Wanted to give my two cents re: the Precision Pro prototypes. Many thanks to Dan for working with me to get these racquets up here to Canada at a reasonable cost. I got my hands on one each of the 80g and 82g versions of the racquets, and to put it simply they are a joy to use. Access to power is very easy, pretty much almost as easy as playing with a flexible racquet - I believe this is due to the longer shaft length than other typical racquets. Since the shaft is stiff itself, you get great accuracy at the same time. The frame swings quite quickly through the air, similarly to the BS12 if not quicker due to the head frame design and low weight. Because of this, smash returns with the racquet were very easy, as well as blocks and drives back to the opponent when defending and attacking. I added around 0.25-0.5g of lead tape from my tennis equipment to the 80g version at 10 and 2 o'clock and this gave the racquet more punch as in stock form it was more difficult to generate power. The 82g version was fine as-is. Overall, these are absolute gems to me and I think Dan did mention he would be revising the prototypes to be a tad heavier in weight and head balance for the retail version. However, I really love the racquets as they are right now and am tempted to get two more to have as my backups for the lifetime I play badminton, haha. Not to mention the awesome all-black paint job. Definitely encourage anyone who is interested to try them, you won't be disappointed. edit: phrasing
Any update on the production of the new Precision Pro? Also, any recommendation about where/which brand to get for replacement grommets for these rackets? Thanks!
I broke a couple of grommets on my racquet recently, my stringer used some generic grommets. They are longer than the original ones but they do the trick. Just looks a bit funny.
Sorry, been away for a while. Life stuff. Currently working on a racket for a customer that's in Indonesia. In the initial testing phases but the initial specs: +Frame: 46, 50, 55T Toray (testing all three independently) +Shaft: 50, 55T Toray +Improved/Optimized T-Joint +Weight: 82-86g +BP: 290-300mm +Stiffness: 7.5-8.0 +Frame Shape: undecided, but will be isometric, aero. +Improve Grommets +76-hole string pattern We all know that 50/55T is very stiff but brittle. The powers that be say they have the toughness figured out and 50/55T graphite is the future of badminton material....until graphene is viable. We'll see very soon...
Wow, the 50T and 55T Prototypes are so strong. The 55T strung at 35lbs. feels like the racket is unstrung. The frame doesn't even flex at the 2 and 10 o'clock positions. Even on the machine, the sides move minimally. However, as strong as it is, this racket suffers from "TC700 Syndrome". That is, it feels similar to the Mizuno Tetra Cross 700 (with tetra-axial woven carbon) which on paper was the strongest material ever used in a badminton racket (at the time, maybe still is). The frame is so stiff, there's not much feel, no synergy; so maybe that's why most companies don't push 50/55T. Still seems like 40T has the best durability/feel combo. More testing is needed... *sigh
Hmmm, I may need to retract my previous post. Blame it on the drastic temperature difference, (50F at night, 85-90F in the day), the humidity or lack thereof, blame it SoCal fires, blame it on the new but stale shuttles, maybe the sun was in my eyes, Panda didn't get enough sleep, maybe the string tension was too high, or just blame it on this Panda... ...After another week with these new PTs, the string tension has settled, Panda has gotten used to the PTs and they are much better than before. They do not have TC700 Syndrome anymore. PT1, 55T frame and shaft, strung with NBG98 @34lbs. originally felt too tight (felt like 36-37). I think the frame is so stiff and tough, the string tension needs to be lower (at least for me). Now that it's settled/dropped, it's now very good. Still tight but plays completely different. There's much more feel. Stay tuned?
How would the new prototype compare to this previous one? Been having a blast with the racket for now but not sure that I would go towards something stiffer for my personal tastes. Thanks!
Trying to get more synergy out of the latest rackets. Trying to get more repulsion. Still working on it...
Have you tried out the AX 88D? There's some amazing synergy happening with the shaft and the frame that gives the shuttle extra pop when hitting. And it has very good tactility also. Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
I have tried the new Astrox rackets briefly. They feel good. I'll have to test them in more detail, thanks.
We do not have a distributor in Australia, sorry. Update: the (hopefully) final prototypes of the new Panda Power racket is on the way. I should receive them next week, around Wednesday. If up to Panda standards, will produce.
Update: strung up four of the new Prototypes, code name "Ducky-JS" (DJS). Racket # 1 with Aerosonic @26.5lbs. Racket # 2 with Aerosonic @31.0lbs. Racket # 3 with NBG98 @ 33.0lbs. Racket # 4 with NBG98 @ 35.0lbs. Initial testing: long story short, the DJS is better than the matte black Precision Pro in every aspect. +Way more durable, the DJS took 35.0lbs. with relative ease, stronger than the PPro at 30. +Sweetspot: way, way larger, the PPro had a small sweet spot and was unforgiving. +Power: more, a good bit more. +Swing Speed: faster, not sure how much faster but a bit more for me. More detailed testing and findings to come. We will be producing the DJS for sure. Based on these PTs, the DJS is the best racket we produced to date. ETA: Late March.