LOL.... Ever thought about becoming a full-time QC tester for SOTX, Yonex or any other major racket manufacturer? If it passes your "day-to-day" play..then should we deem the racket "Dink-Safe" ??
No, not odd at all. It's too much stress on the shaft. The most common place for the racket to break, other than from clashing, is at the handle or shaft due to overflexing/overstressing. You should see when the handle breaks, it's so cool.
SOTX Woven 11. Many other culprits too, most notably the MP88 (broke the handle or shaft 3 times) and NS7000.
It is? I've never seen a racket break at the shaft or handle in 20 years of competitive play amongst County/Pros. My rackets are strung up at 30 so my frame is highly tensed and I would expect that to go first. Seeing the same racket crack in the same place spells manufacturing fault to me whether it's on the frame or base. Maybe other people have different experiences though.
Sorry, I should have said, "the most common place for a racket to break, for me is..." I've seen quite a few rackets break at the handle or shaft from overflexing. All different brands. They were not manufacturer defects, just the wielder overflexing the racket. If you want to see a shaft go in no time, find a Badder with a strong wrist and have him play with a very flexible, beginner's racket...bye-bye shaft or handle. But like you said, YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary).
My student broke a Pointfort Ultimate ISO shaft the other day with tension @18X20. They break especially when Sir DinkALot turn green and big.
do I get a price for lateral thinking? sorry about your loss(ess) though..what the idea now? more woven 11 (A off course )? or other stuff? or maybe back to the blacken? btw, now you got two broken ons, how about a clash test? just bang the two head against each other and see how long it takes also: I hope your right arm stays 2:0 against the woven 11...Unless the 11a is planning on revenge...
I don't know about that but I do know there's this cool rubber or plastic stretchy tubing that's holding the handle together.
I can feel your pain, being a fellow big hitter. I've had a few go at this point on the shaft over the years - notable two Cab 21s when they first came out (the Yonex Rep didn't like me that much that day), a Dunlop and a Black Knight Tempest. Most the breaks I've had are on the frame though. I had several Black Nights go on me (Widebody, Eagle, Tempest to name a few), a Cab 8 near the T joint, along with a Salazenger near the joint, I had a SP 9000 break last year when I mishit a smash off the frame at VRC and recently a Kevlar 3. I've only had one raquet break on a clash, that was my second Iso 200. The other one I retired due to stress cracks along the frame near the joint. Dink goes all Hulk.... Me being Canadian, I guess that makes me Sasquatch. (I really dread the day my SP 9000s pack it in, I have no idea what to get for new racquets)
The Woven 11 is definitely stiffer than the NSs, AT800-DE and AT700. I believe stiffer than the AT800-OF too but it's misleading because those are lighter rackets. And I've busted the shaft and frame on the NS7000, frame on DE too. What can I say? I'm an equal opportunity breaker.
