Oh yeah I talked about shaving it but never though about the cap situation! Let's see how the G5 feel before. I'll use minimum grip (just something not slippery will do) .. i'll let my skin do the cushioning.
Anyone seen a new site or image showing where Astrox 88s and 88d is on the yonex racquet chart? Must be a North America thing can’t find it online...
And it is indeed like that in reality. Crazy racket. Wonder if there are heavier rackets than the ZF2 in other brands
Head heaviness does not always mean increased power. It highly depends on whether you can flex the shaft or not. D10 is nowhere near as stiff as the 88D imo.
Babolat Satelite 6.5 Blast. Lower balance than the Z-Force II 3U, but at least the same headweight.... the ones I measured even had slightly heavier heads.
Yeah based on the matrix the 88D is definitely stiffer but it is also more head heavy than the D10, which makes me believe it'll flex only slightly less than the D10. What do you think? I mean as long as i'm playing at full power, I can feel the VZF2 flexing a bit. But it won't last for too many shots because i'll get tired using it. 88D should be easier to wield than the VZF2 because of the counter balance thing and it is also less stiff than the VZF2.
Actually from my experience it is quite a bit stiffer than D10, surprisingly so really. 88D is easier to use than the zf2 because it's not so concentrated in the head heaviness, but that actually makes it feel stiffer.
Not necessarily! You have to try it to know how you feel about it. All I can say is you just have to watch KM vs VA and you can see the obvious difference between the two. VA with the 88S hits bigger clip smashes now and you can visibly see the faster racquet swing and whip he generates. KM with the 88D plays more like anyone with a zf2. The racquet is stable and solid, but there's not much fast whipping going on unless he's set for a big smash. Tbh, I swear since VA moved from DZS to 88S, he has lost some control around the court. It is a far easier racquet to use than DZS, or 88D, or ZF2 for that matter, but it seems like in singles it just doesn't offer the stability to hit the lines, tight net shots etc.
Yeah I watched it but didn't pay much attention to VA. But it is true that KM was back with the VZF2 style using the 88D. Yeah and that's why I didn't quite like the 88S. Based on the matrix, I reckoned it would be too flexible or atleast more flex than the D10. I love the flex of the D10 on smash but it doesn't have the liveliness of the VzF2 on clears, drop shots, net shots and feints. But surprised that the 88D feels stiffer than the VZF2, so for smash maybe I will not be able to rely on it for more power. And byebye to my wrist smashes with this racket. Goes to show how much power Lin Dan has in his wrist to flex his rackets this much with only half smashes. I still have hope for it in that it'll feel closer to the VZF2 on clears, drop shots, net shots, feints all while being easier on the hand. And being a G5 my wrist will feel more free.
Hi Guys : After further analysis : In term of racket speed . 1. Jetspeed 10 2. Astrox 88S 3. BS 12/ Arc 11 4. Li Ning N7 II 5. Jetspeed 12
I have to say that for me personally, the zf2 isn't as stiff as the matrix suggests. It's definitely not off-the-chart level stiffness. I think it's due to the compact head as well as the concentrated head heaviness. For example, the DZS for me is far stiffer than zf2. I think the 88D is probably not actually any stiffer than zf2. It just feels stiff level solid though.
The VZF2 does flex quite a lot but as soon as my hand gets tired it becomes more and more difficult to make it flex. But you definitely feel its stiffness on other shots as the shaft doesn't budge. That's why I was expecting the same kind of behaviour from the 88D but on the easier side. This would allow me to do some power play for longer than with the VZF2. And also able to do clip smashes because of its fast nature with the counter weight. But I guess the weight distribution on the racket head has a lot more repercussion on the flex of the shaft. We'll see. Like you said, I have to use it to know best.
Ferrerkiko has moved away from string recommendations, give him a chance. He is a good contributor here. I like him.
