Has anyone tried either of these rackets? This will be my first racket purchase. A little about myself: I'm in high school and I'm looking for a good racket to play with. I've been playing for two years now (using team rackets) and I hope some one out can help me out here. Off season - I play about once a week for two hours. Badminton season starts in the spring. Any recommendations on the Yonex Armortec 250, 300, or even the 500? I'm trying to keep it under $150. Thanks, scionsf
Not quite an answer to your question (I haven't used those racquets, I'm only familiar with their specs) but, so others and maybe I can better help you - What racquet(s) have you been using borrowed off your club? Did you have a preference to one of them if they weren't all the same model? Did you like that model or feel you would like something different? Any bias towards wanting a better offense or defense than you had with that racquet - or do you feel you prefer well-rounded racquets that play equally good in offense and defense?
i've used both AT300 and 500 (for a few years). Used a friends AT250 for a short warm up (5-10mins). All 3u g3 rackets All three rackets are great for power due to the heavy head but i found contol easiest with the AT500 (i like it over the other 2 coz its a little stiffer and i like stiff rackets). Mind you my main racket is a cab30ms at the mo.
I have a Armortec 300, and i think its kinda nice to use, but very hard to find its sweet spot... Does anyone have comments on this racket??
I know I'm gonna get flamed for saying this but... The low end of Yonex's higher end models such as: AT 250, AT 300, MP 33, MP24 etc etc are not worth the buy. For 150, you can get high end models in other company's line-up's like the Babolat Satellite Nitro or Solar or even Victor/Forza/Wilson/Carleton are all good makers for a good price. Especially if this is your first racket choice, you're going to have a lot of paint chips/clashes and so you don't really want an expensive racket as your first one. On that note, if it NEEDS to be Yonex, I've tried the AT 300 and I thought it was an excellent racket for beginners. Very forgiving with a huge sweetspot and its very flexible so easy to handle ^_^
true, agree. ive just bought a Ashaway TiMax 8800, and in the selection process tried out AT250 and AT300. i got the ashaway for NZ$120, which i think is quite an unbeatable price for such a good racquet. it is definitely better than both the AT's - as manduki said, yonex racquets for your price range aren't a good value for money, you are much better off buying better racquets of other companies. i got the ashaway for real cheap here and its an excellent racquet, so i recommend that one for you. its not quite the beginner's racquet but once you get used to it you'll begin to appreciate it... see how much the price for this model is in the UK and tell me..
Agree also on this. For a very decent price, you can pick up a good racket from many other brands, though you might have to resort to online purchases. I'm currently using a SOTX 8, which i got for 80$. It's my racket of choice and probably a better value then any yonex racket in that price range.
I also agree that you can get better value by going non-Yonex. I just switched from the MP88 to a SOTX Woven-8, and I find the W-8 plays better than the MP88 and costs almost half the price. If you like stiff & head-heavy racquets, the Woven 2, 7 & 9 fit the bill and they're all under $100US.
i hav at250 been playing for a year using yonex nano8000 but i needed a backup racket so i bought a discounted at250. At250 is dramatically heavier than nano800. Its so stiff and head-heavy i would suggest to use a very repulsive string and decrease your usual string tension. The only great thing about it is that when i started using it my arm and forehand muscle developed more and when i switch back to nano8000 i noticed my smash are more powerful. So its a good training racquet... but not for tournaments. hope this help
