The racket is not more head heavy or head light depending on what side you use, that is just impossible. The balance point is ~295mm which makes it slightly head heavy. What you could feel by rotating the racket is the racket's speed changing, but not it's balance. Also, the intent of this racket is not to rotate the racket between shots. It is to never rotate it so your forehand is always on the box side and your backhand always on the aero side.
Agreed! I thought that was the point of the racket too XD If one keeps rotating, then they could just make the racket the same side?
You are right but the green side is definitely the side to be on forehand near the net or when driving. It is much quicker that way, basically a Nanoray 900. I think I just watched one of the Danes (Boe/Moegensen) start off on green when serving and playing the net. Not for me but there are benefits if you can train yourself to do it seamlessly and play consistent shots. I'm still honestly not very consistent with this thing. I've never had a racket with two completely different profiles so understandable, I guess. It doesn't really "act" the way you expect because of the massively different swing speeds you experience on either side. But basically, in terms of speed, power and tactility, it is an undeniably impressive achievement. One of the best Yonex releases in recent memory and my new primary racket. Just loaded up on a few more of them.
Actually thinking about this some more after reading the last page or two, and Paul Stewart's review that came live a few days ago, I'm wondering if this dual sided concept is useful or not. Firstly, I for one would prefer not to have to consciously keep track of which side is which during play. Secondly, what's the point of having a slower side for the forehand and a faster side for backhand? Why can't we have faster on both sides for both forehand and backhand... just like any aerodynamic fast frame racket? Like Jetspeed, Bravesword, etc. Thirdly, some may argue that aero frames are not substantial enough to hammer down heavy smashes. But that can be easily remedied by putting in a few grams more carbon graphite good stuff during the molding process to increase the swing weight.
From the above discussion it is clear that only advanced level players can effectively use Duora which requires a lot of expertise. Intermediate player like me should be sticking to some even balanced rackets or head light rackets.
After reading Paul's Review and the last couple of pages in here, I somehow get the feeling that there is a misunderstanding about which side of the racket should provide the better aerodynamics and therefor be the faster side. I am not Adrian Newey when it comes to understanding aerodynamics, but I do remember that the aerodynamically best shape is the drop with the chucky side against the wind. Well... that's why liquids assume this shape when falling through air. This would mean for the Duora, that it should have less air resistance when hitting the shuttle with the boxy side of the frame because that's when the frame profile is closest to a drop shape. And this should be the orange aka forehand side. The typical quick sword-like frame shapes are just a compromise to provide best possible aerodynamics while keeping a symmetric profile. So in theory, you should get the best performance of the Duora if you manage to always hit with the orange side since with this concenpt the green side is the one which is the compromise. All aerodynamic experts out there, please correct me if I am wrong. I had expressed my concerns with the general idea of a two-sided racket a lot of pages back and still they haven't changed a single bit even after testing it for myself. It's far from being a bad racket and feels very close to an Arc11, but I ended up after several rallies with the racket in the opposite direction than which I started it. So using this racket in a tight competitive game and having to think about which way I am holding it? No way for me.
=> http://cr4.globalspec.com/thread/22706 ...oh boy... only reading a couple of posts in there has made my head spin. So I guess I should better pack away my aerodynamics half-knowledge again and leave that stuff to real experts. But then I am fully in line with what visor said. Why even having a slower side at all? According to Yonex marketing it is to hold the shuttle longer on the stringbed. But why should that be an advantage on smashes or forehands in general?
Perhaps it's a concept best explored for singles... During doubles it's much more common to twist the racket around and end up holding the wrong side up or what ever. Regardless though, plenty of the top players have adopted the racket and their performance hasn't dropped. I doubt Boe/Moegensen would have gone any where near it if it had the chance to significantly impact their play. I think those guys are known to dive into the details of things with their well rehearsed strategies and tensions of 34lb or more! I think the above point speaks to the fact that the different profiles make hardly any difference really, even for pros. Perhaps the slimmest bit, and if you can tune in to that then maybe you can eek out a minuscule of advantage on certain shots, but really it's barely anything. Again, i doubt pros like Boe/Moeg would adopt the racket if the different sides caused significant timing variations, which in top class competitive games might just be seen as an unnecessary distraction. Underneath it all i think this is just a finely balanced racket made from top class materials. An improvement over the Arc11 which is not an easy thing to do!
No way, they were using the new ArcSaber FB and were able to smash just as hard as before. Also the FB could take the very high tension easily without breakage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l772qN7jZ80 from 3:10 onwards, retired Taufik Hidayat's also now using Duora 10 for exhibitions and practice games, wish I could just have 0.001% of his backhand skill
One thing is for sure.. You need something to be the next benchmark.. U need new concepts.. And that is duora.. As far as lcw is concerned, he can play with any racket given to him.. !!! In my opinion, duora is just a good concept but may not be the best.. When u play , u don't even bother which side is up or down.. U just play.. It all depends on your game...on your playing style... Like someone has well said.. " u just can't score the highest in mathematics exam if you use mont blanc pen".. U msut be a good mathematician as well... Learn the maths well, any pen will get u highest score... So its not about duora or voltric.. It's about you.. If Lin Dan plays with duora.. He will still play the best.. Then it doesn't depend upon the feel that duora is providing him.. But then it will be Lin Dan who will be taming the duora according to him... It all depends on how to train your dragon.. Cheers!!!
Mogensen was using painted ZF2. i know this because I spoke to the guy who string his rackets at All Englands. Paul www.badminton-coach.co.uk
Its called marketing. I went to Yonex's factory in 2014, I asked the spokeman of this factory. He said Yonex can do any tailor made or custom made for players as long they met with the company's qualifications.
