Better racket than Astrox 100ZZ?

After some googling, I have to say Im interested, however Gosen is not a common racket that I can find easily in my area, unfortunately

 

Eventually I just decided to get both 88D Pro in 4U and Ryuga 2 in 3U, let see how they perform against the 100ZZ (in 4U)

 

Sure, I am going to have a session today, will keep you posted

 

Alright, so I ended up buying anyway the 2 rackets I was considering: Astrox 88D Pro and Thruster Ryuga 2. I played with Astrox 88D Pro in my last 4 sessions while I only played with Ryuga 2 in my last session so I would like to compare 88D Pro first against 100ZZ and will have a separate comparison against Ryuga 2 later.

In summary, I found my conclusion is similar with CKYew review here:

100ZZ gives a more solid contact and you can feel the power transfer to the shuttle and the sound and that is a very satisfying feeling! No question about it, and I think everyone already knows about this 100ZZ character. But in reality under pressure situation like in a double or single match, the question is how often can you pull this off? Based on my experience: you don't always have the luxury (and time) to prep for your shot. I am fully aware that this is more of a limitation of the player's technical skill and speed (ie myself) and not the racket's fault. However when I got pushed to late backhand position for example, more often than not I could not hit the shuttle at the sweetspot and thus the contact feeling is awful and the shuttle couldn't go far enough.

When I switched my 100ZZ with 88DP, it's clear the feeling is softer. I also feel the shaft is more flexible than 100ZZ where I can feel it bends when I give it enough swing speed. In terms of shot quality (when you have the preparation) 100ZZ is just better in every way than 88DP. However, the difference is when I used it in the actual game. I am very happy with the slightly more flexible shaft because I think it helps me to have the sweetspot contact even when I was under pressure. If I put it in numbers, I think with 100ZZ, when used in a game, I only have around 75%-85% clean contact while with 88DP, I could get around 80%-90%. I think this user friendliness factor is what many racket reviewers often forget or not included in their review, to see the racket's actual usage in an actual game.

I think this user-friendliness is also the reason why Viktor who is most of the time the aggressor due to his physical advantage, prefer 100ZZ while Kunlavut, Kodai, and Momota, who are more on defensive side, prefer rackets like 88DP or 99P to allow them to maintain solid contact even when they are in under pressure situation.

In summary, while 100ZZ has higher ceiling level, surprisingly I prefer 88DP because of its user-friendliness.

 

Ouch, I hope you can get the replacement soon.

Yeah, after trying the 88DP, I realized that many players, especially recreational players like myself, often blinded by the racket's characters or specs that they read/hear from reviewers, but ultimately if you want to get the best racket that suits you, you need to try one yourself, in a game.

 

So far I have 3 sessions already with Ryuga 2. Be aware that my comparison is not an apple-to-apple comparison since all my Yonex are in 4U but my Ryuga 2 is in 3U. My Ryuga 2 straight feels heavier both just by holding it and when swinging it. However I don't feel it is too heavy or even tired after using it so I guess it is still within my physical limit combined with freecore technology perhaps? While I like the freecore feeling, somehow I like the feeling from Ars100X more than this Ryuga 2. In terms of the feedback, Ryuga 2 has the feeling somewhere in between the usual wooden handle rackets and Ars100X. With Ars100X, you can feel that you hit the shuttle but at the same time it is almost vibration-less but with Ryuga 2 I can still feel a bit of vibration, a touch like the typical wooden handle racket. Not sure what makes the difference, probably because Ars100X has power ring while Ryuga 2 doesn't? Anyway, even though I have been using it for 3 sessions now, I feel my hitting timing and feeling still not as nice as my 88D Pro. I would like to have more sessions before making a definite comparison, but for now I would say I still like 88D Pro better. In terms of power, I have a feeling that 88D Pro is still slightly more powerful but maybe because I am still not used to Ryuga 2 yet. In terms of speed, I also feel 88D Pro is slightly faster, but probably it is because my 88D Pro is 4U and a touch stiffer than Ryuga 2.. Oh, and 1 thing that I noticed is that my defense feels easier with Ryuga 2. I find it is easier to return my opponent's smash back all the way to their baseline with my Ryuga 2.

 

I ended up buying Ryuga 2 too. I feel it is like a softer version of Astrox 88DP. I still prefer Astrox 100ZZ and 88DP as my 2 main rackets