I'm considering buying one of the rackets from this list. If you have any hands-on experience with any of them would you please share your opinions? Before you make any other suggestions, which I do greatly appreciate, it must be under 80 grams (strung, w grip), and flexible. Yonex Arcsaber FB Yonex Nanoray Light 11i Apacs Asgardia Apacs Featherweight XS Jnice Elastic Air 73 Li Ning Windstorm 74 Li Ning Windstorm 78 SL iii Thank You, and Merry Christmas!
A racket to add to your list might be the Li Ning Windstorm 72 - its below 80g strung w grip and flexible. Enjoy playing with it a lot - they don't require a lot of effort to yield, its fast and you don't lose that much power if you have the proper technique. Another racket to consider might be the Yonex Nanoflare 700 5U.
Meredith, Thank you for your reply and suggestions! The reason the Windstorm 72 didn't make my list is because I am relying on the tests performed by Badminton Racket Review to help make my decision. I take all of their tests performed by a human with a huge grain of salt because humans cannot be consistent, no matter how much you think you are from day to day. So if their tester performs a smash test one day, and tries to do it the same the next day, there is no way to measure if he did. Until he is replaced with a machine that swings exactly the same every time, those kind of results are tainted to say the least. But, they have a few tests they run with machines that are repeatable, and one of those is the flexibility test. It is a sort of a gray area too because one racket may flex in the shaft whereas another may flex in the head, or a combination, but still, it's the best we have right now. The Windstorm 72 rated a medium flex, and I'd like a flexible shaft because I've tried other rackets that rated medium flex on their scale and thought they were still too stiff. Not as reliable, but it scored a 4/10 for smash ability, and I need all the help I can get in smashing, which is why I want a flexible shaft to help catapult the shuttle, and for a better feel, like the racket I already have (which unfortunately is not made any more). The Nanoflare 700 also scored a medium flex, slightly less than the 72, and the 5U puts it out of the weight I want. Yonex measures the weight of all of their rackets without grip tape and string, which on average adds about 10 grams to any racket. I need 6U - 7U. But again, thank you tremendously for trying to help me!
I am not so sure about reliability and reproducibility of methods BRR using, but many members in this forums are not so keen on. One idea that makes sense to me that is the power transfer from the racket to the shuttle. However that is not a subtle test that a any group can employ. They are a shop, they make such reviews to boost up their sale, so they will keep it simple enough and sound enough. In fact, Yonex or other manufacture might have some kind of that swinging machine or at least some experienced player to test their rackets before put them into some chart, although it is not always widely trusted. If you watch the Yonex's series Kento Momota visiting their factory, they put some chips on his body and measure or simulate his action on the computer. There you can see the technology. If you want to play with number, Youtube channel Badminton Guide provides the actual measures, independent from manufacturers' specs, including shaft flexibility. A widely acceptable metrics is the swing weight, mainly obtained from Racquet Force shop. It mainly tells how the weight distributed along the racket. And in another thread in this forum, a simple estimation of swing weight is to weight the racket head, you can search for it. I have made a little calculation and find out the correlation between the swing weight and head weight is 0.95. However, the way the machine work does not take into account racket flexibility or air resistance. Recently I saw some Yonex machine Precision Scan provides Performance Swing Weight metric, usually higher than that value of swing weight. That might be the machine you want.
pughon, I really like and respect Badminton Guide, and thanks for reminding me about them. I've looked at every test they have performed, but so far, they haven't tested any of the rackets I'm considering buying. Perhaps they will read this, or one day perform a group test with all rackets 6U or below. I agree head weight is a valuable parameter. Do you know how to calculate it, or isolate the rest of the racket from the head to weigh it? Honestly though, with manufacturing tolerances allowing a few percent leeway, you can never really be sure of exactly what you are getting no matter what numbers you see, just try to make an informed decision and hope for the best.
Here is the thread about head weight I mentioned: https://badmintoncentral.com/forums...-simpler-appoximation-of-swing-weight.123622/ The simplest way is that just weight the racket head as illustrated. But bear in mind that it is the distribution of the whole racket weight. I have tried and found that in this way, the head weight + handle weight = total weight. So adding more grip may cause increase in head weight. Speaking of physics, if you have exact numbers of total weight, racket length and balance point (from review, for example), then head_weight = (BP/length)*total_weight.
Skip the Arcsaber FB is basically useless at everything since its so light. One mishit and the racket the done.
iAsianGuy, The FB is one of my four finalists at the moment. Please tell me more about why you don't like it. It sounds like you are saying that all light rackets are useless. I already play with a light racket and have had clashes with it as well as slamming it into the floor while falling to the ground. No problems with durability, and it can facilitate some very nice shots all over the court. The lightness is is what it is all about. Can you be more specific? Thanks!
Sorry I forgot the experience part. I once walked on the path of light weight rackets, so I can share some experience: - Apacs Featherweight XS (or X, 55): it is just marketing that the racket weight 58g. The handle is very small without any grip. So when you put some grip so that it is playable, it is not the lightest any more. The head weight is okay, hexagonal frame, but the shaft is not flexible, it is prone to stiff. I personally don't like Apacs because I got elbow pain after playing with this and another racket. - Karakal BN60: once claimed lighted racket too, but it is frame+handle only, Centralsports weight 78 with grip. It is very nice racket, the paint job is excellent. Actually I sold the first and eventually bought another but sold again. - Astrox 22: stiff shaft, high price. It broke when I was smashing. - Astrox FB: my colleague had one, light and medium flex, not thing special, but it seems lacks weight for him to clear back to back. Luckily he lost it. It is not clear that what you expect from these rackets. If you only play ping-pong badminton with female players from mid court, than any racket should be good enough. But if you want to play serious game then you need at least to clear back to back, you have to put effort with these rackets, not to mention, smash.
pughon, The Apacs Featherweight XS is off my list because of the stiffness. Four of my previous rackets happened to be tested by BRR, a Victor TK 9000, TKF, Li Ning 75i, and Yonex Astox 22, and I thought they were all too stiff. They all fall in line with what BRR rated them at. That's why I tend to trust their flex ratings. I'd like to point out however, that one of the great things about having a very light racket (and surprisingly hardly anybody considers this aspect) is that you can then "tune" it to specifically fit you however you want. I really liked the idea of the XS's lightness because I prefer to play with two wraps of grip tape for the softness and comfort, but a G5 grip only allows me to use one, or it becomes too thick. That tiny grip would have been perfect for that. Also, I've experimented a lot with placing small bits of lead tape all over the head of my racket to achieve not only the best balance point, but to tune the weight of the head to find the best compromise for repulsion, torque, and control. I definitely don't believe rackets are a One-Size-Fits-All piece of equipment, and you have to start with a light racket if you want to tune it to fit you. You can never subtract or redistribute weight from an already heavy racket. So, in the case of the XS, yes, BRR weighed it to be only 63.3 grams, but by the time I ended up modifying it with lead tape, it would be more in the range of 76-82 grams. Saying all of that, the racket I currently use, even though I've placed tape all over it and at times had it up to 85 grams, I find to work best without any. So it stays at 78 grams and I get to keep the speed. "Luckily he lost it?" Very funny..... so what did he replace it with, and does he like it better? No, no, I don't play ping-pong with the ladies, in fact hardly ever play with the ladies. I'm just the Supervisor at the gym we play in and end up introducing all of the new players to the game. Half of them are women. But no, most of the time I'm in a fight to the death for about 3 hours with mostly Asians who play very, very well. They taught me to play about a year ago. I just had my ass handed to me the night before last in two singles games, barely scored 10 points per game. Gotta' get back in shape after laying around doing nothing during this pandemic, and our gym was closed for several months. We get in about 6-10 games a night, singles and doubles. I'm usually the speed/net guy up front in doubles, and have surgically precise serves (because I practice them) that drive people crazy when I ace them, average about 3-5 per game. I have enough speed to get to all those "impossible" shots that look like they are already on the floor, and I wear volleyball knee pads because I do end up on the floor. What I can't produce in power I try to make up for in accuracy, and I've gotten to where I love guys who smash at me all night and expend their strength and energy, while I'm on the other side casually, effortlessly returning them all because of the speed of my light racket. We have a couple of Brits that play here too, both excellent players, although we haven't seen them in while since the Covid-19 thing. I'd agree that back-line to back-line clears take extra effort, which is why I need that flex in the shaft, and since my smashes from the rear carry little speed or power, they have to be very accurate. But from 1/2 court to the net, this racket is the equal, and superior to many other rackets because of its speed. String choice is critical on a light racket to enhance its inherent failings. Right now I'm trying LN no.1. And like I said, if you take a light racket and tune it to fit you with lead tape, you end up with a racket in a weight range you like and have a personally tuned racket. Honestly, I am quite surprised that more people don't do this, and just play with a stock racket off the shelf. You can bet professional players are not playing with a standard racket, and tennis players have been tuning their rackets like this forever. Unless someone comes up with a better recommendation, my remaining candidates are: Yonex Arcsaber FB (Although things are looking bad for it as more hands-on experience is reported, but on paper, it is the frontrunner) Apacs Asgardia (Not sure I can go with Apacs when I can have Yonex or Li Ning, and it is short, only 665 mm) Li Ning Windstorm 74 (My original first choice, but may be too head-heavy, and the swing weight may be too much) These two are right over my limit for flex rating, but somehow stay on my list: Jnice Elastics Air 73 (Not a single review or test on this racket that I've never heard of except BRR's. Extremely hard to throw money at such an unknown, even if it is one of the two highest scoring rackets out of 749 on their website.) Yonex Nanoray Light 11i (Very short, 662 mm, and playing the net up front I want all the length I can get to reach those "impossible" shots. My current racket is 679.5 mm!) Thank you so much for trying to help me out.
Well there are some points that might raise confusion: Is this G5 from Apacs or Yonex? Usually people convert to Yonex equivalence. And G5 is the smallest grip from Yonex. The G6 is hardly seen. This is nothing to do with the lightness of the racket, any one with enough practice can do that. And any opponent with enough practice would not lose many points to that. I used to make my opponent angrily throw his racket because he let the shuttle land on the line more than twice. Again, this is nothing to do with the racket weight, it is the footwork speed. Usually, people prefer stiffer racket for better accuracy. Back to the main topic, probably most people don't find the joy in playing with racket modification as you do. But if you make your racket differ from the original, than asking for experience is non-sense. It will become a different racket after all. Just choose the lightest (and long and flexible) that you can get. Some more rackets you can check the specs are Ashaway Ultralite 58g and Wilson Blaze SX9000 68g. Karakal also has a series of 60g, 65g, 70g, 75g rackets.
I haven't had any experiences with the rackets on your list. But I want to add more to the list that might help, its the Astrox 5fx. Owning it for 2 years, my son and wife are liking it that I had to bought another 5fx's. BRR and Badminton Guide listed it as stiff, but it's actually flexible in the real world. I dont know how they performed the tests, but I know for sure it's flexible. Final weight with string, overgrip and cushion warp (original grip removed) is 79-80 gr. Sent from my SM-A750GN using Tapatalk
