Tantrum 200 ii (2nd Gen) Comprehensive Review

Hi guys,

So yesterday my two Tantrum 200 ii came in the post, so I'd thought I'd do a comprehensive review (with pictures!) on the racket and it's performance in comparison to the original Tantrum 200.

I probably will answer a few questions, but I barely go through these forums unless I have a good reason to. Note, this review is subjective, and my personal opinion. You can also skip to the end section to see the summary of the whole review.

Firstly, here are the photos:



So a couple of background information about me before we kick this review off:
I am an advanced player who mostly plays doubles. Been playing on former state team and have a good feel for aggressive (and smart) net play, smash and drive shots. Definitely retired from singles, and much prefer doubles.

The racket of choice for me in the past 6 years is the original Tantrum 200, so it's only fitting that I make a review that compares the updated version (above) with the old version. Unfortunately, I had to update to a new racket since my old trusty Tantrum 200 broke. :'( real tears.

The original Tantrum 200 has a shaft width of 7.5mm (thick) and the updated Tantrum 200 ii is 6.7mm shaft (quite slim). Both are even balance.

Initial impressions:
I ordered a two racket T200ii combo deal from an Ebay dealer badminton ace, and both rackets come out at identical specs, no paint job misalignment/chips and almost identical stiffness and balance point. Apacs tends to have a bad reputation for having inconsistent rackets, but this one is by far the most identical bunch of rackets I've ever played with, and can't complain about the consistency of the build. Blind folded there is no discernible difference.

Both frames are strung up at 24lbs with Apacs Stern Pro (default string for badminton ace guy) and are gripped with a grip of Apacs super PU + Yonex AC102 ex white overgrip (LCW style) with original black grip still underneath.
Both frames are 3U with 2G grip. (standard weight with small-ish grip)

The color and the paint job seems quite good so far, the distinctive green is the traditional Tantrum 200's recognizable feature. I suspect that the Tantrum 200ii racket is very-slightly (VERY-SLIGHTLY) more head heavy than the original Tantrum 200 because the shaft is thinner, but it's so slight that it's negligible if you've never used an original Tantrum 200.

Everything looking great so far. I got mine for $186 USD for two T200ii on sale, but originally costs $219 USD without sale. (~$93-110 per racket USD before shipping costs) Not bad, but not as cheap as it once was.

Play test:
I took the rackets for a 4.5 hour play test in a relatively cool environment with doubles matches for the most part. The most recognizable aspect of the Tantrum 200 ii is the control and responsiveness of the frame. If you've ever used the original Tantrum 200 you'll know that it's relatively high shaft stiffness and stability is one of the key aspects that make it's accuracy such a pinpoint, precise tool.

The T200ii frame responds very quickly and feels firm and sensitive to most of my actions. In my opinion, its by far one of the strongest aspects of the frame. This means that it's highly effective at the front court where you want to 'kill' at slow/high drop shots, push flat drives/pushes or sharp drop shots. The control is also very apparent in the lifts, and rewards good technique in going exactly where you want it to. If your technique is not fully efficient or "arm-y", the frame will definitely lack power in this department. The Tantrum 200 ii is also an even balance frame which means that it doesn't feel like it has a huge "mass/solidity/denseness" in the head, nor does it feel head-light (or, head-sparse) like the nanospeed series. This definitely feels good to me personally because I'm not a fan of head-dense frames, and sits in the middle.

The shaft on the Tantrum 200 ii feels similar to the original, but with discernible differences between the two. The biggest difference is the maneuverability of the updated version. This racket just moves faster than the original, maybe around 15-20% faster just based off my feel. It definitely doesn't move as fast as a jetspeed 10, TK 9000 or arcsaber z-slash, but it's definitely a noticeable improvement on the racket itself. This is also partly due to the fact that the hoop above the shaft is identical to the original, in width and hitting area. Whereas the rackets like the z-slash and JS10 have smaller hoops which are less forgiving but also ridiculously super fast through the air.

This translates to a number of key changes in drives, smashes and defense in particular. The T200ii racket is just faster to move into position when returning drives and is quicker for hitting harder smashes and defending/blocking/lifting smashes that come to you. Sometimes your timing has to adjust in order to accommodate for the difference, but it's definitely not night-and-day difference like a nanospeed vs. voltric series. Furthermore, on impact it feels almost identical to the original, good stability and no problems whatsoever. I would say that it's very slightly less stable and stiff than the original, but nothing that you should be worried about since it still is very stable compared to many other rackets. IMO, stability difference is almost indiscernible and should not be a worry whatsoever.

I would rate the updated Tantrum 200 ii with better defense, better drives, slightly more sensitive/precise front-court play and better smashing capacity than it's predecessor.
Stability and stiffness factors are virtually identical, and negligible in difference to the original Tantrum 200.
But if I had to make a judgement call, the stability of the T200ii < T200 (very slight) and the T200ii is very slightly more flexible than the T200 (also very slight).

I wouldn't really worry about the shaft durability width at all, maybe if I break it before the next 6 year mark then I can complain about the durability and give you guys another update. My original Tantrum 200 has survived many clashes throughout it's 6 year lifespan without problems especially in the hoop, which is where most clashes happen. (Both the upper hoop of the T200 and T200ii is somewhat thick, albeit not as dense as the shaft)
But the shaft still feels solid and stiff (e.g. not hollow), and I don't anticipate any random fractures or feel any noticeable instability/weakness from the racket.

I did not feel too many differences with the clearing depth from the updated T200ii and the original T200. If you have good technique, you probably don't need to worry about the clearing depth as much as but it's definitely a reason why the T200 and T200ii are considered such impressive doubles rackets, and less so for singles.

The downside with the original, is that in singles especially, it can feel like a somewhat high-effort racket especially at the baseline-to-baseline - where the power has to come from great technique and hitting the sweet spot to clear right to the other baseline. Many people struggle with the power of the Tantrum 200 original, because they cannot hit the sweet spot with enough consistency to deal with in a singles match and the shot probably only goes about 90% of it's intended depth.
With new shuttles you wont feel like its as much of a problem, but with older and more worn-out shuttles the difficulty can become more apparent.

Both the updated T200ii and the original Tantrum 200 needs some sweet-spotting and wrist action to consistently hit from furthest-most baseline to baseline, mainly due to it's stiff shaft. (as with most other stiff rackets) Smashing is still very good, as with the new updated version of the t200ii even from the rear court.

In my opinion, they are still very decent rackets for the clearing game and I still rate them as good in the rear as I have never had any problems personally with the original Tantrum 200 or Tantrum 200 ii.

In the mid-court the rackets play excellent and perform as you would expect with good performance all round.

Here's my final summary on the 2nd generation update T200 ii racket:

It's an excellent racket especially for doubles, and still very good for singles.
Upsides are: Easy access to control, quicker maneuverable responsive frame for drives/smashing/defense, precise directional and depth control, (very) slightly more flexible than predecessor, responsive and quick netplay and good attack.

Downsides are:
Access to easy depth from the rear court or lifts, may be more difficult if unskilled/inconsistent etc.
EDIT: Slightly less stability than predecessor.

Final Review:
Maneuverability & Quickness T200ii > T200
(Very noticeable difference)

Forecourt & Midcourt T200ii > T200.
(both rackets are excellent, but it feels faster and easier to grab points on attacking/controlling in these areas)
(T200ii feels slightly more precise than the T200, but difference can probably be adjusted with string tension)

Rearcourt T200ii > T200
(Slight improvement where smashes are better, clearing feels mostly the same) Excellent for doubles, smashing is great, baseline clearing is more like a 'last resort' in doubles. Very good for singles, but may experience difficulty in depth.

Consistency and stability T200ii < T200
(T200ii is less stable than T200 but not significant. Both rackets are still stable.)

Feel on impact T200ii = T200

Price in 2016
As of this review, T200 > T200ii
(T200 original is only around $5-10 cheaper if you buy each racket individually, perhaps it's worth buying 2 if you're looking for more value)


Overall, my opinion is that the Tantrum 200 ii racket is a better and quicker (but familiar) racket in comparison to the Tantrum 200. It performs excellent as a doubles racket and is an excellent choice for any all-round doubles player.

Here's to another 6 years.

 

Thanks Carbonex_7, I'll try out that combination after my strings break