I’m having little to no problems in hitting the sweet spot using my friend’s racket, I have a spotter as well, we usually play singles matches having one of the boys standing and pointing out any mistakes. Though I have never used a compact head racket before, maybe gonna need some time to make adjustments. The Wucht P7 2020 is listed at 2.900.000VND while the P8 at 3.150.000 I believe. The Spieler A09.1 and P09.1 are 2mil and 2.1mil respectively. What are the differences between those two though?
I currently don’t own any racket, using my friend’s to practice and spending as much time as possible looking for the perfect one. I already have a really good pair of shoes, just in case someone point it out that shoes are more important than rackets haha I do read the equipment guidelines on this very site first hand back when I started, even if you guys don’t know, your effort and threads have helped so many people that I know to get into badminton, for either fun or going professional.
Regarding the stiffness of the P8. There’s a video of a very respectable brand owner who sells badminton equipments who also uses the P8 and reviewed it on Youtube. The stiffness given by Adidas on their rackets are a little bit off, although the P8 is as they said a x-stiff racket, it is not at all, their x-stiff is the equivalent of Yonex’s stiff to put it in perspective. More flex than ZFII, the P7 has even more flex than the P8 as well.
Also, the rest was more about the P7. The P8 is not that extreme either. It's not as stiff as the Z-Strike and not as head heavy as the ZFII, from what my memory tells me. The P7 should be even less so. I also mentioned an alternative to the mentioned A3, just don't know if Babolat is available in Vietnam, but it's not gonna get much closer comparing rackets from different brands. The Spieler sell around 50€ here, maybe even a little less, while the P7/8 are > (or >>) 150€. I have not tried the P09.1, but here's a small discussion on them. The ZFII is easier to flex in play though, because of the additional head weight. At least, Adidas actually shares some numbers about their stiffness ratings, making those rackets more comparable. Comparing specs across different brands, especially stiffness, is tricky... If you have any chance to maybe try some rackets and tell us what you liked better/worse, that might help. Can you even try Adidas rackets? Or do you think you'd be able to sell the P7 if you don't like it?
I’m not entirely tied to Adidas. It’s quite a hassle to get Babolat rackets here, and I rarely see them, if not, not even once. Maybe Adidas, Yonex, Victor or Lining would do, preference in that same order. I wish I could, I didn’t play for a good whole year, so I can’t keep up with what’s good and what’s not. And even before that I used dirt cheap fake racket because I wasn’t thinking I would need an expensive racket at all, however, I did use ProAce Sweetspot1000 for a very short time, not a happy marriage let me tell ya that haha. I don’t have any friend or anyone using Adidas racket, but if the P7 doesn’t fit me well, I reckon I can sell it because so many people in Vietnam who play badminton doesn’t care much about fit, more about color and appearance.
So, do your friend own other racket that he/she allow you to borrow? Or do you have other friend that close enough for you to borrow their racket? Try many different racket, list it down, & see how you perform using those racket. Maybe you like this one than that one, or your shot quality become ruined even more with this one that the other. Of course it also better if you can list the string & tension the racket use. With more data, im sure it will help to narrow down your preference, rather than just 1 racket data only.
That’s what I was going to do as well. For the record, I used a Victor Thruster K9 3UG5 head heavy racket strung @26.5 lbs with BG65Ti in a short period of time, two or three match points tops, I smashed once or twice but net played with it fairly enough to say that I have good control over the shuttle and my smashes, even though not many, were steeper and more precise than my friend’s Yonex V0.9DG. I’m lacking in the power department, but improving much as I’m training my wrist with a PowerBall and my form as well. My friends and I don’t have many rackets, we only fell in love once and I haven’t found the love of my life yet haha
It is well known that other brands' 'stiff', including Adidas, is not as stiff as Yonex 'stiff'. I enjoy watching his videos about training too, but his reviews lack standard of being standard, sometimes with false information. For your prospective racket, if you can live with stiff racket and can improve your techniques in a short time, then why hesitate to go for the Yonex 'legendary' Z Force II. Similar compact head. It is only 2mil in VN now, quite a bargain. @speCulatius also had a little comparison here https://www.badmintoncentral.com/fo...adidas-wucht-p8-3u.183311/page-2#post-2765230
That's not true. Some Victor rackets play in the same league and even Li-Ning has some exceptions in the medium range which are according to badminton racket review stiffer than a few Yonex rackets which are labeled as stiff. I'm really scared how somebody recommend a ZFII to a guy who can't play always back to back and never was into badminton serious (he don't have a racket and never had a serious one). Even many intermediate to advanced players are not able to use a ZFII to it's full potential. According to the OP I estimate that OP is at a beginner level. To recommend a ZFII absolute psycho. The guy has not much power. Should he loose these little power in a superstiff racket? That's more harm than good. Anything Arcsaber 7 like is enough for the next 5 years of badminton.
For me, it was not a big problem in terms of hitting back to back court shot, I did point out that on some occasions I fail in that department, maybe caught off guard and then footwork is not fast enough or weird positioning. Me not having a racket doesn’t quite show that I’m not serious about it though. At the time I was only focusing on improving my technique and footwork more than the equipments because I was still a high school student not having much money to spend, so I don’t buy any expensive racket thinking it wouldn’t help me much haha. And I just came back to badminton after quite a rest, having no racket is pretty understandable. It’s not that I’m not serious, more like I’m broke haha. However, I haven’t tried or watched any review about it yet, it hadn’t crossed my mind by the time @pughon pointed it out. It’s a popular racket, maybe I can borrow from someone on court and update you guys. Are there any rackets similar to ZFII? Maybe I can look for one similar to borrow if the ZFII is not available. Thank you for making the effort by the way. Will try to update you guys with more information for easier racket selection.
Alright, just wanted to know what was the racket you previously owned. How long did you play badminton and are you more of a competitive guy or more of a social player or in short, do you need at least 2 rackets or one is ok?
Well i think it all comes down to preference and whats your play style,reading from your first post i guess what you are aiming is power and smash steepness? With a beginner - intermediate level i suggest go for 3U Even Balance racket, Med/Stiff is more of a preference thing, but i suggest dont go for flex/extra stiff ( its a no no from my experience) And theres also a lot of comments about this but here im just repeating it again If we can't generate enough power and swing speed from x racket, then go for a more maneuverable one, theres still too many player go for a heavier racket and higher BP racket for a more powerful smash, but instead of getting what they want, they struggle to use it and therefore usually the result is unable to produce a steeper smash, and weaker reply for some short action stroke On the extreme side of thing (Pro athlete) you can see some player can produce a hard smash with a headlight racket (LYD,YYS,SSJ etc) and also you can look at Praveen Jordan, how he is able to do some powerful shots with such a short swing Well of course they are pros but i guess you know my point here. So i guess a 3U Even Balance Racket is a good starting point, while trying it you'll know the results if you are able to produce steeper shots etc or not, and you can adapt towards lighter/heavier racket easier from here. Some 3U EB racket from specs : Arcsaber 11 ( A bit heavy, great all rounder) , DZS ( Unfortunately not really user friendly bcs of the stiffness but if you give it time and you can adapt to it, its a very good choice) , AX88s ( more towards head heavy, but still a quick racket ) , NF 800 ( Haven't tried, also theres some durability issues in this forum i guess) ARS 98K,90K & 90S (Haven't tried all of it, but theres some thread in this forum reviewing and discussing this racket) Aeronaut 7000B ( A slightly head heavy racket , but its quite fast and decent for defence, probably your best bet from Aeronaut series ) TC 70/N7II Green/Black( A little bit lighter from 7000B, but still a good racket for power and excels more on speed, not my cup of tea, i dont know what makes me dont like it ) JPX Ltd Ed ( Quick racket, great feedback, for me its decent for power, but some people do say its lacking in power, currently my fav after long period of absence in badminton as its lighter and more forgiving than my previous main which is A9000C ) Also aggressive playstyle doesnt always mean powerful smash, speed, placement and controlling the net is also a part of it, which most likely what distinguish intermediate and advance player. On a higher level a powerful smash might not be a big threat. So dont lose to your ego and blindly go for those bomb racket like VTZF and friends
why now you look for ZF as your standard? ZF is great racket but it also known to be very picky & demanding racket. If you already struggle with friendly racket even tho you said just on some occasions, then having ZF will makes you struggle most of the time. Just try other friend racket & see how would you feel, but forget ZF so that your mind didnt to much focused on it & unconciously your mind telling you that ZF feel better (psycological play).
Now it becomes a problem when we are rolling back to the starting point because you did not provide enough pieces of the picture. Just because you keep mentioning P7 and P8 (and the price), ZFII easily comes up. How long have you been playing? What is your level? What kind of training did you get? You said some times you could not hit to deep court but it seem about tactics when saving shuttle. Even top pro players have difficulties in such situation. Another thing is that you were not serious about having a racket, therefore you didn't understand them much or you dindn't put your mind in it. For example, when I hit a overhead clear with a medium stiff racket aiming for the corner and the shuttle keeps going out, I know I need a stiff racket. Or when I execute a net kill with a medium stiff but it bends and the shuttle does not go down, I know I need a stiff racket. Given your budget is $110 (2.5m VND) there are two choices: + Buying one cheap racket to play for a while until you fully understand what you need, what you like and don't. Just pick any 4U/3U balanced medium-stiff racket. Then a better one is a gift for your graduation. + If you want to buy a good racket once and for all, Astrox 77 is a safe choice within the price limit.
Or you are simple unable to control the shuttle and adjust to it. IMO it is totally bullshit to use a stiffer racket, increase string tension or tip feathers when the shuttle is alright from the speedtest because a shuttle goes out. A big part of badminton skills are to control the shuttle and place it in. That has nothing to do with equipment that a player related skill. Sometimes shuttles are slightly faster or slightly slower, the weather is hot or cold etc. all this influence the result of a clear is in or out. I also played halls with drift. IMO it is always better to be able to hit too long than too short and learn to control the shuttle by adjusting to it. And if a net kill goes not down it is more often a timing issue, technique issue etc. than the very seldom case that a shaft bends so far back. IMO the only possible way to see if a racket is too flexible is to judge from high speed recordings and slow them down. From my observation it is very often the case that people play too stiff rackets because they think they can. The case that players are to explosive for a mid-stiff shaft are so rare, but I know all members at BC are advanced players (except me).
Totally agree too. I have problem with my techniques and timing, so my simple solution is to change a racket.
I'm going to get involved in some amatuer tournaments where I live so competitive play is where I'm heading for. Thank you for your recommendations, it's very informative. I don't intend to get the VTZFII, it was more like a preference point for me since the racket is popular here, hence easier to try one for myself and move on from there. By last year when I left due to injuries, I had played for more than a year and I can safely say, depending on my spotters at the local court, that my skills land between beginner to intermediate, leaning a bit towards the latter. I have had a few sessions learning about smashing and net play, but spent most of my time learning from youtube. It's more like I can pick out a racket for myself despite knowing inefficiency in my plays. I do agree with @ucantseeme though. I just had the chance to play a match today with the mindset of finding any problems, so I'm gonna share it with you guys. As I said above, I was using my friend's Yonex Voltric 0.9DG Slim 3UG5, headheavy 300mm balance, BG66U @24lbs (4 hours of playtime), I did notice a few as I paid more attention to my shortcomings. Regarding smashing, I found that my smashes are not consistent, in every terms possible (steepness, placement, velocity), I found the shuttles fly too high and upon smashing I usually heard a loud woosh (no sound from the string upon impact), didn't have a good feel with the racket for the most part, maybe because today I played outside (only today) and it was windy, definitely a factor, I have less issue with my smashes on court. Regarding net plays, when I sliced the shuttles, I didn't get much feel and even less accuracy than before. Mid-court plays were fine for me, I can handle the racket well when driving the shuttle, I do feel like I prefer a lighter racket overall since I did have problems with catching up here and there but not many. Mid-stiff because I want more accuracy, not gonna affect my smashes much I believe. Had a chance to test out a Nanoflare Drive as well, 4UG5 BG65Ti @22lbs, and I can safely say that I hate that racket, my timing was way off, my smashes were weak as hell, only the drives and defence were a bit better. I know it's a headlight for defensive plays but for the sake of more information, I'll put it here. So headheavy racket all day long. Hope this more info helps, gonna play on court at the weekend and I'll try to test as many rackets as I can.
Alright, thanks for taking the time to explain your background, it's a bit clearer now. If you play competitively, even for fun, it's best to have 2 identical rackets imo. Strings are bound to snap during a competitive match or a racket to break and switching to a racket with different specs is not going to be the best way to play with confidence. Also if you have 1 or 2 years of play time, I don't think it matters what racket you get as long as it's something between flexible and semi flexible. I'd not advise going for anything stiff though. But that's just me. Get one racket you like in the mid range section and if you like it, get a second identical one. With your budget I assume you can get two rackets. Won't be high end ones but you should just focus on playing for now and keep some budget for re-stringing. Start around 11kg and experiment with +0.5 kg or -0.5kg depending on how you feel on the next restring until you find your adequate tension. I think it's gonna be more important than the racket in itself at that point. Again just my opinion.
Thank you so much for your effort to be honest. I can't agree more with what you said, with my current budget though, I'm afraid it's quite hard to give many rackets a try to find a suitable one, even when I sell them if they don't fit my playstyle and level. So I'm gonna listen as much as I can to you guys for any recommendations and work my way up to decide which is the best. It's hard to sell rackets secondhanded in VN to be honest, even with a pretty looking and popular ones, not without a significant price drop. So I'm saving up along with hearing out from you guys for the most suitable one. This has been very helpful from the beginning.
