Background I’m an 18y/o badminton player in New Zealand and the highest level I’ve played at was the national level for my high school, I took a brief hiatus for a year as I had lost my love for the game but eventually I came back and gradually got back into playing this sport that we all love. I’m a doubles player with an emphasis on backcourt play but I also enjoy playing at the net. I bought the Thruster Ryuga mainly because I thought it looked amazing and wanted to try a more head heavy and stiff racket. At the moment I’m mainly using a 4u TKFE and 4u 88D and an original 4u JS12 on off days. Also, take what I say with a grain of salt, try a racket before you buy it. Specs 4UG5 Strung with Exbolt 63 at 27lbs Super grap applied on top of the factory grip and plastic cover First impressions The racket looked good in product images but they definitely don’t do it justice. The racket looks amazing with the metallic scales and silver fingerprint outlines. Swinging it around made it apparent that this was a pretty head heavy racket, it felt similar to the 88D in terms of head weight but with a bit less whip. Has a conventional sized head unlike the TKFE. Overhead shots The Ryuga has a very solid feel on contact when it comes to clearing, it did require an adjustment as it was noticeably more stiff than the TKFE with more head weight so a minor timing adjustment was needed. Shots that didn’t hit the sweet spot could definitely be felt as increased vibration. Once the correct timing was found, clearing was very easy and in fact; quite a few were going long before adjusting. Drops felt amazing as the racket head weight and stiff shaft let me place my drops very accurately compared to the TKFE and 88D. Backhand clears were very easy with this racket, the head heavy nature allows for very easy power generation with my swing, backhand drops were less easy, the correct timing was very difficult to find for some reason. Smash Initially as I was warming up, the smash was alright but not as good as my TKFE or 88D and more in line with my JS12. I was disappointed until I actually got my timing down. Smashes with this racket can’t be forced, I had to be in the correct position, time my swing perfectly with good core rotation to generate the power but when you hit it right, the steepness and power that you can generate is crazy. When the prior conditions were met, I could easily blast smashes that end a rally but I’m mostly a doubles player so the racket was somewhat underwhelming in the smashing department as I usually don’t get the time to get 100% prepared for a smash. When you smash on the move, it isn't uncommon for there to be no angle at all and just go flat over the net. Constantly smashing with the Ryuga wasn’t great as I had to make sure I was prepared for every single smash and I found that after 3 smashes I’d have to dial back the power or drop. But when you do get a short lift and do the proper preparations, this racket is a cannon. Stick smashes were pretty underwhelming as I wasn’t able to generate enough power just by using my wrist so usually I just resorted to dropping. Drives Due to the Ryuga being head heavy, drives were not as good as my TKFE and the frame only has a small sword frame area from 11 to 1 o’clock so the racket wasn’t as responsive. However, the power was easy to generate. Due to the stiffness, there was no racket head lag like with the JS12. This racket is fine in mid court drives but if you want to press forwards, you need to make sure the racket is up at all times to counteract the head heaviness. Control As I said before in the overhead shot section, the stiffness of the shaft allowed for me to play more precisely in terms of playing closer to the lines with overhead shots. It felt as if I could just point my arm in the direction I wanted; swing and the shot would go there exactly. Playing at the net was actually surprisingly good, I thought it would be slow to maneuver but it was decently fast and I could just put the racket face out with slight wrist movement and it felt perfect. Defence As the Ryuga is head heavy, I expected the defense to be mediocre; I was partially right. When it came to continuously defending big smashes, the recoil time to get back into position after a block was longer than I expected. The stiffness didn’t help as sometimes I wouldn’t generate enough power to get the shuttle deep enough which only made the defense worse. However the stiffness helped when it came to placing blocks as the shuttle would go exactly where I wanted it as long as I already anticipated the smash. Useability This racket is easily the most unforgiving racket I’ve ever used, however my previous rackets aren’t exactly known for being unforgiving (TKFE, 88D, JS12M, JS12, 88S PRO). The accessibility of power is pretty bad if your technique is lacking and off center shots will be punished both with a bad shot as well as vibrations. As I’m typing this now, I’ve got some soreness in my deltoid that I haven’t felt in a long time. This was after a 3 hour doubles session. The stiffness means that beginners may be unable to generate enough power and the head heaviness might make playing defense hard for those not used to such a racket. Verdict Even though I listed quite a few negatives in my review, I enjoyed having to play doubles with more patience, waiting for a good opportunity and blasting a smash when the chance came. I highly recommend that beginners stay away from this racket as it is pretty unforgiving. For those of whom have used head heavy and stiff rackets in the past, I’d say this racket would be a pretty nice toy to have but it's not something I’d say to go and buy immediately. The Ryuga would be a great singles racket for someone that's looking for that one shot kill power when the chance arises, it fits a more offensive style of game. Brief comparison TKFE vs Ryuga TKFE is superior in everything ASIDE from full power smashes and control. Power is way easier to access, it's way easier to just pick up and play with as there's very little adjustment needed for the TKFE. TKFE is much quicker in defense due to being more evenly balanced and having more sword frame from 10 to 2 o’clock. Full power the Ryuga beats the TKFE. The TKFE is more suited towards doubles whereas the Ryuga is suited towards singles 88D vs Ryuga These two rackets are actually pretty similar, the head heaviness is similar as well as the associated benefits and drawbacks, the Ryuga does have a slight advantage in the smashing department as the increased stiffness allowed for more power in full power smashes. 88D has the advantage in drives and defense as it felt faster and the softer shaft let me generate more power with short swings and using just finger power. 88D also more suited to doubles compared to the Ryuga
