I think something like that was posted on badmintoncn as well? Frankly I don't really care about there equipment but more interested to see how they will commercialize and perhaps help professionalize badminton a bit further ... I noticed it said Engineered in Japan on one racket (don't think it was a pro or tour) so production is likely outside of it.
Aeroplane Black sucks. at least the new ones does. they changed factory and is not longer anywhere close to the original. next round i am leaning towards Chaopai Red.
many of the products are posted in their official facebook page already. so it is probably leaked everywhere by now. and then they have been aggressively letting clubs tryout their product in Asia as well, so it is not really a big secret anymore.
i am so glad that i am reading this post this morning instead of last night, or else i would not have been able to sleep thinking about it. i am actually more excited about adidas entering into the world of badminton than any other news.
It's head heavier. IMO, you got to just try the racquets out and find what is your preference. I found this particular adipower pro a bit head heavy for me. Didn't know the specs before so I am a bit surprised it's 88gm which I consider as light. I did have a couple of racquet clashes in doubles with these adidas racquets but none broke.
has there been a lot of activity in Malaysia for Adidas? they should already have reps going around talking to retailers by now. as i was told, the team is pretty world wide. there are engineers in Japan hired from Yonex. they are based in Japan thus they are able to claim 'Engineered in Japan' on the racket itself. the manufacturing is actually done in China. there are also team in Germany as well as Hong Kong. the racket feels solid and responsive, definitely higher quality feel than even other 2nd tier manufacturers out there. using good quality carbon fiber is definitely a good idea. as i have mentioned, i think Adidas is doing their very first launch "right". they are doing all the right things. solid engineering, solid design, extensive range, and comprehensive marketing and distribution around the world.
usually. think about it. they are such a big company, they give out hundreds of samples to people. if they do ask them back, what are they gonna do with all these used rackets?
where do you play? i am planning to be at CBA this Sunday afternoon. let me know if you wanna come check them out.
yes!!!!!! i usually play at bintang milpitas and bintang south san francisco and i live in sunnyvale. yes i am willing to travel for badminton. CBA this sunday, i'll be free after church after 12:30 and i can hurry over. should i just ask for "Kwun" or "the guy with the adidas racket" or just a red beam flashing somewhere?
Adidas strings. adipower pro - 0.66mm power hybrid - 0.72mm main / 0.69mm cross power balance 69 - 0.69mm
Hmm interesting. They're trying to bring hybrid stringing to badminton! Haven't seen any cases where this made a good difference though. But .72 gauge! Damn!
some words about the strings. as you probably guessed, strings are hard to make. it takes many years of experience, technology and machinery to make strings. afterall, we are dealing with hundreds if not thousands of tiny fiber encased in something as thin as 0.62mm in diameter. aside from a handful, most brands (even large ones) get the help of a OEM to make strings for them. we know that (some) Li-Ning strings are made by Ashaway, some Victor strings are made by Gosen, and we do know that, with their many years of expertise, Yonex do manufacture their own strings (at least most of them). from what we can see being offered by Adidas, it is not possible for them to come up with their own factory, so they must be OEM'ing this to their own design and specifications. but there is always some DNA of the original OEM shown in various aspects. be it the location of manufacturing, the packaging, the technology, or just simply the product lines. can you tell from the above who is manufacturing the strings for Adidas? there can only be a couple of possibilities.
well, there can only possibly be one person holding an Adidas racket! i will be there after 3.30pm. gotta deal with the kids before hand. you play in Bintang Milpitas? what day? i might have seen you before then.