Very true. But if i brought such an expensive racket and it broke pretty quickly i would try anything to get my money back - maybe I'm not so honest.
Does everyone think that the damage shown in the picture is consistent with one from a racquet clash? To me, it looks like somebody has taken a sharp object and sliced at the frame. From my limited experience with cracked racquets, and what I learned in engineering fracture mechanics, I was expecting to see a crack oriented along a 45-degree line rather than the gouge shown in the picture.
lol... C'mon JCanada we know you like NS8K but its just a racquet. Any racquet will break from a good clash. I don't think anyone is stoopid enough to take a sharp object and slice the frame of a 300CAD$ racquet just to prove its fragility. Also, from the picture it really looks like a very bad clash. I have seen many before and it just look like one of them.
The racket flattened back to its original shape after I cut of the string. Before hand, the damaged part was protuding out. Sorry guys, I should have taken the pics when the string was still intact, showing a more visible damage/crack.
Mine was BG-85 with 26lbs. While my partner has BG-65 with 28 lbs. At the moment, I am hoping that I could get a replacement as I have already 'submitted' my racket to the store, for shipping back to Yonex USA.
My Armortec 700 wassent in to yonex because of a minor crack during stringing @ 22lb & i got minereplaced for a new 1 but the way your NS800 looks it doesnt seem very likely that they will replace it...but its worth a try...
Great observation! I do love the NS8000 (so much so that I bought another one just in case, heaven forbid, that I break my first one at the upcoming World Masters Games). Because the racquet is so expensive, I do hope they last longer than my Ti10s. So far, I am a little worried to hear that several people have breakages already. But you are absolutely right that any racquet will break if one clashes it hard enough. If there is any solace in this particular clash, I understand the other NS8000 involved survived seemingly ok. To me, any racquet that can survive through clashes like this shouldn't be too fragile. One thing I have found so far is that because my defence is quicker with the NS8000, I already "dug" the floor a couple of times with it. If I were playing with my Ti10, this probably wouldn't have happened because I wouldn't have been fast enough to even attempt the saves.
Makunouchi, National Stadium is actually not far from WTC, it is actually a subway station stop along the BTS, 2 stops from WTC. You may notice National Stadium is beside MBK, but the part you want is the part farthest from MBK, the main gates. Just outside the main gates are a LOT of sporting goods stores. Think Raon, only cooler, more high-end and more badminton gear. Yonex goods are cheaper here, maybe by around 10% after you take away the free string, and the other Yonex freebies from the official stores. My only caveat here is that you should be comfortable with being able to tell the orig from a fake. If the one buying for you doesnt know a Yonex from a Yang Yang, by all means just buy from WTC. =)
...hello...sorry if i this has been repeated...but i haven't had the time or effort to read all 350+ posts in this thread...anyway...i'm planning on going back to Malaysia this summer and possibly picking up this racquet myself after hearing so many good reviews on it...however...the thing is that one of my friends recently bought a NS8K himself...at first he said he liked it a lot aside from the fact that his timing was a little off...he's a beginner/intermediate player but has his racquet at 24lbs...now...after about a month and a half, he strongly recomends that i don't buy this racquet...the reason...because the flexibility is very unstable... ...what he said was that at first...the racquet was stiff as it's rated...but then after an hour or so of playing...he says it becomes really flexible, then after leaving it untouched for another while or so...it stiffens up again...i know it sounds funny and doesn't really make much sense...my suggestion is that he's just tired ...but he says that it's physically noticable...like...he bends the racquet in the begining...and bends it again at the end....and he says that the difference is really great. that just gets me wondering what the racquet would be like after an intensive 3 hour training session...wouldn't the racquet become a little too flexible and wobbly? i'm just wondering if any of you NS8K owners out there notice this and know the reason why i happens. perhaps it has to do with the nanocarbon and how it reacts under impact and play...how bout regular graphite racquets...maybe this property is present as well in graphite racquets but not as noticeable...would you guys please educate me on this...thanks...
Ok, here's my opinion of this racket. I am a county level player from Ireland, but have been playing in England now for three months and hope to be playing county pretty soon. As a result I am more than a competant player. I have a 3ug5 NS8K strung at 24lbs with bg65ti. Although this is not my preferred string and soon to be changed, I have been able to make several observations: 1. Your defensive ability WILL improve. 2. Your control Will improve 3. Your smash will be no worse* * I have noticed no improvement in my smashing power with this racket, at least initially. I made the decision to sacrifice some control for power by thinning my grip. I have a powerful smash by any standards and used 2 overgrips to maintain control. With the ns8k I have now gone down to the original grip plus one overgrip. As a result the power is now explosive, but control is the same as i'm used to normally. I am alreadyu happy with my controll so now I am left with better power and more agile defensive abilities and the same control that i am used to. All in all I'm happy
It's been 3 session or approximately 10 hours of play and I'm still having a bit of trouble adjusting to the sweet spot of the racquet. I seem to be having a lot of mishits. Perhaps it's because I played with my Forza for almost a year and nothing else so, it's taking a bit of time to re-adjust to the new frame + different sweet spot. When I do get a good smash though.. it feels SO good with this racquet.
In engineering, a shaft's stiffness is measured by the amount of deflection when the shaft is loaded. When the same concept is applied to a badminton racquet, the amount of deflection in the racquet shaft depends on how much force is applied to the frame-end of the shaft when it contacts the bird. In other words, the harder one hits the bird, the more the shaft deflects. So from an engineering and scientific point of view, I can't understand why the stiffness of a badminton racquet shaft should change as play continues. I certainly haven't experienced it with my NS8000. Of course, stiffness will change if the physical properties of the shaft material changes, e.g. with a significant change in temperature or if the material changes from elastic to plastic behaviour as in the case of fatigue. However, neither should happen when we are simply talking about playing badminton for a few hours, even at the highest intensity level.
