I have read so many different opinions about headlight rackets. Some say that they are pure double racket and only for defence and Yonex says that their headlight series nanoray ist good for clears and sending your opponent to the back of the court. So I have no idea if a headlight racket fits my following strengh and weaknesses/playstyle: -many precise drops (mostly from the back of my court) -many precise cross (drops) -few rather weak smashes (only when they are perfect to smash) -I use clear when nessesary needed (they are too short in pressure situations, otherwise they are ok but not really good) -I play variable, but mostly a bit defensive -I play double and single equally (maybe slightly more double) Does a headlight racket fits my playstyle? Should the racket have medium stiffness (I am probably too weak for a stiff racket)? Any recommendations (around 130Euro)? Nobody in my club play with an headlight racket, so I needed to lend one for a small load of money to test) and I would like to know if a headlight racket could fit my playstyle before lending or buying. Thanks in advance!
Hallo Max und willkommen. Most german Onlineshops give you a voucher if you decide to buy one of the tested rackets. Where do you live? Sometimes you can also visit one of this shops and save the shipping costs. Sometimes a change in grip size or a supportive string and tension can solve the problem for less amount of money. At your age it seems you are looking for a christmas present, right? I have seen you are 16yo. This is quite young. From your description it sounds like you don't play for many years. Maybe I'm wrong. I have read you use a carlton VT vanquish. You current racket is pretty allround (medium, light and even balance) and should suit a wide area of players without beeing extreme in one attribute.
Hi Max, what racket are you using now? I know you're asking for advise on racket type, so can you please expand a bit more about yourself, the level of play and how frequently you're playing? Could your technique be improved, rather than spending on a new racket? Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
Erstmal ein Willkommen auch von hier! In general it seems to me as if true head light rackets have almost disappeared completely from the market over the last couple of years. Even the Nanoray series can hardly be described as true head light IMO. And to be honest, I don't really see a reason why anyone would really need them. And reading through your own player characterisation, I would not expect that a head light racket will do you any good. You might gain a little advantage in defending smashes or fast drive exchanges in doubles, but lose significantly more when it comes to getting proper length in your clears compared to your current even balanced Carlton racket. What I do understand however is that you might want to go for a new racket. But please be aware that it won't be the racket alone that will give your game a significant boost or getting another 1-2 meters into your clears. It will be a lot more training/coaching and practise and hence a better technique that will do the trick here. But anyway, being a gear head myself, I know that holding a shiny new racket can at least give you some mental boost and might drive you to going on court more often. When it comes to choosing a new racket, I'm fully with @ucantseeme. First of all, try as many rackets as possible (from friends, clubmates, etc.) for getting a feel which type of racket you prefer. If you already have your candidates sorted out, check out if you can get them as test rackets first for a direct comparison (https://www.racket-outlet.de/badminton/testschlaegerverleih.html or http://www.tennistown.de/product_info.php?cPath=25_293&products_id=2432). You won't be wrong with targeting even to slightly head heavy balanced and medium stiff rackets since they will allow you to develop your game in any possible direction. A side effect - a bit more weight in the head will force you to develop a better racket preparation and posture. And with your given budget, I would think of: - Li Ning N50-3 (brilliant allround racket, slightly over budget if you insist on the gold version) - Victor Bravesword 12 (the classic, the blue version within your budget available at smoof) - Victor Thruster TK8000 (slightly more head heavy, but still a great racket with a good price at racket-outlet) - Victor Super Inside Wave 36 (perfect allround racket for a good price, very easy to use) - Yonex Duora 7 (slightly over budget) - Yonex Voltric 7 (more head heavy, but a brilliant racket for developing your game)
IMO the parameter headlight, even and head heavy got wash out with introducing so many different weight classes in the past years. A head heavy 4U has approx. the same head weight like an even 3U or slightly headlight 2U. IMO the balance just became a nuance when you choose. At the moment an even 3U or and moderate head heavy 4U are the rackets, which don't tend be too extreme an be a save bet. A voltric 70 e-tune, would be a good racket for you, because a restring is just needed to change the head weight a bit. BTS Wochnik, offers to order all set-ups as try out package. Also the Adidas Switch Tour is a good option. The Switch don't need to be restrung for changing the head weight. Both rackets are not stiff, but the Tour is a bit more flexible. The BS12/BS09 are both good options. Voltric 7 is IMO the best Yonex racket in the medium price range. You get a real decent racket for spending not too much money. I would not recommend a 3U Thruster. Pretty extreme. Also the Duoras are more on the heavy and head heavy side, so an Arcsaber is IMO the more suitable choice and more the i-Slash or 7 instead of 10/11. Li-ning has a bunch of good and suitable rackets for the average player, without beeing too extreme. Can just recommend the 55II, 50II an 77II never got in touch with the 3. gen and the first 1.gen is very hard too get now.
Even 2nd gen is a bit scarce now. I wouldn't recommend the e tube range at all. It encourages too much fidgeting.
I am playing for 7-8 years, but in the last 7 years I only played once a week and I started playing twice a week half a year ago. My old racket is 5 yo and its time for a new racket (the plastics between string and frame starts to break/loose). I live in a more rural enviroment so there is no badminton shop in the near (only sth. like Sport2000). As I dont have much strength in my arms and prefer this presice placing, dropping and defending playstyle. I though a headlight could fit this playstyle. (btw the racket is not a christmas present) I just saw that racket-outlet.de has this voucher you said. I am probably lending 1 or 2 rackets there and see if I like them.
I play for 7-8 years, probably sth. between intermediate/advanced ( I dont know how good a "standart" advanced or intermediate player is) and I play since beginning of this year twice a week (before that mostly once a week) On weekends I play sometimes on small tournaments. My current racket is Carlton Vapour Trail Vanquish (medium flex, even balanced, 10kg tension, 675mm i think). This racket is 5 yo and the plastics between string and frame starts to break/loose. Thats why I am buying a new one.
The plastics between string and frame are called grommets. I change a hundreds of them each week for my stringing business. It's a Pfennigartikel. This isn't a need for a new racket. If so, I would need a few new racket per month.
Nice to know. But you probably need to unstring the racket to replace them, right? I also found my old racket just in this moment: Carlton powerblade superlite. I always thought it was even balanced and it laid in a cabinet years, because I used another racket (my current one) while it was repaired (one or two strings torn). After it was fixed I never used it again, because I felt comfortable with the new racket. The old racket has written: super headlight on it although it does not feel extreme headlight (when balancing out with the fingers and comparing this feeling to other rackets). I will try it next training and see if I like the feeling of an headlight racket.
I dunno if the old ones were different, but I had great issues replacing grommets on a Carlton recently. Damn things weren't the normal size
Right. Also a fresh job performs far superior compared to an old one. Kills 2 birds with one stone. Never had issues with replacing grommets, just with a very old Wilson from 2000. Some of the newer Carltons in mid-range have a super-thick frame profile which is impossible to mount with a load spreader. Otherwise I have no issues with Carlton, just to be careful if you one piece a Prototyp and which is the short/long side.
Yesterday a junior, who is also 16yo with the same racket asked me yesterday how much I charge for a restring. @Max1502 does your firstname starts with H and lastname with a G.
Nanoray doesnt mean you will have weak smashes, its down to technique and tension and the type of string you use. Dont believe me, youtube mohammad ahsan, he uses arcsaber fb then nanoray 900
True, nanoray 900 is considered headheavy, so idk why they put it in nanoray haha. And he did use arcsaber fb, one of his highlights playing with hendra setiawan against japanese pair shows it.
