YONEX VOLTRIC Z FORCE aka VT-ZF REVIEW by ANTS Review Date : January 2012 – February 2012 Review Time : Approximately 27 Hours Playtime in Total Launch Date : March 2012 Racket Type : Yonex Voltric Z Force (JP Coded) Specification: 3UG4 Overall Weight: 88.9grams (without string) Strings: Yonex BG66 Maxima (Supplied) Tension: 30lbs, 1 Piece Stringing Stringing Machine Yonex ES5 PROTECH Official Recommended Strings: YONEX BG66 ULTIMAX : YONEX NANOGY 99 Main Technology : Nanopreme, Tri- Voltage System, Super HMG ( High Modulus Graphite), Tungsten, Built-in T Joint. Grip Used: Original Grip Shuttlecock Used : Yonex Official and Yonex Tournament First Impression: This latest version of VT-ZF looks like a Combination between Voltric Series and the Arcsaber Z Slash. I would probably believe the “Hybrid” version picked up what both Voltric and Z Slash lacks and improved on it. Therefore Voltric ZF is created with the incorporation of the latest technology developed by Yonex, which is Nanopreme and Tri-Voltage System. Color wise does catch my eyes because of the way it is designed. It gives me a conventional feel, “quiet” and lethal but not so old fashion. More like a Yonex Ti-10 paintjob with matt feel. I can see that I am going to enjoy this latest version of Votric ZF, the weight is head heavy balance with good solid feel but I don't feel the head heaviness during initial handling of the racket. Racket head frame is smaller but not as noticeable compared to the Flashy ArcSaber Z Slash, which I love to use. I know this racket is going somewhere when I swing it flat, aerodynamically sound and fast. Sounds like swish rather than swoosh. I do look forward to play and use this VTZF, which according to the Evil Empire is one of the best badminton racket yet developed by them. And it took them one year of R&D to work on this version of the racket. Will see how it goes. Stringing Impression: I don't often string rackets myself for casual games. But I do take pride and very meticulous when comes to stringing. And I am very choosy also on who is going to string me rackets. I will usually just stay and see the person string whenever im on tour. So for this new VTZF I decided to use the old faithful Yonex ESPROTECH where I strung the racket using the Yonex stringing pattern. I weaved and string the racket one by one, hole by hole. I don't pre weave the racket and string it at the same time which I usually does. That way is easier and for lazy people like me. But this time I decided to do it the hard way so I can give a more precise stringing impression to you guys. Stringing the mains is relatively easy, no slight movements from top and bottom. Can feel the stability from 11 O’clock and 1 O’clock section top frame. Some rackets feels soft at this part. The side frames feels rock solid with easy fast pull. Overall I think this racket is easy to be strung. Should have no problem have it strung to 35lbs or more in my opinion. For those stringers out there, whether you are an experienced stringer or beginner, don't worry about breaking or morphing the racket while stringing. Warm Ups: Initially I have doubts if this racket is user friendly. But from the first contact point and the subsequent few shots, I’m already easily accustomed to the racket and this proves that, it should be user-friendly racket. I am amazed by the torque and mass generated by the head-speed from the contact. The sound generated by BG66 Maxima provides the additional sweetness to the baseline shots. I don't feel that many vibrations during baseline drives. 30lbs tension is just perfect for me. At this tension, usually I can feel some vibration from most rackets. But on VTZF the vibration is hardly noticeable. Racket Frame is aerodynamically sound, which I feel easy swinging the racket without much drag. Sometimes what I do to feel and test the rackets aerodynamics is to put the racket face flat parallel to a high-powered industry fan I have. Just to see the reaction of the racket head and how it reacts to the wind. Well I don't have such Hi-tech Formula One Wind tunnel to do the test on but I guess this is good enough for me. I get a lot of racket head speed and it allows me to be more aggressive without too empowering on the smashes. And the string bed does react nicely to the impact of the shuttle. The extra penetration that I get from punching the shuttle does make it fly faster than usual. Sweet is what I can say hitting it from baseline to baseline and great repulsion sound produced from the string that I used. Overall of the warm up is good. Controls of shots go the way I wanted. Just that at times I feel that it is over powered. Net shots are smooth and all I need it slight push and the racket head will do the work for you. I am surprised with racket head speed during drives. The racket reacted faster than I predicted. Very easy and the drives return to my partner is also quicker. I guess this has to do with the shaft length, its flexibility and the Nanopreme technology that is incorporated in it. Game Time: What I love about this VTZF is its solid raw punching power. I cant mention enough that the flexibility of the shaft does allow the head heaviness of the racket frame does its job. My smashes are faster and I can almost feel the shuttlecock leave the string bed in an instant right after impact. The design of the racket face does give me the confident in producing smashes accurately and my shots lands deeper to the frontcourt. It is a perfect combination for shaft reaction and the frame’s momentum that produces that result. And the shuttle does not slow down as much compare to the other rackets that I have used before. Most of my reviews are done either using Yonex Official or Yonex Tournament shuttlecocks. But I do believe the results are the same even if you are using the other brands of shuttlecocks. During game time, net brushes are easier when I approach the racket earlier. However the sensitivity for soft touch in front does lack a little. The so-called vibration dampening effect does play a role in net play. In this area, I don't mind vibration for a better feel in front of the net. In smash retrievals the weight of the racket does allow me to defend the shuttle faster and the momentum helps me to push the shuttle deep to the backcourt. The handle and shaft speed does enable me to switch from the bottom defend to drive or block stance faster than usual. I can be more aggressive over the front after retrieving smashes. Conclusion: It’s been a while and it feels good to give something back to the badminton community as a badminton fan. I don’t usually do reviews anymore because of hectic schedules with my speaking and consulting engagements. Even for badminton, I have to take a back seat for it. But since there was a specific request for me to do this Voltic Z Force due to a comment I made years back when I was in Japan. They told me the story behind it and if I’m not mistaken, my feedback was taken into consideration. Usually companies do listen to professional players and certain rackets are specifically designed for them but not regular bloke like me. However customer’s feedbacks are important because sales of equipment are vital in the industry and for the company. In the ever competitive world of badminton where there is so many brands out there with different marketing strategies applied and with different technologies being improved on. Anyway to cut the story short, this VTZF would be a classic Yonex Armortec 700 which was one of the favorite racket among top players like Lin Dan of China, Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia and Peter Gade of Denmark. The only difference is that VTZF performs well overall on Power and Recovery. I would say a combination of Armotec 700’s Power with the Speed of Yonex Nanospeed 9900 and the flexibility of the forgotten Muscle Power 90. I think these 3 rackets that I have mentioned already says enough about The Voltric Z Force. The maneuverability is noticeable good and the stability of the racket frame during impact is clean. Once you hit the racket constantly you will be able to harness the full potential of the racket without exerting too much effort. I guess Yonex has designed a near perfect combination of shaft thickness with Racket Frame Weight ratio to maximize its Power and Speed. It blends well overall. So again Yonex has made another legendary racket. At the moment I don’t know what other “Secrets” that they have in their sleeves or Design House, which I have no opportunity to visit yet. *HINT* If they improved on the paint job and make it glossier, I believe that swing speed could be Aerodynamically assisted by 1-2%. This is perhaps the most impressive Voltric ZF yet developed by Yonex. Very user-friendly racket compare to the VT80. And I do hope it will get better and better next time. No Pressure Yonex. Just do what you guys do best. And somehow I feel that Yonex always produce something good whenever the All England Tournament is approaching. So I hope this racket is for keeps and will gain its followers around the world. I would rate this racket in terms of Feel, Control, Power and Defense. I added Stability, Recovering Speed, Maneuverability and Net Play. However it is based on my own test and review. It may vary depending on the player, tension and what string you use. Touch and Feel: 9.5/10 Control: 8.5/10 Power: 9.5/10 Defense: 9/10 Stability: 9/10 Recovering Speed: 9/10 Maneuverability: 9/10 Net Play: 8/10 Looks and Finish: 7/10 Value for Money: 9/10 Pros : Great Power and Speed, Good Feel and Comfort. Singles players will find this racket suitable. Doubles will find this racket quick in response with power. Cons: I don't have anything to complain about beside the Price and sometimes the Power Can Be Unpredictable. Paint Job can be better. Suitability : Advance/Intermediate. Singles/Doubles racket Ants A little background about ANTS the Reviewer Anthony Kong aka ANTS is a Motivational Speaker, Author, Marketing and Sales Strategist who is a badminton avid and he supports badminton players around the world. He is a regular player but has an exceptional skill of doing reviews on badminton rackets. His reviews have almost pinpoint accuracy with more than 90% satisfaction from readers and users of the rackets that he reviews. His work dated as early as 2004 and has a large following base of hundreds of thousands badminton players around the world who take his racket reviews as their guide before buying it. Many considers him as the only Non-Professional Player #1 Authority when comes to reviewing badminton rackets. Hundreds if not thousands of individuals around the world regularly asked him for advice on badminton rackets. His reviews have been featured on dozens of blogs and websites around the world. He primarily posts his reviews on BadmintonCentral.Com. Coincidently most of reviews of the rackets that he has done become one of the most popular rackets used by many players around the world that year. Ants do not own any physical or online badminton retail shops, badminton forums whatsoever. He does not work for any Badminton Brands. He usually works the reviews on his free time and often have an opportunity to do reviews on the specific racket before any it is launched. He can be contacted at www.twitter.com/antskong Or Facebook at www.facebook.com/anthonykongdotcom Or Weibo at http://weibo.com/antskong You can also check some of his work here. http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php/12672-ants/page6?highlight=ants If you would like to repost to the other Blogs and Websites, Please ask Permission from the Original Author. Thank You.
YONEX VOLTRIC Z FORCE aka VT-ZF REVIEW by ANTS Review Date : January 2012 – February 2012 Review Time : Approximately 27 Hours Playtime in Total Launch Date : March 2012 Racket Type : Yonex Voltric Z Force (JP Coded) Specification: 3UG4 Overall Weight: 88.9grams (without string) Strings: Yonex BG66 Maxima (Supplied) Tension: 30lbs, 1 Piece Stringing Stringing Machine Yonex ES5 PROTECH Official Recommended Strings: YONEX BG66 ULTIMAX : YONEX NANOGY 99 Main Technology : Nanopreme, Tri- Voltage System, Super HMG ( High Modulus Graphite), Tungsten, Built-in T Joint. Grip Used: Original Grip Shuttlecock Used : Yonex Official and Yonex Tournament First Impression: This latest version of VT-ZF looks like a Combination between Voltric Series and the Arcsaber Z Slash. I would probably believe the “Hybrid” version picked up what both Voltric and Z Slash lacks and improved on it. Therefore Voltric ZF is created with the incorporation of the latest technology developed by Yonex, which is Nanopreme and Tri-Voltage System. Color wise does catch my eyes because of the way it is designed. It gives me a conventional feel, “quiet” and lethal but not so old fashion. More like a Yonex Ti-10 paintjob with matt feel. I can see that I am going to enjoy this latest version of Votric ZF, the weight is head heavy balance with good solid feel but I don't feel the head heaviness during initial handling of the racket. Racket head frame is smaller but not as noticeable compared to the Flashy ArcSaber Z Slash, which I love to use. I know this racket is going somewhere when I swing it flat, aerodynamically sound and fast. Sounds like swish rather than swoosh. I do look forward to play and use this VTZF, which according to the Evil Empire is one of the best badminton racket yet developed by them. And it took them one year of R&D to work on this version of the racket. Will see how it goes. Stringing Impression: I don't often string rackets myself for casual games. But I do take pride and very meticulous when comes to stringing. And I am very choosy also on who is going to string me rackets. I will usually just stay and see the person string whenever im on tour. So for this new VTZF I decided to use the old faithful Yonex ESPROTECH where I strung the racket using the Yonex stringing pattern. I weaved and string the racket one by one, hole by hole. I don't pre weave the racket and string it at the same time which I usually does. That way is easier and for lazy people like me. But this time I decided to do it the hard way so I can give a more precise stringing impression to you guys. Stringing the mains is relatively easy, no slight movements from top and bottom. Can feel the stability from 11 O’clock and 1 O’clock section top frame. Some rackets feels soft at this part. The side frames feels rock solid with easy fast pull. Overall I think this racket is easy to be strung. Should have no problem have it strung to 35lbs or more in my opinion. For those stringers out there, whether you are an experienced stringer or beginner, don't worry about breaking or morphing the racket while stringing. Warm Ups: Initially I have doubts if this racket is user friendly. But from the first contact point and the subsequent few shots, I’m already easily accustomed to the racket and this proves that, it should be user-friendly racket. I am amazed by the torque and mass generated by the head-speed from the contact. The sound generated by BG66 Maxima provides the additional sweetness to the baseline shots. I don't feel that many vibrations during baseline drives. 30lbs tension is just perfect for me. At this tension, usually I can feel some vibration from most rackets. But on VTZF the vibration is hardly noticeable. Racket Frame is aerodynamically sound, which I feel easy swinging the racket without much drag. Sometimes what I do to feel and test the rackets aerodynamics is to put the racket face flat parallel to a high-powered industry fan I have. Just to see the reaction of the racket head and how it reacts to the wind. Well I don't have such Hi-tech Formula One Wind tunnel to do the test on but I guess this is good enough for me. I get a lot of racket head speed and it allows me to be more aggressive without too empowering on the smashes. And the string bed does react nicely to the impact of the shuttle. The extra penetration that I get from punching the shuttle does make it fly faster than usual. Sweet is what I can say hitting it from baseline to baseline and great repulsion sound produced from the string that I used. Overall of the warm up is good. Controls of shots go the way I wanted. Just that at times I feel that it is over powered. Net shots are smooth and all I need it slight push and the racket head will do the work for you. I am surprised with racket head speed during drives. The racket reacted faster than I predicted. Very easy and the drives return to my partner is also quicker. I guess this has to do with the shaft length, its flexibility and the Nanopreme technology that is incorporated in it. Game Time: What I love about this VTZF is its solid raw punching power. I cant mention enough that the flexibility of the shaft does allow the head heaviness of the racket frame does its job. My smashes are faster and I can almost feel the shuttlecock leave the string bed in an instant right after impact. The design of the racket face does give me the confident in producing smashes accurately and my shots lands deeper to the frontcourt. It is a perfect combination for shaft reaction and the frame’s momentum that produces that result. And the shuttle does not slow down as much compare to the other rackets that I have used before. Most of my reviews are done either using Yonex Official or Yonex Tournament shuttlecocks. But I do believe the results are the same even if you are using the other brands of shuttlecocks. During game time, net brushes are easier when I approach the racket earlier. However the sensitivity for soft touch in front does lack a little. The so-called vibration dampening effect does play a role in net play. In this area, I don't mind vibration for a better feel in front of the net. In smash retrievals the weight of the racket does allow me to defend the shuttle faster and the momentum helps me to push the shuttle deep to the backcourt. The handle and shaft speed does enable me to switch from the bottom defend to drive or block stance faster than usual. I can be more aggressive over the front after retrieving smashes. Conclusion: It’s been a while and it feels good to give something back to the badminton community as a badminton fan. I don’t usually do reviews anymore because of hectic schedules with my speaking and consulting engagements. Even for badminton, I have to take a back seat for it. But since there was a specific request for me to do this Voltic Z Force due to a comment I made years back when I was in Japan. They told me the story behind it and if I’m not mistaken, my feedback was taken into consideration. Usually companies do listen to professional players and certain rackets are specifically designed for them but not regular bloke like me. However customer’s feedbacks are important because sales of equipment are vital in the industry and for the company. In the ever competitive world of badminton where there is so many brands out there with different marketing strategies applied and with different technologies being improved on. Anyway to cut the story short, this VTZF would be a classic Yonex Armortec 700 which was one of the favorite racket among top players like Lin Dan of China, Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia and Peter Gade of Denmark. The only difference is that VTZF performs well overall on Power and Recovery. I would say a combination of Armotec 700’s Power with the Speed of Yonex Nanospeed 9900 and the flexibility of the forgotten Muscle Power 90. I think these 3 rackets that I have mentioned already says enough about The Voltric Z Force. The maneuverability is noticeable good and the stability of the racket frame during impact is clean. Once you hit the racket constantly you will be able to harness the full potential of the racket without exerting too much effort. I guess Yonex has designed a near perfect combination of shaft thickness with Racket Frame Weight ratio to maximize its Power and Speed. It blends well overall. So again Yonex has made another legendary racket. At the moment I don’t know what other “Secrets” that they have in their sleeves or Design House, which I have no opportunity to visit yet. *HINT* If they improved on the paint job and make it glossier, I believe that swing speed could be Aerodynamically assisted by 1-2%. This is perhaps the most impressive Voltric ZF yet developed by Yonex. Very user-friendly racket compare to the VT80. And I do hope it will get better and better next time. No Pressure Yonex. Just do what you guys do best. And somehow I feel that Yonex always produce something good whenever the All England Tournament is approaching. So I hope this racket is for keeps and will gain its followers around the world. I would rate this racket in terms of Feel, Control, Power and Defense. I added Stability, Recovering Speed, Maneuverability and Net Play. However it is based on my own test and review. It may vary depending on the player, tension and what string you use. Touch and Feel: 9.5/10 Control: 8.5/10 Power: 9.5/10 Defense: 9/10 Stability: 9/10 Recovering Speed: 9/10 Maneuverability: 9/10 Net Play: 8/10 Looks and Finish: 7/10 Value for Money: 9/10 Pros : Great Power and Speed, Good Feel and Comfort. Singles players will find this racket suitable. Doubles will find this racket quick in response with power. Cons: I don't have anything to complain about beside the Price and sometimes the Power Can Be Unpredictable. Paint Job can be better. Suitability : Advance/Intermediate. Singles/Doubles racket Ants A little background about ANTS the Reviewer Anthony Kong aka ANTS is a Motivational Speaker, Author, Marketing and Sales Strategist who is a badminton avid and he supports badminton players around the world. He is a regular player but has an exceptional skill of doing reviews on badminton rackets. His reviews have almost pinpoint accuracy with more than 90% satisfaction from readers and users of the rackets that he reviews. His work dated as early as 2004 and has a large following base of hundreds of thousands badminton players around the world who take his racket reviews as their guide before buying it. Many considers him as the only Non-Professional Player #1 Authority when comes to reviewing badminton rackets. Hundreds if not thousands of individuals around the world regularly asked him for advice on badminton rackets. His reviews have been featured on dozens of blogs and websites around the world. He primarily posts his reviews on BadmintonCentral.Com. Coincidently most of reviews of the rackets that he has done become one of the most popular rackets used by many players around the world that year. Ants do not own any physical or online badminton retail shops, badminton forums whatsoever. He does not work for any Badminton Brands. He usually works the reviews on his free time and often have an opportunity to do reviews on the specific racket before any it is launched. He can be contacted at www.twitter.com/antskong Or Facebook at www.facebook.com/anthonykongdotcom Or Weibo at http://weibo.com/antskong You can also check some of his work here. http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php/12672-ants/page6?highlight=ants
YONEX VOLTRIC Z FORCE aka VT-ZF REVIEW by ANTS Review Date : January 2012 – February 2012 Review Time : Approximately 27 Hours Playtime in Total Launch Date : March 2012 Racket Type : Yonex Voltric Z Force (JP Coded) Specification: 3UG4 Overall Weight: 88.9grams (without string) Strings: Yonex BG66 Maxima (Supplied) Tension: 30lbs, 1 Piece Stringing Stringing Machine Yonex ES5 PROTECH Official Recommended Strings: YONEX BG66 ULTIMAX : YONEX NANOGY 99 Main Technology : Nanopreme, Tri- Voltage System, Super HMG ( High Modulus Graphite), Tungsten, Built-in T Joint. Grip Used: Original Grip Shuttlecock Used : Yonex Official and Yonex Tournament First Impression: This latest version of VT-ZF looks like a Combination between Voltric Series and the Arcsaber Z Slash. I would probably believe the “Hybrid” version picked up what both Voltric and Z Slash lacks and improved on it. Therefore Voltric ZF is created with the incorporation of the latest technology developed by Yonex, which is Nanopreme and Tri-Voltage System. Color wise does catch my eyes because of the way it is designed. It gives me a conventional feel, “quiet” and lethal but not so old fashion. More like a Yonex Ti-10 paintjob with matt feel. I can see that I am going to enjoy this latest version of Votric ZF, the weight is head heavy balance with good solid feel but I don't feel the head heaviness during initial handling of the racket. Racket head frame is smaller but not as noticeable compared to the Flashy ArcSaber Z Slash, which I love to use. I know this racket is going somewhere when I swing it flat, aerodynamically sound and fast. Sounds like swish rather than swoosh. I do look forward to play and use this VTZF, which according to the Evil Empire is one of the best badminton racket yet developed by them. And it took them one year of R&D to work on this version of the racket. Will see how it goes. Stringing Impression: I don't often string rackets myself for casual games. But I do take pride and very meticulous when comes to stringing. And I am very choosy also on who is going to string me rackets. I will usually just stay and see the person string whenever im on tour. So for this new VTZF I decided to use the old faithful Yonex ESPROTECH where I strung the racket using the Yonex stringing pattern. I weaved and string the racket one by one, hole by hole. I don't pre weave the racket and string it at the same time which I usually does. That way is easier and for lazy people like me. But this time I decided to do it the hard way so I can give a more precise stringing impression to you guys. Stringing the mains is relatively easy, no slight movements from top and bottom. Can feel the stability from 11 O’clock and 1 O’clock section top frame. Some rackets feels soft at this part. The side frames feels rock solid with easy fast pull. Overall I think this racket is easy to be strung. Should have no problem have it strung to 35lbs or more in my opinion. For those stringers out there, whether you are an experienced stringer or beginner, don't worry about breaking or morphing the racket while stringing. Warm Ups: Initially I have doubts if this racket is user friendly. But from the first contact point and the subsequent few shots, I’m already easily accustomed to the racket and this proves that, it should be user-friendly racket. I am amazed by the torque and mass generated by the head-speed from the contact. The sound generated by BG66 Maxima provides the additional sweetness to the baseline shots. I don't feel that many vibrations during baseline drives. 30lbs tension is just perfect for me. At this tension, usually I can feel some vibration from most rackets. But on VTZF the vibration is hardly noticeable. Racket Frame is aerodynamically sound, which I feel easy swinging the racket without much drag. Sometimes what I do to feel and test the rackets aerodynamics is to put the racket face flat parallel to a high-powered industry fan I have. Just to see the reaction of the racket head and how it reacts to the wind. Well I don't have such Hi-tech Formula One Wind tunnel to do the test on but I guess this is good enough for me. I get a lot of racket head speed and it allows me to be more aggressive without too empowering on the smashes. And the string bed does react nicely to the impact of the shuttle. The extra penetration that I get from punching the shuttle does make it fly faster than usual. Sweet is what I can say hitting it from baseline to baseline and great repulsion sound produced from the string that I used. Overall of the warm up is good. Controls of shots go the way I wanted. Just that at times I feel that it is over powered. Net shots are smooth and all I need it slight push and the racket head will do the work for you. I am surprised with racket head speed during drives. The racket reacted faster than I predicted. Very easy and the drives return to my partner is also quicker. I guess this has to do with the shaft length, its flexibility and the Nanopreme technology that is incorporated in it. Game Time: What I love about this VTZF is its solid raw punching power. I cant mention enough that the flexibility of the shaft does allow the head heaviness of the racket frame does its job. My smashes are faster and I can almost feel the shuttlecock leave the string bed in an instant right after impact. The design of the racket face does give me the confident in producing smashes accurately and my shots lands deeper to the frontcourt. It is a perfect combination for shaft reaction and the frame’s momentum that produces that result. And the shuttle does not slow down as much compare to the other rackets that I have used before. Most of my reviews are done either using Yonex Official or Yonex Tournament shuttlecocks. But I do believe the results are the same even if you are using the other brands of shuttlecocks. During game time, net brushes are easier when I approach the racket earlier. However the sensitivity for soft touch in front does lack a little. The so-called vibration dampening effect does play a role in net play. In this area, I don't mind vibration for a better feel in front of the net. In smash retrievals the weight of the racket does allow me to defend the shuttle faster and the momentum helps me to push the shuttle deep to the backcourt. The handle and shaft speed does enable me to switch from the bottom defend to drive or block stance faster than usual. I can be more aggressive over the front after retrieving smashes. Conclusion: It’s been a while and it feels good to give something back to the badminton community as a badminton fan. I don’t usually do reviews anymore because of hectic schedules with my speaking and consulting engagements. Even for badminton, I have to take a back seat for it. But since there was a specific request for me to do this Voltic Z Force due to a comment I made years back when I was in Japan. They told me the story behind it and if I’m not mistaken, my feedback was taken into consideration. Usually companies do listen to professional players and certain rackets are specifically designed for them but not regular bloke like me. However customer’s feedbacks are important because sales of equipment are vital in the industry and for the company. In the ever competitive world of badminton where there is so many brands out there with different marketing strategies applied and with different technologies being improved on. Anyway to cut the story short, this VTZF would be a classic Yonex Armortec 700 which was one of the favorite racket among top players like Lin Dan of China, Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia and Peter Gade of Denmark. The only difference is that VTZF performs well overall on Power and Recovery. I would say a combination of Armotec 700’s Power with the Speed of Yonex Nanospeed 9900 and the flexibility of the forgotten Muscle Power 90. I think these 3 rackets that I have mentioned already says enough about The Voltric Z Force. The maneuverability is noticeable good and the stability of the racket frame during impact is clean. Once you hit the racket constantly you will be able to harness the full potential of the racket without exerting too much effort. I guess Yonex has designed a near perfect combination of shaft thickness with Racket Frame Weight ratio to maximize its Power and Speed. It blends well overall. So again Yonex has made another legendary racket. At the moment I don’t know what other “Secrets” that they have in their sleeves or Design House, which I have no opportunity to visit yet. *HINT* If they improved on the paint job and make it glossier, I believe that swing speed could be Aerodynamically assisted by 1-2%. This is perhaps the most impressive Voltric ZF yet developed by Yonex. Very user-friendly racket compare to the VT80. And I do hope it will get better and better next time. No Pressure Yonex. Just do what you guys do best. And somehow I feel that Yonex always produce something good whenever the All England Tournament is approaching. So I hope this racket is for keeps and will gain its followers around the world. I would rate this racket in terms of Feel, Control, Power and Defense. I added Stability, Recovering Speed, Maneuverability and Net Play. However it is based on my own test and review. It may vary depending on the player, tension and what string you use. Touch and Feel: 9.5/10 Control: 8.5/10 Power: 9.5/10 Defense: 9/10 Stability: 9/10 Recovering Speed: 9/10 Maneuverability: 9/10 Net Play: 8/10 Looks and Finish: 7/10 Value for Money: 9/10 Pros : Great Power and Speed, Good Feel and Comfort. Singles players will find this racket suitable. Doubles will find this racket quick in response with power. Cons: I don't have anything to complain about beside the Price and sometimes the Power Can Be Unpredictable. Paint Job can be better. Suitability : Advance/Intermediate. Singles/Doubles racket Ants A little background about ANTS the Reviewer Anthony Kong aka ANTS is a Motivational Speaker, Author, Marketing and Sales Strategist who is a badminton avid and he supports badminton players around the world. He is a regular player but has an exceptional skill of doing reviews on badminton rackets. His reviews have almost pinpoint accuracy with more than 90% satisfaction from readers and users of the rackets that he reviews. His work dated as early as 2004 and has a large following base of hundreds of thousands badminton players around the world who take his racket reviews as their guide before buying it. Many considers him as the only Non-Professional Player #1 Authority when comes to reviewing badminton rackets. Hundreds if not thousands of individuals around the world regularly asked him for advice on badminton rackets. His reviews have been featured on dozens of blogs and websites around the world. He primarily posts his reviews on BadmintonCentral.Com. Coincidently most of reviews of the rackets that he has done become one of the most popular rackets used by many players around the world that year. Ants do not own any physical or online badminton retail shops, badminton forums whatsoever. He does not work for any Badminton Brands. He usually works the reviews on his free time and often have an opportunity to do reviews on the specific racket before any it is launched. He can be contacted at www.twitter.com/antskong Or Facebook at www.facebook.com/anthonykongdotcom Or Weibo at http://weibo.com/antskong You can also check some of his work here. http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php/12672-ants/page6?highlight=ants If you would like to repost to the other Blogs and Websites, Please ask Permission from the Original Author. Thank You.
Try to look at this thread folks : YONEX VOLTRIC Z FORCE aka VT-ZF REVIEW by ANTS Review Date :January 2012 – February 2012 Review Time : Approximately 27 Hours Playtime in Total Launch Date :March 2012 Racket Type :YonexVoltric Z Force (JP Coded) Specification: 3UG4 Overall Weight: 88.9grams (without string) Strings: Yonex BG66 Maxima (Supplied) Tension: 30lbs, 1 Piece Stringing Stringing Machine Yonex ES5 PROTECH Official Recommended Strings: YONEX BG66 ULTIMAX : YONEX NANOGY 99 Main Technology :Nanopreme, Tri- Voltage System, Super HMG ( High Modulus Graphite), Tungsten, Built-in T Joint. Grip Used: Original Grip Shuttlecock Used :Yonex Official and Yonex Tournament First Impression: This latest version of VT-ZF looks like a Combination between Voltric Series and the Arcsaber Z Slash. I would probably believe the “Hybrid” version picked up what both Voltric and Z Slash lacks and improved on it. Therefore Voltric ZF is created with the incorporation of the latest technology developed by Yonex, which isNanopreme and Tri-Voltage System. Color wise does catch my eyes because of the way it is designed. It gives me a conventional feel, “quiet” and lethal but not so old fashion. More like a Yonex Ti-10 paintjob with matt feel. I can see that I am going to enjoy this latest version of Votric ZF, the weight is head heavy balance with good solid feel but I don't feel the head heaviness during initial handling of the racket. Racket head frame is smaller but not as noticeable compared to the Flashy ArcSaber Z Slash, which I love to use. I know this racket is going somewhere when I swing it flat, aerodynamically sound and fast. Sounds like swish rather than swoosh. I do look forward to play and use this VTZF, which according to the Evil Empire is one of the best badminton racket yet developed by them. And it took them one year of R&D to work on this version of the racket. Will see how it goes. Stringing Impression: I don't often string rackets myself for casual games. But I do take pride and very meticulous when comes to stringing. And I am very choosy also on who is going to string me rackets. I will usually just stay and see the person string whenever im on tour. So for this new VTZF I decided to use the old faithful Yonex ESPROTECH where I strung the racket using the Yonex stringing pattern. I weaved and string the racket one by one, hole by hole. I don't pre weave the racket and string it at the same time which I usually does. That way is easier and for lazy people like me. But this time I decided to do it the hard way so I can give a more precise stringing impression to you guys. Stringing the mains is relatively easy, no slight movements from top and bottom. Can feel the stability from 11 O’clock and 1 O’clock section top frame. Some rackets feels soft at this part. The side frames feels rock solid with easy fast pull. Overall I think this racket is easy to be strung. Should have no problem have it strung to 35lbs or more in my opinion. For those stringers out there, whether you are an experienced stringer or beginner, don't worry about breaking or morphing the racket while stringing. Warm Ups: Initially I have doubts if this racket is user friendly. But from the first contact point and the subsequent few shots, I’m already easily accustomed to the racket and this proves that, it should be user-friendly racket. I am amazed by the torque and mass generated by the head-speed from the contact. The sound generated by BG66 Maxima provides the additional sweetness to the baseline shots. I don't feel that many vibrations during baseline drives. 30lbs tension is just perfect for me. At this tension, usually I can feel some vibration from most rackets. But on VTZF the vibration is hardly noticeable. Racket Frame is aerodynamically sound, which I feel easy swinging the racket without much drag. Sometimes what I do to feel and test the rackets aerodynamics is to put the racket face flat parallel to a high-powered industry fan I have. Just to see the reaction of the racket head and how it reacts to the wind. Well I don't have such Hi-tech Formula One Wind tunnel to do the test on but I guess this is good enough for me. I get a lot of racket head speed and it allows me to be more aggressive without too empowering on the smashes. And the string bed does react nicely to the impact of the shuttle. The extra penetration that I get from punching the shuttle does make it fly faster than usual. Sweet is what I can say hitting it from baseline to baseline and great repulsion sound produced from the string that I used. Overall of the warm up is good. Controls of shots go the way I wanted. Just that at times I feel that it is over powered. Net shots are smooth and all I need it slight push and the racket head will do the work for you. I am surprised with racket head speed during drives. The racket reacted faster than I predicted. Very easy and the drives return to my partner is also quicker. I guess this has to do with the shaft length, its flexibility and the Nanopreme technology that is incorporated in it. Game Time: What I love about this VTZF is its solid raw punching power. I cant mention enough that the flexibility of the shaft does allow the head heaviness of the racket frame does its job. My smashes are faster and I can almost feel the shuttlecock leave the string bed in an instant right after impact. The design of the racket face does give me the confident in producing smashes accurately and my shots lands deeper to the frontcourt. It is a perfect combination for shaft reaction and the frame’s momentum that produces that result. And the shuttle does not slow down as much compare to the other rackets that I have used before. Most of my reviews are done either using Yonex Official or Yonex Tournament shuttlecocks. But I do believe the results are the same even if you are using the other brands of shuttlecocks. During game time, net brushes are easier when I approach the racket earlier. However the sensitivity for soft touch in front does lack a little. The so-called vibration dampening effect does play a role in net play. In this area, I don't mind vibration for a better feel in front of the net. In smash retrievals the weight of the racket does allow me to defend the shuttle faster and the momentum helps me to push the shuttle deep to the backcourt. The handle and shaft speed does enable me to switch from the bottom defend to drive or block stance faster than usual. I can be more aggressive over the front after retrieving smashes. Conclusion: It’s been a while and it feels good to give something back to the badminton community as a badminton fan. I don’t usually do reviews anymore because of hectic schedules with my speaking and consulting engagements. Even for badminton, I have to take a back seat for it. But since there was a specific request for me to do this Voltic Z Force due to a comment I made years back when I was in Japan. They told me the story behind it and if I’m not mistaken, my feedback was takeninto consideration. Usually companies do listen to professional players and certain rackets are specifically designed for them but not regular bloke like me. Howevercustomer’s feedbacks are important because sales of equipment are vital in the industry and for the company. In the ever competitive world of badminton where there is so many brands out there with different marketing strategies applied and with different technologies being improved on. Anyway to cut the story short, this VTZF would be a classic YonexArmortec 700 which was one of the favorite racket among top players like Lin Dan of China, TaufikHidayat of Indonesia and Peter Gade of Denmark. The only difference is that VTZF performs well overall on Power and Recovery. I would say a combination of Armotec 700’s Power with the Speed of YonexNanospeed 9900 and the flexibility of the forgotten Muscle Power 90. I think these 3 rackets that I have mentioned already says enough about The Voltric Z Force. The maneuverability is noticeable good and the stability of the racket frame during impact is clean. Once you hit the racket constantly you will be able to harness the full potential of the racket without exerting too much effort. I guess Yonex has designed a near perfect combination of shaft thickness with Racket Frame Weight ratio to maximize its Power and Speed. It blends well overall. So again Yonex has made another legendary racket. At the moment I don’t know what other “Secrets” that they have in their sleeves or Design House, which I have no opportunity to visit yet. *HINT* If they improved on the paint job and make it glossier, I believe that swing speed could be Aerodynamically assisted by 1-2%. This is perhaps the most impressive Voltric ZF yet developed by Yonex. Very user-friendly racket compare to the VT80. And I do hope it will get better and better next time. No Pressure Yonex. Just do what you guys do best. And somehow I feel that Yonex always produce something good whenever the All England Tournament is approaching. So I hope this racket is for keeps and will gain its followers around the world. I would rate this racket in terms of Feel, Control, Power and Defense. I added Stability, Recovering Speed, Maneuverability and Net Play. However it is based on my own test and review. It may vary depending on the player, tension and what string you use. Touch and Feel: 9.5/10 Control: 8.5/10 Power: 9.5/10 Defense: 9/10 Stability: 9/10 Recovering Speed: 9/10 Maneuverability: 9/10 Net Play: 8/10 Looks and Finish: 7/10 Value for Money: 9/10 Pros : Great Power and Speed, Good Feel and Comfort. Singles players will find this racket suitable. Doubles will find this racket quick in response with power. Cons: I don't have anything to complain about beside the Price and sometimes the Power Can Be Unpredictable. Paint Job can be better. Suitability : Advance/Intermediate. Singles/Doubles racket Ants A little background about ANTS the Reviewer Anthony Kong akaANTS is a Motivational Speaker, Author, Marketing and Sales Strategist who is a badminton avid and he supports badminton players around the world. He is a regular player but has an exceptional skill of doing reviews on badminton rackets. His reviews have almost pinpoint accuracy with more than 90% satisfaction from readers and users of the rackets that he reviews. His work dated as early as 2004 and has a large following base of hundreds of thousands badminton players around the world who take his racket reviews as their guide before buying it. Many considers him as the only Non-Professional Player #1 Authority when comes to reviewing badminton rackets. Hundreds if not thousands of individuals around the world regularly asked him for advice on badminton rackets. His reviews have been featured on dozens of blogs and websites around the world. He primarily posts his reviews on BadmintonCentral.Com. Coincidently most of reviews of the rackets that he has done become one of the most popular rackets used by many players around the world that year. Ants do not own any physical or online badminton retail shops, badminton forums whatsoever. He does not work for any Badminton Brands. He usuallyworks the reviews on his free time and often have an opportunity to do reviews on the specific racket before any it is launched. He can be contacted at www.twitter.com/antskong Or Facebook at www.facebook.com/anthonykongdotcom Or Weibo at http://weibo.com/antskong You can also check some of his work here. http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php/12672-ants/page6?highlight=ants YONEX VOLTRIC Z FORCE aka VT-ZF REVIEW by ANTS If you would like to repost to the other Blogs and Websites, Please ask Permission from the Original Author. Thank You.
YONEX VOLTRIC Z FORCE aka VT-ZF REVIEW by ANTS Review Date : January 2012 – February 2012 Review Time : Approximately 27 Hours Playtime in Total Launch Date : March 2012 Racket Type : Yonex Voltric Z Force (JP Coded) Specification: 3UG4 Overall Weight: 88.9grams (without string) Strings: Yonex BG66 Maxima (Supplied) Tension: 30lbs, 1 Piece Stringing Stringing Machine Yonex ES5 PROTECH Official Recommended Strings: YONEX BG66 ULTIMAX : YONEX NANOGY 99 Main Technology : Nanopreme, Tri- Voltage System, Super HMG ( High Modulus Graphite), Tungsten, Built-in T Joint. Grip Used: Original Grip Shuttlecock Used : Yonex Official and Yonex Tournament First Impression: This latest version of VT-ZF looks like a Combination between Voltric Series and the Arcsaber Z Slash. I would probably believe the “Hybrid” version picked up what both Voltric and Z Slash lacks and improved on it. Therefore Voltric ZF is created with the incorporation of the latest technology developed by Yonex, which is Nanopreme and Tri-Voltage System. Color wise does catch my eyes because of the way it is designed. It gives me a conventional feel, “quiet” and lethal but not so old fashion. More like a Yonex Ti-10 paintjob with matt feel. I can see that I am going to enjoy this latest version of Votric ZF, the weight is head heavy balance with good solid feel but I don't feel the head heaviness during initial handling of the racket. Racket head frame is smaller but not as noticeable compared to the Flashy ArcSaber Z Slash, which I love to use. I know this racket is going somewhere when I swing it flat, aerodynamically sound and fast. Sounds like swish rather than swoosh. I do look forward to play and use this VTZF, which according to the Evil Empire is one of the best badminton racket yet developed by them. And it took them one year of R&D to work on this version of the racket. Will see how it goes. Stringing Impression: I don't often string rackets myself for casual games. But I do take pride and very meticulous when comes to stringing. And I am very choosy also on who is going to string me rackets. I will usually just stay and see the person string whenever im on tour. So for this new VTZF I decided to use the old faithful Yonex ESPROTECH where I strung the racket using the Yonex stringing pattern. I weaved and string the racket one by one, hole by hole. I don't pre weave the racket and string it at the same time which I usually does. That way is easier and for lazy people like me. But this time I decided to do it the hard way so I can give a more precise stringing impression to you guys. Stringing the mains is relatively easy, no slight movements from top and bottom. Can feel the stability from 11 O’clock and 1 O’clock section top frame. Some rackets feels soft at this part. The side frames feels rock solid with easy fast pull. Overall I think this racket is easy to be strung. Should have no problem have it strung to 35lbs or more in my opinion. For those stringers out there, whether you are an experienced stringer or beginner, don't worry about breaking or morphing the racket while stringing. Warm Ups: Initially I have doubts if this racket is user friendly. But from the first contact point and the subsequent few shots, I’m already easily accustomed to the racket and this proves that, it should be user-friendly racket. I am amazed by the torque and mass generated by the head-speed from the contact. The sound generated by BG66 Maxima provides the additional sweetness to the baseline shots. I don't feel that many vibrations during baseline drives. 30lbs tension is just perfect for me. At this tension, usually I can feel some vibration from most rackets. But on VTZF the vibration is hardly noticeable. Racket Frame is aerodynamically sound, which I feel easy swinging the racket without much drag. Sometimes what I do to feel and test the rackets aerodynamics is to put the racket face flat parallel to a high-powered industry fan I have. Just to see the reaction of the racket head and how it reacts to the wind. Well I don't have such Hi-tech Formula One Wind tunnel to do the test on but I guess this is good enough for me. I get a lot of racket head speed and it allows me to be more aggressive without too empowering on the smashes. And the string bed does react nicely to the impact of the shuttle. The extra penetration that I get from punching the shuttle does make it fly faster than usual. Sweet is what I can say hitting it from baseline to baseline and great repulsion sound produced from the string that I used. Overall of the warm up is good. Controls of shots go the way I wanted. Just that at times I feel that it is over powered. Net shots are smooth and all I need it slight push and the racket head will do the work for you. I am surprised with racket head speed during drives. The racket reacted faster than I predicted. Very easy and the drives return to my partner is also quicker. I guess this has to do with the shaft length, its flexibility and the Nanopreme technology that is incorporated in it. Game Time: What I love about this VTZF is its solid raw punching power. I cant mention enough that the flexibility of the shaft does allow the head heaviness of the racket frame does its job. My smashes are faster and I can almost feel the shuttlecock leave the string bed in an instant right after impact. The design of the racket face does give me the confident in producing smashes accurately and my shots lands deeper to the frontcourt. It is a perfect combination for shaft reaction and the frame’s momentum that produces that result. And the shuttle does not slow down as much compare to the other rackets that I have used before. Most of my reviews are done either using Yonex Official or Yonex Tournament shuttlecocks. But I do believe the results are the same even if you are using the other brands of shuttlecocks. During game time, net brushes are easier when I approach the racket earlier. However the sensitivity for soft touch in front does lack a little. The so-called vibration dampening effect does play a role in net play. In this area, I don't mind vibration for a better feel in front of the net. In smash retrievals the weight of the racket does allow me to defend the shuttle faster and the momentum helps me to push the shuttle deep to the backcourt. The handle and shaft speed does enable me to switch from the bottom defend to drive or block stance faster than usual. I can be more aggressive over the front after retrieving smashes. Conclusion: It’s been a while and it feels good to give something back to the badminton community as a badminton fan. I don’t usually do reviews anymore because of hectic schedules with my speaking and consulting engagements. Even for badminton, I have to take a back seat for it. But since there was a specific request for me to do this Voltic Z Force due to a comment I made years back when I was in Japan. They told me the story behind it and if I’m not mistaken, my feedback was taken into consideration. Usually companies do listen to professional players and certain rackets are specifically designed for them but not regular bloke like me. However customer’s feedbacks are important because sales of equipment are vital in the industry and for the company. In the ever competitive world of badminton where there is so many brands out there with different marketing strategies applied and with different technologies being improved on. Anyway to cut the story short, this VTZF would be a classic Yonex Armortec 700 which was one of the favorite racket among top players like Lin Dan of China, Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia and Peter Gade of Denmark. The only difference is that VTZF performs well overall on Power and Recovery. I would say a combination of Armotec 700’s Power with the Speed of Yonex Nanospeed 9900 and the flexibility of the forgotten Muscle Power 90. I think these 3 rackets that I have mentioned already says enough about The Voltric Z Force. The maneuverability is noticeable good and the stability of the racket frame during impact is clean. Once you hit the racket constantly you will be able to harness the full potential of the racket without exerting too much effort. I guess Yonex has designed a near perfect combination of shaft thickness with Racket Frame Weight ratio to maximize its Power and Speed. It blends well overall. So again Yonex has made another legendary racket. At the moment I don’t know what other “Secrets” that they have in their sleeves or Design House, which I have no opportunity to visit yet. *HINT* If they improved on the paint job and make it glossier, I believe that swing speed could be Aerodynamically assisted by 1-2%. This is perhaps the most impressive Voltric ZF yet developed by Yonex. Very user-friendly racket compare to the VT80. And I do hope it will get better and better next time. No Pressure Yonex. Just do what you guys do best. And somehow I feel that Yonex always produce something good whenever the All England Tournament is approaching. So I hope this racket is for keeps and will gain its followers around the world. I would rate this racket in terms of Feel, Control, Power and Defense. I added Stability, Recovering Speed, Maneuverability and Net Play. However it is based on my own test and review. It may vary depending on the player, tension and what string you use. Touch and Feel: 9.5/10 Control: 8.5/10 Power: 9.5/10 Defense: 9/10 Stability: 9/10 Recovering Speed: 9/10 Maneuverability: 9/10 Net Play: 8/10 Looks and Finish: 7/10 Value for Money: 9/10 Pros : Great Power and Speed, Good Feel and Comfort. Singles players will find this racket suitable. Doubles will find this racket quick in response with power. Cons: I don't have anything to complain about beside the Price and sometimes the Power Can Be Unpredictable. Paint Job can be better. Suitability : Advance/Intermediate. Singles/Doubles racket Ants A little background about ANTS the Reviewer Anthony Kong aka ANTS is a Motivational Speaker, Author, Marketing and Sales Strategist who is a badminton avid and he supports badminton players around the world. He is a regular player but has an exceptional skill of doing reviews on badminton rackets. His reviews have almost pinpoint accuracy with more than 90% satisfaction from readers and users of the rackets that he reviews. His work dated as early as 2004 and has a large following base of hundreds of thousands badminton players around the world who take his racket reviews as their guide before buying it. Many considers him as the only Non-Professional Player #1 Authority when comes to reviewing badminton rackets. Hundreds if not thousands of individuals around the world regularly asked him for advice on badminton rackets. His reviews have been featured on dozens of blogs and websites around the world. He primarily posts his reviews on BadmintonCentral.Com. Coincidently most of reviews of the rackets that he has done become one of the most popular rackets used by many players around the world that year. Ants do not own any physical or online badminton retail shops, badminton forums whatsoever. He does not work for any Badminton Brands. He usually works the reviews on his free time and often have an opportunity to do reviews on the specific racket before any it is launched. He can be contacted at www.twitter.com/antskong Or Facebook at www.facebook.com/anthonykongdotcom Or Weibo at http://weibo.com/antskong You can also check some of his work here. http://www.badmintoncentral.com/foru...highlight=ants If you would like to repost to the other Blogs and Websites, Please ask Permission from the Original Author. Thank You.Dear Winner. Please post the whole write-up ( The Review + Ants Profile ) exactly the same as below on the review Thread that I have created http://www.badmintoncentral.com/foru...highlight=ants BOLD letters must be BOLD. Congratulations. Email me your Twitter Username and Your Badminton Central User Name. As well as your mailing details plus contact number. Congratulations. Ants YONEX VOLTRIC Z FORCE aka VT-ZF REVIEW by ANTS Review Date : January 2012 – February 2012 Review Time : Approximately 27 Hours Playtime in Total Launch Date : March 2012 Racket Type : Yonex Voltric Z Force (JP Coded) Specification: 3UG4 Overall Weight: 88.9grams (without string) Strings: Yonex BG66 Maxima (Supplied) Tension: 30lbs, 1 Piece Stringing Stringing Machine Yonex ES5 PROTECH Official Recommended Strings: YONEX BG66 ULTIMAX : YONEX NANOGY 99 Main Technology : Nanopreme, Tri- Voltage System, Super HMG ( High Modulus Graphite), Tungsten, Built-in T Joint. Grip Used: Original Grip Shuttlecock Used : Yonex Official and Yonex Tournament First Impression: This latest version of VT-ZF looks like a Combination between Voltric Series and the Arcsaber Z Slash. I would probably believe the “Hybrid” version picked up what both Voltric and Z Slash lacks and improved on it. Therefore Voltric ZF is created with the incorporation of the latest technology developed by Yonex, which is Nanopreme and Tri-Voltage System. Color wise does catch my eyes because of the way it is designed. It gives me a conventional feel, “quiet” and lethal but not so old fashion. More like a Yonex Ti-10 paintjob with matt feel. I can see that I am going to enjoy this latest version of Votric ZF, the weight is head heavy balance with good solid feel but I don't feel the head heaviness during initial handling of the racket. Racket head frame is smaller but not as noticeable compared to the Flashy ArcSaber Z Slash, which I love to use. I know this racket is going somewhere when I swing it flat, aerodynamically sound and fast. Sounds like swish rather than swoosh. I do look forward to play and use this VTZF, which according to the Evil Empire is one of the best badminton racket yet developed by them. And it took them one year of R&D to work on this version of the racket. Will see how it goes. Stringing Impression: I don't often string rackets myself for casual games. But I do take pride and very meticulous when comes to stringing. And I am very choosy also on who is going to string me rackets. I will usually just stay and see the person string whenever im on tour. So for this new VTZF I decided to use the old faithful Yonex ESPROTECH where I strung the racket using the Yonex stringing pattern. I weaved and string the racket one by one, hole by hole. I don't pre weave the racket and string it at the same time which I usually does. That way is easier and for lazy people like me. But this time I decided to do it the hard way so I can give a more precise stringing impression to you guys. Stringing the mains is relatively easy, no slight movements from top and bottom. Can feel the stability from 11 O’clock and 1 O’clock section top frame. Some rackets feels soft at this part. The side frames feels rock solid with easy fast pull. Overall I think this racket is easy to be strung. Should have no problem have it strung to 35lbs or more in my opinion. For those stringers out there, whether you are an experienced stringer or beginner, don't worry about breaking or morphing the racket while stringing. Warm Ups: Initially I have doubts if this racket is user friendly. But from the first contact point and the subsequent few shots, I’m already easily accustomed to the racket and this proves that, it should be user-friendly racket. I am amazed by the torque and mass generated by the head-speed from the contact. The sound generated by BG66 Maxima provides the additional sweetness to the baseline shots. I don't feel that many vibrations during baseline drives. 30lbs tension is just perfect for me. At this tension, usually I can feel some vibration from most rackets. But on VTZF the vibration is hardly noticeable. Racket Frame is aerodynamically sound, which I feel easy swinging the racket without much drag. Sometimes what I do to feel and test the rackets aerodynamics is to put the racket face flat parallel to a high-powered industry fan I have. Just to see the reaction of the racket head and how it reacts to the wind. Well I don't have such Hi-tech Formula One Wind tunnel to do the test on but I guess this is good enough for me. I get a lot of racket head speed and it allows me to be more aggressive without too empowering on the smashes. And the string bed does react nicely to the impact of the shuttle. The extra penetration that I get from punching the shuttle does make it fly faster than usual. Sweet is what I can say hitting it from baseline to baseline and great repulsion sound produced from the string that I used. Overall of the warm up is good. Controls of shots go the way I wanted. Just that at times I feel that it is over powered. Net shots are smooth and all I need it slight push and the racket head will do the work for you. I am surprised with racket head speed during drives. The racket reacted faster than I predicted. Very easy and the drives return to my partner is also quicker. I guess this has to do with the shaft length, its flexibility and the Nanopreme technology that is incorporated in it. Game Time: What I love about this VTZF is its solid raw punching power. I cant mention enough that the flexibility of the shaft does allow the head heaviness of the racket frame does its job. My smashes are faster and I can almost feel the shuttlecock leave the string bed in an instant right after impact. The design of the racket face does give me the confident in producing smashes accurately and my shots lands deeper to the frontcourt. It is a perfect combination for shaft reaction and the frame’s momentum that produces that result. And the shuttle does not slow down as much compare to the other rackets that I have used before. Most of my reviews are done either using Yonex Official or Yonex Tournament shuttlecocks. But I do believe the results are the same even if you are using the other brands of shuttlecocks. During game time, net brushes are easier when I approach the racket earlier. However the sensitivity for soft touch in front does lack a little. The so-called vibration dampening effect does play a role in net play. In this area, I don't mind vibration for a better feel in front of the net. In smash retrievals the weight of the racket does allow me to defend the shuttle faster and the momentum helps me to push the shuttle deep to the backcourt. The handle and shaft speed does enable me to switch from the bottom defend to drive or block stance faster than usual. I can be more aggressive over the front after retrieving smashes. Conclusion: It’s been a while and it feels good to give something back to the badminton community as a badminton fan. I don’t usually do reviews anymore because of hectic schedules with my speaking and consulting engagements. Even for badminton, I have to take a back seat for it. But since there was a specific request for me to do this Voltic Z Force due to a comment I made years back when I was in Japan. They told me the story behind it and if I’m not mistaken, my feedback was taken into consideration. Usually companies do listen to professional players and certain rackets are specifically designed for them but not regular bloke like me. However customer’s feedbacks are important because sales of equipment are vital in the industry and for the company. In the ever competitive world of badminton where there is so many brands out there with different marketing strategies applied and with different technologies being improved on. Anyway to cut the story short, this VTZF would be a classic Yonex Armortec 700 which was one of the favorite racket among top players like Lin Dan of China, Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia and Peter Gade of Denmark. The only difference is that VTZF performs well overall on Power and Recovery. I would say a combination of Armotec 700’s Power with the Speed of Yonex Nanospeed 9900 and the flexibility of the forgotten Muscle Power 90. I think these 3 rackets that I have mentioned already says enough about The Voltric Z Force. The maneuverability is noticeable good and the stability of the racket frame during impact is clean. Once you hit the racket constantly you will be able to harness the full potential of the racket without exerting too much effort. I guess Yonex has designed a near perfect combination of shaft thickness with Racket Frame Weight ratio to maximize its Power and Speed. It blends well overall. So again Yonex has made another legendary racket. At the moment I don’t know what other “Secrets” that they have in their sleeves or Design House, which I have no opportunity to visit yet. *HINT* If they improved on the paint job and make it glossier, I believe that swing speed could be Aerodynamically assisted by 1-2%. This is perhaps the most impressive Voltric ZF yet developed by Yonex. Very user-friendly racket compare to the VT80. And I do hope it will get better and better next time. No Pressure Yonex. Just do what you guys do best. And somehow I feel that Yonex always produce something good whenever the All England Tournament is approaching. So I hope this racket is for keeps and will gain its followers around the world. I would rate this racket in terms of Feel, Control, Power and Defense. I added Stability, Recovering Speed, Maneuverability and Net Play. However it is based on my own test and review. It may vary depending on the player, tension and what string you use. Touch and Feel: 9.5/10 Control: 8.5/10 Power: 9.5/10 Defense: 9/10 Stability: 9/10 Recovering Speed: 9/10 Maneuverability: 9/10 Net Play: 8/10 Looks and Finish: 7/10 Value for Money: 9/10 Pros : Great Power and Speed, Good Feel and Comfort. Singles players will find this racket suitable. Doubles will find this racket quick in response with power. Cons: I don't have anything to complain about beside the Price and sometimes the Power Can Be Unpredictable. Paint Job can be better. Suitability : Advance/Intermediate. Singles/Doubles racket Ants A little background about ANTS the Reviewer Anthony Kong aka ANTS is a Motivational Speaker, Author, Marketing and Sales Strategist who is a badminton avid and he supports badminton players around the world. He is a regular player but has an exceptional skill of doing reviews on badminton rackets. His reviews have almost pinpoint accuracy with more than 90% satisfaction from readers and users of the rackets that he reviews. His work dated as early as 2004 and has a large following base of hundreds of thousands badminton players around the world who take his racket reviews as their guide before buying it. Many considers him as the only Non-Professional Player #1 Authority when comes to reviewing badminton rackets. Hundreds if not thousands of individuals around the world regularly asked him for advice on badminton rackets. His reviews have been featured on dozens of blogs and websites around the world. He primarily posts his reviews on BadmintonCentral.Com. Coincidently most of reviews of the rackets that he has done become one of the most popular rackets used by many players around the world that year. Ants do not own any physical or online badminton retail shops, badminton forums whatsoever. He does not work for any Badminton Brands. He usually works the reviews on his free time and often have an opportunity to do reviews on the specific racket before any it is launched. He can be contacted at www.twitter.com/antskong Or Facebook at www.facebook.com/anthonykongdotcom Or Weibo at http://weibo.com/antskong You can also check some of his work here. http://www.badmintoncentral.com/foru...highlight=ants If you would like to repost to the other Blogs and Websites, Please ask Permission from the Original Author. Thank You.
YONEX VOLTRIC Z FORCE aka VT-ZF REVIEW by ANTS Review Date : January 2012 – February 2012 Review Time : Approximately 27 Hours Playtime in Total Launch Date : March 2012 Racket Type : Yonex Voltric Z Force (JP Coded) Specification: 3UG4 Overall Weight: 88.9grams (without string) Strings: Yonex BG66 Maxima (Supplied) Tension: 30lbs, 1 Piece Stringing Stringing Machine Yonex ES5 PROTECH Official Recommended Strings: YONEX BG66 ULTIMAX : YONEX NANOGY 99 Main Technology : Nanopreme, Tri- Voltage System, Super HMG ( High Modulus Graphite), Tungsten, Built-in T Joint. Grip Used: Original Grip Shuttlecock Used : Yonex Official and Yonex Tournament First Impression: This latest version of VT-ZF looks like a Combination between Voltric Series and the Arcsaber Z Slash. I would probably believe the “Hybrid” version picked up what both Voltric and Z Slash lacks and improved on it. Therefore Voltric ZF is created with the incorporation of the latest technology developed by Yonex, which is Nanopreme and Tri-Voltage System. Color wise does catch my eyes because of the way it is designed. It gives me a conventional feel, “quiet” and lethal but not so old fashion. More like a Yonex Ti-10 paintjob with matt feel. I can see that I am going to enjoy this latest version of Votric ZF, the weight is head heavy balance with good solid feel but I don't feel the head heaviness during initial handling of the racket. Racket head frame is smaller but not as noticeable compared to the Flashy ArcSaber Z Slash, which I love to use. I know this racket is going somewhere when I swing it flat, aerodynamically sound and fast. Sounds like swish rather than swoosh. I do look forward to play and use this VTZF, which according to the Evil Empire is one of the best badminton racket yet developed by them. And it took them one year of R&D to work on this version of the racket. Will see how it goes. Stringing Impression: I don't often string rackets myself for casual games. But I do take pride and very meticulous when comes to stringing. And I am very choosy also on who is going to string me rackets. I will usually just stay and see the person string whenever im on tour. So for this new VTZF I decided to use the old faithful Yonex ESPROTECH where I strung the racket using the Yonex stringing pattern. I weaved and string the racket one by one, hole by hole. I don't pre weave the racket and string it at the same time which I usually does. That way is easier and for lazy people like me. But this time I decided to do it the hard way so I can give a more precise stringing impression to you guys. Stringing the mains is relatively easy, no slight movements from top and bottom. Can feel the stability from 11 O’clock and 1 O’clock section top frame. Some rackets feels soft at this part. The side frames feels rock solid with easy fast pull. Overall I think this racket is easy to be strung. Should have no problem have it strung to 35lbs or more in my opinion. For those stringers out there, whether you are an experienced stringer or beginner, don't worry about breaking or morphing the racket while stringing. Warm Ups: Initially I have doubts if this racket is user friendly. But from the first contact point and the subsequent few shots, I’m already easily accustomed to the racket and this proves that, it should be user-friendly racket. I am amazed by the torque and mass generated by the head-speed from the contact. The sound generated by BG66 Maxima provides the additional sweetness to the baseline shots. I don't feel that many vibrations during baseline drives. 30lbs tension is just perfect for me. At this tension, usually I can feel some vibration from most rackets. But on VTZF the vibration is hardly noticeable. Racket Frame is aerodynamically sound, which I feel easy swinging the racket without much drag. Sometimes what I do to feel and test the rackets aerodynamics is to put the racket face flat parallel to a high-powered industry fan I have. Just to see the reaction of the racket head and how it reacts to the wind. Well I don't have such Hi-tech Formula One Wind tunnel to do the test on but I guess this is good enough for me. I get a lot of racket head speed and it allows me to be more aggressive without too empowering on the smashes. And the string bed does react nicely to the impact of the shuttle. The extra penetration that I get from punching the shuttle does make it fly faster than usual. Sweet is what I can say hitting it from baseline to baseline and great repulsion sound produced from the string that I used. Overall of the warm up is good. Controls of shots go the way I wanted. Just that at times I feel that it is over powered. Net shots are smooth and all I need it slight push and the racket head will do the work for you. I am surprised with racket head speed during drives. The racket reacted faster than I predicted. Very easy and the drives return to my partner is also quicker. I guess this has to do with the shaft length, its flexibility and the Nanopreme technology that is incorporated in it. Game Time: What I love about this VTZF is its solid raw punching power. I cant mention enough that the flexibility of the shaft does allow the head heaviness of the racket frame does its job. My smashes are faster and I can almost feel the shuttlecock leave the string bed in an instant right after impact. The design of the racket face does give me the confident in producing smashes accurately and my shots lands deeper to the frontcourt. It is a perfect combination for shaft reaction and the frame’s momentum that produces that result. And the shuttle does not slow down as much compare to the other rackets that I have used before. Most of my reviews are done either using Yonex Official or Yonex Tournament shuttlecocks. But I do believe the results are the same even if you are using the other brands of shuttlecocks. During game time, net brushes are easier when I approach the racket earlier. However the sensitivity for soft touch in front does lack a little. The so-called vibration dampening effect does play a role in net play. In this area, I don't mind vibration for a better feel in front of the net. In smash retrievals the weight of the racket does allow me to defend the shuttle faster and the momentum helps me to push the shuttle deep to the backcourt. The handle and shaft speed does enable me to switch from the bottom defend to drive or block stance faster than usual. I can be more aggressive over the front after retrieving smashes. Conclusion: It’s been a while and it feels good to give something back to the badminton community as a badminton fan. I don’t usually do reviews anymore because of hectic schedules with my speaking and consulting engagements. Even for badminton, I have to take a back seat for it. But since there was a specific request for me to do this Voltic Z Force due to a comment I made years back when I was in Japan. They told me the story behind it and if I’m not mistaken, my feedback was taken into consideration. Usually companies do listen to professional players and certain rackets are specifically designed for them but not regular bloke like me. However customer’s feedbacks are important because sales of equipment are vital in the industry and for the company. In the ever competitive world of badminton where there is so many brands out there with different marketing strategies applied and with different technologies being improved on. Anyway to cut the story short, this VTZF would be a classic Yonex Armortec 700 which was one of the favorite racket among top players like Lin Dan of China, Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia and Peter Gade of Denmark. The only difference is that VTZF performs well overall on Power and Recovery. I would say a combination of Armotec 700’s Power with the Speed of Yonex Nanospeed 9900 and the flexibility of the forgotten Muscle Power 90. I think these 3 rackets that I have mentioned already says enough about The Voltric Z Force. The maneuverability is noticeable good and the stability of the racket frame during impact is clean. Once you hit the racket constantly you will be able to harness the full potential of the racket without exerting too much effort. I guess Yonex has designed a near perfect combination of shaft thickness with Racket Frame Weight ratio to maximize its Power and Speed. It blends well overall. So again Yonex has made another legendary racket. At the moment I don’t know what other “Secrets” that they have in their sleeves or Design House, which I have no opportunity to visit yet. *HINT* If they improved on the paint job and make it glossier, I believe that swing speed could be Aerodynamically assisted by 1-2%. This is perhaps the most impressive Voltric ZF yet developed by Yonex. Very user-friendly racket compare to the VT80. And I do hope it will get better and better next time. No Pressure Yonex. Just do what you guys do best. And somehow I feel that Yonex always produce something good whenever the All England Tournament is approaching. So I hope this racket is for keeps and will gain its followers around the world. I would rate this racket in terms of Feel, Control, Power and Defense. I added Stability, Recovering Speed, Maneuverability and Net Play. However it is based on my own test and review. It may vary depending on the player, tension and what string you use. Touch and Feel: 9.5/10 Control: 8.5/10 Power: 9.5/10 Defense: 9/10 Stability: 9/10 Recovering Speed: 9/10 Maneuverability: 9/10 Net Play: 8/10 Looks and Finish: 7/10 Value for Money: 9/10 Pros : Great Power and Speed, Good Feel and Comfort. Singles players will find this racket suitable. Doubles will find this racket quick in response with power. Cons: I don't have anything to complain about beside the Price and sometimes the Power Can Be Unpredictable. Paint Job can be better. Suitability : Advance/Intermediate. Singles/Doubles racket Ants A little background about ANTS the Reviewer Anthony Kong aka ANTS is a Motivational Speaker, Author, Marketing and Sales Strategist who is a badminton avid and he supports badminton players around the world. He is a regular player but has an exceptional skill of doing reviews on badminton rackets. His reviews have almost pinpoint accuracy with more than 90% satisfaction from readers and users of the rackets that he reviews. His work dated as early as 2004 and has a large following base of hundreds of thousands badminton players around the world who take his racket reviews as their guide before buying it. Many considers him as the only Non-Professional Player #1 Authority when comes to reviewing badminton rackets. Hundreds if not thousands of individuals around the world regularly asked him for advice on badminton rackets. His reviews have been featured on dozens of blogs and websites around the world. He primarily posts his reviews on BadmintonCentral.Com. Coincidently most of reviews of the rackets that he has done become one of the most popular rackets used by many players around the world that year. Ants do not own any physical or online badminton retail shops, badminton forums whatsoever. He does not work for any Badminton Brands. He usually works the reviews on his free time and often have an opportunity to do reviews on the specific racket before any it is launched. He can be contacted at www.twitter.com/antskong Or Facebook at www.facebook.com/anthonykongdotcom Or Weibo at http://weibo.com/antskong You can also check some of his work here. http://www.badmintoncentral.com/foru...highlight=ants If you would like to repost to the other Blogs and Websites, Please ask Permission from the Original Author. Thank You. Personnal detail: Twitter account : aussaid
TKChai (@jonny_tk) YONEX VOLTRIC Z FORCE aka VT-ZF REVIEW by ANTS Review Date : January 2012 – February 2012 Review Time : Approximately 27 Hours Playtime in Total Launch Date : March 2012 Racket Type : Yonex Voltric Z Force (JP Coded) Specification: 3UG4 Overall Weight: 88.9grams (without string) Strings: Yonex BG66 Maxima (Supplied) Tension: 30lbs, 1 Piece Stringing Stringing Machine Yonex ES5 PROTECH Official Recommended Strings: YONEX BG66 ULTIMAX : YONEX NANOGY 99 Main Technology : Nanopreme, Tri- Voltage System, Super HMG ( High Modulus Graphite), Tungsten, Built-in T Joint. Grip Used: Original Grip Shuttlecock Used : Yonex Official and Yonex Tournament First Impression: This latest version of VT-ZF looks like a Combination between Voltric Series and the Arcsaber Z Slash. I would probably believe the “Hybrid” version picked up what both Voltric and Z Slash lacks and improved on it. Therefore Voltric ZF is created with the incorporation of the latest technology developed by Yonex, which is Nanopreme and Tri-Voltage System. Color wise does catch my eyes because of the way it is designed. It gives me a conventional feel, “quiet” and lethal but not so old fashion. More like a Yonex Ti-10 paintjob with matt feel. I can see that I am going to enjoy this latest version of Votric ZF, the weight is head heavy balance with good solid feel but I don't feel the head heaviness during initial handling of the racket. Racket head frame is smaller but not as noticeable compared to the Flashy ArcSaber Z Slash, which I love to use. I know this racket is going somewhere when I swing it flat, aerodynamically sound and fast. Sounds like swish rather than swoosh. I do look forward to play and use this VTZF, which according to the Evil Empire is one of the best badminton racket yet developed by them. And it took them one year of R&D to work on this version of the racket. Will see how it goes. Stringing Impression: I don't often string rackets myself for casual games. But I do take pride and very meticulous when comes to stringing. And I am very choosy also on who is going to string me rackets. I will usually just stay and see the person string whenever im on tour. So for this new VTZF I decided to use the old faithful Yonex ESPROTECH where I strung the racket using the Yonex stringing pattern. I weaved and string the racket one by one, hole by hole. I don't pre weave the racket and string it at the same time which I usually does. That way is easier and for lazy people like me. But this time I decided to do it the hard way so I can give a more precise stringing impression to you guys. Stringing the mains is relatively easy, no slight movements from top and bottom. Can feel the stability from 11 O’clock and 1 O’clock section top frame. Some rackets feels soft at this part. The side frames feels rock solid with easy fast pull. Overall I think this racket is easy to be strung. Should have no problem have it strung to 35lbs or more in my opinion. For those stringers out there, whether you are an experienced stringer or beginner, don't worry about breaking or morphing the racket while stringing. Warm Ups: Initially I have doubts if this racket is user friendly. But from the first contact point and the subsequent few shots, I’m already easily accustomed to the racket and this proves that, it should be user-friendly racket. I am amazed by the torque and mass generated by the head-speed from the contact. The sound generated by BG66 Maxima provides the additional sweetness to the baseline shots. I don't feel that many vibrations during baseline drives. 30lbs tension is just perfect for me. At this tension, usually I can feel some vibration from most rackets. But on VTZF the vibration is hardly noticeable. Racket Frame is aerodynamically sound, which I feel easy swinging the racket without much drag. Sometimes what I do to feel and test the rackets aerodynamics is to put the racket face flat parallel to a high-powered industry fan I have. Just to see the reaction of the racket head and how it reacts to the wind. Well I don't have such Hi-tech Formula One Wind tunnel to do the test on but I guess this is good enough for me. I get a lot of racket head speed and it allows me to be more aggressive without too empowering on the smashes. And the string bed does react nicely to the impact of the shuttle. The extra penetration that I get from punching the shuttle does make it fly faster than usual. Sweet is what I can say hitting it from baseline to baseline and great repulsion sound produced from the string that I used. Overall of the warm up is good. Controls of shots go the way I wanted. Just that at times I feel that it is over powered. Net shots are smooth and all I need it slight push and the racket head will do the work for you. I am surprised with racket head speed during drives. The racket reacted faster than I predicted. Very easy and the drives return to my partner is also quicker. I guess this has to do with the shaft length, its flexibility and the Nanopreme technology that is incorporated in it. Game Time: What I love about this VTZF is its solid raw punching power. I cant mention enough that the flexibility of the shaft does allow the head heaviness of the racket frame does its job. My smashes are faster and I can almost feel the shuttlecock leave the string bed in an instant right after impact. The design of the racket face does give me the confident in producing smashes accurately and my shots lands deeper to the frontcourt. It is a perfect combination for shaft reaction and the frame’s momentum that produces that result. And the shuttle does not slow down as much compare to the other rackets that I have used before. Most of my reviews are done either using Yonex Official or Yonex Tournament shuttlecocks. But I do believe the results are the same even if you are using the other brands of shuttlecocks. During game time, net brushes are easier when I approach the racket earlier. However the sensitivity for soft touch in front does lack a little. The so-called vibration dampening effect does play a role in net play. In this area, I don't mind vibration for a better feel in front of the net. In smash retrievals the weight of the racket does allow me to defend the shuttle faster and the momentum helps me to push the shuttle deep to the backcourt. The handle and shaft speed does enable me to switch from the bottom defend to drive or block stance faster than usual. I can be more aggressive over the front after retrieving smashes. Conclusion: It’s been a while and it feels good to give something back to the badminton community as a badminton fan. I don’t usually do reviews anymore because of hectic schedules with my speaking and consulting engagements. Even for badminton, I have to take a back seat for it. But since there was a specific request for me to do this Voltic Z Force due to a comment I made years back when I was in Japan. They told me the story behind it and if I’m not mistaken, my feedback was taken into consideration. Usually companies do listen to professional players and certain rackets are specifically designed for them but not regular bloke like me. However customer’s feedbacks are important because sales of equipment are vital in the industry and for the company. In the ever competitive world of badminton where there is so many brands out there with different marketing strategies applied and with different technologies being improved on. Anyway to cut the story short, this VTZF would be a classic Yonex Armortec 700 which was one of the favorite racket among top players like Lin Dan of China, Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia and Peter Gade of Denmark. The only difference is that VTZF performs well overall on Power and Recovery. I would say a combination of Armotec 700’s Power with the Speed of Yonex Nanospeed 9900 and the flexibility of the forgotten Muscle Power 90. I think these 3 rackets that I have mentioned already says enough about The Voltric Z Force. The maneuverability is noticeable good and the stability of the racket frame during impact is clean. Once you hit the racket constantly you will be able to harness the full potential of the racket without exerting too much effort. I guess Yonex has designed a near perfect combination of shaft thickness with Racket Frame Weight ratio to maximize its Power and Speed. It blends well overall. So again Yonex has made another legendary racket. At the moment I don’t know what other “Secrets” that they have in their sleeves or Design House, which I have no opportunity to visit yet. *HINT* If they improved on the paint job and make it glossier, I believe that swing speed could be Aerodynamically assisted by 1-2%. This is perhaps the most impressive Voltric ZF yet developed by Yonex. Very user-friendly racket compare to the VT80. And I do hope it will get better and better next time. No Pressure Yonex. Just do what you guys do best. And somehow I feel that Yonex always produce something good whenever the All England Tournament is approaching. So I hope this racket is for keeps and will gain its followers around the world. I would rate this racket in terms of Feel, Control, Power and Defense. I added Stability, Recovering Speed, Maneuverability and Net Play. However it is based on my own test and review. It may vary depending on the player, tension and what string you use. Touch and Feel: 9.5/10 Control: 8.5/10 Power: 9.5/10 Defense: 9/10 Stability: 9/10 Recovering Speed: 9/10 Maneuverability: 9/10 Net Play: 8/10 Looks and Finish: 7/10 Value for Money: 9/10 Pros : Great Power and Speed, Good Feel and Comfort. Singles players will find this racket suitable. Doubles will find this racket quick in response with power. Cons: I don't have anything to complain about beside the Price and sometimes the Power Can Be Unpredictable. Paint Job can be better. Suitability : Advance/Intermediate. Singles/Doubles racket Ants A little background about ANTS the Reviewer Anthony Kong aka ANTS is a Motivational Speaker, Author, Marketing and Sales Strategist who is a badminton avid and he supports badminton players around the world. He is a regular player but has an exceptional skill of doing reviews on badminton rackets. His reviews have almost pinpoint accuracy with more than 90% satisfaction from readers and users of the rackets that he reviews. His work dated as early as 2004 and has a large following base of hundreds of thousands badminton players around the world who take his racket reviews as their guide before buying it. Many considers him as the only Non-Professional Player #1 Authority when comes to reviewing badminton rackets. Hundreds if not thousands of individuals around the world regularly asked him for advice on badminton rackets. His reviews have been featured on dozens of blogs and websites around the world. He primarily posts his reviews on BadmintonCentral.Com. Coincidently most of reviews of the rackets that he has done become one of the most popular rackets used by many players around the world that year. Ants do not own any physical or online badminton retail shops, badminton forums whatsoever. He does not work for any Badminton Brands. He usually works the reviews on his free time and often have an opportunity to do reviews on the specific racket before any it is launched. He can be contacted at www.twitter.com/antskong Or Facebook at www.facebook.com/anthonykongdotcom Or Weibo at http://weibo.com/antskong You can also check some of his work here. http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php/12672-ants/page6?highlight=ants If you would like to repost to the other Blogs and Websites, Please ask Permission from the Original Author. Thank You.
Dear Winner. Please post the whole write-up ( The Review + Ants Profile ) exactly the same as below on the review Thread that I have created http://www.badmintoncentral.com/for...Voltric-Z-Force-Review-by-Ants?highlight=ants BOLD letters must be BOLD. Congratulations. Email me your Twitter Username and Your Badminton Central User Name. As well as your mailing details plus contact number. Congratulations. Ants YONEX VOLTRIC Z FORCE aka VT-ZF REVIEW by ANTS Review Date : January 2012 – February 2012 Review Time : Approximately 27 Hours Playtime in Total Launch Date : March 2012 Racket Type : Yonex Voltric Z Force (JP Coded) Specification: 3UG4 Overall Weight: 88.9grams (without string) Strings: Yonex BG66 Maxima (Supplied) Tension: 30lbs, 1 Piece Stringing Stringing Machine Yonex ES5 PROTECH Official Recommended Strings: YONEX BG66 ULTIMAX : YONEX NANOGY 99 Main Technology : Nanopreme, Tri- Voltage System, Super HMG ( High Modulus Graphite), Tungsten, Built-in T Joint. Grip Used: Original Grip Shuttlecock Used : Yonex Official and Yonex Tournament First Impression: This latest version of VT-ZF looks like a Combination between Voltric Series and the Arcsaber Z Slash. I would probably believe the “Hybrid” version picked up what both Voltric and Z Slash lacks and improved on it. Therefore Voltric ZF is created with the incorporation of the latest technology developed by Yonex, which is Nanopreme and Tri-Voltage System. Color wise does catch my eyes because of the way it is designed. It gives me a conventional feel, “quiet” and lethal but not so old fashion. More like a Yonex Ti-10 paintjob with matt feel. I can see that I am going to enjoy this latest version of Votric ZF, the weight is head heavy balance with good solid feel but I don't feel the head heaviness during initial handling of the racket. Racket head frame is smaller but not as noticeable compared to the Flashy ArcSaber Z Slash, which I love to use. I know this racket is going somewhere when I swing it flat, aerodynamically sound and fast. Sounds like swish rather than swoosh. I do look forward to play and use this VTZF, which according to the Evil Empire is one of the best badminton racket yet developed by them. And it took them one year of R&D to work on this version of the racket. Will see how it goes. Stringing Impression: I don't often string rackets myself for casual games. But I do take pride and very meticulous when comes to stringing. And I am very choosy also on who is going to string me rackets. I will usually just stay and see the person string whenever im on tour. So for this new VTZF I decided to use the old faithful Yonex ESPROTECH where I strung the racket using the Yonex stringing pattern. I weaved and string the racket one by one, hole by hole. I don't pre weave the racket and string it at the same time which I usually does. That way is easier and for lazy people like me. But this time I decided to do it the hard way so I can give a more precise stringing impression to you guys. Stringing the mains is relatively easy, no slight movements from top and bottom. Can feel the stability from 11 O’clock and 1 O’clock section top frame. Some rackets feels soft at this part. The side frames feels rock solid with easy fast pull. Overall I think this racket is easy to be strung. Should have no problem have it strung to 35lbs or more in my opinion. For those stringers out there, whether you are an experienced stringer or beginner, don't worry about breaking or morphing the racket while stringing. Warm Ups: Initially I have doubts if this racket is user friendly. But from the first contact point and the subsequent few shots, I’m already easily accustomed to the racket and this proves that, it should be user-friendly racket. I am amazed by the torque and mass generated by the head-speed from the contact. The sound generated by BG66 Maxima provides the additional sweetness to the baseline shots. I don't feel that many vibrations during baseline drives. 30lbs tension is just perfect for me. At this tension, usually I can feel some vibration from most rackets. But on VTZF the vibration is hardly noticeable. Racket Frame is aerodynamically sound, which I feel easy swinging the racket without much drag. Sometimes what I do to feel and test the rackets aerodynamics is to put the racket face flat parallel to a high-powered industry fan I have. Just to see the reaction of the racket head and how it reacts to the wind. Well I don't have such Hi-tech Formula One Wind tunnel to do the test on but I guess this is good enough for me. I get a lot of racket head speed and it allows me to be more aggressive without too empowering on the smashes. And the string bed does react nicely to the impact of the shuttle. The extra penetration that I get from punching the shuttle does make it fly faster than usual. Sweet is what I can say hitting it from baseline to baseline and great repulsion sound produced from the string that I used. Overall of the warm up is good. Controls of shots go the way I wanted. Just that at times I feel that it is over powered. Net shots are smooth and all I need it slight push and the racket head will do the work for you. I am surprised with racket head speed during drives. The racket reacted faster than I predicted. Very easy and the drives return to my partner is also quicker. I guess this has to do with the shaft length, its flexibility and the Nanopreme technology that is incorporated in it. Game Time: What I love about this VTZF is its solid raw punching power. I cant mention enough that the flexibility of the shaft does allow the head heaviness of the racket frame does its job. My smashes are faster and I can almost feel the shuttlecock leave the string bed in an instant right after impact. The design of the racket face does give me the confident in producing smashes accurately and my shots lands deeper to the frontcourt. It is a perfect combination for shaft reaction and the frame’s momentum that produces that result. And the shuttle does not slow down as much compare to the other rackets that I have used before. Most of my reviews are done either using Yonex Official or Yonex Tournament shuttlecocks. But I do believe the results are the same even if you are using the other brands of shuttlecocks. During game time, net brushes are easier when I approach the racket earlier. However the sensitivity for soft touch in front does lack a little. The so-called vibration dampening effect does play a role in net play. In this area, I don't mind vibration for a better feel in front of the net. In smash retrievals the weight of the racket does allow me to defend the shuttle faster and the momentum helps me to push the shuttle deep to the backcourt. The handle and shaft speed does enable me to switch from the bottom defend to drive or block stance faster than usual. I can be more aggressive over the front after retrieving smashes. Conclusion: It’s been a while and it feels good to give something back to the badminton community as a badminton fan. I don’t usually do reviews anymore because of hectic schedules with my speaking and consulting engagements. Even for badminton, I have to take a back seat for it. But since there was a specific request for me to do this Voltic Z Force due to a comment I made years back when I was in Japan. They told me the story behind it and if I’m not mistaken, my feedback was taken into consideration. Usually companies do listen to professional players and certain rackets are specifically designed for them but not regular bloke like me. However customer’s feedbacks are important because sales of equipment are vital in the industry and for the company. In the ever competitive world of badminton where there is so many brands out there with different marketing strategies applied and with different technologies being improved on. Anyway to cut the story short, this VTZF would be a classic Yonex Armortec 700 which was one of the favorite racket among top players like Lin Dan of China, Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia and Peter Gade of Denmark. The only difference is that VTZF performs well overall on Power and Recovery. I would say a combination of Armotec 700’s Power with the Speed of Yonex Nanospeed 9900 and the flexibility of the forgotten Muscle Power 90. I think these 3 rackets that I have mentioned already says enough about The Voltric Z Force. The maneuverability is noticeable good and the stability of the racket frame during impact is clean. Once you hit the racket constantly you will be able to harness the full potential of the racket without exerting too much effort. I guess Yonex has designed a near perfect combination of shaft thickness with Racket Frame Weight ratio to maximize its Power and Speed. It blends well overall. So again Yonex has made another legendary racket. At the moment I don’t know what other “Secrets” that they have in their sleeves or Design House, which I have no opportunity to visit yet. *HINT* If they improved on the paint job and make it glossier, I believe that swing speed could be Aerodynamically assisted by 1-2%. This is perhaps the most impressive Voltric ZF yet developed by Yonex. Very user-friendly racket compare to the VT80. And I do hope it will get better and better next time. No Pressure Yonex. Just do what you guys do best. And somehow I feel that Yonex always produce something good whenever the All England Tournament is approaching. So I hope this racket is for keeps and will gain its followers around the world. I would rate this racket in terms of Feel, Control, Power and Defense. I added Stability, Recovering Speed, Maneuverability and Net Play. However it is based on my own test and review. It may vary depending on the player, tension and what string you use. Touch and Feel: 9.5/10 Control: 8.5/10 Power: 9.5/10 Defense: 9/10 Stability: 9/10 Recovering Speed: 9/10 Maneuverability: 9/10 Net Play: 8/10 Looks and Finish: 7/10 Value for Money: 9/10 Pros : Great Power and Speed, Good Feel and Comfort. Singles players will find this racket suitable. Doubles will find this racket quick in response with power. Cons: I don't have anything to complain about beside the Price and sometimes the Power Can Be Unpredictable. Paint Job can be better. Suitability : Advance/Intermediate. Singles/Doubles racket Ants A little background about ANTS the Reviewer Anthony Kong aka ANTS is a Motivational Speaker, Author, Marketing and Sales Strategist who is a badminton avid and he supports badminton players around the world. He is a regular player but has an exceptional skill of doing reviews on badminton rackets. His reviews have almost pinpoint accuracy with more than 90% satisfaction from readers and users of the rackets that he reviews. His work dated as early as 2004 and has a large following base of hundreds of thousands badminton players around the world who take his racket reviews as their guide before buying it. Many considers him as the only Non-Professional Player #1 Authority when comes to reviewing badminton rackets. Hundreds if not thousands of individuals around the world regularly asked him for advice on badminton rackets. His reviews have been featured on dozens of blogs and websites around the world. He primarily posts his reviews on BadmintonCentral.Com. Coincidently most of reviews of the rackets that he has done become one of the most popular rackets used by many players around the world that year. Ants do not own any physical or online badminton retail shops, badminton forums whatsoever. He does not work for any Badminton Brands. He usually works the reviews on his free time and often have an opportunity to do reviews on the specific racket before any it is launched. He can be contacted at www.twitter.com/antskong Or Facebook at www.facebook.com/anthonykongdotcom Or Weibo at http://weibo.com/antskong You can also check some of his work here. http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php/12672-ants/page6?highlight=ants If you would like to repost to the other Blogs and Websites, Please ask Permission from the Original Author. Thank You.
At the Moment, Potential Winner is NightKid. If due to some discrepancies, the 2nd potential is robin peter.I will Officially announce the Winner Tonight. Hope you enjoy the review.
Ants..... Nightkid and robinpeters edited their posts so they have a later post time. look at the edited post time at the end of their posts.
No more repost of Review on this Thread for the contest.. Discussion continues.... Thank you for participating guys.
Birdieman, thank your for your feedback. I have been monitoring the thread VERY CLOSELY. Will announce the winner tonight. Thank you guys for participating.
