I am considering getting the armortec 250. It is head heavy which may improve my game. I have generally used light, balanced, flexible racquets. Most notably the Head Nano Heat. I feel it is a time for a change. (My friend broke my Head racquet, need a new one.) I am an intermediate player. I play doubles in the back most of the time. Will this racquet suit my style of play? I would consider myself a slightly defensive player but like to be aggressive whenever I can be. Would it be a good racquet for returning smashes? Minus smashing, what other types of shots is it good for? Because I understand that it is an offensive aggressive racquet. I also depend on reaction time. I currently use a very light 84 gram Babolat Speeder Series Red. It is very balanced to me, but is lacking that pop. It has a medium flex, would the Armortec be much different in being stiffer. The Babolat in comparison is an oval frame. Would it be that much slower in reaction time with a smash return for instance? Would it be hugely different overall? Any help with the decision would be appreciated.
My double partner has a AT250 and I have exchange with him a couple of time to try it out. My assessment of the AT250 is that it is such a difficult racket to control net shots and very slow to react to return smashes, considering that I had used AT900P before switching to my favourite LN N50 now. The only good point of the AT250 is that it generate quite a powerful smash due to its head heaviness. As a matter of fact, I am urging my partner to change his AT250 to something lighter to counter opponents' smashings.
How is the flex on the racket? The website says stiff, but I have heard otherwise from reviews and others who have used it.
if you can get your hands on a AT500, maybe you should go with that. I think it is pretty decent in smashing and blocking.
I'm using it for couple of years. Its quite heavy! I cannot do quick defensive reflex. when strung at higher tensions net play is good, but with shoulder pain while smashing & base-base rallying. I tried Yonex arecsaber10... damn fantastic racket, perfectly balanced!!! I'm going to upgrade next month.
I have the AT50 which is very close to the AT250. It's an attacking racket. It's performs well at clearing, dropshots and smashing. It's quite heavy. It's not a bad racket, but I don't think it suits your style of play. Maybe it suits you. If you lack at clearing end to end, attacking and smashing it can reduce your weakness, but only if you have a short reaction time. Otherwise it won't be a good decision. Blocking is with a stiffer shaft not easy. The racket feels sluggish and performs at the net only average. I have played and own head heavy racket which performs overall better. Maybe the Nanospeed 850 will suit you, I you want to buy Yonex. It's good for smashing but is quite quick to defend.
I tried it and found it perfect for me. Desperately looking for it but hard to find as it's production has stopped. I have posted a similar query here : [FONT="]http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php/98197-Please-suggest-a-racquet-similar-to-Armortec-250[/FONT]
