Victor TK F Claw Enhanced vs Mizuno Fortius 10 Power vs Li Ning

Hey, I am mostly an aggressive MD rear court and singles player, playing way less mixed than the other two disciplines.

I don't have experience with Mizuno rackets, but I am using the 3D Calibar 900(D) as one of my main rackets for doubles and singles.
It is more powerful than the 75D and offers better control, but it sacrifices a bit of speed (not much though).

I only tried the F Claw for a rather short amount of time, but it felt just slightly slower than the 3DC 900. The shaft is slightly stiffer though, so this will come down to your preference, can't go wrong with both imo.

The enhanced version of the F Claw seems to be less stiff and less headheavy, so it will most likely sacrifice some power and possibly control for some extra speed. You may find it lacking in power (especially in 4U), would be safer to go with the regular F Claw or try it before buying.

You could also take a look at the Victor Thruster BXR, it is quite fast and offers great control while packing a serious punch when regarding it's weight (4U only iirc).

The Astrox 88S could be a good fit too, but from what I heard it should sit inbetween the Astrox 77 and Arcsaber 11 when it comes to speed and power, so probably lacking in both (unless you choose the 4U version, but wouldn't recommend without testing first).

Haven't heard much about the TC 80, but looking at its specs, it would be significantly more powerful than the 75D (since the 80 is a headheavy 3U) and quite a bit slower.
But the TC frames tend to play faster than the specs would suggest, so this is just my opinion.

 

Since you played with 75D, I doubt the TC80 will be very different from what you've experienced.
TK-FC for me is very good for control, shuttle speed is not very fast but feeling is great.
I think the racket you're talking about is TK-F Enhanced in stead of TK-FC Enhanced.
TK-F and TK-FC is quite different from each other, so I think you have to check out more on their differences.
After owning TK-F, TK-FC and lastly the Enhanced version, I kept the Enhanced version because it fits my speed and attacking requirements and it's easier to use.
Mizuno Fortius 10 Power is one of my favorite despite the steep price. Where this racket is special to me is its short handle grip - shortest among all the rackets I own. It suit my habit of holding the racket close to the base instead of nearing the cone. Its power is easy to access compared to other rackets like ZF2, Ryuga, etc. It's always enjoyable for me to use this racket despite it being slower than its 10Q version which has a marginally longer handle grip and lighter head.
I would like to recommend Li Ning's N90VI (old name) or Calibar 900B (new name) based on what you said. Even balanced racket with plenty of power to be utilized. The only weakness is it's not the strongest racket from Li Ning, despite its advertisement claim that it's made with military grade carbon. My badminton acquittance broken 4-5 of his N90VI in a span of 2 years.

 

Since we seem to have a somewhat similar, more back court orientated and rather aggressive style of play, I will share my thoughts on the 900 vs 900B:

I sold my 900B a few weeks ago, so you might see which racket I would favor

The 900B is an excellent racket and it definitely held up to the durability of my other Li Ning rackets (@jctai probably had really bad luck with his one) showing pretty much no signs of damage after countless clashes (and breaking a mate's Victor Lightfighter).
Comparing it to the 900 is not very easy, since they come in different weights.

Speed and maneuverability: I would call it a draw, both are fast and easy to maneuver, but I prefer the slightly stiffer 900, since it made flicks of the wrist and stick smashes slightly easier to play.
Defensive shots felt ever so slightly better on the 900B though, the flexier shaft helps there (at least for me).

In terms of power, I could generate more with the 900. The stiffer shaft and more headheavy balance felt more beneficial than the additional weight of the 900B.

Control is another point for the 900, the headweight and stiffness made it easier for me to get a feeling of where the head is and therefore precisely control the shots.

On a sidenote: Despite being used to 3U rackets, the 4U 900 really surprised me in terms of power, wouldn't have expected that coming from similarly head heavy 3U rackets.
This is one of the few 4U rackets I have used where I felt that it was actually was viable to use without sacrificing too much power for speed.

 

Are you reading my post right? Because my N90VI is just fine, haha. What I'm saying in my previous post was my observation of my acquaintance's cycling of his N90VI where he had already gone thru (broken) 4 or 5 of it. You seemed to misunderstood when I said "not the strongest racket from Li Ning", as Li Ning is known to produce very durable racket compared to other manufacturers.

yszz, I suggest that if possible you should test them yourself first. Because my opinion is different from Woesi on the maneuverability between 900B and 900. It's only natural because we all have different build and technique. I think 900 is definitely more sluggish than 900B and 900 can benefit more from wrist smash than full arm smash. I will always pick 900B for doubles and 900 for singles.

 

No problem dude. I envy you so much, you can play on court. Malaysian in KL and Selangor has no hope of playing on court anytime soon.
Yes a lot of people seem to think that Yonex rackets in general are stiffer than other manufacturers. However each racket does has its own spec that would affect how you'd feel about it. For example Yonex ZF2 is rated as extra stiff, but coupled with its compact semi aerodynamic frame, extra slim shaft and head heavy attributes, you won't feel as hard to generate power from it compared to its predecessor the ZF1. So sometimes the perception of stiffness can vary from player to player.

If you can dry swing 900 and 900B even without string can give you a more accurate feeling of which one suit you more.
My theory is given the same shaft materials and thickness, the length of the shaft affect how easily you can whip with racket. The longer the shaft, the easier you can generate power. But it also means that if your swing is mostly short and compact you gain less advantage from flexier rackets. Using a racket with shorter shaft like your 75D would require your swing to be faster and shorter compared to AX77. If my memory is correct 900 has a longer handle grip than 900B, resulting in a shorter shaft. One thing I really like about the 900 is its gold color paintjob, has more substantial feel than the 900B but if you want to get one be sure to check the gold paint for any defect.

I agree with Woesi that Victor BXR 4U is a good choice, stiff, punchy, fast and no apparent cons, very similar to 900 at a lower price. I believe Victor in Singapore is quite reasonably priced unlike Malaysia... There should be a lot of good Victor racket choices in Singapore, since Yonex is planning to raise its price soon if not already and Li Ning is never going to be cheap. My recommendation for Victor rackets are Auraspeed 80X, DriveX 9X and Jetspeed12 II. Li Ning's Aeronaut 9000 series is the top seller for the past 2 years, the white Aeronaut 9000 is great, 9000C is also great if you like flexier rackets. Yonex I'd only recommend Nanoflare 700, other newer models are quite indifferent from your AX77.

 

Oh sorry, your aquaintance's rackets. I have never seen anybody break a LN rackets in such a quantity, really surprised about that one. I can only commentate on my mate's N90IV and my former 900B which held up strong and seemed to the usual high LN quality/durability.

I can understand preferring the 900B over the 900 for doubles, the 900B felt slightly faster when it comes to maneuvering, but I preferred the longer handle on the 900 and the stiffer shaft which both enable you to play easier flicks and fast shots. If the 900B had the same grip length, I would probably agree that the 900B would be ever so slightly better for doubles.

 

You said earlier that you already used the 9000D. From what I heard, this one should be similar stiff or even stiffer when compared to the 900, which tbh isn't that stiff (when compared to medium stiff Yonex or Victor rackets).
If you didn't have problems with the 9000D's stiffness, you most likely won't have any with the 900 either.

The 900B is definitely faster than the 77, but you will sacrifice a bit of power in return.

Best would be to test or at least dry swing the rackets, just as @jctai pointed out.

 

Hey @yszz89 have you got your rackets?

Just want to give some review on TK F Enhanced Edition (3U version - string 27lbs Nanogy98)

So, last month I bought the racket because it suit my playstyle which attacking from rearcourt with heavy smashes. What can i say, the racket feels amazing for me in couple of matches. The racket improve my smashes aspect by lots ( previous racket was Yonex ZForce-2 3U with the same string ). Ball placement feels okayish and Defense Clear feels good too. Until..

On the 4th game, I hear crack sound coming from the racket itself. I immediately switch racket and check it after the game finished. Try to swing it around, the crack sound became more obvious.. So by tomorrow I went to the store where I bought the racket from and ask the seller to try it. The store owner agree to issue a complaint to the Victor Indonesia itself but no guarantee on that because he think the racket is fine.

After a week, I got the news from the store that "Victor Indonesia Try The Racket" and release an official statement letter that its fine, nothing wrong (tbh at this time I try to convince myself that its okay perhaps). Went to the store, pickup the racket and went back home.

At home, out of curiosity I try to swing the racket and guess what.. the racket crack sound was there and the shaft became wobble ( this time i know the main problem was from the Free Core Synthetic Handle - it's a hollow handle but I never guess that it can be broken like that !!). I desperately went back to the store and ask them for good, how can I play with this kind of racket??

Then the store owner really convinced told me they will tell Victor Indonesia and let me know later. ( At this point I'm not sure whether they would reject my complaint or exchange it for the new one).

A month passed and I got the news from the store. My racket will be replaced with the new one ( horray i guess?? ) , same model same weight but without any string on it. Well I guess better than nothing, so i told the store owner to string it immediately and i pick it up later in the afternoon.

After I arrive at the store, I check everything is okay with the racket.. except there is slight feel between the T-Joint and the shaft itself ( I know its hard to tell, but if you rub it around that area, its really obvious compare to other rackets of mine ( even 20$ racket is better than this, come on Victor !!) )

Anyway thats how the story goes.. I can't test it out yet because the court is closed till now.. But hopefully nothing bad gonna happen to this mfking racket *pray* *pray* *pray*

Thanks for reading! (sorry for the bad english, i tried my best on it)

 

seems like its not brand new replacement. Probably your own racket that get some kind of repair or other repaired racket.

 

@Budi

I believe its not the previous one I own before (different serial number engraving)

No idea if its the another repoaired racket, but the store owner promise if anything happen in the future. I can bring it back to the store (as long as its a manufacture defect, not a clash or whatsoever) so hopefully nothing bad happen tho.

 

Hi jctai,

I've been using original TKF since release and it's not too bad. How does FC and enhanced compare to it. TKF takes a while to get used to

 

If you come from TKF I don't think there should be much adjustment to be made if you switch to TKF-E.
The only thing that me and my friends can agree on is TKF-E is easier to maneuver and a tad less powerful than the original TKF.
FC is quite different to TKF despite under the same model, just different variant. I find FC is adjusted to give more control and less suitable for fast flat exchange due to its oval head hence smaller sweet spot. The hitting feel is also considerably different as FC give a more direct hard feel whereas TKF feel a bit soft.
It really depends on which area you felt can improve upon from your TKF. To me TKF is close to a perfect all rounded racket because it has speed, control and power. TKF-E is a replacement for the original without deviate too far from it. I totally buy TKF-E as the enhanced version because Victor shaved some weight off its handle (by using plastic) and utilize the remaining weight somewhere in the shaft or frame itself ( I don't know where exactly). So what you actually get is more solid feel than the original.

 

Thanks, i was hoping they would be a good upgrade. I'll stick to tkf a bit longer.

 

@Woesi -- Hi, so you're saying that in the 3D Calibar range of rackets,3D Calibar 900B is better for doubles and 900 is better for singles.

Considering the fact that 900i is more head heavy than 900B and is lighter(79gms only), will it not suit a doubles rear court player more?






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Short answer: Maybe...

Longer answer:
It comes down to your preferences. Especially when talking about light rackets (5u and lighter).

I know a player at my club who prefers a N7-2 light over a regular N7-2 and hits harder with the light version.
There is another player at my club who hits harder with a 4u balanced racket than with a similar 3u racket...
I personally can't generate as much power with a light racket when compared to my preferred type of racket (slightly headheavy, medium flexible and 3u).
Tried to use a N7 (4u and head heavy) and also a N7-2 light (5u and more headheavy). While they are faster than a slightly head heavy 3u racket the loss of power was worse for my overall game than the gained speed (as a rear court mens doubles and mixed player).

In most cases, people can hit harder with a heaver racket, even if the latter is less head heavy (somebody once said that -5g of racket weight equal +10mm to the balance of the racket).

Both the Calibar 900 and 900B are very good rackets and you can use them in singles and doubles.
As I wrote above there are some aspects which would make me favor the 900B and some which I prefer the 900 for.

Have not played with the 900i but similarly spec rackets.
It is often a gamble if you like light rackets - in which case you will be very happy with the 900i - or if you don't like light rackets - in which case you will have spent a lot of money on a racket you don't actually like.

The safer way would be to go with the 900 or 900B. Testing would be a good idea in this case as well.

 

Hi jctai,

What is the stiffness difference between TK-F, TK-FC blue? Thanks