Hi there ! While looking for a new racket I came accross this forum and I'd like to ask you for advise right away (please excuse my poor English - I hope I can make myself understood … ) : I do have a certain idea what I'm looking for, but I lack in skills to realize and evaluate all details. I'm absolute willing to spend some extra money for a racket, which is "the best one" for me, but if there is a better prized one, I'd appreciate it as well. I'm fully aware that an expensive racket doesn't make me a better player, but often you can't enjoy yourself with a poor racket - you get the idea ? About me : I play badminton on a regular basis 2 times a week for some time, once with a constant partner, once in a smal group with changing partners, exclusively one-on-one, no doubles, with plastic shuttles only. I don't play matches, I don't even count, I don't have any ambitions in competing and play just for fun and to improve myself. For a job I'm a "pencil pusher", so my wrists are just half as wide as my father's (craftsman). I did a lot of sports throughout all my life, but with every injury (f. e. ligament ruptures) I just added a few extra kilos and never got rid of them again. Right now I keep a limit of 90 KG (with a hight of 178 cm) and still struggeling for less. My play is up to my nicknam : Smashit! On the one hand it's really fun (to me), on the other I can run myself into the ground this way and let off some steam. Up to now I played with a five-and-ten racket for about $ 80,00, but for the last training session I deliberately borrowed 2 extreme rackets : A very gripp-heavy and a very top-heavy one. The grip-heavy one I don't even remember, I didn't get along with it at all. The top-heavy one was a Yonex Voltric 9 Neo, and I liked it quite a lot - but mybe there are even better ones ... ? According to this, I think I should keep on looking for that kind of rackets, more a sort of "club" - or shouldn't I ? So I just ordered 2 mor rackets for testing, i. e. the Yonex Voltric Z-Force I and the Li Ning N 90 III 3D. Both rackets were explicitely recommended by the supplier after a very detailed counselling phone call. The supplier recommended a third one, a Victor Thruster 7000 (?), but he had just sent it out for testing to another client, so it wasn't available. All those rackets are not really what you call a bargain. Therefore I'd like to get your advice : Does it pay off to me ? Do I feel/recognize the difference, or can only a pro use it to ist full capacities ? How would you describe these rackets ? What should I pay (special) attention to while testing ? And if I really should go for one of these : Which strings would you recomend, and which force (is that the right expression ?) should I opt for the strings ? The supplier recomended a Yonex BG 65 with 10 KG. Or should I opt for less (f.e. 9 KG), having in mind that I exclusively play plastic shuttles ? Maybe you even have have a completely different racket in mind as an insider tip …? Thanks a lot in advance ! Joachim.
let me guess your words... top-heavy = Head Heavy Racquet grip-heavy = Head Light Racquet???? tell us more about your style of play may help in getting advise from others. Defender ? Offender? Strong wrist ? Weak Wrist ? Current string BG65 belongs to soft feeling string. You may try Medium string like BG66 / BG66UM. 22-24lbs for beginner 24-26lbs for all round / smasher 26-28lbs above for more control n power. (PS: but u need a very strong wrist to handle it)
That's what I was afraid of ... ! :crying: Yes ! Offender, smal wirsts (but weak ???), current string unknown. Not a beginner any more, but no pro neither, I prefer smashing as often and as hard as I can. HTH !?! Joachim.
Since you are not a beginner anymore, but weak wrist. I would suggest u try BG66UM @ 25lbs. But for your information. If u prefer head heavy racquet. Your defense will b weaker. If lighter racquet weaker at smash. Suggest u get a doubles racquet. Which never b weak at smash n defense. There's few for doubles racket. Victor LYD. Mx jjs, yonex ns9900, ti10, arcsaber 11, AT700.
Looks for rackets with Balance point of 290-300mm. Even to slight head heavy, and get one with an aerodynamic frame. (bravesword, meteor x, arcsaber, nanoray) Because you like to smash a lot, and play mostly doubles.
That's surprising to me : I was told that as I play with plastic shuttles I should go for less, i. e. around 20lbs !?! I know. No risk, no fun ! Whyever a doubles racket ??? Joachim.
Ouch...why don use actual feather shuttles ? Gives u better feeling and that's the right way to get improve. Very good smash with head heavy racquet. Since u told that ur weak wrist. I suggest doubles racquet. Avoid to b wrist sprain or injured.
The Z-force 1 is an extreme racket in 3u(weight). It is stiff shaft and really head heavy so you probably won't be able to extract it's performance. When testing both these rackets because they are so demanding, my tip would be, use them for a good hour playing constantly to check you can use them without getting seriously fatigued in the wrist/arm. Try a solid 10 minutes of smash defense and 10 minutes of drives to see if you can handle them. If you just pick them up and use them for 5 mins booming down a couple of smashes you might think they are great, but may end up mistaken.
Thanks, that's what I did last Week with the Voltric 9 and what I'm about to do this Thursday (hope they'll get here by then) with the Z-Force and Li Ning ... ! In fact, I was quite astonished that I didn't remark any aching muscles or else after a full hour of testing, and I was beat, but happy : It felt really good ! Joachim.
Voltric 9 is a toy compared to these rackets. If you are extremely conditioned or do not play hard at all, the z force will be fine but if you are somewhere inbetween then there are more suitable rackets imo.
Sorry, I don't understand : What does "extremely conditioned" mean ? Extremely good trained ? And "do not play hard at all" ... ? Maybe you could put it in other words, please ? And which "more suitable rackets" do you have in mind ? Joachim.
Extremely conditioned - I meant really strong muscles specifically for badminton not play hard at all - I meant if you just go down to the hall and just play slow, no big rallies no hard shots or hard hits (for leisure) Voltric 80 or 70 are less demanding(because of shaft stiffness), Victor LYD any non super stiff shaft racket.
Aaaah - thanks a lot, now I got it !! "Muscles" : Not really ... let's say average ! "Not play hard" : Quite the contrary, I love to beat the shuttle really hard, smashing and beeing beat after my training sessions ! Joachim.
LOL. Plastic shuttles are much more commonly used by casual players outside of Asia. Ever played league matches with a plastic shuttle with a plastic base? I am an unlucky person to have had that experience. Steer away from using BG66 with plastic shuttles. The racquet would likely spend a lot of time at the stringers. Given the OP's description of playing conditions, a 0.70mm gauge string at around 20-22lbs would be sufficient. It depends what string types he can get from the local stringer.
Lol cool, well I don't think the z force/n90 is suitable for you but you are getting to try before you buy so you can decide for yourself! You like being beat after training, sounds interesting
Hey, that's what my dictionary said ! Just for the record : All I wanted to say was that I like to push hard so that I'm exhausted at the end of my training sessions - if "being beat" isn't appropriate, please let me know the proper translation ... ! :crying: Joachim.
Phew ! I already was afraid that this were weasel words - and NO !, I'm not in SM, an NO ! again, I'm NOT ! into being beaten up - I just like the feeling that I have worked out hard enough after training ... ! Sometimes translations are quite tricky ... Joachim. P. S.: There is a smiley missing : The "Red face"-Smiley for being ashamed or embarased ... !
Well, I did a lot of testing ... but in the end (in fact : yesterday evening ! ) I came to a decision, but it turned out as quite a surprise. But everything in turn now ! As I mentioned, I started testing with a Yonex Voltric 9 neo, which I thought went quite well (comparing to my old five-and-ten racket). Then my trainer handed me a Yonex Nanoray 300, and it was quite a surprise to me how good it felt ! Nevertheless I played a Yonex Z-Force I, too, (didn't work for me at all !) and a Li Ning 90 III 3D (close to the NR 300, but just that) and a Yonex Nanoray 700 FX (worse than the Li Ning, but better than the Z-Force). After all it seemed that I got rather "Heinz 57". So in the end "my" racket should be - not to head-light, but - not to head-heavy as well, - not "extra stiff", but - stiff/medium, not flexible, and - designed for fast and powerfull game ("Smashit!"). For now I decided to stick with the Yonex Nanoray 300, and if I get the chance to test the NR 700 RP, I'll do so! Thanks, folks ! Joachim.
