Absolytly not. I check exactly this point in the shop. S9 has stiffer shaft (20-30%). S9 is very repulsive racket, so repulsive, that I can't adopt to it for several weeks.
The Kawasaki shop on AliExpress has 2 versions of the Honor S9: 2022 version "for professional players", which is more expensive, and the regular one "for intermediate players". Does anyone know the difference between the two?
I just checked out of curiousity, but considering that since they look the same and cost basically the same, I'm quite sure they are the same thing. Sellers in aliexpress often have duplicate listings for the same item, I'm guessing for search findability or something similar.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002248030582.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004829560204.html
Before using 4U racquets I only used 3U rather head heavy ones, with the only exception of the jetspeed 12 4U. I liked the N9ii and N7ii siblings a lot, they were kinda like sisters but not from same parents, I played a lot with them. Between N9ii, N7ii, 90k2 4U and K8, the N9ii is easily the most powerful, but it looses out to the K8 for the easy power. The K8 produces lots of power with just a single tap, but it has a lower power ceiling than the N9ii for sure, and maybe a little less than 90k2 I would say -not to say it’s not powerful, it has enough power- but it has an incredible power to manoeuvrability ratio, way better than the other 3. For control, K8 is the best of the bunch to me, I often hit net cord winners, something I never do, and you can control really easily the length of your clears, something I struggled with with say N9ii or astrox 88D pro… For someone who likes 4U, N9ii and N7ii feel cumbersome and outdated. If I had to choose between 90k2 and K8, K8 has maybe a little lower power ceiling but is much more easy to play for 2/3 hours sessions as it’s way more agile and way less tiring, buy 90k2 only if you’re relying only on power play and got strong arm / wrist, I sold it to a player from my club who is top250 in singles in my country, he finds it tiring too…
Thanks for the awesome post!!! I broke my K8 und in germany there is only K8 II available. Specswise it is the same. But know i ordered the Wucht P7. Until know i dont like the S6 and S9 that much. Could because i strung them differently. Or because of the headweight but for S6 i allready use lead tape. Could you make a stiffness ranking. I would guess... 90k2 > N72 = K8 > N92?
Glad to read reviews. Does Kawasaki have the money to do R&D like the other top 3 brands ?. We hear so much about technology, materials used etc in them. How did K8/K9/S9 become superior in play or are we talking about only easy to play rackets ?.
S9 und K9 are quite flexibel and because of that super easy to use. K8 is stiffer and you need more good technics
No problem about quality, they’re high end racquets, and if I’m not mistaken Kawasaki shares the same OEM as Victor and Forza. My 3 K8 have same weight and head weight so better QC than Victor
Small updte about S9 (4U, lining N1 11.5x12.5 kg). I play 100zz and tectonic 7 in parallel. After two months I still filling discomfort in the control. Very repulsive, good clears, not bad smashes, good defence. To be honest, T7 better racket, better control and more solid smashes.
Interesting. I've been thinking about getting a Tectonic 7 or S9. I've tried the Tectonic 7 Drive and didn't think it was anything special so I've been hesitant to get the T7. On the other hand, Badminton Racket Review has reviewed the S9 very highly along with the other Kawasaki rackets so I've been very curious about them.
I know Badminton Racket Review opinion very well, why I choose these rackets. BUT, T7 much more stable and predictable one. I usually start with S9 and after 2-3 games I switched to T7. Any league mutchs, I play with T7... I am close to sell S9 and buy one more T7 (could be T7C). P.S. few gromets are already broken on S9. (the same with T7 stringer and tension)
