Well i might need alot of help with this one considering its my first time buying a good high-end racquet... im 17 and in good shape, play a fair amount and would rate myself - on the higher end of intermediate my first racquet i got 3 years ago at canadian tire...back then i knew nothing about it and got the lightest one i could find, an carlton airblade lite it has served me well and ive gotten quite use to it, but now after 3 long years, i think its time for a change the only racquet that came to mind after hours of searching and etc is the nanospeed 9000 S...i dont have the opportunity to try any racquets so i need to buy one purely on reviews :S im offensive player who has a decent smash with slightly lower defensive skills, my drop shots are average... thanks for the advice
Would you like a racquet which suits your playing style, or would you rather have a racquet which may improve your defense ? As shaoyut said, armortec 700 might suit you well because of it's head-heaviness for the offense. You could also try other brands such as SOTX and Apacs to save some money too.
Or why don't you stick with Carlton? The NS9000 is a great racket (have one myself), but It'll be a costly mistake if you don't like it .
hmm well, i guess i was mostly influenced by my doubles partner...he currently uses a nanospeed 8000, ive hit with it a couple of times but never got the chance to really TRY it cuz we're always soo busy atm...he tells me that the nanospeed 8000 is a great racket and the 9000 will suit me well as for the other brands, never tried them or even considered lol im not entirely sure, i think my lack of defensive skills is due to my footwork...i have a tendency to jump off my backfoot for smashes and constantly clear off my backfoot hence im often out of position :S i am trying to correct that as quick and as best as i can