I'm gonna say this once,JUST ONCE : The only racket that deceived me is the Arc11th which to me is too bloody sticky on the string bed(too much power sacrificed to improve the control characteristic). I had a try with my friend's arc11th JP strung at 32x34 which turns out to be fine for me but when i bought myself a sp arc11th,restrung it to only 28lbs...IT SUCKS! EVEN WITH THE 66UM it still feel like the shuttle stick to the string bed for too bloody long and i cant use it(well i am a hh racket user).... so far that's the only racket i got so mad and disappointed with,despite the immaculate paintjob. below are the some rackets which i dun really like them : TK8000 3U ONLY - too heavy that i as a hh racket player found it really really hard to use it! (used n90,n90ii,zforce,vt80ltd 3u for doubles) voltric 80 4u - i have no idea how this happened to the 4u version which the shaft of the 4u vt80 was so damn shaky and unstable after every shot despite it's very repulsive where the 3u ltd turns out to be great for me. bs12 - probably because of me sticking myself too long with HH racket,i find this bs12 to be very light and fast which i dun really like cause even though the shuttle doesnt stay long on the string bed and very good impact feel,the shot it made is not as stable as LYD,bs10 and bs11.
The Z-Force, every review i read told me how hard it was to use but it was one of the easiest head heavy racket i've used. Glad I bought one
i enjoy all different kinds of rackets with different specs because i collect them. that said, there is still one that i frown upon, Arc10...and yet i'm stupid enough to have gotten three copies of it. bought the 2u when it first came out, way stupid heavy for my weak arm to play with. then a few years later when i heard it will be discontinued, i bought a 3u, much better but no matter what string i put on that racket it is still dull to me. then when i found out that my idol Peter Gade was retiring i bought the arc10pg ltd. actually, the peter gade limited with bg70pro felt good in singles....hmm....... restrung the regular arc10 3u with zymax 67 and played with it yesterday and it still felt dull compared to the same strings on my forza z forze at same tension of 24x26. sorry for the rant, here is my top five 1. Yonex Arcsaber 10, too dull, does not communicate well 2. Gosen MiracleLight 50, tho head heavy, too light and actually too flexible 3. Carlton Ignite Rapid, too dull, worst than the Arc10 4. Yonex Nanoray 20, too dull, no communication even with vs850 string, so little vibration 5. Li Ning N90, too heavy for me, great training racket but i can barely play a game of singles 6. Black Knight PowerRay 35 & 45, i just hated the grips and ugly paint jobs.
Worst rackets for me? 1) Yonex Arcsaber FB - too fragile and as you use it more, you become physically weaker and too dependant on the light weight for defense so defense sucks with many other rackets. 2) Yonex Voltric Z Force 2 - not that powerful, even though more aerodynamic than Z Force 1. Shaft came loose after a while on both my purchased racket and warranty racket. 3) Yonex Arcsaber 11 - feels nice but the hits are decievingly weak. A bit clunky on net play. 4) Carlton Vapour Trail Elite 2015 - much stiffer than previous model. Feels like a brick even compared to Victor Meteor X80 or Z Force 2. I can smash well with it but no one else I know can. Vibrates too much. 5)Yonex Voltric Z Force 1 - a 1 trick pony. Decent power but horrible net play and defense is only good when drive and drop returning.
Racket that deceived me in a GOOD WAY. I'll only talk about the good as I believe there are no bad rackets, only unsuitable ones. Yonex NR900 - I had no interest in Nanoray series from yonex at all, as I was more of a Voltric user. Used to use Muscle power and Armotec in my younger days. NR900 gave me a very bad first impression based on it's iron grey paint job. I thought it was too uninteresting and dull for my liking. But I bought it anyway to give it a try. It was surprisingly light in defence and still produced a bang for smashes. Sure, I can produce a bigger smash with ZF2 but this has just as much killing power if I really put my heart into it. I grew to like a racket which I would have never thought I'd use. Then this is where I found it funny. I also started to begin liking the black and iron grey paintwork of the NR900. Almost giving off an aura of stealth and mystery. I liked NR900 so much that I bought NR900AH and NR900SE to complete the set and sold off my ZF2. It gives me enough headlight space to do any movement I want with the racket even on a chill day yet can fire off a bullet if desired. It was my most satisfying purchase and I will be sticking to these 3 rackets for a long time to come.
Yonex NRZS I thought this racket would deliver an excellent feeling like Cab20/Cab21. Instead, I felt extremely unhappy with every hits I do.
For me it was the Arc7, had trouble defensively and didn't generate any power. My experience of this racket was fast but weak. Nanoray 900, I could smash like hulk... And do little else. I had so much timing trouble with this, outside of smashing. ZF1, after my initial trial I felt this racket was terrible. Slow, painful and heavy. However after playing for 6 months with a bs12 2u... This racket felt fast, responsive, powerful... Really the best experience I have had. I tried it again after not playing badminton for 3 months and it was terrible again. In other words an amazing racket if you are really fit, otherwise... Wrist wrecker.
Below are my personal opinions for this topic, I am not a pro or advanced player therefore certain rackets may not suit me due to my bad techniques. No.1 in my list is Yonex Nanoray Z-Speed, with the world records badminton smash of 493km/h, I thought this is the most powerful racket on earth and I could smash with more power using this racket compare to other racket, but I am wrong. No.2, Yonex Arcsaber FB. lightest but what are the other advantages of this racket? No.3, Victor MX80, this racket is too stiff, my arm hurts each time using this racket.
Arc 10 and 11 : Not responsive. Agree with Gundamzaku : Do not communicate well. Warrior 7 : Surprisingly good for + $60 racket! Well balanced, easy to use, generate power. Blue BS 12 : Just like Arc 10/11. I can't get the timing right. Feels dampened
TK9000 anybody? Good head heavy racket which has a pretty good smash. Not too slow either for defence
