K6000 is less head heavy and less stiff compare to ZF but according to spec should be more head heavy than the TK8000. It is easy to generate power from the K6000 than the ZF. This is one of the first thing I notice. When I first use the ZF, it take me a while to adapt to it and to control it.
I'm waiting for my sample to arrive, unless Victor Europe decide not to bring it in. Paul www.badminton-coach.co.uk
The issue here I suppose is that Victor Asia create so many new frames that it is impossible to take all of them. At the moment, I do not believe Victor Europe is taking Thruster 7000. A ladies only racket does not sell as well here. Paul www.badminton-coach.co.uk
I'm wondering how well the Yonex Arc 9's sold... it seems the T7000 is pretty much a direct copy. I'd agree: in calling a racket "ladies", you've pretty much cut your customer base in half - I have never seen an Arc 9 in a bloke's hand...
Really? I'm a guy and I love the Arc 9 . When it first came out, a lot of the guys that I played with bought one.
do you think that the 4u tk-6000 will be slightly heavier than the 4u tk-8000? seeing the balance point difference would make the tk-6000's head heavier, m i right?
Quick review after having played 6 hours with TK6000 , 3U, G5 : The racket is rather light for a very headheavy 3U : 89g with strings + the default victor grip. It has a BP of 317mm though. I would have liked a G4 grip but it wasn't available ; so I added 2 sur-grips so the handle fit my hand. This being a lumberjack's racket, I don't quite see the point of such a little grip size, but anyway... Feeling in play : Clearly head heavy, but less than my VTZF. Maybe like a N70 or something similar. It still felt really fast for driving & defending (I don't know why, since it's not particularly aero shaped). During the first few matches, I often made my full stroke in the air before the shuttle was even there. Or hit it with the tip of the racket head. It's way more flexible than VTZF, it's WAY easier to lift when taking the shuttle late, or behind you, or to do backhand clears. But it still feels very repulsive when driving and hard when smashing ! That's really good, as I had never tried a racket that could do both thing (flex + repulsion) so well. Maybe it's the graphene who make both things possible (or maybe it's the marketing that got into my head Dropshots from the back of the court were good (either there is no diffrence with the ZF here or I'm not good enough to feel it), but netshots where harder to control for me. It seemed too bouncy. (but the TK6K is strung with a victor string I never used, whereas I always play with bg65, maybe it's that too) But I'm sure after a time I'll manage it. Same thing for the smashes : straight where well placed (as with vtzf, or not good enough etc), but cross court where harder to control. In doubles it was managable, but in single I put half my cross-court smashes like 1m out. There again I think it'll become OK in a few weeks, because the few times I manage to do the cross-court smash correctly, it had an incredibly steep angle and got the point. So all in all, I'm very happy with the racket, even if it seems I'll need some time to handle the precision shots correctly.
I felt that net shots were a bit bouncy on my TK8000 as well. It is partially due to the mid-flex shaft I think. However changing from BG66UM to ZM62 really helped my net control.
Bumping to get more interest in this racket. I just saw it recently and the specs just seem perfect for me. I've mostly been playing doubles more competitively than singles so I think I should get a racket for that. My go-to racket at the moment is Apacs Lethal 70 (290mm bp, 98.0g, stiff, BG80). It feels relatively light now and even though it's slightly head heavy I don't feel it anymore. I used to have trouble with the headheaviness. My concerns with the TK6000 is that I'm not sure I can handle its head heaviness. I struggled with my backhand with the VT80 because of its headheaviness and stiffness. But I'm not sure whether it's because of the stiffness or headheaviness that did me in (297mm bp, 99.3g 3U, BG80 for my VT80PG); I suspect it's the stiffness though which is what I'm trying to change with the TK6000. I want a mid-stiff racket to help with my backhand and head heaviness to maintain my smash. Hopefully the head weight won't affect my defense too much. Should I go for a 3U or 4U TK6000? I play varsity-level doubles usually (no time to commit to the varsity team) and only at the club which uses plastics. I feel the 3U will slow down my defense, but would give me extra power over the 4U. The 3U weight, along with headheaviness seems like they would affect my backhand as well. The 4U and medium stiffness however would be more forgiving for my backhand and allow me to play faster attacking shots. The headheaviness would still give me a decent smash along with the medium stiffness. The question is, would the medium stiffness offset the 3U weight+headheaviness or would 4U be safer? By extension, should I try a headheavy+stiff racket again but this time 4U? (e.g. VTZF, VT80, etc.) Thanks for any help =) Side note: the TK6000 looks like an awesome racket! It looks to me like a matte paint finish and reminiscent of the VTZF even.
Hard to say since not many people have the TK6k. The dry BP should be similar to the Vt-80 since the 8k is not as head heavy as the Voltric.
Don't try stiff 4U if you want a better backhand. For the TK6000, if you have the level to move your hand along the handle depending on the situation (at the bottom for power smash, at the top for defense & service return, etc.), take the 3U, you'll manage. If you don't do this, take the 4U.
Thanks for the replies! I ended up getting the 4U mostly because I could add weight to it if it was too light. Here are the specs on mine: weight unstrung, no grip, plastic handle wrap: 86.4g playing weight, RKEP G11 overgrip, BG80: 97.7g dry bp with plastic handle wrap: 303mm playing bp: 294mm Since I left the plastic handle wrap on, the bp would actually be higher and the weight lower. I'll do a short review of it later, but initial impressions are it has a good weight to it when you're clearing or smashing. I had a good time playing with this racket despite being '4U'. The G09 RKEP overgrip made the grip feel a little bulky because of the plastic handle wrap I left on it. So I switched to G11 which is thinner. The playing weight and bp are pretty much perfect for me. I just need to get used to it now and it'll be a top contender for my go-to racket, the other is my AT900T which is some tough competition.
Thruster 6000 arrived yesterday. It's now being strung and hopefully I'll be testing it next week with the view to posting my review later in the week. This racket is now available throughout Europe. Paul www.badminton-coach.co.uk
Great to hear about it Paul. Please keep us posted =) Would be good if you could provide a comparative opinion against the K8000 as well - as the K8000 felt super stiff, would like to try this one out (and the K9000)
Wow, you felt 8000 was super stiff? That's unusual. I will have the racket next week and should be on court sometime in the week. I'll post as soon as I can. Paul
