Hey, Just broke 2 of my Astrox 55 in a week and no obvious Yonex replacement. Have tried the nanoflare 700 pro but swing speed was too slow defensively and maybe a touch too stiff. Any recommendations from players who liked the Astrox 55 and have found something similar with another brand? Thank you!
You found the NF700 slower than an Astrox 55? I find that very weird. My mixed partner plays with the Astrox 55 & 66. Used them both. My men's doubles partner uses the NF700 OG and NF800Pro. They are definitely faster than the Astrox series in my opinion
I recently borrowed an Astrox 55 for a session, after breaking the strings on my usual Li-Ning Windstorm 74, expecting it to be fairly similar, based on the specs (the Windstorm is a little lighter overall at 74g, but more head-heavy). I was very unimpressed - it generated a lot less power, without being any quicker, and subjectively just didn't feel nice either. I also borrowed a Babolat Satelite Gravity 74 the same day (again, 74g but more head-heavy), and much preferred that to the Astrox 55 as well - and they're widely available for around £65, which makes them a bit of a bargain IMO, if that's the kind of racket you like. Otherwise, Li-Ning have probably the widest range of head-heavy 5U rackets - pretty much any model with the "Instinct" ("i") suffix (eg. "Tectonic 7 Instinct") will be an option, or more recently, there's the AxForce 80 and 70, which are available in 5U. Of those, the only ones I've tried are the Tectonic 7i and Aeronaut 9000i - both are very nice rackets, but despite being 5U, both have substantially more head weight, so they provide little (if any) speed advantage over your average 4U racket. I believe some of Victor's "Light Fighter" series might fit the bill, but I know nothing about them. If anyone's tried the Forza Nano Light 10, I'd be pretty interested to hear their thoughts as well - looks like quite an unusual and intriguing option, as a 5U, head-heavy and extra-stiff (and it's a Forza, so that's probably extra-extra-stiff in Yonex terms).
Thank you for such a detailed reply, I liked the look of the Windstorm and have also looked into the AxForce 80 as well, I think those are really good starting points
Yeh, I play County Div1 and my game is based on fast transition and turning defence into attack. I found the Astrox a very fast racket to manoeuvre and the Nanoflare 700 pro I felt, maybe due to racket head frame thickness that it was slower through the air, more drag. It's only marginal but its enough to not prefer it. I didn't find any more power at the back either and therefore its not really worth the trade-off in my eyes.
There's no way NF700 would be slower defensively than Ax55. NF700 is more head light and has a sharper frame. Anyway, consider the Astrox 70 (successor to Astrox 66), Victor Auraspeed 77f or 90f, or Li Ning Aeronaut 9000i (5u), Axforce 60 (5u) or 70 (5u).
