Hey guys, actually my P9300 from Victor is close to the grave and actually I'm torn between sticking to Victor P-Series and replace it with the P9500 at the bold price or if I should Li-Ning give a try because their rackets surprised me with their outstanding quality. Atm I'm a bit unsure, because I didn't ever got my hands on their shoes and I'm forced to order them. Most important requirements for me are the cushion/stability, built quality and the support. I'm not a feather and there is no need to safe a few grams. Mostly I'm interested in the Ranger line. I have experience with YY, Adidas, Asics shoes and played with many models from Victor. Some posting which convince me to buy or to stay away from shoes of Li-Ning would be helpful. Also postings about how the type of shoes turn out would be helpful, because there is the same marketing lack like for Li-Ning rackets - you don't know which type it really is. Thanks in advance.
I have been using Li Ning shoes for the last 4-5 years exclusively now. Started with some mid tier (about 60-70€) and went up to the high end shoes over time. The shoes I used (and can remember the names of) are Saga Xtructure, Chen Long Glory 2016 (on my second pair rn), Ranger 2/3 and the Cool Shark 2019. Last shoes I used before I went on the LN side were the Asics Gel Hunter 3. Had some problems with them regarding the inner sole so I decided to look for badminton specific shoes and found a LN pair which I really liked design wise (some mid tier at about 60-70€). I will try to order these shoes in terms of cushioning and stability. Letter is very important to me since I have had several problems with my ankles. I will include the Yonex Power Cushion 88 Dial which I got as a present and have been using for 2 weeks now (one of the few Yonex shoes that I like design wise and the BOA system is simply awesome). So: > : slightly better; >> : clearly better Stability: Ranger 3 > Ranger 2 > CLG2016 >> Cool Shark > YY PC88D Cushioning: CLG2016 > Ranger 3 > Ranger 2 >> YY PC88D = Cool Shark I can’t really compare them to other Yonex shoes, I only used the PC88D and tried the SHB 65Z in a shop, but felt they were lacking in terms of stability and cushioning (hard to tell without taking them on court) when compared to the CLG2016. Never tried any Victor shoes but I am considering to get a Victor pair in the near future. I think LN has the most diverse lineup of shoes and it is a shame that they can’t market them properly, even more than with their rackets imo (at least in Europe). As a tip, try them in a shop so that you can get the right sizing. The shoes released after 2017/18 (?) tend to be at least half a size bigger than most other brands (my Cool Sharks in EU44 are about the same size as the CLG2016 in EU45). Hope those informations are somewhat helpful to you. First post btw, have been reading for years though
Thanks for your input. I'm still a bit unsure. Which Rangers do you mean with 2&3? Would you mind to share a picture or the code? There are various Rangers. Do you have any experience with the TD? Sadly, the shops in Germany which stock Li-nIng stuff are just a few and in terms of shoes the line-up is quite small. Since smoof is gone I don't have any good adress to order inside Germany and ordering outside also means additional costs if the shoes don't fit well. This is a risk. Maybe you can drop me via PM your source for your shoes?
So I used the Ranger 2 (AYAN003-3) and the Ranger 3 (AYAP001-3). The R3 are available at Racket Outlet, at Li-Ning.de you can get both the R2 and R3 (althoug a bit more expensive than Racket Outlet). I would definitely recommend you to try them at a shop or order from a german shop so that you can use your Widerrufsrecht for easy returns. The Ranger 2 I bought at smoof (was my favorite shop in GER and not to far away from me), pretty much all other pairs from e1981 or Shopnings.com depending on which shop is cheaper (tbh both are rather expensive). Had to pay for import taxes twice so far, both times from Shopnings (in more than ten orders from both shops combined). I haven't used any of the td shoes so I can't tell you anything about them. On a sidenote: The Ranger shoes have a different kind of outer sole than most other pairs (really hard to describe) which perform really good on mats or halls with good grippy floor, but they become more or less unusable if you have slippery floors in your hall making you feel like playing on ice.
Dude, thanks for sharing. I've always been a fan of Lining shoes' design but sadly because of poor marketing in my country, hardly anyone is using Lining High End Shoes. I always wonder about their performance, comfort and support compare to Victor or Yonex. What do you think about the durability?
The CLG16 took about one year until I noticed the cushioning was pretty much done. Used them exclusively in that time and as a backup pair after that. Half a year later one of the bottom soles began to peel off from the rest of the shoe during a training game. I only used the Ranger shoes for 2 - 3 month each, no sign of wear iirc. On my Cool Shark shoes I noticed the material fraying off on the inside of the left shoe, slightly infront of the big toe (the point from which you push whith your left foot). Have not had this problem on the CLG2016, probably due to the thicker and more robust materials. For your reference: I used to play about 6-9 hours a week during that time and have a very aggressive playstyle with lots of jumping involved. As I said, I never used Victor and just recently got a Yonex pair so I can't compare durability between these brands. But I am sure there are people on this forum who are able to compare at least Yonex and Victor shoes since they are way more common to see than LN ones.
I own li-ning ranger 4 TD Yonex shb65z Victor a922 Mainly use Victor and li-ning in rotation now as my shb65z is a lil old and flat. For me the ranger is the most cushiony , just a tad bit more than victor one. I have all at the same size but ranger is slightly roomier in the front.(I have v shape toe kinda) I find ranger the most comfy. However traction wise I would say it's not as good as either a922 or shb65z. It's not terrible and does the job but just not as squeaky as them. I just wipe them after games and it helps keep good traction.
Thanks for all the insides. I would love to try Li ning shoes as they are creative and bold with their designs. But for footwear, I have a preference for Japanese brands like Yonex, Asics, Mizuno. this applies even to running shoes. I follow a few national players on social media and there are cases where they show their bleeding toes from blisters wearing Li Ning shoes, not sure if it is because they did not cut their toenails For comfort and stability, I would recommend ASICS Court Control FF (currently using) and Mizuno Wave Fang Pro (Hard to find in SEA but one of my favorites)
Does anyone know if there's any online shops that have a selection of recent (2018+) Li Ning shoes in size US 11.5 that ship to the USA? been looking around and most shops only go up to US 11 (barely too small for me) to US 12 (possibly too big). I could just bite the bullet and order a pair of US 12 sizes as my current YY SHB65 X2s are worn out now (had them in US 11.5)
just a quick update on the ranger TD 4.0s. Honestly not that bad stability/comfort/speed wise, though I legit wish literally anyone had them in US 11.5 instead of US 12s (they are half a size too big)
