Hi there all, I am looking for a new racket since my last racket did not suit me well. Now i am in a lot of doubts buying an Astrox 88D in red white or the new Astrox 88D Pro. I play mostly doubles competitively, between amateur and advanced level. I have a strong smash and i love the fast flat exchanges. My defense is not so good though and my previews racket was too heavy and slow for defense(Voltric 5) Can somebody help me find the right racket? What is the smash power for the 88D Pro, is it good? Is the 88D too heavy compared to the Pro? Hope you can help me, thanks.
Old 88D are more powerfull than 88D Pro but just abit different. 88D pro had alittle bit more flex so its easier to generate power. But regardless both are high end racket that require good technique or else you wont be able to take out its power. what lv would you consider yourself. Amateur to Advance are big leap. I wont consider both if you are closer to amateur. if so, why not consider 4U instead of 3U. In higher lv match, smash rarely become killer shot. You can smash all day but if it wont break opponent wall, it just a waste of stamina & if had bad defense due to your racket offensive nature, you risking yourself from losing point when your are counter attacked by your opponent. Last, before buying i would suggest you to test it. If its not possible, try many racket borrowed from friend. Coz what i feel wont be the same as what you feel. My TK770, 99Gr, 104BP feel fine to me & i can smash all day without breaking my arm. But having 2 month break & no training at home, yesterday i play & it feel so damn heavy.
Sorry Budi, i used the wrong word. Pardon me. I meant average level. The 2020 Version of 88D is on sale but i read that some people say it is a bad upgraden the older Version. I usually rely on my smash though and having used only 3U rackets, i find it that i can get the most power out of it. 4U rackets usually are of course easier to handly at the net area but the smash is really a Meh for me. I had an Arcsaber Z Smash 3U for example and it had everythibg: good attack and flat drives and good steep shots. My club does not have the Astrox 88D unfortunately and in Germany only for sale in 4U. Or is the 4U astrox88d almost as good as some people mention the weight difference is little?
2020 88 are claimed repaint of OG 88, but some people mention OG 88D are more powerfull than 2020 88D. But keep in mind that even for the same racket, it had tolerance spec. +/-2 on BP & weight. The testing number are just to small to confirm if its really different or just repaint. i feel you... 3U are rare nowdays & close to extinction. 3U or 4U are really depend on each player preference & physical characteristic. 3U heavier, more weight force. 4U lighter, faster swing speed. Power = weight force + speed. So both are equally capable to shot a rocket. It just that which really fit you? If you can swing faster in trade for weight, you can still achieve the same power level. But considering you use VT5, Astrox series are not pure power racket. Compare to Voltric series, it sacrifice abit of power to gain more manouver. So it might be easier for you to improve your defense. & last, long ago i had chance trying friend OG88D 4U. It OK for me, it just im used to heavy racket so i feel abit ackward to me using lighter racket. Now with the extinction of 3U, my newest collection are Adidas P8 4U. When im using it for quite awhile, its actually OK using 4U. So im just being picky here.
I would say the pro would suit you better. While the 88d og has a higher power ceiling, I think the speed improvements of the pro would suit you better as you say you have a strong smash anyways and suffer in defense.
