Hi, Which racket would you choose - nanospeed 6000 or armortec 150? I have these two rackets to choose between but get a bit confused as they both cost approximately the same here in Sweden ( ns6000= US$200, a150=US$170), but when I search the net I find a150 for $70 and ns6000 for $186. How come the price difference is so huge online but not in my local stores? Is the ns6000 a much better racket and thus to prefer? Thankful for help. / Fopes
AT-150 for $170US is way overpriced. For that price, you can already get an AT-500 here in Canada where prices are not the best. A friend has the NS6000 and I've played with it a few times. I find it's light and fast, very good on defense, but it seriously lacks power. Whether or not it's a good choice for you depends on what kind of player you are.
ok, strange that it's so overpriced. Is it possible that different qualities of the same racket model exist? I.e that the AT-150 manufactured in Denmark is better than the ones manufactured elsewhere? It's the largest sport chain in Sweden that sells the rackets for these prices. If different qualities don't exist they either, for some reason, decided to put a 300% margin on the AT-150 and just a few percent on the NS6000 or it's Yonex scandinavia that rips them off. Strange.. Anyway, NS6000 lacks power you say. How is it compared to the AT-150? Also weaker?
low end AT, AT 150 and 250 are all made in taiwan. Same with all the other lines. Higher ends are all made in Japan. AT 150 is around 110 in candadian dollars with string. If you really want to choose out of those two, nano 6000. Then again, consider shipping from different country.
Indeed, way way overpriced for a AT150 . I toke a look at the prices here in Belgium, found one for $65 and one for $85, both genuine, factory strung. On a dutch webshop I even found one for $55. Even if you add shipping to sweden, that's still a whole lot cheaper.
Is it Intersport or Stadium? Whatever, these sport chains just rip you off, not necessarily because they are evil but because they just don't know anything about badminton. Also note that Yonex (and any badminton racket) is quite overpriced in Sweden. I'd recommend you to visit any of the clubs in Stockholm and take a look in their racket shop. Most of them also offer you the opportunity to try a racket for cheap and then deduct the fee when purchasing a racket.
Armortec 150 is 109.95 canadian dollars plus you get an extra 10% off for this forum so it's around 100 bucks. Your place is a rip off 170US you could almost get an armortec 800OF well some what..lol
I own both AT-150 and a NS9000S. The NS9000S is aournd $200, and the AT-150 is around $70. Both US version, 3UG4. They are identical in lenght, size. The NS9000S is 96grams and the AT-150 is 98grams. The NS is balanced at about 290cm, the AT-150 is head heavy BP~300. It all depends on your playing style. I find both rackets about the same all around. The AT-150 hits harder as it's head heavy, but slow in defense. The NS9000s is a faster racket. For the price of the 6000, you should be able to move up to the 8000/9000 for few dollars more.
It's Stadium and I do think they are evil I don't like getting ripped off so the at-150 is out of the question. You all say that the ns-6000 lacks power. Considering that I'm an intermediate player and not really a hard-hitter would I hit harder by stepping up one notch to, let's say ns7000, or do I need to be a hard hitter to benefit from the better racket?
OK, after I posted my first reply I went to have a game (double). So I checked what these rackets cost at Fyrisfjädern (Uppsala). At-150 = 799 SEK NS6000 = 1399 SEK. NS9000 = 2199 SEK (I think, didn't look that careful but this was the highest price I remember seeing) While my opinion is that this still is about 200-300 SEK too much for each of them, at least it would give you a more realistic picture. Even if a racket can help producing power IMO it is the technique that makes the differance. If you can't fully exploite the power/handle the stiffness of the racket I'd opt for another one (that's what I did). Personally I think AT-500 would be Ok for you. Or try a Babolat, they should have some rackets for 600-1000 SEK. Maybe you could contact twobeer on the forum and ask him about SOTX, might play a game with you and let you try some rackets. Agree that Stadium are evil, IMNSHO they (together with Instersport) have ruined the whole market in Sweden. There is no diversity in price and selection anymore. Heck there is almost no other sports shops anymore.
ok, thanks for the input. It's scary that Stadium can put margins like on the at-150 on products... Found this webshop http://www.svenskbadminton.com/ which sells the at-500 for 1225SEK + shipping. Heard anything about that shop? I also visited another Stadium store where they had the muscle power 66 racket for about the same price. Anyone knows how it is compared to the ns6000 and at-500?
My experience is to never shop at stadium or intersport, except for shoes on discount. Since you are in stockholm, why don't you try this: http://www.badmintonstore.dk/ AT-500 cost 800DKK, or around 980 SEK, so it's a nicer deal. The high-end racket is even better bargain. The postage migt be an overhead, though. They also have 2-year guarantee, I guess. BTW, AT-500 is a great racket. I would want one myself, but i already got at800-DE. If you don't mind waiting for 20 days, http://www.badmintonshoponline.us is also a great online store. I prefer nordic shops though.
What about models like 7000,8000,9000. I don't like to get racquet which is to stiff becouse I have a feeling that I don't play so good when I have in my hand stiff racquet compare to mid flex racquet. In this nano series only 6000 model have mid flex I think..
