No idea where Honly is im from KL...just to let u know the price difference over in SG its sold for SGD180 = RM468 after conversion and the same racket sells for RM250(inclusive of string n grip) over here.
Suggest you check with the Ashaway Singapore distributor - Pacific Sports http://www.sportsguide.sg/cocode-80...PACIFIC+SPORTS+PTE+LTD-CompanyProfile_MG.aspx
Bought two Atomic 7 Hex's a few weeks ago - picked over the XT700's on price more than anything. Thrown into the deep end with 5 matches in 9 days and really gelling with them even with factory strings. Fantastic products - will be adding another couple to the arsenal shortly!
hmm i've always wanted to try the Atomic series but the silver glitters turns me off...how well does it stack up against the Viper series?
Haha. To be honest a bit garish but having played with bright gold K Braves for years i couldnt care less - not as if you are looking at the paintwork while smashing! I have only ever owned the XT-1000 which i found stiff and took a while to adjust to. Having suffered a major Clash (partner took my shuttle and racquet) after only a few weeks I decided to sell my other and go the medium flex Carlton VTT. Tried the stiffer VTE for a while too but again my game suits the medium flexes. Honestly got to say there has been little adjustment needed this time - other than the 'paint' softening and allowing the strings to flex/move impacting on control I can replicate if not better the power and control i had with my favourite K Braves. I have tried and like a friends XT1200 but cant feel much difference in performance gains over the Hex 7 considering the significant extra cost. Cant wait until i can Get them restrung to see what they are really capable of. Have packs of BG80, 65ti and Nanogy 95 in the bag ready for a few days off to go to the stringers ;-)
From personal experience id disagree - everyone is different though. When i bought the XT-1000 they were marketed as stiff - the Hex 7 medium stiff. Really happy with them so far. Mate who uses Victor MX-80's was also really complimentary.
Phantom X-Fire Just bought the latest Phantom X-Fire and had it strung with Zymax 62. Hope to test it out real soon http://goode-sport.co.uk/news/a/another-important-signing-for-ashaway/
Hi, Have you managed to test these new Phantoms long enough to share some impression!? Would be higly appreciated. =)
yes i have tested both and below is my brief impression of both of them: Phantom X-Fire - Being the heavier of the two its much stiffer and yes it does offer more power as the name X-Fire kinda suggests.Somehow im still unable to fully appreciate it as i dont really like stiff and heavy rackets.For now i still prefer mine to be flexible as i havent really develop my arm power yet. Phantom X-Speed - Among the 2 this is definitely my choice.Light and built for speedy movements without sacrificing power.Im more of a doubles player so this suits my style of fast and furious play.
Thanks for the info! Do you have a possibility to measure the actual weight (giving the factors are equal) and BP? Because from the pictures you've posted earlier they seem to be identical in these measurements and the only possible difference one could think of is flex. And now you're saying X-Fire is noticeably heavier. And I won't be able to put my hands on them anytime soon. But based on your impression it feels like I'll like X-speed more as well. Even though I do love the coloring of the X-Fire! Tough choice. That's the general problem of Ashaway I think. I can accept the fact they don't want to invest a lot in agressive marketing but at least a good and up-to-date webpage with the complete list of their products is a must-have in the XXI century. As it is now one has to carefully search for the information and specs at a number of sellers or forums. And even if one succeeds - there's a fair chance another source will have these specs different (as happened quite often when I was comparing those on directsports and goode-sports). All of this doesn't really help to attract new customers. It actually feels a lot like their string-business is the only one they're really interested in while all of the rest is nothing but just a by-product.
I think Goode-Sports use the manufacturers specs and direct sports measure all rackets strung and gripped, that's why you get slightly different specs.
Might be. But I wonder where these "manufacturer's specs" could be found by the rest of the world. Also for instance these Phantoms are identical in terms of weight and BP if we judge by the marking on the shafts (see pics by biribiri77) which I believe could be considered as a "manufacturer's spec". But if you check these rackets at goode's page - there're some noticeable differences. There's also some secondary information lacking (for instance u/g options). In addition it's a bit confusing with their rackets' series. I used to think that Viper series is HH, Atomic - EB and Superlight - HL. But it turns out some of the rackets are quite off... and subjectively more off than such of YY for example - I have two rackets of SL series and neither of them is even close to being head-light. Although both are brilliant in the defence. It's quite fun when you go to tennis-nuts and check the spec of SuperLight 10 for instance. Being referenced as belonging to the HL series it's "mid/head heavy". Anyway complete and structurized catalog with the correct information never did anybody any harm. Because even at goode's (which I believe is the best catalog at the moment) there're some minor "mistakes" that make me doubt the value of this information.
lol! I own a XT700 and a SQ99 and also a YY nanoray60. The only one close to HL is the XT! My YY has a BP of 307 and weighs 94grams even though it is suposed to be a 4U!
Here u go.I have no idea how to measure the BP but it seems the weight difference between the 2 is only 2 grams even though the X-Fire feels much heavier.I think it feels that way bcoz its HH. Problem with ashaway is they dont seem to have a proper website for their products unlike other brands.I have to rely on other websites,reviews or be the guinea pig myself lol The stats printed on the X-Fire and X-Speed shaft doesnt match those provided by Goode-Sports but now that i have tested it myself i believe the ones provided by Goode-Sports seems more "accurate".
It's probably the shaft that is the main difference. Stiff rackets normally feel a bit more head heavy imo. It can also be how the shaft flexes, i.e does it flex near the head or closer to the cone. I believe other Ashaway rackets state the shaft flex on them. My SQ99 and XT700 do. Maybe they have dropped it from the newer rackets now?
