I would be interested to know if these will be released in the UK. These two and the Arcsaber 10 Premium and AT700 Ltd have seemingly not been (officially) even announced in the UK, or Europe in general.
http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.10.9&id=15696297754 Graphics don't look too bad, but its not symmetrical... perhaps im picky D:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/YONEX-Uns...U_Badminton&hash=item2573e79445#ht_1726wt_898 is it too early for fakes?
Its unknown just how many people know about the existence of the I-slash - its not common knowledge even to badminton fanatics (of course us BC'ers are something different entirely). Pictures seem legit but can be too sure about them just taking it off from some other site - eg. AT700. I personally haven't shopped on ebay because its always cheaper from taobao (which coincidentally have more fakes then anywhere else i think), but there are a few grammatical errors in their warrantee.
I've seen this racket in person and have no reason to suspect it's a fake. But I don't know anything about it, how it fits into the line-up, what it's specs are or anything.
Interesting that Yonex have decided to bring out a more flexible version of the z-slash. I personally feel the the z-slash is not all that stiff. The material is stiff but given that the shaft is a little longer, it flexes a little more than usual so overall I feel the ZS is already a medium stiff racquet. There doesn't seem to be any reviews on the i-slash yet, normally on BC there are always reviews on a new racquet either before launch or on the day of launch... is there not much interest in this racquet?
Hi, i played all 3 positions in badminton but my main strengths are in doubles and singles, i played badminton for serveral years now maybe 5 but not sure.so i just recently purchased both the arc z-slash and the arc i-slash. both of the rackets are a beauty. im not sure if it is me but it seems to me the i slash uses the color scheme of the z-slash taufik edition but with the layout similar to the z slash but not completely identical. anyways, here are some observations i made before testing out the rackets for myself. Observation: im terms of weight of the racket i found no difference,but the i-slash is less head heavy than the z-slash . the i slash is definitely more flexible, as it is labeled by yonex. as you already kno the i-slash is based off the design of the z-slash but are they the same? sadly not. the technology in the z slash is more advanced but not by a huge gap, so you can still feel good about buying this racket. continuing on how they are not the same. (sorry i didnt provide the measurements because i forgot them and too lazy to re-measure, but i do remember the difference.) measuring and comparing the two side by side, the z-slash has a slightly longer shaft approx (1mm to 1.5mm) the frame of the i-slash is thicker than that of the z-slash by also approx. 1mm to 2mm. it is more noticeable that the i-slash's frame is thicker at the T-joint. 1mm to 2mm maybe a small number but it does make a difference!! now on to testing itself. playing w/rackets: lets start with the z-slash or the beast. the racket truly lives up to its name. i still havent tamed the "beast". consistency, it takes time to get use to. i have gotten use to the timing but not completely. from time to time i do have terrible miss hits(i mean that "how did you miss that easy set up/kill?"), not to mention at the net. since the racket cuts through air (and believe me it does) timing is crucial.The z-slash is not as hard to get use to as they say, but to actually be any good with it is not so easy. in terms of power, it is superb far better than any other racket i have seen n used, correct me if i am wrong. control, the racket itself has Great control but the only problem is actually contacting the shuttle to your strings because of the small fram but still i believe it has more to do with the user and less to do with the racket.( in other words Dont blame the racket because you cant master it or cant contact the shuttle correctly). now onto the i-slash. the i-slash, the newest member to the arcs family. the i-slash is a much more forgiving racket as oppose to the z-slash. the racket is more user friendly than the z-slash as well. now lets see how it works and how it compares to the z-slash since thats the question everyone has been asking or wondering about. as for the cutting through the air, the i-slash has a similar feel to it, though its not completely like its older brother the z-slash. this is mainly due to the frame size and stiffness to of the shaft. in fact the frame itself reminds me of that of the ns9900. as part of being user friendly the i-slash offers a much better feel than the z-slash in terms of control and ease of play (lazy play). saved the best question for last, the power of the i-slash. can the i slash compare to the power of the z-slash? Answer is absolutely not. why? that is because of frame thickness as it does not cut through the air like the z-slash and it is a medium flex racket which doesnt provide the power of that to the z-slash. is the power still decent or can i get any power out of it? answer to that is yes, the frame and design is similar to the z-slash so you do get some power out of it. will it be enough? thats up to the user: i found it good enough to improve my game. i got my z-slash for 170 u.s dollars from a good friend who sold it because he stopped playing badminton, and i got the islash for 140 u.s dollars at a badminton shop near my home. Would i recommend this racket(i-slash) to other players? most definitely, the racket is great may not be like the z-slash but still a good racket, as for price i think it quite reasonable plus it comes with stunning graphics, reminiscent to the z-slash th edition. adding to all that, it is easy to use "user friendly". it doesnt work right off the bat though, like all rackets you need to get a few swings in and adjust but still easier to use than z-slash. for those who want to see my specs for both rackets z-slash: weight:3u Grip size: g4 string tension:24lbs i-slash: weight:3u Grip size:g4 string tension: 24lb @fiqaxis it can handle 27lb, yonex just warranty it at 24lbs. i strongly recommend that intermediate players use the string tension between 22 to 24lbs. based on experience i found these string tensions to be very comfortable to use and easier to adjust to. but its your choice to do w/e string tension you want. (if you cant tell if you are intermediate, i'll just categorize them as people who have 1 to 3 years experience *no offence to anyone*) hope this review helped. ps. i did not weigh each racket because i found that it is irrelevant because not all players have the same strength and feel for rackets. some people may find the i-slash too light, others it may find it just right, so i based it on how it felt for me since i consider myself a balanced player (not all technique and not all power). but even if you weight then im sure the difference isnt big. thanks for reading
I've received my racket yesterday and could not wait to play with it. We already have a Z-Slash, strung with NBG98, so decided to string the I-Slash with NBG98. Because the frame is smaller, we discovered the tension does not need to be as high as 'normal' rackets. Normally I use 11 kg as reference, but in this case lowered it to 10,5 kg. Both models are 3U-G4 models Comparing stiffness, the Z-Slash is stiffer. That's not new. Balance wise, the Z-Slash is also head heavier, but to my surprise, it differed a lot: more than 1 cm. Both were same specs and had the same grip and string. So it should not make any difference. Looking at the frames, the built is almost the same. It does look like the frame of the I-Slash is a little bit thicker, looking at the front. But the design of a thin frame, is only applicable at the side. I think the frame is thicker than normal rackets at the front view. The color of the new I-Slash looks very good. I prefer it over the Z-Slash, but the Z-Slash has his own unique color scheme and can be recognized easily what makes it a more unique appearance. So it was playing time! I have some problems with the timing of the ARC slash families, and this was also the case with this racket. Not all shots were in the sweet spot, but over time, it can be managed. The difference in timing between both rackets can be neglected. If you are used to the ARC-ZS, you can play with the ARC-IS for sure! Powerwise, I did not discover a lot of difference, which is a plus for the ARC-IS given the fact that it's less stiffer and even head lighter compared to the ARC-ZS! The advantage for using the ARC-IS comes with the fact that it can respond faster due to it's balance. If you can play with the Z-Slash, you can react even faster with the I-Slash for defense and counter attacks! Because it's faster, it's also easier to play. There is just more time to make the swing or place the shuttle. Is there also a downside? There is. Powerwise, you will have less power when you smash at your hardest. For those who like the smash power, take the Z-Slash. For those who misses some defending capabilities because of the smaller sweet spot, the I-Slash will give you more time to hit without loosing the feel and touch of the Z-Slash. For those who already playing with the Z-Slash as main racket, the I-Slash will extend your choice in rackets without having to adapt to new timings and feel. It's just a more allround racket and I would prefer the I-Slash over the Z-Slash in doubles. To me, I'll stick to my other rackets. The ARC Slash family is just to special for me.
can you compare the swing speed to other rackets? and the power of the racket does it beat some of the head heavy rackets like armortec 900 power and voltric 80. I was thinking of buying one myself here in the uk £135 is it worth it?
just purchased the islash pretty exited since I just purchased this racket at a local shop. I was able to demo which was a plus!. Cannot wait until its finished and play with it. Overall, I enjoy this racket. Pretty much an all around style.
The I-Slash is even-balanced even a little head-light, so it is very fast compared to head heavy rackets. Definitely not as powerfull as AT900 or Voltric 80 or Z-Slash.
My review of i-slash has now been posted on my blog. Sadly, this is not Yonex's finest moment in racket design. Paul www.badminton-coach.co.uk
Hey, Paul Thanks for the review, from what you said, its seems that the weight in the head and the stiff shaft on the Z-Slash make a difference to how the racket performs.
Duh thought it could have a recommended tension of 27 so most probably I could string it 29 or 30 lbs... That's what me n my friends do to voltric 80s anyways. Saw it in real life n didn't like the design as much as I thought I would when I saw online... Guess zslash taufik is still the nicest of all yonex rackets, at least to me haha. Medium stiff as well not enough responsiveness. Alr tried numerous medium rackets and they don't work for me... Man I shall give it a pass...
