Feels kinda weird to switch topic and write about rackets again :/ I'm constantly thinking of Dan's mother whenever I look at my Panda rackets... Well, lets get to it - the TPro might swing a tiny bit heavier - I had only 2 hours of play tonight, so I can't review, but the first impression is very very good indeed. Seems like this is gonna be THE PP racket for me - even though the timing was a little off and the rubber grip felt unusual (towelling grip fanatic), it felt like I can use this racket to it's full potential (perhaps after another week of training). The 287/83,8g I got feels very nice, even coming from the N50 and N50II. It's noticeably lighter and thus faster in defense, but also noticeably slower than the 287/83,xg Precision I have. In comparison to the Precision, it feels slower and heavier (1g and 3mm by rough estimation - Panda would know better as he has access to many more BP&weight combinations). But that was to be expected and exactly what I was looking for. So, I'm very excited about the next few weeks - adapting to (&reviewing) the TPro, going to the GO (semifinals and finals), and the shipment with my 2nd and 3rd TPro...at least those won't be stuck at customs (it's a hassle. Everyone automatically assumes I bought a fake racket on ebay!). If I haven't mentioned it yet, you're doing a great job, Dink I hope you will keep up the good work and I get to enjoy many more dc rackets (perhaps, if I'm lucky, even play against you one day)!
Very sorry to hear the news Dan but know your mom is a strong positive person who has a very strong support system in her devotion to her faith. Had the pleasure of meeting her and indeed she is a very sweet lady who left a great impression with me. Will be saying a nice prayer tonight as requested.
I don't know Panda, or anything about Panda Power, and I'm a complete newb at badminton, but it's just as saddening for me to hear about what has happened to Mama Panda. I hope she will recover fully as soon as possible, and no one in the family should ever lose hope: it may be inoperable for humans, but God can heal anything if you put your faith in Him.
I will be keeping Dan's mother in my prayers as well during her time of need. I ask that anyone who has more well wishes and prayers go here to post them: http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php/95197-Asking-for-Prayers By keeping all of the prayers and well wishes in one place, we can make it easier for Mama Panda to see them and draw strength and hope from them. I hope Panda does not mind I went ahead and did this for him and his mother.
Do you know how long the UK shipment is going to take to get here? And MP is in our thoughts, hope she gets better.
G., thanks for all your time and effort and thank you all for your well wishes and good e-mail info on alternative medicine.
Hi OliverHH, What string and tension do you use? I am ordering one as well and still waiting for the racket to be delivered.
Already broke the string on my TPro :/ (ZM62@26, didn't mix well with 30min. smash drills) Hope my string job can somewhat match Dink's and the racket continues to perform as well as it did Friday night (still not able to review though)
I would only recommend ZM62 to those who either only hit medium hard, or almost constantly hit the sweet spot. Otherwise it's too fragile.
I'll use it again once I'm used to the TPro - I'm still hitting a few shots off centre. Although the final smash which broke the string was hit perfectly^^ Imop, I don't have a very fast/hard hit, so I'm a bit surprised with the recent drop in string durability :/ I know why pro's use thicker strings - the .62 strings wouldn't last until the mid-game interval^^ Went with a BG80@26....if that breaks as fast again, I'm gonna kill someone. I don't wanna play with 65 or 65Ti D:
I understand your frustrations completely. There are plenty of thick string alternatives that have lots of durability, but still offer more than BG65 in the playability department. For Yonex, you can try BG70Pro, BG68Ti, or NGY95. For Ashaway, you can try ZyMax 67, ZyMax 70, Micropower, Micropower XL, Microlegend, and Microlegend XL.
Yeah, that's what I thought. Played only with .66 or thinner strings lately, so I think it'll last longer than those...even though my racket head speed seems to have improved with the TPro