Adidas Badminton racquets 2018

Discussion in 'Badminton Rackets / Equipment' started by Ditbayki, Apr 22, 2018.

  1. Borkya

    Borkya Regular Member

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    Honestly, the Wucht P8 is now my favorite racket. And I play doubles! (It's a singles racket). I even got the new Star Wars racket (and I love, love, love star wars and feel super cool playing with it--because I'm a nerd, I know.) but I've even been choosing my Adidas one over the Star Wars one.

    The P8 adds noticeable strength to my shots and I'm kinda addicted to that now, haha.
     
    gafoorgib likes this.
  2. badmintony

    badmintony Regular Member

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    I have and have had already quite a few rackets made in japan, taiwan, china and malaysia(?) Having a made in germany one would've been sweet:(
     
  3. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    My review of the Uberschall F5 is on the first page of this thread.
     
  4. Charlie-SWUK

    Charlie-SWUK Regular Member

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    Show us some pictures of the whole thing ;) I wanna see the weird pattern in all of its glory. It sounds like the weird one this Strength Pro has.
     
  5. DinkAlot

    DinkAlot dcbadminton
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    I received an Uberschall F3 (UF3) from Adidas and will be posting a review tonight.

    I will be giving away the UF3 so stay tuned for details. :)
     
    #45 DinkAlot, Jun 9, 2018
    Last edited: Jun 11, 2018
  6. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    Is there a racket chart or matrix for these latest releases somewhere out there? At least to make sense of specs eg. bp, stiffness.

    Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
     
  7. DinkAlot

    DinkAlot dcbadminton
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    visor likes this.
  8. DinkAlot

    DinkAlot dcbadminton
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    1) I will be giving away this racket, compliments of Adidas and Badminton Central. :) (details to come after Kwun replies)
    2) I will post images of the racket tomorrow.
    3) The racket I received had a very peculiar string pattern (3 x tie-offs at the top of the frame and 1 at the bottom). I was informed the tie-offs have been changed and now the tie-offs are normal, 3 at the bottom, 1 at the top so I did not mention this in the review.

    Here's the review (please click image for full-size)...

    [​IMG]
     
    #48 DinkAlot, Jun 10, 2018
    Last edited: Jun 11, 2018
  9. DinkAlot

    DinkAlot dcbadminton
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  10. DuckFeet

    DuckFeet Regular Member

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    A few notes on the Kalkul A2.
    Its very similar to A5 (previously reviewed). Same very solid head and nice feedback. Its one step softer, which aids in power at the cost of not much accuracy - I need to aim about an inch inside the line rather than for it. The head is also a little lighter which i balanced out by using a thicker string. Before doing this i was having issues with a very fast swing speed but still surprising power for a 290bp 4u. Gun to my head I'd choose the A2 over the A5 right now. That easier power was pleasant and I starting winding up some pretty decent smashes. A5 still wins on looks though, it looks to have a more premium paint job.

    After a couple of restrings:
    No sign of sinking frame. Grommets stiff to turn and replace. The paint is very susceptible to slight nicks with tools. Dark matt paint shows them up more than usual it seems.
     
    #50 DuckFeet, Jun 15, 2018
    Last edited: Jun 15, 2018
  11. Bank Wench

    Bank Wench New Member

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    Can I ask how you got these Racquets from Adidas to test? I would like to be a distributor in Australia for Adidas Badminton as I have been using the original series racquets for the last 2 years. Unfortunately they are incredibly hard to get a hold of over here. I like the look of the new series!
     
  12. Dhandapani

    Dhandapani Regular Member

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    Adidas racket is available in Singapore? Any shop name pls
     
  13. matshuker

    matshuker Regular Member

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    australian badminton distributor is R&D Sports: contact Kenneth at: kenneth@rndsports.com.au
     
  14. matshuker

    matshuker Regular Member

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    Singapore distributor for adidas badminton is FTO, contact Solly: solly@fto.com.sg
     
  15. Mark A

    Mark A Regular Member

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    Adidas UBERSCHALL F2 (4UG5) review

    Impressions

    Uberschall (“supersonic”) is the middle prong of the Adidas trident so it can be thought of as their Arcsaber. Dry swings put me in mind of a slightly head-heavy, med-stiff racket, so Adidas’s even/stiff spec is close enough. I measured it at 300/85, a bit taller than I was expecting for an all-rounder but in line with the dry swings.
    DSC_0318.jpg
    The head is normal-sized with a sharp profile – very reminiscent of an upper or mid-range Li Ning. The shaft is more “usual” than the thin one on the Kalkul. Empty frame is strong, but the grip is – again – slightly bigger than G5. DSC_0331.jpg
    DSC_0329.jpg
    While I don’t really like the actual colours on this one, I do like the intent – a simple, two-colour motif with good contrast (and I like the pixelated blending from one to the other). Much more Adidas-y than the Kalkul.
    DSC_0332.jpg

    Stringing

    28lb limit, so I did it to 30/31. No problems as far as frame deformation, but it did uncover a slight QC issue with a mis-aligned hole.
    DSC_0323.jpg
    The pattern is an odd one – 20 x 20 with mains tied at the top. I’ve only ever seen this on Babolats before and to me it’s very obviously more “open” than a standard pattern.

    (I have to add here that I’m not a fan of these clear grommets – they fail faster than normal ones and I think their softness affects feel.)

    Power

    Nice, and better than expected. There’s a sense that the racket is helping me with a little kick at the end and after a slight swing adjustment (smoother, slower) I was getting some good results. Lifts are easy to get to the back and drives carry well. Smash power is good but I had trouble getting angle at first. Again, it seemed to like my backhand.

    Defence

    Though it loses some head weight when swung it still felt a bit cumbersome to me. Definitely played “heavier” than the weight, which might be why my smash angle suffered. I haven’t played with an Arcsaber for ages and this might be how they defend, but I was expecting more given the fast frame profile. Anticipated defence was absolutely fine but it felt a bit slower than a true all-rounder when I had to react.

    Control

    Keeps its shape well with power but seemed a bit loose on softer shots, especially ones without any “cut”. Came across as a bit “bouncy”, if I had to put a word to it; I’m not a fan of these open string patterns because I prefer control to power, but I’ve definitely played with worse (read, rackets with loose patterns and floppy frames).

    Feel

    It’s another one of those with great punch accompanying power but some deadness with touch shots. I’ll put this down to the string pattern again because there’s too little frame for that to be killing the sensation.

    Conclusion

    Another very respectable racket, this one – well built, well presented, well targeted.

    I would hesitate to call it an all-rounder given the balance and beef, but I don’t think it quite crosses into "singles racket" territory; in Yonex terms it could be called a “Volt-saber”. The power and relatively loose control meant I preferred to be mostly at the back or moving to the back; I wouldn’t move in for close net work with it, but settling in for a driving rally is like putting my feet up (as long as I watch my angles). It’s not unplayable at the front – especially if it’s a kill I’m going for - it’s just a bit more work than what I prefer. It’s not quite an all-rounder for me, but it might be for somebody with better reactions and/or a strong wrist snap. Doubles racket with a bias toward attack.

    Can’t comment on value for money - don't know the sticker price! - but I’d pay £110 for it all day long.
     
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  16. s_mair

    s_mair Regular Member

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    My first thought exactly. *shrug*
    And what is it with those odd stringing patterns?!

    Overall, I can't shake off the feeling that the Uberschalls were part of Adidas' "first trial" models (along with the Spieler series). They just don't seem to be as complete as the Wucht or the Kalkül models.

    Anyway, I'm still waiting for the Adidas badminton products to be available in Europe which was said to be planned for July. @matshuker, any updates about the launch schedule?
     
  17. Mark A

    Mark A Regular Member

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    I haven't tried a Wucht yet - I'm doing my best to borrow one, though - but it wouldn't suprise me if the Uberschalls were the first new ones to be designed. They're very obviously aimed at "middle stripe" of badminton players, having no especial characteristics. That stripe is very wide, though, so I can't really fault them for that.
     
  18. s_mair

    s_mair Regular Member

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    I still have the Wucht P6 in the bag. Spec wise it's also an allround racket but gets that certain something with the JS10-like compact head. Still pretty easy and forgiving though. So if the development road so far has been "Uberschall -> Wucht -> Kalkül", then I'm seriously holding my breath for the next generations to come.
     
  19. Dhandapani

    Dhandapani Regular Member

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    Try Wucht P8 and review the racket
     
  20. matshuker

    matshuker Regular Member

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    Europe retail intro is planned for July 2019.
     
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