[Review] Lining Blade X 800 4U

Discussion in 'Badminton Rackets / Equipment' started by Zoap San, Jun 21, 2022.

  1. Zoap San

    Zoap San Regular Member

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    [Review] Lining Blade X 800 4U
    I have 3-4 hours sessions with this racket since I borrowed it from my junior at the badminton club. Although 3-4 hours with the racket is short. It's enough to feel how racket performed.

    Specs
    Weight : 4U
    Balance : 295 mm.
    Shaft : Medium-Stiff
    Grip size : G5
    Tension : 30 Lbs.
    String: Victor VBS 63 (26lbs)

    Initial impression
    - I just don't like the racket color lol. But the paint job from Lining is always top notch but I just don't like the color and graphics.
    - Holding it felt like and felt the head lighter than 295mm.
    - Swinging lightly felt stiff

    Drives (9.5/10)
    This racket excels at quick drives. I would say this racket is one of the best if not the best in front-mid court drives. Since the head is on the lighter side, fast drives is easier to hit and receive. Paired with good repulsion from thinner string, the repulsion I got from drives is insane. The feedback and vibration I got from hitting are on low-medium side. Drives felt good and I got nothing bad to say about this racket so far.

    Clears (9/10)
    Easy to clear to back court and doesn't need to use a lot of power to push the shuttle. The feedback is a little too much to my liking, maybe the string is too thin so VBS 66 nano or No.1 would be perfect combination I think. Backhand clears are easy to pull of and doesn't strain your wrist much. Off-centered clears are atad harder and I need to exert more force compared to Hypersonic and 100X.

    Smash (7/10)
    This racket doesn't do well in smash category if your technique and wrist and timing is not on point that day.
    I would say the smashing power is similar to 90S which is on the lower side if you ask me, but the smash felt better than 90S though. The feeling is between 100X and TK-F which is great. Back-court smash with this racket is not advised. Stick smash and half smash are ok but most of my smashes won't win me points unless I caught my opponent off guard with cross-court smash. But you won't get tired easily smashing tho.

    Defense (9.5/10)
    Well, Fast racket + good repulsion will always be good at defense. Nothing to say, this racket is swift and easy to handle so flicking and returning smash is easy.

    Net (8/10)
    Netshots are ok, If the head would be a bit heavier it would be easier to control the shuttle trajectory and power in the net. But deception are easy since the handling is fast. You can hold and flick to change direction with ease.

    Overall, If you like smash or mainly mid-rear court player. I won't recommend you this racket at 4U weight ever. Even 3U felt light holding, so I will only recommend this racket for front-mid court player only and advice all-round player to look else where. Don't get me wrong, this is a very good racket for it's purpose and front-mid court is where this racket operate.
     
  2. Woesi

    Woesi Regular Member

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    Thanks for the review. The color is definitely something you could debate about:confused: but may look better in person...

    Nice to see someone writing one about this racket as pretty much nobody seems to have it.

    Considering to buy the 3u version as a replacement for my Bravesword 3u 12 which is close to having more paint chips than paint itself left on the racket head;)

    One thing regarding your reviews:
    I also read your other ones. They are easy to follow, nicely structured and not unnecessary long.

    But I really dislike the eveluation system you are using (not only you but many other people also use this x/10 Rating scheme without a clear scale).

    I mean, why give a racket 7/10 in the smashing category when it is on the weaker side (why not a 3 or 4 if it is below average)? And what racket would be a 1/10 (is it the least powerful you tried or is it hypothetically the least powerful that you could ever imagine) or 10/10 (most powerful you tried)?

    Reviewing rackets ofc isn't a science and comes down to personal feeling, but it would be easier to follow and compare if you had some better guideline for us reader to use for scaling.

    F.e. you said (iirc) that the 88D and Thruster F Enhanced hit harder than the 100X and otoh that the Bravesword 12 was having the weakest smash.
    Then you could state that the BRS12 is a 1/10 and the TK F Enhanced is a 10/10 in terms of power/smashing and rate the other rackets accordingly.
    Atm it seems like there is no racket that performed worse than a 6 or 7/10 according to your reviews which doesn't really give a good idea. Would be easier if the number were spread wider.

    Alternatively ranking rackets in an order (or using both points and an order) would be a good way to compare these.
    F.e.
    Smashing power:
    BRS12 < BladeX 800 = Tectonic 7D << 100X < TK F Enhanced = Astrox 88D

    Just my 2 cents;)
     
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  3. Zoap San

    Zoap San Regular Member

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    thnx for the suggestions. I do agree that the ranking system would be better than points.
     
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  4. s_mair

    s_mair Regular Member

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    Sounds a lot like the successor of the N7II... interesting... :cool:

    Any review can only give you some bits and pieces. You get the whole picture only by actually playing the racket and feel how it performs in your hands and with your own swing style. I've tried some of the current Yonex lineup a couple of weeks back and going by specs and reviews only, I expected the AX88D Pro to be a promising candidate for me. Turns out that I didn't like it. At all. The feedback, that weird holding feel... it just felt completely wrong in my hands. The only thing I liked about it was the shape of the cone which was amazing on backhand serves.
     
  5. Sumanth99

    Sumanth99 Regular Member

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    Bladex 700 seems like an upgrade to this one, looks great, fully recessed frame etc, may be you can wait for that.
     
  6. Zoap San

    Zoap San Regular Member

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    I've tried N7ii a year ago. It's 3U weight but the feeling is really similar but Blade X probably has faster racket speed since the recessed frame.
     
  7. Woesi

    Woesi Regular Member

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    Intersting one and the blue color really stands out.
    Not sure if it will be able to convince the ZN fanboy part of me:oops:
     
  8. Sumanth99

    Sumanth99 Regular Member

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    Bladex800 isn't fully recessed right?
     
  9. s_mair

    s_mair Regular Member

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    Where did you find those info? Google doesn't show me anything relevant for the 700. :rolleyes:
     
  10. Sumanth99

    Sumanth99 Regular Member

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    Woesi and s_mair like this.
  11. s_mair

    s_mair Regular Member

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    Thanks a lot! :)

    "Interesting" color scheme... can't say that I'm instantly blown away by it though. But at least something new on the horizon to look out for - a proper N7II or N9II successor would be really cool.
     
  12. Woesi

    Woesi Regular Member

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    Bottom half is not recessed on the BladeX800
     
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  13. ucantseeme

    ucantseeme Regular Member

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    I want to add to @Woesi s comment (#2) that your reviews should also include your go-to string and tension if possible. And at best, by the same stringer. I personally hated rackets just because of the string, tension or the job. And that a racket score with No.3 boost @26lbs different numbers than with VBS-66 @27lbs or No.1 @27,5lbs while your go-to seems to be Exbolt 63 @27 is a bias which can affect ratings.
     
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  14. Leemarc28

    Leemarc28 Regular Member

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    Anyone can do a review on bladex 700?
    What's the main difference between 700 and bladex 800?
     
  15. pootisfoib

    pootisfoib Regular Member

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    How does BladeX 800 compare to Nanoflare 800?
     
  16. Zoap San

    Zoap San Regular Member

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    I've only tried 4U
    Both stiff shaft.
    Blade X 800 got faster frame due to more aerodynamic frame.
    NF800 felt a bit more solid on power shot like smash and overheads.
    Maybe just me, NF800 is a better all-round than Blade X 800.
    Blade X 800 did better front court and fast rallies but NF800 didn't lose by much imo.

    I would suggest anyone who wanted Blade X 800 to go for Blade X 900 moon instead since Blade X 900 Moon is a more friendly version of Blade X 800.
     
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  17. pootisfoib

    pootisfoib Regular Member

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    Anyone know how BladeX 800 og compares to the new BladeX 800m/butterfly? 800m is supposedly cheaper, has a bigger frame, and less stiff shaft.
     
  18. Zoap San

    Zoap San Regular Member

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    Tried the new 800 yesterday. It's less stiff for sure which is very very good imo. Dunno about bigger frame though. But all in all, I like the new 800 better. It actually fits perfectly between 900 Sun and 900 Moon.
     
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  19. Cycril

    Cycril Regular Member

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    I agree with Zaop San in this, I just tried one yesterday, if you like the og 800 because how stiff and direct it is then I wouldn’t recommend the 800new. Go for NF800 or BX900moon instead.

    The 800new is overall medium stiff, even balance, big frame, very easy to play, very similar to my Arc7p


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
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  20. pootisfoib

    pootisfoib Regular Member

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    My friend has the new BX 800m 4u. I think Li Ning's weight specs may be lighter than advertised because my friend weighed the racket and it's only 75 grams dry (no strings, stock grip removed), which is technically 5u. Unless Li Ning categorizes racket weight including the stock grip.
     
    #20 pootisfoib, Dec 4, 2023
    Last edited: Jan 26, 2024

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