Ashaway Fan Club

I wonder if there ever will be a catalog or at least a list of the whole range of Ashaway rackets (with all the "clones" and etc.) that exist(-ed) in the world. Even just of a pure interest.
As I understand they have very different sets of models in different regions but in XXI with all the "ebays" and stuff it makes less and less sense.
But might for one reason or another they're not interested in it themselves...

 

We could make our own i suppose. Post pics of the ashaway rackets you have.

 

I second to that! But i guess biribiri77 had already done so right? biribiri77 seem to be the biggest Ashaway fan here. haha!

 

Well I can start it off with some of the ones I have...

 

I have recently reviewed both of the Phantom rackets. They are excellent quality and the X-Speed is superb.

Paul
www.badminton-coach.co.uk

 

Hello! That's a great collection you have there. I've been extremely eager on buying a new weapon of choice and I need a bit of help. Could you please do a comparison between the Viper XT 1200 and the Palladium XT 900? It would be highly appreciated. Not much data available online about these racquets and I luckily found a retailer who has them both in stock and can ship them to me. So I really have a decision to make.

 

Not a professional but here is my two cent

XT 1200 has a faster swing because of the racket design which "cuts" the air and the shape which is oval/egg. So I guess if you are using those "normal" racket, XT 1200 will feel faster. Of course, the racket is pretty light so the attacking part wouldn't be as good as the one with heavy head. So it depends on what style you play. And I took quite a while to get use to the racket because of the weight and speed. I would strongly recommend XT 1200 if you have been using a heavy head racket because most of my friends who tried my racket has more power and speed in their smashes. Their shots were sharper and accurate.

As for XT 900, the swing is almost like XT 1200 but because of the isometric head, it feels a little slower when you swing as compared to XT 1200. I didn't really feel much of a different if I used similar rackets like Yonex. Other then that, there isn't much I can comment because XT 900 is not my preferred weapon of choice although I got one myself.

Overall, I have bought many XT 1200 because I'm looking for consistency instead of changing racket every game. Hopefully, this would help you get a rough idea on the racket.

 

Thank you for the reply.
Here's my equation. I've been playing with a head heavy racquet with a BP of 300mm. The weight however of this racquet is just 78gms. Due to this, my smashes are far from powerful. Hence, I'm looking forward to a heavier, Head Heavy racquet. I happened to have played with the Palladium XT 900 and absolutely adored it. I couldn't do a comparison myself because I've never played with the XT 1200. But if you in anyway say that the Viper feels better while playing, or has an advantage over the Palladium, I'll have to prefer the Viper myself. I would also really appreciate it if you could provide pictures of the specifications of the racquet printed on the shaft.

 

Ajinkya! Wanna say a big SORRY because I saw the wrong model! Omg! Such a idiot! Wanted to take a picture but realized that I was using XT 1500. Really sorry! But there is a review for XT 1200 if you are still interested! Paul's website has a great bunch of reviews for Ashaway! Do check it out!

http://badminton-coach.co.uk/5316/ashaway-xt1200-badminton-racket-review/

 

Those racquets are called Vipers in this country and they're almost identical to Eric's own racquets.

 

Thanks a ton! Those pictures are gems. I've been favoring the Palladium too, so I guess I'll pick that. Also, playing wise, what's the major difference between the Palladium and the Phantom series. Just a few points off the top? All with respect to the XT900. Like how does the X-Fire and X-Speed fare against the XT900?

 

TCX stands for TOTAL CARBON XTRACTION.

Taken from the official brochure on Goode Sports:

The Ashaway Total Carbon Xtraction procedure to refine carbon from its raw form is extremely efficient in the removal of impurities such as water and pollutants. The TCX procedure produces rackets made of the finest carbon which is ultra stiff and of superior strength.

Both models exhibit the same '80' hole string-pattern as well. The RKEP XP80 has an Octagonal shaped frame. However, I can't tell from the image if the TCX 80 has the same frame-shape.

 

Based on the image I'd say it does.
At least you can definitely see some edges and light reflections there that make you think it has close to HEX ot OCTAGONAL profile frame and since it doesn't say "HEX" in the specs my vote is for the latter.
And that "parallel" reflection makes it pretty much certain for me.
From the brochure:


It's probably much easier just to ask biribiri77 to answer this question

 

Update:

I received an email from Goode Sports this afternoon regarding the release of the new TCX range. They are due for release early September. RRP is as follows:

TCX 100: £99.99
TCX 80: £79.99
TCX 70: £59.99