I think this is something I would definitely do if I do my rackets. Somewhat ironically perhaps, I don't actually know if it's in the manufacturers best interests though. I can imagine Yonex wanting to concentrate on using Pro sponsorship as a sales tool, because it's easier to sell a fantasy than it is reality.
That would be great if you have a demo system. You are right that established brands spend their money on pro sponsorship rather than invest in a demo system. Their products are well known, easily available and if someone want to demo a racquet, they probably know someone who already has the model they want to try. They also have their fan base and these customers will buy anything that comes out from the brand. How many times have we heard "I only buy Yonex as it is the best" ?
Used to grow up with Yonex, as most of us do. Back then, there's no serious contenders to YY. Along came Victor n it brought us Light ; )
Let's wait and see for the next 15-20 yrs I am planning to indoctrinate my children, nephews and nieces, and every friends of them with V... LOL -JK-
No, you are the one who invoked this concept of a majority I did not. I asked you to define this majority because I wanted to know if you are talking world wide or simply Aus. I live in Taiwan and Vancouver and in both those areas I have ample oppurtunity to try out a racquet before I buy it and I'm willing to bet that the "majority" of badminton players have that chance as I'm pretty sure the badminton playing population of Taiwan vastly outnumbers that of Aus. I also didn't intend to restrict the chance to try before you buy to demos from retailers. It's also perfectly valid to try by borrowing a friend's racquet for a trial but, that is a hell of a lot more likely to be an option if the racquet is available locally, isn't it? Sure but again, this 'majority' is your strawman. You put forward the idea that online is a perfect solution and an renders the local retailer as un-needed or obsolete. I merely gave you a personal reason why I don't think so. The bottom line is that Victor's distribution of new models is bizzare when compared to Yonex and I haven't heard of any good reason why that is the case. It's not just about availability. At times new releases from Yonex don't reach Canada until well after their debut in other markets yet, even when that is the case there is a release date given and the retailers know when they will have it. Contrast this with the Thruster K6000 here in Vancouver, not only does my retailer not have it, but he has no clue when they will be available. There is a silver lining to all of this though as it does show the strides Victor has made in the quality of their racquets as now more and more people actually care about and/or anticipate the latest Victor releases.
That's untrue, thunder. Nowhere have I said that online is a 'perfect solution'. You're filling in the gaps to suit your own strawman argument. its true that I haven't exactly written a thesis on who is able globally test out rackets, so what I'm basing that on is the fact that I first played badminton in the mid 80's, and the 6 years or so that I've been involved in the forums and purchasing internationally, the impression I get at this juncture is that most consumers don't have access to a retail based 'try before you buy' system. I'm happy to be proved wrong, but my experience and extensive anecdotal evidence supports his. Now if you have issues with the anecdotal and need statistics before you can make any statements or decisions, then I'm sorry but I can't help you there - my research of the badminton market currently doesn't have that degree of fidelity. In all honestly I don't even know why we're having this debate. in terms of Victors distribution and manufacturing, you don't have any insight there nor statistics so your observations there are also anecdotal. Am I supposed to enter into a 'debate' about your ideas based on this too? You say that the silver lining is Victors increased quality leading to greater interest in the brand. Was quality ever an issue that I'm not aware of? The issue with Victor is - as we're discussing - distribution issues! It's clearly better than it was because availability and the model range has clearly improved since I first bought a Victor, but it appears the annoyance for you is that their distribution model is not the precise and polished beast that Yonex' is. Would that be safe to assume? Yet despite this Victors popularity seems to be on the up. The core of the point I'm trying to make, is that the lack of distribution finesse simply hasn't stopped Victors gain in popularity. If you're on the Internet and have a credit card, you can buy online any Victor you want as soon as it's released, so where's the problem? You may not be able to 'try before you buy' but as you point out, you can try your friends rackets and use the vast amount of information on the internet to make purchasing decisions with the help of thousands of people all around the world. Victors distro isn't perfect and the majority of us would probably like to 'try before you buy' but at this stage it's probably not what happens. Can we just leave it at that and get back on topic?
Sure, though this would have been saying enough. I do find such a sentiment being expressed at the end of a multi paragraph post to be somewhat disingenous though.
I think you should be more concerned about your own recovery. Funny how the same people that are quickest to preach about moving on are also the least able to do so.
In MD today, I clashed my TK-6k for the very first time ( ._.) There was a loud 'klaang' noise n I feared for the worst. Was expecting a paint chip or worse, a crack. On closer look, the surface all around is still clean n smooth. Not even a scratch...phew...
i've got something to share which might interest those wanting the keep their tk6000s light. i've got mine (4u) at 85gms, including strings and the equivalent of an overgrip+original grip. dry weight when i got it was 82gms (no strings, just ori grip with plastic wrappings removed). so that's just an extra 3gms! what i did was to remove the original grip, added back the equivalent thickness with a yonex cushion wrap (AC380), and then one layer yonex 102ex overgrip. it gives me the same thickness as original grip+overgrip, but at a fraction of the weight.
replacement grip *weight* has practically no impact on racket play characteristics. Grip size + cushioning, yes. Weight? No. (within reasonable limits)
Well it does for me. With ori grip +overgrip, the weight was 92gms Its now 85gms, and while the reduction is from the handle end, i can feel the difference between 92gms and 85gms Edit: yes, its quite subtle, i wouldnt claim it effects the playability to any significant degree, but its nice being able to keep it a 4u even after strings+grip
The racket is a lump of weight that you're swinging around for hours on end, so while messing with the handle may not effect swingweight that much, it certainly does effect other aspects of your game.
