26lbs should be the upper limit for nylons, nylons are slow and require more power for clears. 26lbs is the most powerful tension for any given string, lower tensions might mess up bit of your power and swing though, you'll be hitting way to hard which will lead to either overshoots or mishits. Do your bg80 to 27lbs, and wait for me I will be getting thruster today.
Yonex Z-Strike Review Disclaimer: Now, before we move on to the review, i wish to stress that i am not a coach. And for the techniques i will be touching on in the later part of the review, i am not liable for any injuries incurred or part thereof. Background of reviewer: Have undergone professional training since age of 5 and am primarily a singles player. Have the opportunity to test a vast range of rackets either by purchase or borrowing from friends. All testing is done on square 29lb, BG80, 3ug5. I spent 2 months rigorously testing the DZS, 2-3 hours per day, 6 days a week, holding the racket the way it was intended. Let's also firstly go over what the Z-Strike is NOT - DZS is not head heavy. - DZS will not magically boost your drive/power if you do not have proper technique. - DZS as our fellow user mentioned earlier in the thread, cannot rely on long swing to generate power. Backhand Defence: The aero side of this racket is surprisingly stable. I say this because traditional aero frames from other brands do have that whippy-feel which might be uncomfortable for some people to use. I cannot particularly point out where the stability comes from for the DZS, however i am going to guess that it is because of the super stiff shaft. You would find that guiding the shuttle upon impact on a backhand defence to go crosscourt a breeze. Backhand defence into lifts are also easy to execute with this racket provided you fully utilize fingers+wristwork. Forehand Defence: The box frame of this racket in terms of defence is pretty good. There is nothing particularly special with regards to forehand lift or forehand defence however it does its job well. Guiding the shuttle towards your desired spots upon receiving and defending against a smash is alright. The aero side does a slightly better job than the forehand side. This difference is probably due to the swing speed. This racket performs extremely similar to the NR900 when it comes to defence. Net: The net play for the DZS feels solid. There is, again, nothing particularly superb about it. However it does perform really stable. My biggest regret is that due to the Duora concept, plus the really stiff shaft. You will be noticing slight hints of difference when you scale down to very minuscule and delicate movements around the net when it comes to forehand or backhand. Other than that, i have zero complaints of this racket at the net. Super stiff shaft, solid netting ability. Net Kills: The DZS truly shines in the backhand net kill segment. Although i feel that it may not sound as important as many users might feel, net kills are often immediate rally finishers against sloppy net returns from the opponent. The aero side of the DZS, coupled along with the compact head and stiff shaft, allows extremely detailed movement and withdrawal to not cause a fault. The backhand swatting of the shuttle is very much noticeably faster than any racket out there right now. If you're a front court doubles player, this is what you want end-game. Offensive Lifts: Offensive lifts are a charm. As i've mentioned, this racket excels in it's accuracy and speed, with amazing stability. Offensive lifts are not difficult to pull off with this racket especially when you've already had an ideal place in mind to position your shuttle landing. There is so little resistance from winding up the shot to making it. Very accurate. Lifts: The racket performs normal lifts to my expectation. The only regret i have is that it does not exceed it. Lifts with this racket are stable and alright. It is still funny, how big of a difference you can feel from the normal lifts and offensive lifts with this racket. My conclusion is still that there's nothing special about lifting with this racket. Clears: Resounding, solid and accurate on normal basic clears. Given that clears are always done with the box frame of this racket, i feel that there is nothing particular about it. Escape clears might feel a lack in power or difficulty in placing the shuttle. This is because the racket has a very small sweetspot(something i'll be mentioning later). The difficulty for escape clears is high, and if not done correctly, will result in half court returns. Backhand Drives: This is where the racket shines again. The aero frame, at the beginning, will give you problems in timing. But once you're used to the timing of the swing for the backhand, you'll be able to execute your backhand drives with precision and speed. The repulsion is definitely not going to be the same as say, ZF2 4U. However the control and speed you get from this racket will exceed all other rackets you've previously tried. The wind-up for backhand drives compared to other rackets, can be so minuscule, your opponents might find it difficult to react to in time. Forehand Drives: The box frame of the DZS spells solidity. The speed of the racket stems from it's compact head. I would say, however, that the forehand drives for the DZS is not preferred compared to what i can get from the backhand. My conclusion of the forehand drives, sad to say, are just quick and accurate, without any special mentions to its power. To me it feels something short of what other things the racket can bring. Drops: The cornerstone of every well-executed dropshot is stability. Fortunately the box frame allows this. Every swing feels solid. Be it crosscourt, straights, you name it. Slicing with the shuttle feels alright. Again, some users may feel that the lack of headweight compared to the ZF2 might not be ideal. Then again, that's a personal preference. In my opinion, even balance rackets provide a more controlled drop. Players will find this racket pretty fun to work with at the back of the court. Every twist/twitch of your fingers and wrist can change the result. The racket may not necessarily be amazing for everyone (partially because i feel that half of the market prefers headheavy). But for users who want to inject some creativity into their games, this racket is ideal. Standard Smash: The box frame of the racket feels like it serves its purpose here. Smashes are a pleasure to execute. Despite the racket being even balance, it does manage to enable a threatening-enough angle and accurate placement. I will also be touching on why certain users will face power generation issues later in the review on "Technique". This racket banks on its user's ability to produce short swings at high speed. In essence, you should as much as possible reduce the entire motion of the smash, and not rely on a full arm swing as you would with a traditional headheavy like ZF/ZF2. Upon understanding and adapting to the sweet spot location of the racket, users should be able to experience a very resounding and solid impact. After two months of repeated use with this racket, i'm able to smash harder with DZS than a 4U ZF2 right now. I would give it 4.5 stars on the caveat that the user actually has good technique. Overhead Jump Smash: This is where i feel the racket absolutely shines. All overhead jump smashes are forced to swing the racket exactly the way DZS is required to. And because of this nature of the swing, users will be able to draw out the full potential of the racket. DZS can be a monster because of the extremely short wind-up time required to produce a powerful shot. Overhead smashes feel real solid and the shuttle angle is able to be kept at a favourable angle. This is my favourite use of the DZS and i recommend it to anyone who is able to use it to it's potential. Technique:Given that i am not a coach, it does not seem appropriate for me to touch on subject matters like technique. However i feel that there are many people missing out on DZS due to unpolished strokes. I will also include in my review a refresher tutorial on how to generate power with the racket. Let's get on to the refresher. For this tutorial we'll take a standard smash as a guide. All smashes when done correctly are a 3-stage acceleration of the whole arm. 1) Shoulder wind-up - Stretching of racket arm back(winding up), and releasing the arm in the general direction of the shuttle. This should be a fairly relaxed stance and should not throw your body off-balance. 2) Elbow release - After general power and direction have been transferred from your shoulder, this power and reach are both amplified by the release of the elbow. Your wrist should already be in motion while this is done. 3) Wrist follow through - The wrist movement is almost done together with the elbow, hence creating a very short but snappy swing. Through text it may seem like a very confusing process but actually it really isn't. Steps 2 and 3 are done almost at the same time.
Conclusion:The primary difference between this racket and the ZF2 3U is that this is a faster frame with very minimal compromise in power. Power: ZF2 3U > DZS > ZF2 4U Speed: DZS > ZF2 4U > ZF2 3U I think i'm a pretty slow learner and it took me 2 months of continuous play to come to terms with this racket. I often feel that for badminton players, casual or club, have some sort of misconception that a purchase of a new racket would make you a better player. That is false. Your badminton experience is a journey. Your racket is simply there to enhance that experience. DZS is often misunderstood as an average racket due to its requirement to get used to. The sweetspot being higher than most other rackets adds to that problem. As you would with any other racket, give it time. I believe that there is no perfect racket. You'll have to make it work on your own terms, and meet it at the middle. This racket will not disappoint if you have the patience.
Hi!Anyone has a comparison between ZF2 4U, TK9900 and the new Duora Z Strike? Have been a happy user of zf2 4u until it broke recently so was looking for a replacement. Played more on Men's and Mixed and would like a racket just slightly less stiff than the zf2
I have tried LiNing N55II before and liked it! But it seems to be very hard to find nowadays. Havent tried Victor MX90 before though
Mx90 is somewhat stiff, somewhat headheavy. Very quick. Almost regretting that I could have gone for a meteorx instead of thruster. Stringer people don't readily touch a 76+ hole racket here. Tons of good ashaway, victors here.
The short answer is that DZS is a more accurate Arc11 on your on-point hits. Especially the backhand side of DZS. However DZS gives up a certain degree of consistency in power hits compared to Arc11 (flat drives and smashes). Due to its insanely small sweet spot.
DZS is definitely stiffer. But as I've mentioned in my review, DZS is such an accurate racket primarily due to its stiffness.
If I can't get a 3u JS 10, would the 3u Z Strike be a good alternative? Unfortunately I can't test the racket before I purchase, you anyone that has played both, please chime in. Current rackets in my bag are 3u TK9000, 4u JS 10 and Voltric 80. Just want to try something new, as I'm under no impression that it will improve my game.
DZS isn't that even balanced. It feels and is headheavy. It will be very comparable to a voltric and very less comparable to a js10. Tk8000 is very comparable to a DZS, both rackets being very similar in weight and balance. We are doing a 1on1 comparison between DZS and a Tk8000 this week. Both 3u.
According to the comment from Coach Paul he thinks Z-Strike is very similar to JS10 but he haven't played with Z-Strike
Bro @Furholden , was just discussing it with my mate during lunch this afternoon. Paiseh i'm a bit confused on these few sentences of yours below. in order to smash hard... aren't we doing very high speed swings near point of impact? The motion of a smash is pretty standard... like the images you posted right.... so by reducing the entire motion, doesn't it make that shot a stick smash? so we can't smash zstrike like how Fu Haifeng smash? i like how the smash was performed in the article. (still trying to master the S) http://bbs.badmintoncn.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=670933&extra=page=1&filter=digest&digest=1 (beware.... in chinese) "This racket banks on its user's ability to produce short swings at high speed. In essence, you should as much as possible reduce the entire motion of the smash, and not rely on a full arm swing as you would with a traditional headheavy like ZF/ZF2. "
