Gosen Fan Club

Discussion in 'Badminton Rackets / Equipment' started by mikomi, Apr 10, 2016.

  1. mikomi

    mikomi Regular Member

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    GOSEN.jpg

    I couldn't find any Gosen Fan Club thread, so here's one. This is translated from the Gosen 2016 Japanese catalog. There might be differences for the versions sold outside of Japan, but from what I've seen it seems to be more or less the same.
    I'm not affiliated in any way with Gosen. I was just bored with insomnia so I just wrote this thread up. Plus, we can't just have badminton revolve solely around Yonex, Victor, and Lining.
    To Gosen: あなたはブランドの広報担当者が必要な場合は、私が利用可能です。 :D


    Noteworthy: These Customedge rackets are the 2nd generation, hence the Version 2.0 designation. The Version 2.0 rackets are quite different from their previous generation counterparts, so please be aware when shopping for Customedge rackets that there is a distinction.


    gosen_chart_ce.png

    Click for full image
    [​IMG] TypeKv2.jpg [​IMG] TypeZv2.jpg [​IMG] TypeXv2.jpg [​IMG] TypeVv2.jpg [​IMG] TypeSv2.jpg
    [​IMG]Type K[​IMG]Type Z[​IMG]Type X[​IMG]Type V[​IMG]Type S


    Customedge, Gungnir, and Miraclelight in a single chart, click for full-sized image.

    full_chart.png

    The Gungnir and Miraclelight charts are further down in separate posts. I had to move them down when I encountered an issue.


    Resources:
    Product pages:
     
    #1 mikomi, Apr 10, 2016
    Last edited: Apr 13, 2016
  2. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    Very nice! Good job!

    I was thinking about it but got busy with stuff. And since I'm in the midst of reviewing a few of their rackets, I wanted to remain unbiased or at least some semblance of it...

    I should also add the Customedge and Gungnir racket matrix here.

    [​IMG]
     
    #2 visor, Apr 10, 2016
    Last edited: Apr 10, 2016
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  3. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    I'll start with my review of the Gungnir Alpha and Beta from late 2015.

    http://www.badmintoncentral.com/bc/2016/01/19/gosen-gungnir-alpha-and-beta-review/

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]


    Recently I’ve had a chance to test and review two of Gosen’s top end rackets: Gungnir Alpha and Gungnir Beta. Gosen chose the name Gungnir as it is the name of the spear of the god Odin in Norse mythology. So I spent some time with them to see if they could be weapons of choice on the badminton court.

    Both rackets are made in Taiwan, and come with G5 sized grips, regular isometric frames, 80 grommet holes, and are rated up to a rather generous 30 lbs string tension. Most notably and very intriguingly, overall racket length is 680 mm, which is 5 mm longer than most all current rackets (I’ll come back to this later).


    Material technologies

    Include triaxial woven carbon layer for frame strength, and high modulus M30 carbon graphite for frame and shaft. The frame is a tri variant frame design, with an aerodynamic fast frame cross section profile that looks like a hybrid of Victor’s BS series at the upper portion and Victor’s MX series at the lower portion. Indeed on swinging it cuts through the air very quickly, surprisingly almost as fast as a BS.


    Appearance and Specs

    The Alpha’s colourway is white/black with a bright blue camouflage motif on the frame and shaft. Coming only in 4U weight (83g +/-), it is headlight with a 6.8 mm diameter mid stiff shaft with a rated 8.5mm flex. Measured dry spec (no string, no overgrip) is 82.2g total weight, 36.0g head weight, and a 293mm balance point (288mm corrected for comparison with regular 675mm length rackets).

    The specs and subsequent playing reminded me very much of other low swing weight mid stiff rackets like ArcFB 5U, NR700, and BS12.

    The Beta’s colourway is white/black with a bright green camouflage motif on the frame and shaft. Coming only in 3U weight (86g +/-), it is head balanced with a 7.2mm diameter stiff shaft with a rated 8.0mm flex. Measured dry spec (no string, no overgrip) is 87.2g total weight, 37.6g head weight, and a 296mm balance point (291mm corrected for comparison with regular 675mm length rackets).

    The specs and subsequent playing reminded me very much of other medium swing weight stiff rackets like Arc11 and JS8PS.


    On court performance

    Strung with my usual string and tension setup of ZM62 Fire @25×27 lbs, I tested and played with them over many sessions of warm up drills and games over a 2 month period.

    Within the first few swings, quite immediately I found them to be surprisingly very fast, user friendly, smooth, and forgiving. Altogether they were unusually confidence inspiring. Adapting to them was a non issue, for me at least since I’m coming from balanced stiff rackets. Gosen has clearly done its homework in designing these two rackets with safer middle of the road specs, which are more suitable to the swing styles of potentially more players than some extremes such as Yonex VTZF2 LD or 6U Arc FB. And yet despite the different specs of the Alpha and Beta, the synergistic matching of the right head weight with the right shaft stiffness meant that swing style did not have to change much when switching between the two rackets.

    Power: On both rackets, power is easily accessible due to the high head speeds and nicely useful shaft activation. A slight whipping action is easily generated, but there is never any sense of the dreaded head lag. Clears, lifts, and smashes are effortless, especially Beta more so than Alpha. However don’t expect max thumping power of much head heavier rackets such as VTZF2, and nor should they be expected to.

    Speed and maneuverability: Not only do these rackets generate rapid head speeds, but they are also highly maneuverable, thanks to their aerodynamic design and relatively low swing weight. Fast exchanges are quite effortless and can be performed at the speed of thought, especially Alpha more so than Beta.

    Drives and defence: And because of the surprising speed and maneuverability, these rackets excel in drives and defence, especially the Alpha more so than Beta. I was amazed by more than a few impossibly defensive and counter attacking shots that I was able to generate.

    Feel: Both have slightly hollow feel, the lighter Alpha more so than the heavier Beta, which feels more substantial and crunchy on impact. But they are always communicative and never numb like some other well known brands. You will always know what the shuttle is doing on the stringbed. After a short while, it was possible to quickly adapt and judging by feel, perform tight accurate drops, blocks, and touch shots around the net.

    Stability: Both are usably stable and accurate on hitting, even when hit slightly off centre. Sweetspot is quite generously sized and seems to be higher up just because of the extra length of the handle. Accuracy is also high, due to the relatively stiff shafts for the head weights, so head lag was non existent, making them perfect for placement and counter attacking.

    The main difference between the two rackets is that the Alpha is designed as a lighter racket for doubles speed, defence, and counterattack, while the Beta is designed as a heavier racket for doubles power and attack. Which you prefer will depend on your abilities, your style of play, and what you want out of the racket. The Alpha can also be regarded as for females and front court players, while the Beta is for males all around doubles. For singles, while it’s suitable to use the Beta, the Alpha would not be recommended as it would be too light.


    An extra 5 mm

    Coming back to the extra 5 mm length, most all current modern rackets are 675 mm long, but the Gungnirs are purposely designed to be at the maximum limit of BWF’s equipment regulation of 680 mm overall length.

    On closer scrutiny and comparison with other rackets, the extra length comes not from the shaft but from the grip handle that is 5 mm longer. That’s why in order to properly compare specs to regular 675 mm long rackets, 5 mm was subtracted from its balance point measurement.

    Now 5 mm may seem inconsequential, but upon wielding the Alpha and Beta, there is that bit more reach available and the sweetspot is located that bit further up. In an already fast swinging racket, this adds up to not only a bit extra reach, but more importantly, a slightly longer lever for an added punch.

    Assuming intermediate and above level of play (where changing hand grip up and down the handle occur instinctively depending on whether performing speed or power shots), this extra 5 mm becomes noticeably useful. Extra power and angle smashing from the back court by gripping lower to the butt? Check. Extra speed driving and defending smashes by gripping higher to the cone? Check. Sure we should already be changing grip during play, but once I got used to the extra 5 mm after a few sessions, it was very enjoyable and quite addictive in accessing the new-found extra speed and extra power that these rackets have to offer.


    Summary

    In summary, the Gosen Gungnir Alpha and Beta are both excellent rackets that I would have never had a chance to try had I not been given the opportunity. Being so user friendly, fast, and yet punchy, these are keepers for sure. If you can find them at a retailer near you, definitely give them a few swings and hits and you may be more than pleasantly surprised by what the extra length has to offer. One thing I surely learned is to remember to adjust my grip more. So go and make sure you adjust yours! Now who says length doesn’t matter!
     
    #3 visor, Apr 10, 2016
    Last edited: Apr 10, 2016
  4. mikomi

    mikomi Regular Member

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    I just added Gungnir, Miraclelight, and Graenergy rackets to the first post. I'll also add some more pics too later on. :3
    I just realized I didn't include any max tension information (because the catalogue doesn't mention them) but I don't feel like redoing the chart.. again.


    Updated all the charts. If there's any missing information, please let me know.
     
    #4 mikomi, Apr 10, 2016
    Last edited: Apr 10, 2016
  5. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    And I also added the racket matrix to the 2nd post.
     
  6. Fidget

    Fidget Regular Member

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    visor, we share the same penchant for stiff, balanced rackets.

    What is the "rather hard" stiffness of the Gungnir Alpha like?
    mybadmintonstore describes the stiffness as medium.
    So is the Alpha a piece of rebar? Or is it an overcooked noodle?
    Perhaps compare to something in the Victor line-up. (Or, better yet, the Panda Power line-up)o_O
     
  7. mikomi

    mikomi Regular Member

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    Here are the Gungnir racquets. The Alpha and Beta were released a year ago. The new Gungnir racket for 2016 is the Epsilon.

    gosen_chart_gn.png

    Click for full-sized image
    [​IMG] Gungnir_A.jpg [​IMG] Gungnir_B.jpg [​IMG] Gungnir_E.jpg
    [​IMG] Alpha [​IMG] Beta [​IMG] Epsilon

    Resources:
    Product pages:
     
    #7 mikomi, Apr 10, 2016
    Last edited: Apr 10, 2016
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  8. mikomi

    mikomi Regular Member

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    The Miraclelight are aimed squarely at ladies. I wonder if they are any good. But more importantly, who comes up with these name for rackets?

    gosen_chart_ml.png

    Click for full-sized image
    [​IMG] ML_Adele.jpg [​IMG] ML_Nina.jpg [​IMG] Granergy110L.jpg
    [​IMG]Adele [​IMG] Nina [​IMG] 110L


    Product Pages
     
    #8 mikomi, Apr 10, 2016
    Last edited: Apr 10, 2016
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  9. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    @mikomi
    The Gungnir chart is not right.

    And can you also add the shaft diameter data from the following to the charts. Tks!

    [​IMG]
     
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  10. mikomi

    mikomi Regular Member

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    Oh. Oops! Fixed and updated everything.

    Also, the new racket matrix is oh so nice
     
    #10 mikomi, Apr 10, 2016
    Last edited: Apr 10, 2016
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  11. mikomi

    mikomi Regular Member

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    Having spent time working on the charts, the Type K v2.0 has caught my attention. I wonder if it plays anything like a JS10? Another racket I want to get now. :p
     
  12. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    I shall soon know in two days time...

    But on simply dry swings, it's slightly head heavier and slightly flexier and whippier... but dang! It cuts through the air even faster than JS10, if that's even possible!
     
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  13. mikomi

    mikomi Regular Member

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    Sounds like a functional version of the 3U JS10. :rolleyes: I can also believe the speed. I feel the Customedges I have cut through the air better than the BS12 and JS10. While the Type K v2.0 makes me think JS10, the Type S v2.0 makes me think BS12. So I also want to get that one. And since I plan to get the Type K v2.0 and Type S v2.0, I should also get the Type Z v2.0. You hear that Gosen? I'm gonna get your rackets, so you should make me your spokesperson!
     
    #13 mikomi, Apr 10, 2016
    Last edited: Apr 10, 2016
  14. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    Yep, more user friendly, but too much for me for doubles, maybe singles is fine, and not sure if the greater flex will affect accuracy.

    Here are the specs of my Type K and Epsilon samples. And Alpha and Beta.

    Racket, Dry wt, Head wt, BP

    Ver2.0 Type K, 86.56 , 38.71, 302
    Epsilon, 81.78 , 36.71, 300 (295*)
    Alpha, 82.15, 35.95, 293 (288*)
    Beta, 87.2, 37.63, 296 (291*)

    *corrected bp due to 680mm total length

    Edit: updated with Alpha, Beta
     
    #14 visor, Apr 10, 2016
    Last edited: Apr 13, 2016
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  15. mikomi

    mikomi Regular Member

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    The Epsilon's BP is 300mm dry? Isn't that considerably off from the head light rating? Is it going to be like the JS10 that has a high BP but doesn't feel head heavy in actual practice?

    Gosen sure does have a lot of confidence when it comes to racket weights. They give a specific value and from what I've seen, the real-world numbers aren't very far off.
     
  16. mikomi

    mikomi Regular Member

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    Good news, found Gosen information in English. Gosen Australia (http://racquets.gosen.com.au/).

    Space reserved for more racket information (Ryoga, Trivista, Roots series)
     
  17. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    Although their Customedge info is for first gen.
     
  18. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    Yeah, I don't know if it's sample variation or what. But in two days time, I'll know a bit more of Epsilon and Type K vs my go-to Alpha. :)
     
  19. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    Hi @Fidget :)

    The Alpha to me so far has the most perfectly synergized shaft stiffness for its head wt. Its bending and unbending characteristics are perfectly in tune with my swing style.

    And the extra 5mm length helps more than one would think. And it's aerodynamic shape cuts through the air with amazing head speed faster than any BS rackets I've tried.

    What the synergy means is that with my usual counter attacking play style and my usually compact swing, I can generate comfortably easy power (one of my measures is the deep backhand clear) while still maintaining accuracy in counter drives etc. Where I think I want it to go is where it goes.

    Previously I had MX80 and JS10 which are very stiff and I totally enjoyed the incredible accuracy for a time, but alas age and shoulder overuse made them too demanding. MX70 and JJS were not much different, MX60 and MX90 were too flexy with head lag. Similarly from the BS line, BS10 and BS15 were too stiff, and BS12 and BS11 had serious head lag issues for me. RKEP XP70 filled the gap for me for a while, but I'm sure glad the Alpha discovered me and literally fell into my lap. :)
     
    #19 visor, Apr 10, 2016
    Last edited: Apr 10, 2016
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  20. lostLore

    lostLore Regular Member

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    Anymore thoughts on how the Epsilon differs from the alpha and beta?
     

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