Rommel Alastra
Regular Member
first impression of ARS HS. I thought im looking at JS10
For me free core really has less vibration. It feels smoother and more comfortable hitting experience but not by much. It is not much about hitting harder with confidence but I feel like it is more like recover quicker and feel smoother. But feeling smoother may translate to hit harder with confidence for some people, idk.Anyone tried the 'free core' racket? I don't feel much vibration anyways from normal wooden racket handle so I'm wondering if free core handles makes any difference. Is it less tiring over a match? Hit harder with confidence? Can anyone share your experience with it?
So quality will dropped from made in taiwan?So it has been confirmed that the JS12-2 production has been moved to China as well:
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So quality will dropped from made in taiwan?
Why? If they use the same material, same production process and have the same QC criteria for pass/crap at each step, the end result will be exactly the same. Don't fall for this "Chinese production makes everything worses" nonsense.Even if they use the same exact materials that are currently used. I would say the quality control would get even worst
Very interesting insights, thanks for sharing. Are you working in the business yourself? I figured that brands mostly make a huge deal not to disclose their actual OEMs. @speCulatius and myself have tried all sorts of interrogation strategies to squeeze those information out of our Adidas contact, but no chance.The problem with Victor's manufacturing is that although they have their own plant in Nanjing, its capacity is not good enough for all their models, so they also work with other OEMs to produce their rackets. For instance, the TK-Ryuga was originally produced by ADK, their close manufacturing partner in China, but Li-Ning came in with more money and took over all of ADK's capacity, so the TK-Ryuga production had to move to another OEM recently, and people are waiting to see if they play any different to the TK-Ryuga of old.
Are you working in the business yourself?
This might seem rather easy to get information, being part of the community close to the actual factories. Half a world away here in Europe, it's impossible to find anyone having a direct link to an actual racket OEM or brand. If you're lucky, you'll find some sales person who either doesn't know or doesn't care about details like that or who is bound by confidentiality agreements.Nope, I just happen to be in the same chat group as those who are well-informed. These are not exactly secrets because there are many associated with the OEMs and Li-Ning/Victor itself within the Chinese community. For instance, I am in a chat group of a small brand in China which also have ADK manufacture their rackets, so when customers ask about why a certain model is not in stock, they explain that their supply got impacted because the capacity is fully occupied by Li-Ning now, and obviously they will also be told about that by the manufacturers themselves.
A lot of the ex-national/provincial players also work as coaches, and these players usually receive demo rackets from Li-Ning/Victor for sampling before they get published, so they ought to have connection and first-hand information of what's happening within the industry, which they then share with their students (normal consumers like us), so news spread quite easily.
Oh, and if you happen to find out who has been the OEM for Adidas (and if it's the same as for Babolat), that info would be highly appreciated!![]()
See, no chance to get that sort of internals by personal connections or chat groups around here. So thanks again for the heads up!These brands don't get discussed a lot in China due to their high prices, people would rather spend their money on the big 3, so unfortunately I do not have any information on who are the manufacturers. However, based on my observation, all factories have their own technologies and carbon fiber that they stick to, eg. Victor mainly (if not only) use Mitsubishi carbon fiber - Pyrofil, and they tend to not advertise tensile strength so much in their product. One thing that ADK prides themselves in are the high tensile strength carbon fiber that they use - 46T/50T Torayca carbon fiber, and usually you find that the brands that went through ADK will also market their product as such. 50T is currently the new kid on the block in China, and I guess it is also the reason why Li-Ning has came in for ADK because their latest AXFORCE 90 series which is due to be launched in July will be made of 50T carbon fiber.
A brief search on the Adidas Kalkul/Wucht series shows that their shafts are '46T Hotmelt' technology, so more likely than not it is made by ADK. As for Babolat, Longyi Industrial in Guangdong manufactures their tennis rackets, so the assumption that they also make badminton rackets for them is not too far-fetched.
I prefer 90S over 100X.
90S is really that good. I even have 6pcs now. Most are SG coded. One with TW coded.
If you ask me, buy a new 90S.
Or wait Victor to release 90S new color.