Yonex ASTROX 77 (2017)

I booked a blue one with my regular shop. Hopefully I get the weight I want..

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so tonight I played with the Jetspeed 12 in 3U/G5 and the Astrox 77 in 4U/G4. When the rackets arrived I hold them all in my hand and I was right away suprised and convinced that the Voltric Lin Dan Force was NOT for me, wayyyy to head heavy. Feels like a sledgehammer. I also want to play doubles and mixed with my racket and the VT LDF would be way too heavy and slow. Exit VT LDF.

Then I played with the Astrox and weirdly, I can't really tell yet if I like it. It has clearing power, but it's a hard racket too define somehow I think. Compared to the Jetspeed 12 it is a little bland. It's good, but wih the JS12 I immediately feel some power and control, and with the Astrox I feel, well not much. I think this is because it is a 4U version, and I felt the same with the old Voltric 70. 4U is just not for me, I know that for sure. It doesn't give me enough beef, enough solid feel. It just feels a little like nothing.

So far I prefer the Jetspeed 12, though I really would love to try the Astrox in 3U. Perhaps even the smaller G5 Victor grip size also suits me better, even though I don't have small hands. I don't really know.

I know that the Arcsaber gave me good control and had great balance, it was head heavy but just a bit. Though it lacked power in my lifts, clears and smashes. I do have way more power with the JS12, but the Astrox is kind of all over the place. It has clearing power, but control is somehow less. I do not think however it is a fair comparison because of the JS12 3U and Astrox 4U weight difference. All I know now is that I prefer 3U rackets.

So I think I should test the Astrox in 3U to make a fair comparison. Problem: no 3u Astrox test racket available. So I think the Jetspeed 12 is the way to go for singles, though in doubles they were both good and the head heavyness was actually a little less with the Astrox which makes it more agile. Again, it is very hard to compare because of the 3U/4U difference.

if I had o choose now, I would go with the JS12 because it gives me more feedback on the court, though I still think the 3U Astrox could be a real nd great allround competitor. Difficult...

 

Hmm got a 3UG5 blue 2nd hand(yes already I know XD). Already strung by the first owner with Aerobite at 30lbs so it will do for now. Overall mass wet is 89.22g (strings + original grip) head weight came out at 40.49g.

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@Ch1k0 Aha, well how did it play? What do you think of this racket? and what do you think of the head heavyness and control?

 

I don't know? I literally just bought it hours ago. My next game is only on Saturday. I can only give slight first impressions right now. I don't have much on the YY side to compare it with. Stiffness is between the ARC7 and ARC10. The swing speed from the sound alone is definitely better than the Voltrics. But slightly slower than the Arcsabers. It's definitely a Voltric replacement though.

The Astrox 77 has that familiar head heavy pull from the 12 o'clock position yet being the introductory racket to the new range like the Voltric 70 was. It's not overbearing and definitely in the realm of usable but needs time to get used to coming from an even balanced racket like the BS12. I'd say the next closest thing I have in the inventory is definitely the JS12. I have to break the shaft in further however to see if the shafts are equally stiff or not as I've had enough hours of usage on the JS12 whereas this is pretty much a brand new AX77.

Bouncing shuttles in my room randomly. The feel on impact is nice. I can tell where I'm hitting on and off the sweetspot, so that to me is a big big plus. Can't comment on shock absorption though since there's no one to hit with me, and I'm lazy to find a wall big enough to do reflex drills. Other things well....I'll only know if I play which isn't for another day so for now, enjoy the picture?


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@Ch1k0 wow!!! That is indeed a cool picture.

I am really doubting between this and the JS12. Would love to hear your feedback after your play session. I feel I can't say **** about this racket now because of the fact that it is a 4U version, which is just way too light for me. I don't understand why they even sell 4U. No power.

Mostly I am interested in the comparison Astrox 77 vs JS12 in the control and power department. I love the control of the JS12, also the power is pretty good. It is just that I am worried about the sinken-frame-grommet quality issues... Heard there is a new blue JS12, though can't find it anywhere. Would be cool if you could report this weekend on your findings. So far, congrats with your beautiful racket. (you liked this better than the yellow one?)

 

the ldf u tested was it 3u or 4u ??

 

wow they've already got budget/mid level models that was fast.

 

@vyshagh VTLDF was 3U. More heavy than my own arm.

 

a 4u would solve that proble ri8and have enough power

 

Looking forward for your review, i'm also getting one soon but yellow color, finds it nicer than blue imo. Since it was strung at high tension, would like to know whether will it suffer from frame sinking problem the next time when you restring.

 

Well mate, you're getting your wish haha. My affair with Aerobite is over. Probably tension too low since the strings were sliding everywhere when I started getting a bit sloppy due to fatigue. Just cut them, original owner had it done at 30lbs. Time to go to my favourite BG80 tomorrow.

So far looking at the frame, there's no real damage at all, a few of shared holes show signs of a bit of "bubbling" but I don't feel that there's anything to be concerned about. Just seems like the top layer of lacquer being pushed a bit by the high tension. I do have a gripe with YY though, they're still using the same grommets instead of choosing to go the route that Victor did by using newer grommets with thicker heads. If they're gonna dare to raise the warrantied tensions, they should be prepared for people to push it. It's a small string mark on the frame I have between a couple of shared grommets at the 5 o'clock position, but I still think it could have easily been prevented by simply using better grommets (a really cheap solution).

So at this point in time, I've put down a couple of sessions with the racket totaling about 4 hours with the racket. The latest session earlier I decided to take out the JS12 and N9II for a spin because in my collection they're the 2 most similar rackets on paper that any brand I can think of has. I do find myself really enjoying the AX77 honestly. The frame seems a bit unwieldy at first, but once you get it going and you're caught up in the pace of the game (doubles purely for me), the aerodynamics are quite negligible. I continue to hold to my original first impressions where I find it a noticeable bit slower than the Aracsaber frame and faster than the Voltric frame.

Keeping in line with tradition, YY clearly has this put out as the successor to the VT70 and VT70ETN, and I really think they've got a winner here. It has been 3 years since I actually touched a VT70ETN (and even longer since the VT70), but as successors go, you would expect them to be a better incarnation of their predecessors and it is my firm belief that this is. I have a good friend who uses the VT70ETN exclusively now and I will be meeting up with him soon for a game so we can swap rackets to get a feel for the other's to get a good comparison. I truly think that the AX77 is faster and still capable of more power than a fully kitted out VT70ETN (with the golden jazzy grommets). The answer of durability of course is still an open one as it is too new on the consumer market to truly have an answer, but the AX77 does have quite the mountain to cross over the VT70ETN which I know has few to no complaints on the durability side even when you go to the 30lbs range yet has only a very low warrantied tension (was it 24 or 25 for the 3U? I don't remember).

Comparing it with the JS12, even with the meh Aerobite on it and BG80 on the JS12, I still think the the AX77 has got the edge in more departments than the JS12 does. More power, more stable, just as easy to use, and the only point it loses on truly is swing speed (you just can't beat physics here as the aerodynamic profiles of both rackets are vastly different). The feel for the AX77 I also find is better, in terms of directness they're about the same, YY more than likely has foam in the core of the head which contributes to fantastic shock reduction because I had several mistimed hits above the sweet spot from full power smashes while trying to adjust to the new racket yet I didn't feel a single thing coming down the frame into my hand or arm. The JS12 isn't as head heavy either, the weight in the head is distributed a lower at the middle of the head up to the 11 and 1 o'clock regions, whereas the AX77 is all up top from the 11 to 1 o'clock region.

There was a good reason I brought the N9II along of course. On paper and both in use, it is the one racket I've tried so far that is pretty much similar to the AX77 in nearly every way. Even down to the shaft stiffness, these 2 rackets are really similar, they only differ in the way the shaft flexes. I don't know how to put it into words properly unfortunately. I suppose I can try to put it this way, The N9II has a gentler and slightly easier flex while the AX77 recovers faster. The one thing I didn't expect that truly surprised me was that they share a near identical head weight distribution. Both rackets carry all their weight at the top of the frame. Both rackets share many similarities that I actually find it a wee bit spooky.

• Both are moderately head heavy (with very similar head weight distribution).
• Shaft stiffness (except when they flex, but I put this difference down to simply being different materials and construction perhaps).
• Short handle (just eyeballing it and feeling it under my towel grips they're practically the exact same length of wood).
• Shaft length (it may be off by a few millimeters though due to the different cones from 2 different brands).
• Head size (just putting one on top of they other there are barely any differences in the square area, if there is any difference then the N9II is the ones with a tad more area because of the thinner frame).
• I want to say 76 holes but the N9II is on the older 2+3 while the AX77 is on the newer 2+4 pattern.
• As I type this I just recalled and realised that both rackets actually feel quite similar too on impact with the shuttle. The feel is very direct yet the shock absorption is so well done that mistimed hits that usually would have a jarring impact are all taken care off.

I know I've typed an amazing wall of text but I don't consider this a review at all. Overall so far I'm very very satisfied with the AX77 and truly believe that YY has come out with a winner here. It is a racket that is easy to use yet is capable of giving more to a better player than I am. However if your technique isn't there, my advice would be to get a piece on the heavy side of 4U if you're trying it out in 3U initially. I do have to say though, I might actually be exploring the idea of cherry picking a copy that's 85g or a 4U copy that is 84g. I say this because I'm not used to using moderately head heavy rackets regularly, so this racket is still capable of tiring my arm out after 2 hours of play. If I'm gonna keep this in the bag as a regular playing piece, I'll more than likely need a lighter one to use when I'm fatigued but still want to keep the benefits of the AX77.

 

@Ch1k0 Dang, if ever I visit Singapore, I know who to visit to try out myriads of new rackets...

 

Seems to only be available as 3U in the UK.

 

Subtracting approximately 2.8g and 2.5g for string contribution to total weight and head weight, we get around 86.4g and 38.0g. Which is very very close to some Arc 11's I measured in the past. I suppose the distribution of mass on the frame is the major difference between them. And this is on a 3U AX77. So a 4U will be even lighter...

 

Meh, the Astrox is noticeably head heavy but not too heavy.

 

It's available as 4U on YC Sports.

 

Thanks for all that info. Since I can't find it here, in 3U, in Germany, I will first buy and use an Arcsaber 11 in 3U. Then, later, I will buy and play an Astrox 77 in 3U and compare and decide which of these two is the better racket. I want the "speed" and control of the Arc11, but the power of the old VT70. Perhaps the Astrox 77 comes close in combining all those aspects. If not, I will stick to my Arcsaber 11, and accept that I just don't get that easy power. I do think and expect however that the Astrox might be the racket I am looking for.

Too bad I have to wait for the 3U version to come available somewhere. I know I can buy it in the UK but it will cost me lots of money. The 4U can be bought for €150 here in Germany. Annoying...

 

Thanks for all that info. Since I can't find it here, in 3U, in Germany, I will first buy and use an Arcsaber 11 in 3U. Then, later, I will buy and play an Astrox 77 in 3U and compare and decide which of these two is the better racket. I want the "speed" and control of the Arc11, but the power of the old VT70. Perhaps the Astrox 77 comes close in combining all those aspects. If not, I will stick to my Arcsaber 11, and accept that I just don't get that easy power. I do think and expect however that the Astrox might be the racket I am looking for.

Too bad I have to wait for the 3U version to come available somewhere. I know I can buy it in the UK but it will cost me lots of money. The 4U can be bought for €150 here in Germany. Annoying...