas logo is only subtly found on the cone and the handle base.

The quality of the finish is of quite high quality. The final finish is very uniform giving a high quality look to it. However, the design of the racket with many reflective components can pose a real challenge to the finish department. And it shows as some joint imperfections are present during the decal application of the triband area.

The overall simple, bold and elegant look give the racket a classic European look and a fresh departure from the more complex Yonex and Victor design. Where does the colour scheme put the racquet in the market segment? It looks sleek and ready for some serious business ready for the sophiscated and discerning user.

Stringing

MBS kindly put a fresh set of strings in the raquet. I asked for white BG66 at 26lbs and it was strung using ECP. The racquet came with a one-piece stringing method and strings have a nice higher pitched 'ping'.

Performance

On the first practice swings going through the air, you can feel the weight towards the head of the racquet. It's quite apparent that this is a stiff racquet - I don't need to hit a shuttle to able to tell this.

Let's start by hitting the shuttle. Forehand drives give a nice solid feel on impact - I can tell I am getting a lot of solid mass behind the shuttle. Yet I do have to be a little careful. This is not the sort of racquet to use in doubles if you have a large swing. With a large follow through on the swing and head heavy combination, it's harder to bring the racquet head under control and be ready for the next drive coming back to you. What's the solution? I found it much easier if I shortened the backswing and shortened the followthrough. This requires more control using finger technique and wrist technique. For players who use their arms for drives, receiving slow shuttles are going to be fine. It's when the shuttles are coming quickly, then changing the racquet head and direction is going to be difficult.

Going on to clears, I get a nice solid weight behind the shuttle and it feels very satisfying to see the shuttle fly to the other end of the court.

Smashing was an area where I wasn't able to fully test the racquet due to Golfer's elbow. Doing some practice smashes, I work out the stiff shaft gives quite a lot of feeling in the response. I was concerned about possible vibration making the Golfer's elbow feel worse. This is not a racquet to use if you are prone to Golfer's elbow.

Netshots are not difficult to get the timing of. Of course some slight readjustment in my timing is required but this is really very slight.

Defensive shots were enjoyable to perform. For doubles return of smashes, a short backswing and follow through can still make the shuttle go high and to the back of the opponents court. Choking up the racquet handle will help even more.

I did try out the racquet on a few games of singles. What can I say? The racquet feels wonderful. I get nice feedback from the racquet when striking the shuttle. Half smashes and clip smashes are where I get good quality shots from the racquet. Did I mention the singles defensive shots? Very easy. I don't have to impart much forward motion to push the shuttle back. I can simply stick out the racquet head and the shuttle will bounce off the strings and back into court. Not much in the way of backswing required.

Final Words

Who is this racquet suited for? It stands out for the players who like singles. It gives a good feel of the shuttle impact on the strings on shots all around the court. How about doubles players who might want to produce the "sonic boom"? Yes, this racquet will certainly help the sound and power but winning a game of doubles is not just about sonic booms. Midcourt drives and defence are just as important. Those doubles players who use a short short action on drives and defense are going to see the best results.