TOPIC: Looking for a new Yonex racket, need advice on racket recommendation/reviews/comparison. - was thinking either DUORA 10 or ASTROX 77 (pls let me know your opinions) - Duora 10 has so many ver. (heard that each ver. is diff in feel) which version should i pick? About Myself: - Intermediate male 24yo player. Used to be in school team, competed locally inter-school for 4 years Playstyle: - Aggressive but not too aggressive. (Rather play on attack than defense most of the time. ) - I win most of my points through shot placements, control plays (sharp/accurate, deceptive shots) - i love to smash but not that great at it. (And id would prefer to end the rally with a smash than to continue the rally) Strengths: - Better at front court than back court. - Better at attacking plays than defensive plays. Weaknesses: - Inconsistent (tend to lose a lot of points to ERRORS/mistakes & long rally plays) - Smash lacks power but LOVE to smash (all time fav shot is smash) - My defense/blocks on opponent's smashes sucks Looking for a racket that could: - **Aid in my shots consistency - main thing (was thinking rackets with bigger sweet spot) - Aid in my smashing power - Not too heavy, taxing on the arm - I'm generally not too concerned about defense it as IMO its more of your own skill matter rather than the racket itself for defense, as I've tried a couple of rackets over the 7 yrs I've been playing and felt that the racket didn't really do much difference for my defense) Bottom line: Hence after looking at some racket reviews, was thinking of DUORA 10 (idk which version) or ASTROX 77? Would greatly appreciate it if you guys could let me know your thoughts and an in-depth comparison review of the playing feel of both of these rackets. or even other rackets which you may recommend would be great too thanks!
Previous Rackets used: 1) Victor Meteor X- JJS - Felt that it was fast and has good control for front court. but other than that, felt that my smash does not feel powerful. and racket frame is small so i find myself hitting the frame at many times 2) Li Ning Flame N36 - felt that the racket outright just sucks. too light for me. zero power. and it feels empty/hollow lack the solid feel
1. Consistency Do more drill & play less. Same as your defense that not in your concern. Consistency are also player skill to master & no racket that could improve your consistency. 2. Smash Power Well power & speed are 2 different side of coin that you cant see both at the same time. When you gain power, you lose speed, so when you can smash better, your defense (that not your concern) might become a problem next. Rather than buy in a blind, why not hold yourself for now. Borrow friend racket to try many different racket & understand what it feel like for each racket you try. By then, think carefully what racket characteristic you want & look for it.
Well said above from Budi. Side note: Doura 10 tends to have sinking grommets issue (at least the 2 black versions, idk much about LCW version). My vote would be Astrox 77 (red or blue), all-round racket, nothing special but nothing to complain about.
No differences beside color. Others will swear there are differences, but that's only due to variance in manufacturing; even two racquets of the same color will perform slightly differently.
I did feel the difference with mine (yellow vs blue). Maybe it is just bad quality control from Yonex. On the other hand, I remember that Yonex actually said something like yellow is for back-court and blue for front-court (like S/D scheme now)...
No difference in color. But massive difference in 4u / 3u. Most people go with 4u nowadays, I have two, it's great.
Are you a singles or a doubles player? The only Astroxes I have used are a entry level one and the 100zz. I found the 100zz hard to use and I couldn't get the most out of it. Haven't tried the Astrox77 to compare If you have the opportunity, try to see if you like any NanoSpeed or NanoRay / Nanoflare racquets. I've had good comments about my drops when using Nanoray 800 (accuracy and disguise). The nanoflare 800 is comparable as nanorays are not in production any more. See if any friends or badminton players you play with would let you try theirs out. I like the head lightedness. It is really responsive in defense and it just feels easy to return smashes with them. But that's my experience of head heavy vs head light racquets. Like you said, you had a different experience -- In general if you want to improve at something, you have to really focus on it until you don't have to think about it anymore. If you have a spare 10-30 minutes you can have someone smash at you and you lift it back to them. If they can, get them to smash to different sides of you on half a court. Left hip, right hip, etc. Really focus on getting the timing down. Variation of the practice would be to block to the net or do a cross court block. As for other shot consistency, good footwork will get you to the shot, as you move to it deceide what shot to play and prepare your grip and arm for playing the shot. The sooner you get under or behind the shuttle, the more different shots you can do (smash, drop etc instead of only clear or lift).
which one u reckon i go for 3u or 4u? I play both singles & doubles. Want it to be used for both singles & doubles
I am of the opinion the 4u rackets are great these days, and most people will get used to them just fine and in my opinion it will help most people be more consistent. 4u is a safer choice.
If you want my advice based on everything you've given us so far? Go 4U with the AX77. Then as others above have so wisely advised you, work on your known weaknesses to make yourself as a player more complete. Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk
Alright shall go with the 4U thanks man. As well as the many advices above mich appreciated. Btw im also in sg if u know anyone that has an astrox 4UG5 in yellow to sell feel free to let me know. (1st or 2nd hand im fine) as alot of places in sg do not have stock for astrox 77
You can check Carousel. Tons of second hand rackets on sale there. There is also a 4U Duora 10 Lt but hardly hears anything about that
Aye. Since you're in SG, peruse Carousell. There were a number of AX77s on sale last I had a peek. Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk
