Hi everyone. I got a chance to try my friend's VT80. Although I loved the stiffness, the head heaviness was a bit light for my liking. Any recommendations for a racket as stiff as VT80 but more HH? Searching through the forum and reviews, what comes to my mind is the VT-ZFII (heard its quite stiffer than VT80), TK9000, and the VT80ETUNE (apparently adding all the red parts makes it quite HH). What are your recommendations? Thanks so much
The TK9000 will have the same balance or a little less. As for the N90 suggestion, this racket is the closest to the old AT700. Balance is around 300-305 the ones I have, so not head-heavier than a VT80. Both are stiffer than the VT80. If stiffness is not an issue, I think the ZF is what you should look at. It is only a suggestion since, of all the rackets that came up so far in this thread, this is the only racket I haven't played with.
For the guys who just tried the 4U, they can try the 3U. And for those who think "That's not enough head weight" they can add athletic tape. BPs are meaningless without the weight class. @OP what made the head so light for you? Was not enough Power the indicator? Maybe you friend use a different set up than you. FME the VT80 and the VTZFII are not much different. Just the head sizing and the shaft are different. Dry head weight are on the scale pretty close.
An VT80 (assuming it was a 3U) is not head heavy enough for you?! Wow, you must have arms like pythons! As others have already stated, either go for a ZFI (if you can still find one) or ZFII. Or just take a VT80 and add lead- or athletic tape.
IMO the e-tune is not a perfect technology. One of my customers use just the parts at the top and always struggle with damaged string after picking the shuttles up. He add 3m Tape which doesn't look neat, so why not athletic tape on a regular 80? After several high tension jobs the parts are eaten up and need to be changed. Also the aerodynamics are not as good as a naked VT80. I think there are many few people who can handle such head weights of a 3U banger efficiently and with benefits. Especially in doubles...
Fully agree. I acutally meant the god old non-etuned VT80. Brilliant racket and endless possibilities to make it even more head heavy... thanks to 3M...
Nah, it was 4u VT80. Once I swung it, I knew why everybody loves it; its truly a masterpiece by Yonex. It was stiff, powerful and just the right stiffness for me. If the head was bit more heavy it would have been perfect.
Thank you everyone for your replies. I guess I will have to decide between ZFII and the original VT80 (maybe try 3u version?). I would love to buy the ZFI but its so hard to find a 4UG5. The VT80Etune is out of question if the etune parts become damaged after several high tension jobs as i usually string BG65ti@30lbs (feels amazing when u smash).
If VT80 4U has too less head weight: 3U is the logical choice. IMO the step to a 3U is bigger than the 1 to 1.3g of the ZFII 4U. I recommend to testdrive your friends racket with a piece Athletic tape.
TK9900 is about to be released I think. It's is Victor's competition for the ZF. If you can hold off for a bit more that's an option.
He can also wait until YY replaces the Voltrics...TK9900 was firstly spotted by me live in Feb2015... Release at August2016...sometimes life is a girl who sells a service to male...life is short.
I sold my VTZF II 3UG5 because it felt to have turned to 2UG5 after some "added bonus" around the frame head... then got myself VTZF II 4UG5, added 6 pieces of "Victor Powerizer" at 11, 1, & 6 o'clock, removed the original grip, replaced with 2 double overgrip AC102 and i have myself "almost" pure 3UG5 with BP at 332mm (before re-string). Had one VT80 3UG4 but it wasn't HH enough so i sold it. Now my current weapon feels a bit like "Mjölnir" of Thor's. It packs very impressive power but needless to say that it sucks more of my stamina and my defense becomes sluggish...
Hey guys, I was lucky enough to find a VTZF (4UG5) online for a decent price. I will let u know how it feels next week when it arrives
So I have had 3hrs with my VTZF (4UG5 strung w/ BG66F@28lbs) It is the most demanding racket I have tried so far (ARC7, ARC11, BS11, BS12KRP, VT80). It is MUCH less user-friendly than the VT80 (heavier head and much stiffer shaft). First impressions are it is VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY solid and powerful; there is a reason VTZF is labeled as offensive/attacking racquet. Smashes and offensive drives are crazy with this racket. In terms of raw power VTZF is slightly more powerful than VT80 (if u are strong enough to handle head weight and stiff shaft). Also, I noticed control on VTZF was outstanding too. However, it is quite difficult to play defensive shots (struggled the most in this area). The VT80 is better than VTZF in terms of defense (at least for me). This racket was made to for one purpose, to hit hard. Overall I like VTZF and I think I made the right choice. Even though the racket is demanding for me now (really have to focus when playing shots), I think I made the right choice. The VT80 4U was too light for me. The VTZF allows me to hit harder and provides better control at the sacrifice of a bit of defense. I hit a number of hard smashes but there is definitely potential for even more harder smashes. Hopefully one day I can fully harness power from this racket I believe this racket would be too demanding for most intermediate players. Personally, I would recommend this racket to at least strong intermediate+ players who are good at attacking from back of the court. I think I can handle this racket b/c I have been regularly weight training for the past 2 years (ever since I injured my rotator cuff) and also used heavy racket for training.
Caliber 800&700 by zx1010110 posted May 12, 2016 at 3:23 PM Mizuno caliber 800 will do 3u with a balance point of 310 Very stiff shaft Box frame Can endure 32lbs The problem is difficult to find one these days.
