Just looking for some opinions/advice.. So recently ive been switching between an astrox nextage and an arcsaber 11 play and just cannot decide which way to go as i want to settle on one to stick with. I find the arc 11 is stronger/more comfortable for me in every area of my game other than my attack which is frustrating especially during rear court doubles, the astrox on the other hand much better for power but only ok in other areas, not bad or uncomfortable just not as nice as the arc 11. Im guessing plenty of others have had a similar dilemma so which way did you go and why? I play probably a straight 50/50 mix of singles and doubles, naturally a control type player not blessed with lots of power, decent club level player nothing more.
Nothing is good at everything. There is always pros & cons. But how would you describe your playstyle? Maybe look for something that fit your style. More allround or more agresive attacking. And finally you need to willingly accept the cons in exchange for the benefit.
I've had this dilemma for the last 4 or so years. Maybe even 5 years. I played well with the Nanoray 800. But wanted more power with smashing. Bought an Astrox 100zz. O yeah it gets the power when you time it properly. But it hurt my shoulder when playing consecutively. Bought a Nanoflare 800lt. Disliked it originally because it was hard to serve with. Different dimensions of shaft and handle length (and it didn't come with a case!). I persevered with it and found out how great it was. Then it hurt my elbow. My elbow hasn't been the same since. Also have bought an Astrox nextage, Astrox cosmic reign, Voltric lite, Nanoflare 1000z, Nanoflare 1000 Tour, Apacs Stardom800, Arcsaber 11 pro and am getting my apacs ferocious 22 tonight. Why am I telling you this? There are hundreds of different racquet models, by different manufacturers / brands. You've already identified you want a control racquet that can help generate you power. Control racquet is easy to find, Arcsaber 7 or 11 range (and others equivalent). If you want to learn how to generate more power, buy 1-10 sessions with a coach (I think Paul Stewart operates near Birmingham) and have them improve your tecnique. Because there must be ways you can improve it, even if playing with a head light or even balanced racquet. Don't spend the next years of your life trying to find a "perfect" racquet. Invest in yourself and get 2-5 of a racquet you are happy with. And get some tailored coaching ontop of it.
I recommend you to play with both rackets really tough opponents and addidional various opponents with different playing styles to figure it out for yourself. What does a good attacking racket in the rear court do, when you are in the front court or your opponents are really attacking minded and don't let you come or stay in these situations where the Astrox shines? On the other hand minimal differences, downsides and even your weaknesses you don't always discover at equal opponents, they will come to light vs. stronger players, which don't let you play the game to your comfort, advantages and strength. Also different playing opponents can influence the overall performance. I personally would train my variation of the attack with a racket which just lack there, instead of needing to sacrifice or train every other aspect of the game to make it work equally.
Probably stay with Arc 11. How many times do you play a smash compared to all the other shots in matches?
In intermediate doubles, I find big smashes are not required to win. There are just so many other ways to get points. Big smashes also rely on your partner's ability to be that playmaker and finisher. But if you LOVE big smashes, and LOVE that style of play, pick the BIG HAMMER. There's nothing wrong with it since it's an effective style against many opponents and we're all just trying to have fun.
Hello I have both. Although I have played very less with Nextage because it tires out my wrist, forearm, shoulder etc But love it's power, control and stability. Mostly I would trust my AS11 play and try varying my attack. (We play with plastics) But as others have mentioned that a well placed smash would get you a weak return which needs to be killed by your partner. My suggestion would be AS11play as it's more versatile & cheaper.
You sound similar to me. I went from Nano speed 7000 for years, to Nanoray 750s. Super quick in the hands but just not power to play from the rear. I went to the OG JS12 and used that for a few years...found I have slightly more punch but the control wasn't as good as my Nanoray 750s. Went to the 90K, my singles play was way better but got crushed in doubles. I have now settled on the TKFE. It's not as clean as say the Nanoflare 800P at the net. But the TKFE is more than a jack of all trades too. I would say it's the best "all-rounder" that ever was made. But it is pro vs cons... The TKFE won't send rockets like a 88D and it won't punch like a 800P/1000Z but you can definitely hold your own if you don't have a designated place.(like being front or back 80% of the time)
I'm in kind of the same boat as you are and havent really found a racket to upgrade on. I have the N9II 3U as my HH racket and TKFE 4U as my even balanced racket (although there is an argument both are even balanced) The TKFE excels in every area of my game except for rear court smashes/clears for me. The shots are still very good but lack a little bit of power compared to my N9II and a little more tiring on the body. So my solution is to keep both and switch between the 2 depending on my opponents and my partner. It's purely a judgment call at the time of the game. Sometimes I switch between 2 mid game as well. My next plan is to get a HH 4U racket and see if it can balance the two. I have seen a lot of players with imperfect techniques use the Astroxes (100ZZ or 88D) to hit good smashes and also defend strong smashes too.
I am definetly a more defensive/control type player naturally thats for sure, i rarely attack even on some occasions when i really should! I just always enjoy the tactical chess like element of the game esoecially in singles.. that being said i do also dislike that when i do attack i do t have the power to really hurt my oposition so angles and placement are more my thing if i were to hit winners. I think overall il probably stick with the arc 11 as as pointed oit in another post how many smashes do i hit comoared to all the other shots in a game! And i suppose it is about simply accepting that one racket cant do it all and money would be better spent on coaching my technique to generate more power!
Its already good habbit actually. & At high lv, where player reflex are well trained (no need for pros lv, but competitive serious lv), 1 hit kill rarely happen. Im big hitter but. My smash put preasure to my opponent but 1 hit brute kill is rarely happen. Learn it myself. Even if im able to destroy the wall, it would takes more than 3 or 5 smash. It would be fine on the 1st round, but the 2nd round i would be exhausted for repeat bombardment & lets forget the 3rd round as i will be compeletly dried out if im still going on barbaric mode. 50% smash with good placement, 80% smash with good aiming at difficult position, variation in smash (speed & angle) is more rewarding than barbaric plays.
