As several times in the past before, I've been asked by club mate (type aspiring youngster with great technique basics) for racket recommendations yesterday during practise. No budget limitations. And my head... was just empty. The only rackets that popped up immediately were from 2-3 years ago (*edit: it's more like 5 years ago...*) and just going with the big 3 (Yonex, Victor and Li-Ning), I couldn't name a single racket from their current line-up that I could easily recommend. Am I the only one who is just being completely overwhelmed by the sheer amount of releases over the past years? Which are already followed and replaced by successors before they get the slightest chance to become known as a potential classic? Yonex with their Game/Play/Tour/Pro/SuperPro/ChuckNorris structure, Victor with Pro (how creative), Metallic or Bravesword reincarnations, Li-Ning with... well, I've actually stopped following their releases since I just do not understand anything they are doing anymore. And this going hand in hand with the obvious decrease in frame quality with sunken or completely punched through holes, early cracks and so on and so on. Serious question - is it just me?
Im not easily satisfied and kinda hard to find a suitable racket. Having more releases would help me to find a better racket, but it is still hard to find one. Im still good with my auraspeed 90s and just recently im happy with 77pro. I think they release more gears to boost their sales and improve the competition. Yonex, Lining, Victor, they all scare with Mizuno, Hundred, and many more manufacturers who aim for low and medium customer segments. For me, Im not really overwhelmed but i may spend more money now to try out the new release.
See, there's my problem. I don't even want to buy and try out new rackets currently. First because they still haven't managed to market their stuff along with useful specs. And second, because I already know that every racket I buy today will most likely be old-stuff within 6-12 months at the latest. See the "fairly new" Auraspeed 90kII now already replaced with the 90k Metallic (I think?). Does the average player really want to swap rackets at least once per season? That is insane. Buying and trying new rackets has completely lost its fun for me. And that's why I'm happily clinging on to my beloved Adidas P8 now through my third or even fourth season.
For many, swapping rackets wont be so easy. Ya, perhaps im still finding it fun to try rackets. Badminton is my primary hobby. If I dont spend money on my hobby, then keeping money also not fun (for me). But I understand your concern. I dont think we can stop them producing new rackets. The faster they release a new one, it means they do quick research. Or perhaps, they just doing a good business by selling more.
It's just business. Same like how Nike, Adidas, etc. keeps launching new shoe models (Pegasus 38, 39, etc....)
Yonex should just stop with the Pro, Tour, Game and Play thingy.... I mean, some of them are so close to each other, its just pointless. Why not just do Pro and Game enough?
I know how business works and what the intentions of the brands might be behind their strategy. That still doesn't answer the initial question: Are you personally still able to really follow the market?
Long ago there is very limited internet exposure. Information didnt spread out fast. Our option about racket is simply HH, HL, or Balance. With today fast moving information, we are all exposed with so many information at once which kinda overwhelmed. Shaft flex point, so many different frame profile, different material, & many other gimmic thrown out by the brand. Nowdays with all that many information, suggesting a racket takes so many parameter to consider.
Yes, it's getting too crowded. Too many different variations/generations going on, characteristics overlapping, etc If you were to have a yonex matrix chart, there would be like 20 versions of the 88s/d split across the whole thing, double that if you add 4u/3u...
Tried, soo hard.. for a while. Resorted to N80II.. yet again, I don't know why but keep coming back to it.
You're hitting the nail on the head. Thank you. And it's not long ago that you in total had like 15 higher-end rackets in that chart and you knew exactly what to look for. And that was the same for all the big brands. Today it's as if manufacturers are only having the tiktok generation in mind that can't keep their attention on the same thing for more than 20 seconds until they get bored and need something new.
Yeah. I struggle big time. I even made the attempt to understand Lining because the paint jobs and even with effort couldn't wrap my head around all their rackets. I'm having trouble right now picking one too. I went from OG JS12, OG 90K, to the TKFE that I have been using for 3 years ish now. Now I'm finding my shoulder is hurting and wanting to move down from my TKFE. I've blown a lot of money just experimenting. I'm lucky enough to be able to re-sell at only a $30 loss per racket. But so far I've tried: Windstorm 72, BS12SE, Halbertec 800(which is crazy expensive), NF800Pro, NF800LT, Arcsaber 7 & 11 Pros. That's 7 $280+CDN rackets in just 2 months. I still haven't found one. Than I pick up my buddies 3 year old OG NF700 and it was very close to what I'm looking for. Imagine that. Settling on an old product after 100 rackets being released this year alone
I am not surprised at all. We shouldn't let the marketing bombardment fool us - there hasn't been a single update on materials or frame construction in the past 5-10 years, that will make a truely noticeable difference on your performance on court. Given that you are playing a racket that fits your style and your swing. What we've seen is pure and simple profit maximization for the manufactureres - meaning that the try everything they can to replace expensive carbon fibre with cheaper materials in their constructions. Resulting in lighter rackets and weaker frames, as we are witnessing again and again. So many players just shrug off their 10 months old rackets breaking in the lightest clashes (if any...) and happily go out and buy a new one.
To the material topic: I think its more than 5-10 years. Rather 10-15 years. Just saw a reel on instagram yesterday about it: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4hFMTRAndW/?igsh=bTdibHBtc3VqMDE1 It is about Tennis rackets, but it is the same as in Badminton... To the naming topic: Yonex was horrible in the past: Duora: One digit (including 10) were high end rackets. Two digits were mid range and some others (can't remember the naming) were low end rackets. Nanospeed: Hope I remember correctly... Four digits were high end and three digits where mid range. Voltric: One digit were mid range and low end, two digits were high end. etc... That is the reason why I do find the new naming not too bad. For me the Tour versions are a little bit useless, because of the price difference. But Play, Game and Pro have their right to exist. But I also don't like the Astrox 88 S and D naming too. That is one "string" too much. Especially with the Pro, Tour, Game and Play string behind it. Victor has already lost me after the Brave Sword series (if I remember correctly). Even the Jetspeed series with S10, S10 Q, S12, S12 L, etc... Now with the actual range its horrible: DriveX: 10METALLIC B 9X B F T 1L A Thruster: F C RYUGA II PRO B RYUGA METALLIC C RYUGA TD D 220H II A K 12 M K 11 C K 1H H Auraspeed: 100X H HS PLUS C 90K METALLIC R 90K II B LJH S LJH S 11 B 9 R I can't see/find ANY pattern... I don't even want to start with Li-Ning...
That is a very good one, thanks for sharing. I remember the good old days in which everybody (including myself) was bashing Li-Ning for re-structuring their line-up into an in fact pretty consistent three-family setup, each with a logical numbering system. And they even dared to make a campaign to explain the new structure and numbering to people. That they blew apart their own newly introduced structure literally within the first 5 following releases is a different story though...
I don't think the model lineups are that complicated. A higher model number almost always means a stiffer, more head-heavy and more expensive racket. Yonex and Li-Ning both have three series that are basically equivalent: * Astrox / AxForce - head-heavy with box-frames for power * Nanoflare / Bladex - head-light with aero-frames for speed * Arcsaber / Halbertec - even balance for control and versatility The only issue with Li-Ning is that until recently, they classified their rackets according to their unique tech features instead, with an added suffix (b/c/d/i) to describe the playing style they were best suited to, and there are are still a lot of these older models around. Once they (Tectonic, Turbo-charging, 3D Calibar, Aeronaut) start to disappear, there should be less confusion. As for Yonex's Pro/Tour/Game/Play variants, I'd summarize them something like this: * Pro - for players with good technique and an unlimited budget * Tour - for players with good technique but only a limited budget * Nextage - for players poor technique but an unlimited budget * Game - for players with poor technique and only a limited budget * Play - for players who just like the paintjob I don't love the additional variants, but I get why they exist. If the Bladex 900 Sun and Moon were named "Bladex 900" and "Bladex 950", consumers would naturally assume that the 950 is the better and more "premium" racket, and Li-Ning probably wouldn't be able to sell the 900 at the same price. Admittedly though, "Dominate" and "Speed" (in the case of the Astrox 88) are a lot more descriptive. I also don't really mind that there's loads of overlap between different Li-Ning rackets, because if nothing else, it gives you a choice of paintjobs - and if there's one area where Li-Ning are still absolutely miles ahead of all the competition, it's in the quality of their paintjobs. Incidentally, I don't know if this is reflective of people being overwhelmed by choice, or underwhelmed by the other alternatives, but when I look around me, I see nearly everyone is using the same rackets. Where I play, the Astrox 100ZZ, Astrox 88D Pro, Astrox 77 and Bravesword 12, together easily outnumber every other model combined. Apart from those, it's most just beginners using random cheap rackets, older players using older Yonex rackets (Armortec etc), and a handful of us using various Li-Nings. To be fair, I think you could recommend a 4U Astrox 88D Pro or 77 to almost anyone, and they wouldn't go far wrong - they're just very good all-round rackets, with a moderate emphasis on power but reasonable quickness, and they're not at all technically demanding or tiring to use.
Similar sentiments to above. I actually appreciate that Yonex and Li-ning are reusing their model numbers. Now Victor model naming is a complete mess across the board, which is I think down to their reluctance to reuse their lower numbers and keeping to the 'its a high number it must be a better model' philosophy. Except where does the 100x Vs 90k models fit into this... Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk
It's a little scary how similar our racket journeys have been. Immediately passed on the TKFC because it didn't click with me. I've not tried any nanoflares, but tried the 7 and 11 play instead. Also tried the AX50 and AX90 tiger instead of halbertec, trying to convince myself I should go back to box frames. Also fit in there 90K II, Jnice BP and numerous cheap enough to try Kawasaki rackets. I've thinking of settling on the BS12SE, it seems to be the most consistent racket for me at the moment. Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk
I completely agree. Also the fact that there is now 7 or 8 Thruster Fs now. I know the comment is shared around a lot to know the "difference" between them all that Victor themselves shared on YouTube. That said it's still confusing as hell and that was 2 years back when there was only 5...
I think the biggest thing that pisses me off is there is no clear standard to uphold when giving information. Even in construction everyone has to be building to a certain standard and disclose specific details. I find it very infuriating that I like the NF700. I go to every Yonex outlet/dealer I can think of online(over 15 world wide) and I cannot find official specs to compare the NF700 with the NF800 & LT OG versions. Simple things like the stiffness rating is missing on a few. Can't find them anywhere. So if I know how a NF700 feels and is rated, but if can't find the stiffness rating on another NF racket, how can I know for certain what to expect? You can go right on the Victor website and they have almost no specs for anything ever. You are literally dependant on BC/CKYew/Paul Stewart reviews to assess ANY racket. Which is terrible because half the BC reviews can be coming from casual players that have a biased preference and don't mention the actual specs. Just that it has "cleaner" shots....whatever that means to an individual. A prime example is my current situation. I want something similar to my TKFE but lighter or easier on the shoulder. No way to look that up anywhere by any metric...come to BC and a few other outlets. Overwhelmingly everyone said Halbertec 8000. Hands down across the board, can't go wrong if it's in your budget. It has the same solid feeling. Here I spend $360 CDN after stringing for one. Played with it 3 hours. My arm was dead like I played with my TKFE for a weekend tournament. It felt a few grams heavier, despite the both being 4U. It felt totally hollow and not solid feeling. Giant waste of money, wasn't for me. Next one on the list was Arc 11Pro. Many said it crushes the TKFE in every metric and you can barely feel the "hold" it has and i wouldn't regret it. That racket couldn't have felt like a bigger POS in my opinion. The hold is not subtle. Super obvious and not very nice feeling. Again, this isn't the reviewers fault per say....but it's all we have as players to rely on... Even the stiffness meters aren't standard across the board. FZ rackets "medium" shaft is like a Yonex Stiff. The BS12SE is supposed to be stiffer than the original and is EXACTLY the same stiffness as my TKFE according to Victor and the scale printed on the shaft...well ****, I couldn't show you a larger difference. If the TKFE is a 7/10 according to Victor....than the BS12SE would be a 5/10 MAX.... They aren't even close in comparison...and that's from the same manufacturer.. Absolutely gross... /Rant
