Review of my experience with the 800lt after 6 months. Note: I play at a mid intermediate level - mostly doubles. Strung with BG80 (26lb mains x 28 lb cross), Originally strung with Aerobite for the first month (same tension) switched for a bit more power. Control - 8.5/10 The racket feels good and the bird goes to where I want it go most of the time (as much as my ability allows lol). Drops are great and net play is crisp - really where I felt the racket shine because it was quick and responsive. Defensive shots are quick and will go to where I want them to go most of the time - even though the racket is stiff (ish) I still get a pretty good amount of hold. Speed - 10/10 Super fast at the front of the court and quick returns + defence. Really fun at the front. At the back, the speediness and light head makes time a bit different from my 88s so, be ready to adjust to timing - sometimes I'm too fast and end up with not the greatest shots. Power - 7/10 At first, I didn't feel like I could generate power - had to put more arm and body into clears and smashes. NOTE: the racket doesn't give you power on its own, you gotta use your own strength, muscle, core, etc to get the power. Even then, still not too much power - but what are you expecting from a headlight 5u racket (get a head-heavy or even balance if you want more power). TBH, I do feel the lack of power reduces my chances of putting the bird when I need to. Had to adjust to more setup shots to get better quality smashes. When I had Aerobite on the racket - it didn't work very well for me - nice hold, but not enough power. BG80 gave me a compromise that gave more power but less hold/feel. Would recommend BG80 for the 800 LT even though Aerobite is the regular string for most rackets. A side benefit of this racket is that it helps warm my wrist up since I have slight pain around the base of my thumb (bottom around to the top + top of wrist). Warming up reduces the pain and when I do want to use my 88s I can once my wrist is warmed up. This is a temporary fix to my own issues - need to strengthen wrist, increase wrist mobility through stretches, and work on my technique. Overall, I like the racket and it suits my faster front forward play style. But, the only caveat for me is that it downgrades by power in the rear court. I like that I can use it to warm up, without reducing much of my gameplay, sometimes I don't even switch to my 88s if I'm playing well with 800LT. Would recommend this racket for those that want the speed and control - if you need power, probably not the greatest racket, unless you have the body/tech for it or are willing to work/improve to make the racket work for you. Best, L
I had 24lbs BG66U as the string in my NF800lt. It truly is a beast of a racquet. I am impressed that you had no problem adjusting to the racquet proportions. I struggled for the first week with serving as the proportions of handle, shaft and head were in a slightly different place than I was used to. I agree with what you say about needing a good smash technique. I can certainly feel the difference in power when compared to say the Astrox 100zz. If you ever get the chance to play with the Nanoflare1000z, I consider it an upgrade to the NF800(lt). I really don't know how they did it, but it does just feel even better and as a bonus it doesn't hurt my elbow when I put 100% into smashes.
Got this racquet after my arc11 and arc7 pro, both 4U. Whilst they’re great racquets, I just can’t seem to play well with them, they’re lacking some distinguable feature, like they’re too much allround for their own good. Nanoflare 800lt is a totally different beast: it’s stiffer, a little head heavy, compact head… a very direct racquet to play with. I’m more than happy that I switched, it’s more manoeuvrable, I get as much power from it, and it’s way funnier to play with
Pretty good so far, in terms of restringing. (have had since February/March of 2023) Had a couple of small collisions and no chips (crazy to me, after seeing my 90kii chip on the first day LMAO (ended up selling it)).
Looking into the NF800 3u as a racket for singles, wanna pick it up before it gets discontinued for the new NF800 Pro (completely different racket ;-. 1000z is a bit too pricey for me right now
There's only $10 difference in pricing between NF 800 and 1000z if you're buying new. 800 is 300cad and 1000z is 310 cad. Prices these days overall are wild though.
Shop near me has a sale on the NF800 since the NF800 Pro comes out next month and the original NF800 is going to be discontinued.
Update on the racket. After a few mishits and one clash, the racket has joined my graveyard. Lasted 9 months ;-;. Taking it with a grain of salt since I did clash my racket once a few weeks ago. Not sure if it would've caved on these mishits if there was no clash. It happens tho. Second nanoflare to break tho. Have one more Nanoflare (800 3u this time), might be the last for a while, seems like headlights rackets are just fragile in general. Not sure if that's the consensus tho.
