Looking For A Speedy Doubles Racket

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LargeSuper

New Member
I'm an intermediate player looking for a fast racket with some control to help with my net game. Right now I'm using a 4u Drivex 9x. For me it has good power and control but I wish it was faster. I was looking at the 3u JS12ii and the 4u BS12SE. What are the main differences between these two and is there possibly a better option around this price range?
 
Both are great rackets, I have js12ii 4u and bs12se 4u.
I've only briefly used drive 9x but both the rackets you mentioned are faster.

I love the bs12se because it reminds me of the bs10, bs11, bs12 and bslhi that I used for many years but I think the js12ii may be marginally better in my opinion.
The js12ii is just so easy to use and a great all-round racket.

I also really like the TK Legend, it plays more like JS10/JS12 than a Thruster.
 
Dave1011 said:
Both are great rackets, I have js12ii 4u and bs12se 4u.
I've only briefly used drive 9x but both the rackets you mentioned are faster.

I love the bs12se because it reminds me of the bs10, bs11, bs12 and bslhi that I used for many years but I think the js12ii may be marginally better in my opinion.
The js12ii is just so easy to use and a great all-round racket.

I also really like the TK Legend, it plays more like JS10/JS12 than a Thruster.
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Thanks for the response!
I’m fairly new to the sport and I’ve only used a few rackets so I don’t have much for reference. The other I’ve used is the Tectonic 7D.

I’ve never played with any of the BS line but I know they are quick and the shaft is a little flexible which would be more forgiving for a player of my skill level. But I don’t know much beyond that.

I’m leaning towards the JS12ii as, like you mentioned, it sounds easy to play with. Do you recommend 3u or 4u? Will the extra weight of the 3u slow it down too much? My assumption is that because it’s more even balance you won’t feel the extra weight much in the head.

I’ve never heard of the TK Thruster I’ll check it out. Would you say it’s slower than the BS12SE and JS12ii but faster than my 9x?
 
I don't think a 3U JS12ii would feel or be much faster then your current racket, just because of the possible 5g+ weight difference between the two weight categories. I mained the 3U for a while and its probably the best all-round racket, so much so that I still take it on court occasionally. I had a friend who is a Arc11 user and Yonex fan that really liked this racket as well but he couldn't make the switch because of that Yonex loyalty.

4U would be faster, I tried it for a few sessions vs the 3U when I was deciding between the two and it was just too fast and offer no omph on power hits. Front court was a breeze tho, then again it was almost 6 to 7g lighter. Control was pretty good as well, easier and quicker to make last minute shots with the 4u.

4u BS12SE is headheavier, offers more punch and whip in the shaft and super fast, nothing cuts through the air like this frame. I would say it's really beginner friendly. It doesn't have much shuttle hold, frame is pretty repulsive. I found myself wanting a higher tension as well or tension just falls off faster or something.

Arc11pro 4u maybe something to consider for more control with the shuttlehold. It's pretty fast because of the weight but not as repulsive.
 
LargeSuper said:
Thanks for the response!
I’m fairly new to the sport and I’ve only used a few rackets so I don’t have much for reference. The other I’ve used is the Tectonic 7D.

I’ve never played with any of the BS line but I know they are quick and the shaft is a little flexible which would be more forgiving for a player of my skill level. But I don’t know much beyond that.

I’m leaning towards the JS12ii as, like you mentioned, it sounds easy to play with. Do you recommend 3u or 4u? Will the extra weight of the 3u slow it down too much? My assumption is that because it’s more even balance you won’t feel the extra weight much in the head.

I’ve never heard of the TK Thruster I’ll check it out. Would you say it’s slower than the BS12SE and JS12ii but faster than my 9x?
Click to expand...

Yes the BS are very fast, not all are flexible, the BS12SE is stiffer than the original BS12.

I think both the JS12ii and BS12SE will be faster than the 9x, the BS will be the fastest.

I haven't used JS12ii in 3u but get plenty of power from the 4u.
In the BS12SE I have used 3u and 4u, I much preferred the 4u, the 3u felt slow in comparison.
 
Thanks for the help.

I think I'm going to pick up the 4u JS12ii for that extra control. After using the 9x I'm also a big fan of the freecore handles. The net/front court game is my weakest aspect so it sounds like it will help with that. A racket can only do so much but its a start haha.
 
LargeSuper said:
Thanks for the help.

I think I'm going to pick up the 4u JS12ii for that extra control. After using the 9x I'm also a big fan of the freecore handles. The net/front court game is my weakest aspect so it sounds like it will help with that. A racket can only do so much but its a start haha.
Click to expand...

If you can wait for the 10x metallic may as well. But I think its gonna follow Victors new price @ 250+ in Cad .
 
Dave1011 said:
Both are great rackets, I have js12ii 4u and bs12se 4u.
I've only briefly used drive 9x but both the rackets you mentioned are faster.

I love the bs12se because it reminds me of the bs10, bs11, bs12 and bslhi that I used for many years but I think the js12ii may be marginally better in my opinion.
The js12ii is just so easy to use and a great all-round racket.

I also really like the TK Legend, it plays more like JS10/JS12 than a Thruster.
Click to expand...
I have been searching for a fast doubles racket, something similar to the original BS12. But, reading several reviews which show that the balance point of BS12 SE is about 15mm higher than the original, I wonder how BS12 SE can remind you of the original BS12 given that it is a much head heavier racket, and also stiffer? I also held a BS12 SE in a store, and it did feel so much head heavier than the original one.
 
Jtcjw said:
I have been searching for a fast doubles racket, something similar to the original BS12. But, reading several reviews which show that the balance point of BS12 SE is about 15mm higher than the original, I wonder how BS12 SE can remind you of the original BS12 given that it is a much head heavier racket, and also stiffer? I also held a BS12 SE in a store, and it did feel so much head heavier than the original one.
Click to expand...

Because no other frame is like a BS frame.
Even the Jetspeed and Auraspeed ranges don't feel the same.
 
Jtcjw said:
I have been searching for a fast doubles racket, something similar to the original BS12. But, reading several reviews which show that the balance point of BS12 SE is about 15mm higher than the original, I wonder how BS12 SE can remind you of the original BS12 given that it is a much head heavier racket, and also stiffer? I also held a BS12 SE in a store, and it did feel so much head heavier than the original one.
Click to expand...

Today I took out my one of my BS12 3U og and got it prep to play with the BS12SE's. Surprisingly its not as even balance as I thought. I would say slightly headheavy.
All strung / 1 overgrip:
BS12 3U = 88.8g/315mm
BS12 SE 3U = 86.3g/314mm *off spec???*
BS12 SE 4U = 85.4g/319mm

The OG is definitely still fast and pretty forgiving but isn't as crisp and the power ceiling is like 1-2 notches lower because its more flexy. What is really noticible to me is it feels kind of lagging behind when I go for a all out smash.

One thing I forgot to compare was my other BS12 SE 3U which i left at home. It would be a more fair comparison but the BP is far from being 15mm higher compare to my OG BS12. More like 5-7mm more.
 
Dave1011 said:
The stiffer BS frames such as BS10/BS11/BSLHI were faster in my opinion.
They didn't have the lag from the flex of the BS12.
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I am a BS12 user 3U. The lag is definitely there if your swing is fast. Smashes go flat.
I have a question on "stiffer BS frames such as BS10/BS11/BSLHI" - Are these headlight and stiff ?. If yes, won't that make it harder to use due to over extension / over pronation / extra effort to play the shots ?.
 
kingsooji said:
I am a BS12 user 3U. The lag is definitely there if your swing is fast. Smashes go flat.
I have a question on "stiffer BS frames such as BS10/BS11/BSLHI" - Are these headlight and stiff ?. If yes, won't that make it harder to use due to over extension / over pronation / extra effort to play the shots ?.
Click to expand...

No those rackets are more head heavy than BS12, but I also used Jetspeed 10 for a couple of years which is headlight, stiff and a great racket too.
 
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@LargeSuper Another option is the Auraspeed HS in 4u. It's slightly cheaper than other options and has a very fast new-gen Auraspeed frame, also with a Pyrofil shaft. It also does surprisingly well on power shots due to the slight head weight.
 
LargeSuper said:
The net/front court game is my weakest aspect so it sounds like it will help with that. A racket can only do so much but its a start haha.
Click to expand...

If you have someone capable, there are some fun drills / warmups you can do that focus on speed and accuracy at the frontcourt.

1 - Have a feeder racquet feeding you shuttles that go just above the net. You have to get to them as fast as possible and play downward shots and have little time to recover between the shots (do sets of 6 to 12 on your preference). It is important that the feeder varies where the shuttles go to make you work harder.

2 - "taps". Otherwise known as a drive shot. They are quick and powerful shots with the minimal of arm swings. Mostly wrist and fingers. The shots go flat over the net and you make small changes to your feet, knees and grip as the ralley goes on. So you use a half court and aim to return the shuttles flat and fast to eachother. Use half a court for this practice.

3 - Variation of above. One person hits down and one person hits up. The person hitting down only goes at 70% power to help out the person hitting it up. Essentially you are doing a forehand / backhand lift and they are intercepting it. Agree beforehand if you are doing backhand lifts or forehand lifts so the other side knows where to aim. Use half a court for this practice
 
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