This review probably breaks the trends of my normal ones. Most of the rackets I review tend to be the sort of rackets I would buy The Airblade Ti is not. I came in to possession of one of these today (at no cost ) and thought I might as well review it. Specifications: These were taken straight off the racket shaft - I didn't feel like taking detailed measurements for this racket. Weight: 85g Balance: Head light Shaft stiffness: Medium Length: 665mm Recommended string tension: 18-28 lbs Review It should be said that I tested this racket with Carlton Nanopulse 69 strings at a very low tension; I would say no more than 20 lbs. At some point, I'll try it with some better strings, probably Zymax 62 or that really thin Li-Ning string at a tension that I'm more used to. This isn't a racket that will be picked up by masses of BC members, most of us wield high end rackets (myself included) and the budget end is often quite neglected. The Airblade Ti can be found for about £40 in the UK so it is very much pitched at the beginner/intermediate market. The UK seems to have bit of a shortage of decent mid-range rackets. Apacs isn't a readily available brand so most people around here seem to opt for the low end Yonex line-up which is pretty poor value for money. Anyway, on to the review. In all honesty, first impressions were not that good. I think the paintjob looks quite cheap. Perhaps if the cone was the same colour as the grey on the shaft, it wouldn't look as bad but as it stands, I'm not too impressed with how the Airblade Ti looks. Taking some air swings, it seemed quite a fast racket, not too dissimilar to the Vapour Trail S-lite which I tested some time ago and loved. The first shots I played were promising, with head-light rackets, I always worry that power and stability will be issues. The Airblade packed a decent punch and felt solid. If I didn't know how it was priced, I would have said that it felt much more expensive than the £40 price tag. Smashes and clears were effortless and left the racket with a good deal of speed despite the sub-par string setup. In fact, I was quite surprised by the amount of power I could generate with the Airblade; much like the VT S-lite, it packs a punch well above its weight. I was creating steep angles with my smashes too. Overall, it isn't a Woven 11 or Panda Power Ultra 1 but on the attack, it proved itself to be a very effective weapon. In addition to this, it was very easy to swing - I felt like I could have played with it all day and not suffered too much. Now on to defence. You would expect a racket with specifications like the ones of the Airblade to perform pretty well in defensive situations and it didn't disappoint. It was much more manoeuvrable than my usual racket choice (SOTX Woven 11 with lead added to the head) and very capable in defence. Drives and pushes were also very easy to play with this racket after only a short time spent getting used to it. Finally, touch shots. Whilst this racket was very easy to manipulate around the forecourt, I wasn't happy with the feel on contact for net shots. I felt quite distant and there was an odd vibration coming from the racket at times. I would assume that this was a fault with the strings as opposed to the racket itself. I'll hopefully post more feedback on this after I restring it. Conclusion So good: Price Great manoeuvrability Surprising power No good: Cheap-looking paintjob Price of restring on top of the price of the racket to get it performing as it should do I would heartily recommend this racket to beginners and intermediate players who play mostly doubles. Some singles players will probably love it too but I really think it comes in to its own in doubles. More advanced players will probably want something stiffer. Overall, I give it 7/10. This would probably be an 8.5 or 9 if it wasn't for the inexcusable strings as there really is very little wrong with this racket.
