It seems pretty hefty for a 4u @ 88g. But then again it matches the name The BP seems a bit low but I guess because it's 5mm shorter it's pretty headheavy as well.
88d visual matte shaft gloss head, lighter theme, white grip silver shaft. Reminds me of z Force 1 finishing 88s visual gloss shaft matte head, darker theme black grip black shaft. Wish it was full matte black
I was expecting the power to be equal with 77pro since the balance point is very similar Here is my 1 minute testing, i posted on youtube and I am a recreational player, just playing for fun
So the 88s is slightly behind in term of power compared to the 77? How about the stiffness? Which one is stiffer?
Just had a session with the 88D Pro. Here's how I would compare it with the 2nd gen. DISCLAIMER: I'm mostly a rear court player who is a hard hitter. Previous rackets include the 100zz and 77 Pro. Current racket is 2nd gen 88D Pro. All 4U strung with Exbolt 65. the 3rd version is definitely a different feeling racket compared to 2nd version. The moment you first hit the shuttle, you immediately feel the solid feel, unlike the 2nd gen. You feel like this racket is made out of one solid material, whereas the 2nd gen, despite being an Astrox after all, feels quite airy and light in comparison. However, if you find the 2nd gen already feels quite solid, then the 3rd gen is in another league. The shaft I find is stiffer, but because is also slightly longer, there's more leverage and thus similar power generation to the 2nd gen. I find clears are easier than the 2nd gen. All my backhands seem easier as well. But the part that surprises me most is when I do clear defense where I push the shuttle to the back line. Despite the racket feeling head heavier in hand and during dry swings, smash defense where you flick it to the rear court is quite effortless. The head is smaller, but I wouldn't say it's as compact as the 1000z or the 100zz. During my first session, I didn't experience any egregious mishits. Because I have had experience in handling compact head rackets, there might be some form of muscle memory involved. Your usage may vary. I would say it would just be a matter of time before I get used to the frame and constantly be hitting the sweet spot. Dropshots with the 3rd gen is lovely. The racket reminds me quite a lot of the 100zz. The shaft and frame feels so solid that you feel where the shuttle is at all times. Control is heaps better as well. Sometimes with the 2nd gen, a lazy smash would fly out of the court. The 3rd gen feels more laser focused. Smashes are great, as expected from a rear court focused racket. But I'm not sure if it's any better than the 2nd gen. Despite it feeling like it has a heavier head weight, don't expect the 3rd gen to blow the 2nd gen out the water. Having said that, the nice feel the 3rd gen provides makes you want to hit hard all day long. It is quite addictive. If you are coming from the 2nd gen, there might be some welcome upgrade in the new racket. Namely the solid feel, and I can't stress this enough. However, there are also some things that you may need to come to terms with. The 3rd gen is a more demanding racket to use. You might need to be physically strong to play with this. The 2nd gen I find still is the more user friendly out of the two. I'm still on the fence with this new 3rd gen. But I will be giving it more time in order to gel with it some more.
Sadly no, I have never used the first gen. As for the 100zz, details are in my initial review. But in short, this feels like a less demanding 100zz. The head is bigger and the shaft is longer, which to me reduces mishits and aids in power delivery. I noticed with the 100zz, any late deep corner shots are harder to do if I don't time or get my technique right. So far I don't have that feeling with the 88D Pro. Speed-wise, I think they are about the same. The racket feel for both is similar. It's almost like this is a successor? or a lite version of the 100zz. As for 77 Pro, the 88d Pro 3 is a more powerful racket. The shaft is also stiffer. And despite being the heavier head racket, it swings more smoothly than the 77 Pro. Both rackets feels solid, but the 3rd gen 88 has the solidness turned up to 11. Both rackets feel quite different. If I were to simplify things, the 77 Pro is made for people who have no preference playing in the rear court or front court, and the rackets helps you in both areas, whereas the 3rd gen 88D Pro is targeted for heavy hitters in the rear court.
Just had my session with the new 88S pro. My conclusion is this is a BIG update from the 2nd Gen. More power in smashes and drives, and clears were easier to make. And surprisingly, the speed is the same if not better than 2nd Gen. Yonex did very good this time around. My new fave - gonna stock up some of these beauties.
'Easy power' I gave the new 88d a few games try with the 4U - I do think this is a more manageable racket to use than the 2nd gen. The good: I can barely tap the racket and it can generate a decent amount of power due to the head weight and flexibility. It also swings faster than the 2nd gen. So hitting 70% smashes repeatedly with this racket assuming your opponents keep lifting would be a joy to use. The not so good: Full power smashes don't really exceed the NF 1000z based on the (lack of) stiffness. The racket, while faster than the 2nd gen, is slower than the Z force II and hits less hard. As others have mentioned, it's more compact than the 2nd gen, but its still wider than the ZF II NF 1000z. So to me, it's basically an inferior ZF II, but I guess with somewhat more playability. Comparing to the NF 1000z, it's significantly slower and doesn't really hit much harder. I seem to have clashing opinions with Kaydee on how solid it is; I think it is less solid than the previous generation. I'm gonna have to skip out on this one.
Some players I met said the latest 88D Pro is much more lighter head and powerful than the 2nd Gen. True? If yes then I am really interested to get one and try out....
personally after 7 sessions with 88d pro 3rd gen.... smashes are less forceful than 2nd gen though it may be more speedy....MAY BE shaft response is very very nice....one of the guy said it reminds him of the fortius 10q shaft personally i think this shaft is a little bit too flexible....but that may be just me one thing definitely better than 100zz kurenai is out of position shots oh and surprisingly this thing is pretty good too at the net which is why i put the 88s pro at the chopping block after just 2 sessions...ahha oh forgot 4u g5 exbolt63 @27lbs
Definitely not head light on my 88D tour version. In fact the head heavy feel is quite significant when I swing it.
I have my own experience about it. I replaced my TC75EX original Li-Ning grommet (rigid + thick + logo printed in grommet AXJK006-1) with other cheaper (SIKEN) grommets. Same string, stringer, tension and pattern, then viola ... I completely lost my feeling the ping of this racket, feeling are so so much different. So, actually the different between chemical, material are affected on my feeling. That's my own experience. no offense And then I put the original AXJK006-1 back into it, and the feeling surprisingly satisfying again like before. While I placed Li-Ning grommet on my gold astrox 88d pro, it seems added more crispiness hitting sound and better feeling than original yonex grommets. I think Li-Ning invented best replacement grommets design for nowdays.
I've also had something similar, my stringer replaced my worn out grommets on my JS12 with the Lining square ones with the logo and the repulsion has definitely changed, it feels like my racket has a bit more hold than usual with my regular set up of AB
From VNB: AX88S Pro measurements: AX88S Pro 2024 measurements: The 2024 version is much much stiffer.
