There's still some online for the original N9II color. I should've gotten the orange and black when it was still available at racquetfirce Sent from my JSN-L22 using Tapatalk
Got myself another one. N9ii has to wait for now. Loving every bit of this racquet. Also because these might be the last ones as hendra shifted to mizuno Sent from my ONEPLUS A6000 using Tapatalk
Well I can't say anything about the N9ii because I haven't used it yet. I was thinking about getting the n9ii or the n7ii but at the end heart went for the n7ii(also because it was going out of stock). N9ii is next in my wishlist for now(N80II ). Too many racquets in my wishlist for now. For what I am able to bring out of my N7II, I can say it is an excellent racquet (wouldn't have made my 2nd purchase otherwise). For now have to wait for next month as my budget for this month is bleeding over my regular expenditure. Sent from my ONEPLUS A6000 using Tapatalk
I've been spending quite some time with the N80II (aka 3D Calibar 800) on court over the past weeks, both singles and doubles(!), desperately trying to come to a final verdict in comparison to N9II. But boy, that is difficult. For the record, all my rackets share the same string setup with LN1 @12.5/12.5 kg. I'll start with the bottom line: That N80II is another masterpiece. I've been moving away from head heavy rackets for a while now, peaking in ~3 years with a JS10 4U as my main racket, before the N9II initiated a drift back towards more weight in the head. And still today, I am 100% happy with the N9II and there is not a single thing I would change about it. Same goes for the N7II as its stiffer and slightly lighter sibling by the way. The N80II carries noticeably more weight in the head as N9II (around 1.5 g higher head weight) which is most obvious when you simply hold them without any movement. Funny enough, the difference feels less once you swing the racket which speaks for a remarkably aerodynamic frame. In addition, the shaft flex is exactly right to team up with the head weight and form a very harmonic and well balanced package. It offers a lot of support to get good length and power in all basic shots. I am still blown away by how easy it is to play superb lift and drive defense shots deep into the opponents' court. The feel is a tad more solid compared to N9II and is the closest thing to a box-frame feel that I have felt yet from an actual aero frame. Sweet spot however feels a bit smaller compared to N9II which I assume is due to the 72- vs. 76-holes pattern. The difference becomes most obvious in touch shots around the net. If you miss the sweet spot just by a bit, the shuttle almost seems to be stuck on the stringbed immediately on the N80II whereas it still remains playable on the N9II. As said before, I just don't get the OSP pattern on neither N80II nor N99. I think there is a unanimous consent that going towards 76-holes is indeed one of the few noticeable improvements within the last couple of years. Switching between the rackets, it showed that the shot timing needs to be different. Another funny thing was that in the beginning, coming from N9II, I had a lot of frame hits at the top of the frame with the N80II, especially on power shots. So it seems as if the racket was moving faster through the air as my body expected it. So hands down, the weight/speed ratio of the N80II is superb, which is also showing in defense. I can't remember a single moment in which I felt that the missing racket speed was to blame for messing up a defense shot. Personally, I do prefer the N80II for singles but I can fully understand why @j4ckie has been using it in doubles too. It requires a bit more work and doesn't allow any sloppiness in racket carriage, but if you force yourself to keep the racket up where it belongs, it surely is quick enough to handle fast and flat exchanges. Also, it delivers crisp and powerful "pronation-only" half- and stick smashes which is not the most favorite discipline of head heavy rackets in general. Now here's the big question: Which one is better - N9II or N80II? I'm afraid, I'll have to escape this question through the backdoor by saying that they play at the same level, but have a different character. So I assume that it's nothing but a matter of personal taste if one prefers the one or the other in the long run. Gun to my head, I would still go with the N9II. Mostly because it's more forgiving on touch shots and allows a bit more sloppiness in racket carriage and shot preparation. It's a tad faster than the N80II but still can hit equally hard. I have to add that I had sessions in which I felt more comfortable with the N80II though, so it's a very, very tight race. Anyway, I will keep it in the bag and I'm seriously looking forward to spending a lot more time with it in the future. But anyone who is used to head heavy rackets and isn't fixed too much on really stiff shafts should give this one a try if given the chance. But be prepared that your wallet could suffer afterwards.
Quick question regarding the hits at the top of the frame - is it at all possible you were holding the N80ii a bit higher to compensate for the extra weight? I see that a lot, and I do it on defense/doubles net play myself. I'm sure it can quite easily happen on overhead shots as well, if you're not paying as much attention to (often unimportant ) details as I do (I always want to feel the bottom of my grip against my pinky on overhead shots)
I think that would make sense. I found it kind of funny reading his review. When I tested the n9ii I had the exact opposite reaction coming from the N80ii where I kept hitting the top of the frame of the n9ii. Funny how people can have such different reactions to these things Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
That is good thinking, Watson. I've noticed yesterday during doubles that I was indeed gripping the N80II a bit higher than the N7II without really thinking about it. So that's a thing I will keep an eye on during the next sessions!
Evening, I’ve just joined. I am a big fan of the li-ning wingstorm 680. It’s nothing fancy, but sometimes a racket just clicks... Bought 3, broken 2, down to my last and of course they don’t make them any more, sob. Any one got one gathering dust....?!
I'm hoping to try it soon(ish). Also gonna see if the 800 is the same as the N80ii or if they just recycled the paint job. I'll also try to get my paws on the 900C for some test hits, but it's going to be too stiff for me to use myself I think.
Dude, he‘s sponsored by Li Ning and has the biggest Li Ning shop in his city where he can probably try them out without buying, so why not ask a little favor for the forum?
I can try them just like every other customer not sure what exactly they have, I'll snoop around tomorrow Edit: some testing will resume next week
Probably none. They don't have any with smaller head shapes, afaik - but since I've heard it described as an allround kind of racket, you might want to take a look at the Turbocharging 75C, the Calibar 600C, maybe Calibar 900 (C is head heavier and stiffer than the normal version of a racket), Aeronaut 8000/8000C. The Turbocharging profile is probably closest to the Duora one, whereas the Aeronaut is basically a box frame and the Calibar a slightly modified diamond shape (similar to Bravesword). Calibar 800 is probably heavier, 900C is going to be heavier and maybe stiffer. You can find the racket matrix in the 2018 catalog (Google it, there's a different thread here that I can't link to on my phone), so far from what I've read there is no reason to suspect that it's significantly wrong or inaccurate.
Agree with @j4ckie that you won't find the combination of really stiff with a compact head in the current Li-Ning catalogue. However, if you could accept slightly more flex and a regular sized head with good aerodynamics, then you could have a look at the TC70 (formerly known as N7II). On the plus side, it's a lot more forgiving than the DZS without any major disadvantages.
