RSL M8 Diamond X2 blue 3UG5 expect to pay RRP RM399 with 15-20% discount comes with large 3 compartments bag. RSL Matrix pro 168 3UG5 Paid RM240 with free RSL string & grip, no bag Both have nearly identical balance point about 10mm. blue is heavier About myself :medium built 75Kg 178cm 31years old Used to played for my school in malaysia and Surrey school league in England some donkey years ago. Strated playing badminton again 3 months ago after 11 years of golf. As you can see I am not a professional nor recreational player but a "pro-creatinonal" i.e. I take games a bit more serious because I like to improve myself from time to time.Well who doesnt After a disappointing start with Fisher pro no1 Chrome because is too like light for my taste,so I bought this X2 blue as recommended by the pro shop as it's head heavy and about 85g. So in theory it should suit my baseline camping happy love to smash playing style. 1st impression Cosmetic wise is fairly good as you would expect in a medium-high end category. Taper shaft like golf shaft, I am convinced only RSL has this technology.Strung with NBG95 25lbs. Anyway after familiar myself with the racquet for an hour or so I felt the racquet has a very stable hitting surface and good control also power was very nice. But it would require a bit of effort to load the shaft. After a week and 8 hours of play,I thought I could do better, it seemed I could get more power from my old apacs powerconcept 998 BG80 25lbs (yonex clone MP99).So went back to pro shop and got a Matrix Pro168. By the way, there are no information on this racquet, not on official printed catalogue nor official website.Only on RSL.cc has a picture of it that tells you is 97-99g and no addtional info.It seems the Matrix series is a 80th anniversary edition only 100sets available Per set 11 different racquet(chrome flex55,77, flex mentra 83 etc etc) only avaible in SE Asia, apparently. Strung it up with BG80 28lbs, before you might want to ask isn't the tension a bit high for BG80? Well you may be right but considering the fact that its frame is slightly bigger than most racquets, also bigger than slightly bigger than X2, so I gamble on it. A trick i learn in Tennis. Example you have a 90sqin v oversize 110sqin, the same tension would feel stiffer in smaller head. 1st outing Now this baby fits like a glove super user friendly, although it weights 98g I could generate tremendous power from it. Interestingly it has the nearly identical balance point to X2blue.Played 5 games with it I was smiling all the way, smash was sharp, accurate drive, defended well and net play was really good(normally my net play is totally utterly hopeless) but not today.Everything has been magic!!! I was a bit overwhelmed and carried away and played even harder. Then my captain told stop smashing so hard, said with the rate we are going shuttle cocks will run out really soon. because a 15points double game we had to change 3 birdies.sorry mate. As you can imagine i was so excited by it and had a sleepness night. After calmed down, I thought could this be a fluke or just one of those days that everything seems to go your way.Now that 3 weeks passed, the magic is still there, X2 blue has been sitting on cold bench for the same period of time. Went back to pro shop to get the last piece of Matrix Pro168 available, now I have two of them.Cant be any happier. PS I have read some review X2 blue is whippy but mine is fairly stiff though.Off course we can always agree to disagree. Have a good one, cheers
Update and correction Corrections:- 1.X2 Blue is a 4U(84g) 2.Matrix Pro 168 is 87-89g typing error, sorry Update: I have put up my X2 blue for sale, simply doesnt suit me. To begin with, is fairly light (my tips the scale at 84g)and very stiff shaft. IMHO more weight=more momentum=more power, off course this theory is only true when you reach the optimum ratio before it gets too heavy for an individual. I tried adding lead tape to head(yes I know is head heavy a it is) Tried adding weight to grip or combination of both. Hoping to raise total static weight hence increase in swing weight but unfortunately none of them worked out for me. All I did was destroyed the playing characteristic of this particular racket. In my case, my shoulder was working overtime to generate sufficient force to load the STIFF shaft.Yet not enough total weight to create sufficient momentum to kill the birdie. End result = wrecked shoulder. Perhaps RSL should put a warning sticker on X2 blue :Warning may cause sore shoulder, should injury persist you should either try another RSL racket or consult your orthopedic. toll free no 1-800-8888- My 2 cents. More weight is good but you need to experiment them one and find your preferred weight. Also is important to keep same string and same tension and same stringer/machine when comparing rackets. So that you only change one variable at a time. I will keep on toying with some other ideas, hopefully I will find my comfort zone before I hurt my balance too much. Cheers
I have a X2 AP and a X2 SP, and they are not easy to use. One of the more stiffest racquet that I have in my collection. Unless you have good wrist power, relying on arm power to generate strength with a stiff racquet will create problem for your shoulder. I think a lower tension on a stiff racquet will probably help.
definitely concur with you that x2 blue does take a lot to bend the shaft (aka stiff). I stopped using it for that reason too =P but i still have it. x2 gold because of the weight does bend more easily than the blue. if you are interested in a light racket that can still bend, try the x2 FP or SP. the AP is the green one and it feels a bit stiffer to me tho not as stiff as the x2 blue.
X2 Gold I just played with X2 Gold yesterday and the outcome is awesome. Stiffness: Very stiff- Power smash Control: Not bad at all for 2U racket, in fact I can defense the smashes really well. Backhand is easy too. My X2: BG65@28, Prince over grip It is my go-to now for first 2 hours until my shoulder get tired.
