uselessmail
Regular Member
RED PRO9000 review
So, I finally had a good session with my new Pro9000 and am really happy how it has worked for me so far. Here's a short review of what I felt playing with it! Please bear in mind that I am no expert in rackets and this is purely based on my own amateur observation and feeling of the racket. Pl do not bombard me with denials and rebuttals if it turns out that someone does not agree with it...!
My main go to racket has been the VT70 4U and I have been playing with it from more than 3 months now. I am very comfortable with it and have gotten used to the swing and flex of the racket. Hence my review of the PRO9000 will be relative to the VT70!
The first thing you notice about the racket is the bold orange frame swathed in shades of black on top and shaft. It is one of the most gorgeous rackets I've ever come across! There is actually no RED on the frame so RED Pro9000 is actually quite a misnomer. The racket specs I ordered was 84 gms, with Ashaway Zymax 65 string at 25 lbs. My current VT 70 (also 84 gms) is strung with BG66UM at 25lbs but since I've been playing with it for so long, I'm sure that the string tension has come down substantially. I measured the BP in a very crude manner and found out that the VT 70 has BP of around 302mm while the PRO9000 has a BP of around 298mm (Both are wet specs, stringed and with an overgrip on top of the original grip).
Also the PRO9000 is about 3-5 mm shorter at the top as compared to VT70 but it is also more stretched out in the middle. It's like, the PRO9000 is more flattened at the top and there's a resulting bulge on the horizontal sides of the racket. This means a much increased sweet spot for the PRO9000.
Finally on to the court for some hitting time! I expected to face some problems adjusting to the higher stiffness of the PRO9000 since it is definitely more stiffer than the VT 70 but I honestly I couldn't feel that much of a difference. In fact I took to the racket quite easily. Since the BP of the VT 70 was a bit higher, it is supposed to be more head heavy (theoretically at least) and more powerful but it was absolutely the other way around! The PRO9000 offers immense power and my smashes were really zooming past yesterday. My regular opponents at the Club were surprised at the speed at which the shuttle was flying towards them and told me so quite frankly! The swing feels meatier than the VT 70, not faster though, mind you! The VT 70 definitely is the faster of the two through the air and this I found during the defense. Since I am used to the VT70, the PRO9000 was a tad bit slower for me during defensive shots and net play. It took a wee bit more time to change from a backhand grip to forehand or vice versa when caught in a tight situation. With some more practice obviously, I'll be able to counter this problem though.
Final thoughts?? Well, I am in love with my new racket and it definitely is money very well spent! The extra power that it offers, is a boon and I'm sure that as I keep strengthening my wrist, I'll be able to wield this beast even more powerfully. Its a racket very well recommended!!
So, I finally had a good session with my new Pro9000 and am really happy how it has worked for me so far. Here's a short review of what I felt playing with it! Please bear in mind that I am no expert in rackets and this is purely based on my own amateur observation and feeling of the racket. Pl do not bombard me with denials and rebuttals if it turns out that someone does not agree with it...!

My main go to racket has been the VT70 4U and I have been playing with it from more than 3 months now. I am very comfortable with it and have gotten used to the swing and flex of the racket. Hence my review of the PRO9000 will be relative to the VT70!
The first thing you notice about the racket is the bold orange frame swathed in shades of black on top and shaft. It is one of the most gorgeous rackets I've ever come across! There is actually no RED on the frame so RED Pro9000 is actually quite a misnomer. The racket specs I ordered was 84 gms, with Ashaway Zymax 65 string at 25 lbs. My current VT 70 (also 84 gms) is strung with BG66UM at 25lbs but since I've been playing with it for so long, I'm sure that the string tension has come down substantially. I measured the BP in a very crude manner and found out that the VT 70 has BP of around 302mm while the PRO9000 has a BP of around 298mm (Both are wet specs, stringed and with an overgrip on top of the original grip).
Also the PRO9000 is about 3-5 mm shorter at the top as compared to VT70 but it is also more stretched out in the middle. It's like, the PRO9000 is more flattened at the top and there's a resulting bulge on the horizontal sides of the racket. This means a much increased sweet spot for the PRO9000.
Finally on to the court for some hitting time! I expected to face some problems adjusting to the higher stiffness of the PRO9000 since it is definitely more stiffer than the VT 70 but I honestly I couldn't feel that much of a difference. In fact I took to the racket quite easily. Since the BP of the VT 70 was a bit higher, it is supposed to be more head heavy (theoretically at least) and more powerful but it was absolutely the other way around! The PRO9000 offers immense power and my smashes were really zooming past yesterday. My regular opponents at the Club were surprised at the speed at which the shuttle was flying towards them and told me so quite frankly! The swing feels meatier than the VT 70, not faster though, mind you! The VT 70 definitely is the faster of the two through the air and this I found during the defense. Since I am used to the VT70, the PRO9000 was a tad bit slower for me during defensive shots and net play. It took a wee bit more time to change from a backhand grip to forehand or vice versa when caught in a tight situation. With some more practice obviously, I'll be able to counter this problem though.
Final thoughts?? Well, I am in love with my new racket and it definitely is money very well spent! The extra power that it offers, is a boon and I'm sure that as I keep strengthening my wrist, I'll be able to wield this beast even more powerfully. Its a racket very well recommended!!
