Buy a racket that compliments your strengths or make up for your weakness?

M

MarketWizard

Regular Member
So when I first started playing badminton seriously, I got the entry level Nanoray 10F and I thought it was a horrible racket, and it completely turned me off from head light rackets. I exclusively bought head heavy rackets and love my Astrox 88D, but I always felt something was lacking.... like there could be a more suitable racket for me.

I watched a YouTube video by Poison Cobra on the Nanoflare 700 and he piqued my interest. I was strongly considering buying it with my free stimulus money (thanks US Gov) but them remembered one of the guys at my badminton club has a racket that looks very similar to it..... and sure enough he does, so I borrowed it and was very impressed by it. I really like the feel. It swings very fast, it's nimble, it has a big sweet spot, great for front court, but the racket is on the opposite end of the spectrum for power compared to the 88D. (Yes I understand there's always a tradeoff and you can't get everything in one racket).

At any rate, I like how it compliments my strength because I mainly play doubles. I'm a great defender and can place the shuttle very accurately in the opponents court even when they're smashing it at me at very fast speed. I'm also 6'2 (187.5cm) and can smash with steep angles and place them right on the line when I'm not being pressured too hard. But I obviously can't hang out in the front of the court and play defense all the time.

So in short, I'm not a backcourt smashing machine like others are, but backcourt badminton is just way way way better with the 88D, and I feel like the Nanoflare would take my average backcourt skills and turn it mediocre. So in summary, do I stick with the 88D which helps me with my weakness, or do I go with the Nanoflare 700 and improve my strengths even more? Or do I find a compromise? If I do, what would you recommend? And while we're on this topic, how is the 88S? I know the 88S is supposed to be for front court, but still, it is head heavy and I really really can't imagine how a head heavy front court oriented racket is supposed to feel like.

Thanks
 
Im not a very powerful player but i do have good reflexes and a strong defence, i always lean towards head heavy rackets just to get that little extra punch in my attack so in that respect im choosing a racket to improve a weakness.
 
I dont think that there is absolute answer to your question.
Its all come back to you yourself.
Most of the time, its our ego that play our mind. I like to play 3U head heavy racket on double games. I always say to myself & others that im strong enough to handle the weight & when i need speed, i can adjust my gripping closer to the cone to gain more manouver. Thats my justification.
But if you look the other side like for example balance racket, you can gain more power by shifting your gripping to the end.
& if i look back when im borrowing friend new racket or play with beginner (where i would never smash them but just placement), i could still play with any racket well. It just my mind that addicted to massive bang when smashing with hammer racket & my habit, style, & all are tend to be agresive attacker, so again it just mind play.

So training for any reason is still good thing to do to improve ourself but racket choice is choosen by your mind.
 
Yes actually it’s our ego most of the times..once we gained a little technique we tend to fall prey for the ego just to prove a point somewhere or to someone.. my personal opinion is just go with what your heart says.. End of the day we just need to feel happy for what play we did unless u seriously trying for competitions and tournaments.

I don’t think anyone can be so good in both backcourt and in front court unless they are well trained for years. if you are so good with defence then try practice the backcourt for that 88D is a great racket cos it excels in defence, flat drives as well.


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Id say if your top priority is winning at a non-pro level, in most cases go for something to shoar up your weakness. Because if youre playing doubles with numerous partners, you most likely have to change up your playstyle on an ongoing basis. If you for example have a racket thats too head heavy to defend well and youre on the court with a partner thats defensive, or not good enough to set you up for smashes, then its going to be harder to win with said racket. So in this case, it would be better to have a racket that lets you play more all-rounded.

The only time i’d recommend for a racket thats makes your strength (attack) even stronger is when you have a fixed partner who is more than capable of getting your side on the offense by dominating the net against a majority of your opponents.

That being said, the NF 700 & 800 has notable frame durability issues thats been confirmed by official distributor of yonex that i personally know, so if youre going for a quicker racket i recommend you get something else if youre planning on spending any stimulus money
 
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I forgot to recommend you a racket. If you're 6'2 that means you probably don't need anything lighter than a NF700 4u.

If you want to stay with Yonex I hear Astrox 66 4u is a pretty light all-rounder. Its flex should be similar to NF 700 or perhaps even more flexible, but it's slightly head heavier as it is on the light side of even balance, technically has more power than NF 700. I can't recommend anything from any Nano series because I have yet to see a durable racket from those lines, and I'm including the nanoray and nanospeed as well.

From the ones I tried, I recommend the Auraspeed 90K 4u and Auraspeed 70k 4u Old Version (orange and blue colorway). The 70k is even balance while 90k is on the head heavier side of even balance. Both will be slower than the NF700, but they should be very easy coming from a 88D. Stiffness for both should be around 88D.
 
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Thanks for the recommendations. I should add, although I'm 6'2, I'm skinny and only 170lbs with lingering shoulder injuries, so yeah, although I agree I don't need anything lighter than the nanoflare 700, I'm not by any means anywhere near able to handle a 3u racket. I got the Voltric 10dg 3u thinking that the nanoray 10f was a light piece of crap... and what a mistake that was.

I was contemplating the 88s vs nanoflare 700 but I'll also look into the ones you mentioned too.

So many options to choose from! Too bad I'm not willing to spend $1000 to buy them all.
 
I would definitely agree with ars90k 4u recommendation (new ars100x looks very decent too, I didnt try it tho). It may help you with your shoulder injuries too. I used to have shoulder problems too and 90k helped nicely. Also, I may suggest using some resistance band trainings for your shoulder (just 15 minutes 2 sessions every week would be enough). It helped me a lot after 3-4 weeks and actually cured it. Hopefully, it might help you as well
 
Simple Answer

Make a comparison on what you can score the most with/win the most with...

Get a racket that strengthens your weakness, see if you score more win more like that
then get a racket that compliments your strengths, see if you score more and win more like that

in the end keep the racket that wins more games/points.
 
1. Relearn your technique as this would ease you a lot from your shoulder injuries.

2. Look for something that's comfortable to you; you prefer a stiff or flexible shaft? A head heavy or head light? Remember that head heavy/stiff shaftand head light/stiff shaft feels different.

Don't worry about whether you'll be stronger with which racket, you'll get better when you get used to one. Your racket should compliment you, not the other way round.

Nano flare 700 would be a medium stiff/head light racket while astrox 88d would be a stiff/head heavy racket. Both are very different type. Can you briefly explain your play style?
 
li_ning_n7ii_white_1552031033_6116ab94_progressive.jpg li_ning_n7ii_white_1552031033_a03b2398_progressive.jpg 20210210_115154.jpg All I can do is recommend you the Li Ning N7II/TC70, it is an even balance aero frame from Li Ning with med stiff shaft. Has ample power and pretty good in defence, much faster than the 88D and just a step lower in power and feel than the 88D (I can create almost the same amount of power from both my N7ii and 88D 4U).
Just give it a try if any of your clubmates have one, comes in a nice matte white colorway.
It is something like the best of both worlds
Personally, I always preferred the N7II for doubles play over my 88D
(The pics of the white n7ii are not mine, I have the setiawan editn in black and green, I'll add this one too )
 
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Vivek Bagadhi said:
View attachment 198124 View attachment 198125 View attachment 198126 All I can do is recommend you the Li Ning N7II/TC70, it is an even balance aero frame from Li Ning with med stiff shaft. Has ample power and pretty good in defence, much faster than the 88D and just a step lower in power and feel than the 88D (I can create almost the same amount of power from both my N7ii and 88D 4U).
Just give it a try if any of your clubmates have one, comes in a nice matte white colorway.
It is something like the best of both worlds
Personally, I always preferred the N7II for doubles play over my 88D
(The pics of the white n7ii are not mine, I have the setiawan editn in black and green, I'll add this one too )
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I use a 3U 88D its my favorite Racket at hand, I've never used anything other than Yonex. So I'm unfamiliar with Linings markings and coding. What would you recommend. Thanks.
 
slair76116 said:
I use a 3U 88D its my favorite Racket at hand, I've never used anything other than Yonex. So I'm unfamiliar with Linings markings and coding. What would you recommend. Thanks.
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If your playing technique is on point then I would suggest you a 3U Adidas Wucht P8, its a bit stiffer, way more solid feeling (a lot better) way more powerful, almost the same in terms of speed (P8 has a compact head), on point accuracy (I was very surprised with the accuracy in my shots with the P8)
If you play recreationally or have a little bit poor technique, then I would suggest you a 3U Adidas Wucht P7 (not in my collection) , should be easier to play from what I have gathered from the forum as it has a med stiff shaft almost similar power or a bit lesser than the P8 but should be adequate if we compare it to the 88D, should be faster than the 88D.

As per Li ning there is nothing even remotely similar to the Astrox neither in tech or frame shape 88D is one of a kind.

If you could tell me about your playstyle and what things you trying to look in your new racquet I could suggest some other options too.

Sent from my SM-G985F using Tapatalk
 
Vivek Bagadhi said:
If your playing technique is on point then I would suggest you a 3U Adidas Wucht P8, its a bit stiffer, way more solid feeling (a lot better) way more powerful, almost the same in terms of speed (P8 has a compact head), on point accuracy (I was very surprised with the accuracy in my shots with the P8)
If you play recreationally or have a little bit poor technique, then I would suggest you a 3U Adidas Wucht P7 (not in my collection) , should be easier to play from what I have gathered from the forum as it has a med stiff shaft almost similar power or a bit lesser than the P8 but should be adequate if we compare it to the 88D, should be faster than the 88D.

As per Li ning there is nothing even remotely similar to the Astrox neither in tech or frame shape 88D is one of a kind.

If you could tell me about your playstyle and what things you trying to look in your new racquet I could suggest some other options too.

Sent from my SM-G985F using Tapatalk
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I feel we have hijacked the thread. Out of respect for the effort you put to type that I'll say this. My favourite racket is zspeed, my current racket of choice is 3u 88d.

I play doubles only mostly at the back. Smash well, poor backhand good at the net. Drops kills etc...I'd say I'm a good mid level.player. rusty but fundamentals are still there.
 
slair76116 said:
I feel we have hijacked the thread. QUOTE]
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Perhaps a bit. But what I can say is that I bought both the 88S and nanoflare 700 and I'm in love with the 88s. It feels like having the best of both worlds. It's head heavy with better maneuverability than other head heavy rackets and doesn't give up much power. So, as an extreme unrealistic example for just illustration purposes, say other rackets were 10/10 for power and 1/10 for maneuverability, the 88s would be 8/10 for both giving it a score of 16/20 as opposed to 11/20. Anyways that's my subjective experience.
 
@OP, I happen to have NF800 and AX88S (both 3u) and find myself using NF800 a lot more due to the extra manoeuvrability playing doubles. Like you, I’m more of a back court smasher but the key point is, I’m trying to develop my all-court game and no longer satisfied by just smashing everything from the back.

With a lighter head racquet, you stand to gain significant speed which should help your reaction time and mid to front court play, while sacrificing a little smashing power (generating power doesn’t sound a big problem to you).

Most importantly, you’ve had the fortune of testing NF700 on court and if it felt good, you probably won’t go wrong. If you get caught up with decision paralysis from all the different racquet recommendations that you can’t physically test, I’d say go with your gut feel.
 
MarketWizard said:
So when I first started playing badminton seriously, I got the entry level Nanoray 10F and I thought it was a horrible racket, and it completely turned me off from head light rackets. I exclusively bought head heavy rackets and love my Astrox 88D, but I always felt something was lacking.... like there could be a more suitable racket for me.

I watched a YouTube video by Poison Cobra on the Nanoflare 700 and he piqued my interest. I was strongly considering buying it with my free stimulus money (thanks US Gov) but them remembered one of the guys at my badminton club has a racket that looks very similar to it..... and sure enough he does, so I borrowed it and was very impressed by it. I really like the feel. It swings very fast, it's nimble, it has a big sweet spot, great for front court, but the racket is on the opposite end of the spectrum for power compared to the 88D. (Yes I understand there's always a tradeoff and you can't get everything in one racket).

At any rate, I like how it compliments my strength because I mainly play doubles. I'm a great defender and can place the shuttle very accurately in the opponents court even when they're smashing it at me at very fast speed. I'm also 6'2 (187.5cm) and can smash with steep angles and place them right on the line when I'm not being pressured too hard. But I obviously can't hang out in the front of the court and play defense all the time.

So in short, I'm not a backcourt smashing machine like others are, but backcourt badminton is just way way way better with the 88D, and I feel like the Nanoflare would take my average backcourt skills and turn it mediocre. So in summary, do I stick with the 88D which helps me with my weakness, or do I go with the Nanoflare 700 and improve my strengths even more? Or do I find a compromise? If I do, what would you recommend? And while we're on this topic, how is the 88S? I know the 88S is supposed to be for front court, but still, it is head heavy and I really really can't imagine how a head heavy front court oriented racket is supposed to feel like.

Thanks
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OP would you please to share some conclusions from your journey about the titles?
 
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