Infact I will get the whole series soon hopefully, I'm going to be an ambassador for the brand this season, just sorting out the paperwork. I've already had an hour hitting on the court with the whole range, here are my initially thoughts: All rackets are slightly thicker from the side view than the Satellite 6.5 series as they have the Carbon X-Trem (denser mesh of carbons) Frame for more stability against torsional flex. However feel very light and nice. X Feel Blast (88g Head Heavy Ultra Stiff shaft) A nice looking racket and also feels great all around apart from the net play where it feels a tad slow. Smashes are crisp and the you feel very much in control of the racket head upon inpact, no noticable vibration or lateral movement. Drives, drops, clears, all easy to perform thanks to the fairly fast swing speed and head heavy balance. X Feel Power (86g Even Balance Very Stiff shaft) Loved this racket, feels perfect for my game, excellent in all departments, the even balance is ideal to perform all the shots to the highest level and very accurate. You feel very in control when you perform the shots and I had the default iFeel 68 strings but I was impressed by the hitting sound, power and repulsion. Definitely nippier around the net and defence is effortless thanks to the fast swing speed. X Feel Essential (84g Even Balance Stiff shaft) Very similar to the power, however for me the difference is noticably in the lack of power (mind the pun) in smashes, drives and clears. You have to generate a little bit extra to make sure the shuttle reaches the back compared to the Power. Identical at the net which is a bonus. One thing though, I don't like the blue/black look of the racket, it looks the ugliest out the 4 IMO, lol. X Feel Lite (82g Head Light Medium Stiff shaft) Very light racket due to the balance and weight. Feels great to use. Head light rackets are my favourite normally and I loved using this racket. It certainly lacks power on smashes but clears and drives are okay as its the fastest moving in the air out of the lot as it compliments my swing speed. It feels very agile around the court, especially at the net. Obviously I will post a more thorough review once I can spend much longer with them. I must state I played with Babolat 1 feather shuttlecocks when testing. Kindest regards, -Ajay- Quote of the Day I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.
Thank you both for the feedback. Mr Ajay, may I know if your x feel Blast is really ultra stiff? Coz I tried to flex the one I saw and it flexes quite easily. I guess it's the R version. Not sure if it is the metric flex doing the trick.
I think it is ultra stiff compared to the Babolat range and IMO the Yonex rackets seem more stiff like for like. However I also believe the Metriflex has to do with this as it is oval hollow in the shaft as opposed to the circular hollow in Yonex rackets. I find the control is nice on the rackets. Kindest regards, -Ajay- Quote of the Day Household tasks are easier and quicker when they are done by somebody else.
Left to right: X-Feel Blast Satellite 6.5 Power Satellite Gravity 78 Satellite Gravity 74 N-Tense Blast N-Tense Power N-Tense Lite I-Pulse Power I-Pulse Essential Just received these I will have fun further testing for the next few weeks! I still have to receive X-Feel Power and Satellite 6.5 Lite. (Note all rackets X-Feel rackets are the non R versions). Kindest regards, -Ajay- Quote of the Day There are two kinds of people, those who finish what they start and so on.
I've got 4 hours badminton training tonight, will test out many of the rackets, especially the X-Feel Blast to see how it does during matches. I cannot wait! Kindest regards, -Ajay- Quote of the Day There are two kinds of people, those who finish what they start and so on
Sorry! I suppose the perks of being an Ambassador I'm very excited because I've never played long term with Babolat badminton rackets ever. I know they are No.1 in tennis but will be interesting to see how these badminton rackets compare to Yonex which I am used to like the back of my hand and recently Victor. I've also not played with the 20x21 stringing pattern in matches, apparently its meant to give a nicer sweetspot, we shall see. Kindest regards, -Ajay- Quote of the Day There are two kinds of people, those who finish what they start and so on
I received my X-Feel Power and Satelite 6.5 Lite on Wednesday, I must say, I love both rackets very much: With regards to the Power, I had already did a mini review: To add to above, I've now played with it more. It seems to add an extra bit of power (mind the pun) to my smashes, the shuttlecock pings off the strings nicely. I also found the default strings to be much tighter than what Yonex normally string their rackets, which is a bonus. The default strings were i-feel 0.68 which felt nice. It gave a nice hitting sound and good control. The racket certainly feels very nicely balanced, clears were effortless as were drives and drops. The racket felt lighter than 86g. Kindest regards, -Ajay- Quote of the Day A family is a unit composed not only of children but of men, women, an occasional animal, and the common cold.
