If you check my other posts you will realize that I am a strong supporter of Li Ning rackets, I own N80 II and love it. The wording in that post is out of concern as a supporter cause I want Li Ning to make unique and distinctive products, this new lineup looked like yonex style. My harsh wording is out of concern rather than hateful for the brand. Just that AXFORCE rhymes with ASTROX, BladeX with DriveX, and all frames box.
I guess they want their series names to be a symbolic description of the series target (e.g. Ax/Axe: heavier, box-frame, targeting mainly offensive singles/back court players), I agree that the BladeX is very unfortunate and I don't really see why they'd deliberately make it so similar to YY. You can have your own design language, LN! I wasn't even aware of the DriveX series by YY until just now, so yeah, that does make it seem a bit copy-ish. They really, really could use someone with a good mind for marketing and branding, if Apple could sell products at immense markups for years and years thanks to that then surely LN can hire someone who can at least enable quite dedicated fans to understand their product lineup... I had hoped they'd learn from their early missteps such as the Woods/Fire/... branding from way back in 2009, which may have been grounded in some sort of Chinese mythology or something, but really didn't make sense to the rest of the world. The clear differentiation by numbers of the current naming scheme was a good start (different number of digits for different series, different digits for different price segments), all that was missing imop was a) new, clear series names and b) a reduction of the quite overwhelming catalogue to something like maybe 3-4 rackets per series and segment.
That was when Li Ning first started out and just focused on the domestic CN market before branching out across the world. Really the big thing marketing wise is if they want to go down the route of using medieval weaponry as inspiration for naming product lines is to consider the global market as a whole. For example, AxForce makes sense because everyone hopefully knows what an Axe is and how it functions (head heavy, powerful swings), or how a sword handles and functions for the upcoming BladeX lineup. What I'd really like to see is simply 3 racket lineups and mark the rest as legacy rackets for those who really want to keep using them and just do incremental updates on the 3 core racket lineups cause let's be real: unless there's an absolute game changer in materials engineering where something is created that is flat out better than various carbon fiber/graphite materials, racket technologies is stable for the most part. It's the branding and marketing that really sells them vs actual measurable performance enhancements. gotta simplify and magnify the marketing and they'll regain market cap against the yonex onslaught of buying off everyone just to get all the gold medals at Tokyo 2021
I want to see a thin shaft 6mm solid core turbo changing racket before they discontinue that series, I really admire that frame, I am holding back just because they feel outdated in 2021 with 7mm shafts.
hhmm... Lining never good at making stiff shaft (doesnt mean their racket bad, just they had their own unique soft/flex feel). So thin shaft like 6mm, i really doubt it would be good as thinner shaft are easier to flex so on Lining, it would flex even more. The reason why 88D pro had shorter shaft are to add abit more stiffness as the shaft getting thinner.
If rackets like the 900C weren't stiff enough for you then you must be in a really select group of probably less then 0.1% of players who aren't pro but require a stiffer racket than the vast majority of pros...
My first post after a long time...Anyways, i felt like trying out my first ever Lining since i heard they have better quality paint and overall durability than that of Yonex. For a reference i use a 4u 88D for both doubles and singles and can perfectly use it just fine. Looking for something a bit more forgiving but still attack orientated for when i'm not so hot anymore. From my research, i think either the N9ii or the TC80 would fit the bill although i fear the 80 would be a bit more head heavy than what i'm used to with my 88D. I am open to more 3u even balanced rackets(a slight head weight feel would be great) however i would prefer they have some aerodynamic advantages over the Astrox frame.
I have a pair of TC70s (3u) that i use just for doubles. Love them, fast, strong, and better handling overall when compared to the 88s
Does anyone have an opinion on the Turbocharging N9? I found a good deal on it and does it still live up it’s name? Has the specs that I want. 290 mm balance point and flexible . If not I might go for the Turbocharging 75. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
We’ve had those comparisons in here a while ago. Afair, the N9 is a bit more flexible but has been a great racket overall as well. The TC75/N9II has gotten the reputation of being a masterpiece with easily accessible power and great feel. I think you won’t be wrong with either of them if you like the specs.
Thank you for sharing your information! I am willingly going to save up a little bit more of my money for the TC 75 if I find one. If not I will go for the Turbocharging N9. Fairly new to Li-Ning so I want to stick something that is reputable. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I also noticed while watching the Nanjing Youth Olympic Games in 2014 on the Olympic channel, Anthony Ginting then used the Turbocharging N9!
And so did Fu Haifeng over a long while (and afaik winning at least one Olympic gold medal with it) before switching to the N9II not long before his retirement. The racket is only a tool, it’s the player that makes the difference.
Gotta try my Razor 95 for tomorrow's game 26x28, #1 x D61 Wud likely to switch over to VBS 68/ZyMax 68 TX for the mains next month Btw pic was taken last Sunday
Naaa, it's N90 III repainted basically, balance and weight wise. Released in 2015. Could even call it a relaunch of N90 III before they went in 2017 with the next gen N90 IV aka 3D Calibar 900B in 2018
