Quite alot of positive reviews here. I was just wondering, does Zelm offer any racket with the spec of "Light Headed + Extra Stiff Shaft"?? What would the model be? and how much? You can pm me if you cant review the price here. Much appreciated!!
ZELM Power Play 9990 Badminton Racket Review This is my 2nd review of a ZELM badminton racket. A couple of months back I tried and liked the US700 which is a heavier attack oriented racket. ZELM has recently revised their popular Power Play series and released the Power Play 9990. The PP9990 arrived nicely wrapped in a smart yellow soft bag. Opening the bag reveals a matt silver color racket. At the outset, ZELM appears to have moved away from their signature bold color scheme with the PP9990. However, looking in more detail reveals that they have made that boldness more subtle. The silver color is actually interleaved with bands of white in ZELM tradition. Boldness is further subdued with a the white bands being a more traditional symmetric scheme as opposed to the asymmetric layout of the US700. From a distance, it looks like a uniform silvery white racket. On the accents, words of “POWER PLAY” and “ZELM” decorates the inner and outer sides of the frame along with some mesh looking pattern. Model name “Power Play 9990” in bold black and white on the shaft completes the design of the racket. The craftmanship is excellent with very smooth region transitions and my copy shows no blemishes at all. The grip of the PP9990 is still rather thin for my taste so i need to wrap extra grips to suit me. However, this will be ideal for people with small hands or someone who prefers thinner grips. The PP9990 i have weighs in at 84.7 grams with a balance point of 286 mm from the handle base. Which makes it a 4U light and medium balanced racket. Overall swing weight feels light on my hands. The frame shape is a mid isometric design with standard 72holes grommets. Shared grommets are generously large while non-shared grommets are tight to let the string hug the frame more to maximize feedback and feel. Material used in the racket is Ultra High Modulus graphite. The slightly tapered shaft measures 7.05 mm thick at the handle and 7.2mm near the T-joint. The frame is medium thick and taper from 10.9mm thick at the T-joint to 10.14 mm at 3/9 o’clock and then down to a slim 9.97 mm at the top of the frame. The frame is slightly box-shaped at the T and gradually ease down to an oval cross section at the top. Being a light weight racket i decided to string it at a lower 27lbs with our standard test string VS850, even though ZELM rated 28-32lbs max tension. I have no issue stringing the PP9990 since it employs a standard pattern. The stiffness of the frame is medium as i do see some frame movement but that’s reasonable at the slightly high tension. On to actual testing... The PP9990 is a relatively head light racket which is suitable for people who has fast wrist motion. The feel of the racket is moderately lively. A fairly stiff shaft provide good repulsion when enough power is applied to it which really means it is for someone who has a strong and fast wrist. Feedback and dampening is well balanced and glad to see it is only lightly dampened, which means that the racket provides good feel for light touch shots. I have no problem using it for netshots as well as mixed doubles push and touch shots. Being made with UHMG the racket overall feels quite stiff. PP9990 really shines is with fast action shots. In doubles, defenses can be done with ease and the lighter heft helps with produce more variations in angles. Drives and fast interception near the front and rear of the court is where the PP9990 really helps. Stability is decent but understandablly not excellent. Netshots is where it surprised me as i would expect a lighter racket to be at a disadvantage but the decent feel of the racket managed to produce good quality netshot. Control and feedback is good with the PP9990 and that really helps on push and blocks and shuttle placement from mid to rear court. Smashing is unfortunate the weakness of the PP9990. Not being a hefty weight racket it took me some getting used to get power out of it. More demand is placed on the proper wrist work in order to generate head speed that compensate for the lack of momentum at the racket frame. However, at the end of the test period, I was able to produce decent smashes with it but it was with some effort. Overall, I feel that the PP9990 is a good candidate for intermediate to advanced players who likes to play a control doubles game and is looking for extra speed. Players who smashes with fast wrist action will find this racket quite at home.
Kwun, This review came in quite nicely, as if you are answering my question XD Sgbad, Can you pm me the price for the PP9900? Does it comes with other things like tshirt etc??
Will do, but I only play once a week, will take me a couple sections before I could give a detail review. Ted
at the local gym. me: *took out the PP9990* friend: "hey, that's a nice looking racket" me: "it is a ZELM" friend: "i have one too!" *shows me his green PP10000* me: "nice. mine is 10 less than yours!"
Obliged to compare now . My gen 1's "wet" weight is 98-98.5gr ... with powermaster replacement grip about an inch up the shaft but that was not the full roll.
On second thought a comparison not needed for my sake (seems it/2nd is rather light compared to the first one period)
Have had the new PP9990 over 2 weeks now, finally have played with it for 3 sections and feel I have put in enough time to allow me to write a review. Name: Zelm PP9990 Specs: weight is measure 86g (my scale do not go beyond full gram) Shaft stiffness: stiff+ as per manufacture Balance point: bp is 293mm dry (after string and grip, 291mm) Strings: BG-66UM white Tension: #1 2 pc, BG66UM @24x26lb on SP drop weight machine #2 2 pc, BG80 @23x25lb on SP drop weight machine Grip: overwrap with YY Super Grap AX102EX 50% overlap Technology: PT – Power transfer First Impression: Big improvement in the quality of the paint job and grommets. In hand, it is very light but still have a head heavy balance feel when swing, cut through the air fairly smooth. Also, notice the shaft is quite a bit stiffer compare to the 1[SUP]st[/SUP] generation model, particularly in lateral & torsional stiffness which should result in better accuracy and stability. I usually don’t pay much attention to grip as I always rewrap but the original seems to be smaller than standard G5. I have ordered 2 PP9990 and glad to find that the specs and finish a very consistent. During the swing, I could feel the speed improvement from the new model. The PP9990 has a lighter swing weight but still heavy enough to keep the racquet stable. When working on drives and lift exercises, there is a noticeable improvement on racquet head speed and accuracy; however, it does take more effort to get the stiffer shaft to bend, quite evidential during net kills and lifts. Racquet feed back is also improved compare to the older PP10K which is some what lack of feel; may be because of the conventional 72 holes string pattern. Warm Ups: As the trademark Zelm Power Play series, the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] gen PP9990 hitting clear is smooth and powerful in both high and particularly in offensive clear. The feel and sound of hitting is very crisp and the racquet head is very stable at and after impact. However, it does take a bit more effort compare to the 1[SUP]st[/SUP] gen PP9990 likely due to the stiffness of the shaft and less head heavy. Drops are easy and direction control is excellent. It does take me sometime to get use to it on the net, but not a big problem once the timing is on. Game Time Impression: During real game play, it does take me a few games to get use to the racquet. From my recollection, this is likely the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] fastest racquet in the Zelm line up being just a hair slower than the PP10K. Still, the speed and maneuverability is certainly the strong point of the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] gen PP9990, it makes block, push and drive very easy, drop shots are very precise, sharp and crisp. Net shots and accuracy are good but not as noticeable compare to other good features, but it may due to I have not get use to the stiffness yet. Power is adequate but takes extra effort compare to my other racquets, likely due to the stiffer shaft and also require more play time to get use to this racquet. Lighter racquet is always good on defense and the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] gen PP9990 is no exception, the overall balance and shaft stiffness makes creating sharp returning angle very easily. The balance to slightly head heavy makes Drives and drive returns the money shots of this PP9990. Overall, it performs very well in all aspects, great all around double racquet; powerful but takes timing and strength to unleash. For playing single, I would still prefer the 1[SUP]st[/SUP] gen PP9990; for doubles, these 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] gens certainly shine for me. Ted
I'm considering getting this new gen Zelm PP9990 but have a basic question for bros here: After reading thru' all reviews here, how's it's stiffness & Head-heaviness compared with Victor MX80 & MX70? Cos I own a MX70 (my go-to now) while my bro has the MX80. So that I know exactly what type racket I'm getting into Thank you.
Hmm... Kwun, maybe you would like to enlighten me about this? Thanks Tedski, I'll post here 1st so more bros can read his comments.
