Panda Power: A Racket That Can Take 40lbs. String Tension!

Discussion in 'Badminton Rackets / Equipment' started by DinkAlot, Apr 22, 2009.

  1. BOUBOS1957

    BOUBOS1957 Regular Member

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    Dan, thank you so much for all the details.

    For myself, the Yonex Super Grap is far then being enough absorbent. I used to play competitive racketball, and go thru 5-6 gloves per 3 hours sessions, even was wearing a cotton glove in the leather glove on hotter days.

    I've tried many other brands of grips, but not the RKEP yet. The best ones apart from the towel/powder combination that I have tried, were the Apacs PU grips. How would you compared them to the RKEP, and which models of RKEP would be the best for a guy who seems to have tsunami in his hands.
     
  2. DinkAlot

    DinkAlot dcbadminton
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    The APACS Super PU is excellent. The RKEP stuff is on par to a bit better. Try the Ultimate.
     
  3. singnflip4life

    singnflip4life Regular Member

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    Trinity Pro review

    Trinity Pro (86.1/287) used compared *to Precision (84.5/290), Ultra Pro (86.2/287), Trinity 2v2 (86.1/287).

    All rackets strung with ZM67 @ 24.7/27.2, ECP with 10% auto prestretch and doorknob prestretch. All rackets have base grip plus one fully overlapped overgrip. For my reviews of the other rackets, please refer to previous pages of this thread. For my bottom line, skip to the end.

    Played for 3 hours last night. 1 doubles game against C-ranked team, 1 hr of rotating 1v2 with my doubles partner and a low C-level friend. Then finished with a doubles game among equal level players.

    This racket, though equal spec with the T2v2, swung faster and whippier than the T2v2. Upon closer comparision to my 1st gen Ti10 it is a very similar weight, slightly heavier (~.5g) and less head heavy (~2-3mm). I'll measure later, these are purely guesses. Definitely whippier compared to Ultra Pro, and "meatier" than the Precision.

    I'll keep this review on the simpler side
    Power: (smashes, clears) TPro is better than everything but my Ultra Pro, as to be expected. Punishes off center hits more, but also provides more of a reward for sweetspot hits.

    Speed: moderate. Quicker than the UPro, T2v2, but not as quick as the Precision. Again, results are as expected.

    Feel: Clear coat in frame lends itself to much better feel when compared to the T2v2 and Precision, second only to UPro due to the stiffer shaft providing more feedback. Once more, as expected.

    Defense: almost on par with Precision, better than anything else.*Defense must be more consciously driven, which may or may not be a good thing.

    Intangibles: somehow this racket has much springier bed compared to the other rackets despite all being strung similarly. The extra spring is also very easily controlled, allowing for better drives and a much better net game. It's handle size is also almost perfect for me (hand is equal to 4 1/2 in Dunlop tennis grip size). The shaft is stiffer compared to the T2v2 when flexing in my hand, but in use feels of equal stiffness. Not a bad thing at all.

    Summary: IMO, the TPro has made all other versions of the Trinity obsolete. While a good racket, I was never truly in love with the Trinity rackets. I always preferred the Zelm PP10000 or the Precision. This is no longer the case. The TPro racket is now the best racket for me. I'd buy more, but still waiting to see how the PPPPro plays out.

    *The Precision is losing on power and feel compared to the TPro, but a stiffer shaft and a clear coat frame could put them on level playing fields. The PPPPro would be a viable alternative to those looking for a TPro for a less stiff shaft.

    Bottom line: best Panda Power racket out there for those too strong for the Precision's medium flex shaft, but not strong enough for the UPro's shaft. Congrats again Dan, somehow you manage to improve on the Trinity series again. This could very well be the modern day Ti10.

    I'll measure my Ti10 and get an equal spec comparison so I can compare the two because I am very curious now about this head to head matchup.Trinity Pro review

    Trinity Pro (86.1/287) used compared *to Precision (84.5/290), Ultra Pro (86.2/287), Trinity 2v2 (86.1/287).

    All rackets strung with ZM67 @ 24.7/27.2, ECP with 10% auto prestretch and doorknob prestretch. All rackets have base grip plus one fully overlapped overgrip. For my reviews of the other rackets, please refer to previous pages of this thread. For my bottom line, skip to the end.

    Played for 3 hours last night. 1 doubles game against C-ranked team, 1 hr of rotating 1v2 with my doubles partner and a low C-level friend. Then finished with a doubles game among equal level players.

    This racket, though equal spec with the T2v2, swung faster and whippier than the T2v2. Upon closer comparision to my 1st gen Ti10 it is a very similar weight, slightly heavier (~.5g) and less head heavy (~2-3mm). I'll measure later, these are purely guesses. Definitely whippier compared to Ultra Pro, and "meatier" than the Precision.

    I'll keep this review on the simpler side
    Power: (smashes, clears) TPro is better than everything but my Ultra Pro, as to be expected. Punishes off center hits more, but also provides more of a reward for sweetspot hits.

    Speed: moderate. Quicker than the UPro, T2v2, but not as quick as the Precision. Again, results are as expected.

    Feel: Clear coat in frame lends itself to much better feel when compared to the T2v2 and Precision, second only to UPro due to the stiffer shaft providing more feedback. Once more, as expected.

    Defense: almost on par with Precision, better than anything else.*Defense must be more consciously driven, which may or may not be a good thing.

    Intangibles: somehow this racket has much springier bed compared to the other rackets despite all being strung similarly. The extra spring is also very easily controlled, allowing for better drives and a much better net game. It's handle size is also almost perfect for me (hand is equal to 4 1/2 in Dunlop tennis grip size). The shaft is stiffer compared to the T2v2 when flexing in my hand, but in use feels of equal stiffness. Not a bad thing at all.

    Summary: IMO, the TPro has made all other versions of the Trinity obsolete. While a good racket, I was never truly in love with the Trinity rackets. I always preferred the Zelm PP10000 or the Precision. This is no longer the case. The TPro racket is now the best racket for me. I'd buy more, but still waiting to see how the PPPPro plays out.

    *The Precision is losing on power and feel compared to the TPro, but a stiffer shaft and a clear coat frame could put them on level playing fields. The PPPPro would be a viable alternative to those looking for a TPro for a less stiff shaft.

    Bottom line: best Panda Power racket out there for those too strong for the Precision's medium flex shaft, but not strong enough for the UPro's shaft. Congrats again Dan, somehow you manage to improve on the Trinity series again. This could very well be the modern day Ti10.

    I'll measure my Ti10 and get an equal spec comparison so I can compare the two because I am very curious now about this head to head matchup.
     
  4. dimcorner

    dimcorner Regular Member

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    double post or are you trying to increase your word count ;)

    Anyway I totally agree with your findings. With Precision I can probably return more smashes, with TPro I have to make more effort to return, but somehow I'm more accurate as well. Maybe because I did grow up playing with Ti-10 1st gen :).

    I still find it weird that when I return hard smashes with the Precision I can feel the shot but with the TPro they just rocket off the racket barely feeling the hit.

    BTW... I haven't touched the Precision for 2 weeks already!
     
    #4584 dimcorner, Feb 17, 2011
    Last edited: Feb 17, 2011
  5. SlaShEr

    SlaShEr Regular Member

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    2 reviews affirming that it plays like the 1st Gen ti10 which i grew up with as well. Tempting!
     
  6. dimcorner

    dimcorner Regular Member

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    It actually plays a little faster than the 1st gen Ti-10 in my opinion but with just about as much power and better feel.
     
  7. kevindd992002

    kevindd992002 Regular Member

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    Ok. So this means that the approximate specs that you recommend to buyers when dealing with them are "always" dry weight specs? And it is always safe to assume that the BP and weight will "effectively" increase when strung?
     
  8. singnflip4life

    singnflip4life Regular Member

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    heh typed it up on my iphone, did not realize how long it had ended up until I had posted it.

    This is probably due to the differences in mass and concentrations of mass (aka bp) between the two rackets.

    This would depend on your specs relative the general specs of your 1st gen Ti-10. Mine seems to play a little slower than the one I have, but it has more accuracy to it. Not quite as offensive, but much better all around. Like I said earlier, when the second batch comes in, I will try to order one that matches the dry specs of my own Ti10 to do a direct comparison.

    If you are still looking for a replacement for that racket that doesn't cost 200-300 USD, the TPro would be an excellent choice to start with, assuming similar spec.
     
  9. singnflip4life

    singnflip4life Regular Member

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    When i talk to Dinkalot when ordering specs, I always deal in dry weight specs. It makes things easier on both ends. It is easier for me to do this because I have settled on a grip and string setup that are very consistent because I apply my own grips and use my own stringing machine. I can't imagine the trouble it would be to ask for a racket that would be a certain spec when strung with a certain string/tension and with a certain grip due to differences in how people do things.

    And when only applying string, it makes sense that since you are adding something to the head of the racket, there is added weight so weight must go up. And since you've added that weight to the top of the racket, it must also hold that the weight it now more balanced to the head, thus bp would go up.
     
  10. DinkAlot

    DinkAlot dcbadminton
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    Panda has said before and will say it again, all Trinities are modeled after the Ti10. The frame shape is identical, the stiffness and material used is near identical. Panda just made some synergistic changes to make the Trinity less demanding. :)
     
  11. DinkAlot

    DinkAlot dcbadminton
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    This is because of no paint/decals/graphics. :D
     
  12. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    As Dink mentioned on the previous page, string is about 5-6g and a thin overgrip is about the same 5-6g. So if you use this overgrip, which is what I use, then bp effectively is unchanged and total weight is increased by around 10-12g. Simple really.
     
  13. DinkAlot

    DinkAlot dcbadminton
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    Kevin: when we talk about badminton stuff, it's always "ceteris paribus" (Latin for "with all other things equal").

    So yes, of course the racket will weigh more and the BP will increase when the racket is strung; but that's a common factor for any racket so it's omitted as it's given.
     
  14. kevindd992002

    kevindd992002 Regular Member

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    Got it. I was just confirming that Dink and I's conversation was all about dry specs including the reference specs of my old Precision racket :)
     
  15. singnflip4life

    singnflip4life Regular Member

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    Yes I remember that. But I think you've finally done it. Now the next step? Make it even better ;-p
     
  16. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    Dink, it's great that you're continuing the legacy of the much in demand Ti 10 that YY unfortunately decided to abandon.

    Is there a current YY racket that is similar to the venerable Ti 10?
     
  17. kevindd992002

    kevindd992002 Regular Member

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    Great. Now my mindset is correct. When talking about BP and weight, it is always specs gripped and unstrung :)
     
  18. DinkAlot

    DinkAlot dcbadminton
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    Ordered a couple of PTs with Ti-Mesh/Kevlar reinforcement around the 2,4,7, and 10 o'clock...

    ...stay tuned. ;):p
     
  19. DinkAlot

    DinkAlot dcbadminton
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    We refer to it as "dry weight": unstrung with original grip. If you mod or change the grip, you need to say dry weight with modded grip and disclose what you did...

    ...in the case of the RKEP Ultimate replacement grip, it's nearly the same weight as the stock Panda grip (maybe 1g heavier) so it's basically a wash. :)
     
  20. demolidor

    demolidor Regular Member

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    Buttcap (+ stringlogo) ;)

    Doesn't Gen 1 have a ~295 bp?

    It's not a boxframe is it?
     

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