Well said, Paul! I was going to string my new tk9900 with li ning no.1, but I wanted to try out the zymax 66 fire power, so I went with it. I will definitely give it a hard try before jumping into anything else. I have a feeling that it won't disappoint me .
There's the grand assumption here Paul and Mark that people aren't complete lemmings, but judging from the sales of anything Lin Dan and LCW put their stink onto, I don't have the same level of faith. But yeah....horses for course....and all that.
I finally had my first 3 hours session with my new tk9900 gen3. Lets just start with, DAMN , what a racquet the tk9900 is! I thought I smashed hard with my n9ii, but I was wrong. Whenever I smash with the tk9900, it just screams "DEFEND THIS, BITCH!" I would say 75% of my smashes were straight kills , and the rest would just force my opponent to do weak lifts, which would then give my partner the opportunity to go in for the kills. I know the zfii is the king of smash, but the tk9900 would not be far behind as a prince of smash. The zfii was way too stiff for my arm, but the 4/5 stiffness of the tk9900 I'm no stranger to, which I can handle beautifully. The head frame shape and weight are quite similar to the n9ii, so I had almost no timing issue, except a few times which were due to the change in head weight of the tk9900 compared to my go-to n9ii. But other than that, my timing felt quite at home. The ultra thin 6.4mm shaft, and the aerodynamic head, which is similar to the n9ii, really contributed to the amazing speed for the tk9900, even for such quite head heavy racquet, though not as fast as the n9ii. The zymax 66 fire power seems like a good match for my tk9900, beauty look and usability wise . I wanted to wait until after my next 3 hours session (which is tomorrow night) with the tk9900 to do a review and a better comparison to my n9ii. Here is my early comparison with tk9900 and n9ii: Smash - tk9900 > n9ii Defense - n9ii > tk9900 Drive - tk9900 >= n9ii Stiffness - tk9900 > n9ii Head Heaviness - tk9900 > n9ii Net - tk9900 >= n9ii Drop - tk9900 = n9ii Clear - tk9900 > n9ii Weight - tk9900 > n9ii Accuracy - tk9900 = n9ii Every player has different feeling on different racquets, so The above comparison is strictly my feelings on the tk9900 and n9ii, not facts. After my session tomorrow, I should be able to get better understanding on the personality of the tk9900 .
Damit Konquerian, I even haven't played with N9ii and based on your report and also Paul's review, it seems a very good racket!! Too bad I don't have any player with TK9900 in my club
Yup, it's the neon orange, gen3 tk9900 . I strung it with orange ashaway zymax 66 fire power @ 25lbs, plus adding an orange victor overgrip. The whole setup just pops ! My photos just didn't do it justice !
Hey man, I lost many nights of sleep with the dilemma over whether I should get the tk9900 or not . But at the end, I wasn't strong enough to keep my hand to myself . Both the tk9900 and n9ii are excellent, but the tk9900 surprised me even more with the rocket of a smash it can produce. Since the gym that I'm a member of is a yonex sponsor gym, I have never seen a tk9900 or any tk racquets in my gym as well. It seems that I'm the first among the members to use one. I'm leaving the house to head to the gym right now for another session with my tk9900. We'll see how it goes . Let my smash victim count continue !
Hi Konquerian, Your TK9900, is that a 3U or 4U ? Based on your review, i m gonna get one next month or as a Xmas present.
On a second thought, it's not a bad idea to have one as Christmas gift for myself (although already got JS10 and LiNing N9II as my beloved weapon ). Konquerian, your review is the key point for final decision
My tk9900 is a 3u. When I first picked up the racket, the weight felt similar to my n9ii, which made it right at home, since i dropped so many hours on my n9ii. I definitely felt the head weight difference though, with the tk9900 being more head heavy as expected. I did experience fatigue when using my tk9900 after 1.5 to 2 hours, which is something that I haven't experience before with my n9ii, jjs, or tk6000. I felt the accumulated fatigue, not from my smashing, but from my recovery of the racquet. Recovering with the tk9900 after every swing accumulated fatigue rather quickly and unknowingly. The fatigue made me switch to my n9ii so I could continue to perform in the game. I had my third session of 4 hours on Wednesday, and the routine of changing to my n9ii after 2 hour use of my tk9900 yield pretty good result. I'm not as young as I used to be , but playing for a straight 4 hours is still an easy task, just not straight with my tk9900 . Nonetheless, the tk9900 is definitely one of the most powerful racquets that I own (sorry, I don't own a zf2, too stiff for me ). Jump smashes had never been so fun, just seeing that shuttle rocket off your racquet and bullet through your opponents' defense completely gives such a joy and satisfaction . The tk9900 will make an excellent Xmas present for sure! I will do a bit more in-depth review on the racquet after I feel that I spent enough time with it. And again, those are just my own 2 cents, so those are just my personal experience with the racquet. Happy smashing AK77 !
Wow, I'm honored that my review had such weight on your decision. I always try to share thoughts with fellow members, and hope to help them out with racquet choices as others have done for me. I am planning to do a bit more of an in-depth review on the tk9900, but my initial review on the tk9900 pretty much gives a summarized version of what it would be . The js10 and n9ii, both I own and use, with the n9ii being my main weapon, are excellent racquets, and the tk9900 will definitely make a worthy additional to your weaponry arsenal . Happy playing and smashing! The dark side has never been this good !!!
I saw the weight for 3U TK9900 is around 92-93 grams (no strings, no grip). With it being so head heavy, i am concerned about its defensive retrieval ability and also its drive shots ability. I currently use the Yonex 3U VT-LDF which is 88 grams (no strings, no grip) and i think it is already fairly head heavy and it is at the borderline of what i think i can accept. I believe VT-LDF head heaviness should be fairly the same as TK9900 , but the TK9900 being a smaller hitting frame will probably swing faster. i am thinking of getting the 4U version of TK9900 instead of the 3U. What do you think ? I owned ZFII 3U and i sold it after less than 10 hours on it as i felt the sweet spot is too small for my liking.
I have the 4u ldf, and I personally think the tk9900 is even more head heavy than the ldf. Your concern on its defensive retrieval is definitely valid, because it does take a lot more effort to defend using the tk9900 than the ldf and n9ii. Drive shots, however, I think the tk9900 handles it beautifully, with fast and solid drive. It feels that it is as head heavy as the zf2, but not as stiff and has a larger sweet spot than zf2, hence a bit more forgiving when hit off center depending what shot you are executing. I did wish I had gotten the 4u version instead of the 3u, because I think it would definitely improve my game a bit with a little less weight, since it is so head heavy. If you are planning to get the tk9900, I would recommend getting the 4u version, because I think the maneuverability of the racquet would be much better. I think the tk9900 is really near perfect on its own for my play style, so the 4u should make it that much better. But overall, the 3u tk9900 is still amazingly fast in defense, considering the heavy duty specs . However, if you didn't like the zf2 because of its head heaviness, then it might be a concern if you are planning to get the tk9900, since to me its head heaviness is very close to zf2, just without the extra stiff shaft. I just didn't like the zf2 for its stiffness, but the head heaviness I was fine with. Either way, the tk9900 is an awesome racquet to use. If you are lucky enough to have to access to it from renting, you should definitely give it a try to see if you like it. Otherwise, the 4u tk9900 should be a better start . But everyone will have different experience, I hope my feedbacks on it could at least help you a little in deciding .
Konquerian has given you his thoughts. I've just bought a 3UG5 TK9900 MK3 this week and my previous racquet was 2x 3UG4 VT80 (VTLDF too expensive to buy 2 of at the time). I'm just gonna leave my comparisons vs VT80, but most people I know who use a VTLDF came from a VT70 or VT80. Initial impression is that statically, the TK9900 is head heavier than the VT80. Initial dry swings seem to show that they're actually extremely similar swing weight for extended swings e.g. underhand serve, full overhead action. I had a first go in MD yesterday as unfortunately my singles court got double booked. 3U tk9900 is too slow for doubles, unless you get a lower level game where lift/smash/drops are common. Tk9900 is horrible in drive battles (but hey, so is the VT80). Overheads are ridiculous. Smashes, punch clears, low rearcourt forehand crosscourt lifts are relatively easy compared to the VT80. The aero frame seems to allow you a more compact swing even though the racquet is heavier. You just need to get the racquet in the right place to begin with. Don't want to rate defence yet as the head is smaller and I'm not used to defending in MD with a 3U racquet (I normally take out my 4U VT70 for doubles). In the games I played, my defence was reasonably poor - blocks were ok, flicked defence was a nightmare. It's a heavy racquet so that is not surprising. I'll have to test defence a bit more to be comfortable in changing from VT80, as defence really is important when I already struggle to gain an advantage in a rally!
Ok, now you've got me convinced to just go for the N9II, rather than the TK9900. I believe that the dark side is better than the orange side Funny how I can manage to play doubles just fine with a VT80 3U G5, and the ease of use for me is no different from using a JS 12 4U.
Just an update on before as I've had the chance to play a decent amount today with it. As before, offence is fantastic. If you get the shuttle in front of you and have the time, you'll be pelting these through the floor. My biggest issue with it is the smaller sweet spot. Fairly obvious with a compact frame, but it really made itself felt today vs. the VT80. Off-centre hits are very unforgiving, as in, say goodbye to the point if you mishit it. With the VT80, you get a half passable stroke. It's better than the ZF2, but I'm going to have to keep going for a couple of weeks before I decide to give up my VT80s, as it's not an outright upgrade at the moment.
Hi DarkHiatus, VT-LDF for me is suitable for men doubles, as well as singles. It is really an upgrade to VT80. I own both 3U VT80 and 3U VT-LDF and the difference is noticeable. VT-LDF simply has more power, slightly faster swing speed, slight more head heavy but you could still defend very well in drive rallies and smash retrievals. VT-LDF sweet spot is also fairly large, almost the same as VT80. i used to have a 4U VT70 JP version which i think is too light and lacked offensive power but very maneuverable. Konquerian, I am OK with the ZF2 stiffness, but not OK with the small sweet spot. It seems most people say TK9900 sweet spot is larger than ZF2 which is good. Based on your views and DarkHiatus views, i think i will be going for the 4U TK9900. Earlier somewhere on this thread, a serial poster xiaoqiao also recommended 4U TK9900 for men doubles and he prefers it over 4U ZF2.
After playing with my tk9900 for 9+ hours, I think the n9ii would be the better choice of the two to stay as my main racquet. The tk9900 has a few superior traits, but the n9ii has the best overall performance. I feel that the tk9900 is better suited in my singles games, with its superior power and good handling, but does lag behind a bit in defense when playing fast paced doubles, not to mention the fatigue it accumulates. N9ii, IMO, excels in doubles and singles, and it doesn't build up fatigue like the tk9900 when playing multiple games of doubles. I'm fine with the power of n9ii, though no where near the might of tk9900, so I will also stay with the dark side. The dark side has never felt so good !
