I got this racket second-hand and only planned to test it once and hang it on the wall since the racket design is super cool and there is frame durability concern as well. Victor Ryuga II (4U) Weight 84.7 grams (the shop said this racket got high tolerance the weight is 84 +/- 3 grams) BP: 299 mm Swing weight: 85.5 Kg Strung with Victor VBS 66 Nano 27lbs (strung the same tension for all of my racket for testing purposes) First Impression The racket design and paint finish are top-tier. I really like that they removed victor logo on the racket head and add the dragon tattoo design instead, super cool. The black,purple and white color blended perfectly. Nothing to complain about racket design and paints. The frame is mostly box and aerodynamic at 12 o'clock region of the frame to help generate racket swing speed. The shaft is medium stiff in the chart. I strung with black string and it looks *chef kiss* cool AF. Holding felt good and weight distribution felt great holding in hand. Swinging felt light and nimble. The shaft felt more on medium rather than medium-stiff. It felt "springy" maybe because of free-core that makes the shaft felt softer than it actually stated. I would say that it felt significantly lighter than Ryuga 1. Smash Normally I will write smash category last but this category is super important to player who used to use or play with Ryuga 1 like myself. Ofcourse, Ryuga 2 will never gives the same power smash Ryuga 1 offers since Ryuga 2 is lighter. But smashing with Ryuga 2, the smashing power really really disappoints me initially. After I tried smashing with HS and TK-F. The smashing power is similar to TK-F but the shuttle speed TK-F is better than Ryuga 2. If you're expecting BIG BIG smash, you wont get from Ryuga 2. But smashing with Ryuga 2 felt easy and I don't really need to push myself much to get a decent smash out of it. Ryuga 2 felt more solid than TK-F but the swing speed is a tad bit slower than TK-F because of frame differences.Overall, good smash but not at Ryuga 1 level. Ease of play (clears) This racket is super easy to play with. Clears are "effortless" (forehand and backhand) you name it. You only need minimum power to generate enough power to hit from rear-court to rear-court. The shaft felt super smooth and the shuttle felt like any other free-core racket, semi hollow and little to no unwanted vibration when hitting sweet spot. The racket also does not punish harshly when missing sweet spot. The shuttle will still fly with decent height. This racket is beginner friendly. Anyone will be able to play with this racket with no difficulty at all. Control (directional and trajectory) This racket can generate good repulsion so on the first few hits you need to adjust to the timing and trajectory a bit. After 5 min of warming up. The control is great, the shuttle goes where I wanted it to go. I struggle with drop shots with this racket but that can't be fixed with a session of training. It's my mechanics problem rather than the racket. I got nothing to complain about the control, rather than the repulsion you can get with this racket is a lot more than I expected so adjusting with the power is kinda necessary if you're going to use it in a high-skill fast-paced match. Drives This racket drive capabilities are great. The repulsion is on par or atad bit better than my trusty HS. Compared to HS. Ryuga 2 is atad bit slower since it's head heavier but not by much. Front court drives are still good. But this racket excels at mid-back court drives where you get more time to wind up the racket for maximum power. This racket can catch up to double fast paced drives and rallies no problem. Ryuga 2 4U are geared towards doubles more than singles unlike Ryuga 1 where fast pace rallies are a struggle and tiring for me to even lift the racket up lol. Defence Defence is super good with this racket. After 2-3 days of trying Ryuga 2. I have to participate in a small badminton tournament. Both of my HS strings broke and left me with Ryuga 2. Against high level opponents with big smash. Ryuga 2 can be able to return back most of the smash with no problem. What surprise me is the repulsion I get from the shaft and racket head. Even with bad timing defence, I can lift it to the back of the court and sometime I can drive the shuttle back with ease. Unlike Ryuga 1, Ryuga 2 is swift through the air so defence is significantly easier. Unlike Ryuga 1 that is gear towards heavy offensive arsenal. Ryuga 2 are a lot more all round and super easy to play with. Coming from "speed" racket, I would say I don't really have to adjust timing and playstyle since Ryuga 2 is good in every categories. If you expect Ryuga 2 will be close to Ryuga 1 you will be disappointed since the raw power is no where near (in terms of 4U vs 4U). What you get from Ryuga 2 is lower offensive potential but a whole new level of ease of play and all round capability. If you have HS or TK-F or 88D Pro. Ryuga 2 will not be an upgrade in terms of performance. But DAMN the racket looks good. Any question feel free to ask.
How would you compare R2 with 100X (transparent cone) in terms of power and repulsion ? As I have never play with TKF nor HS. TIA.
Ryuga 2 win in terms of power. For repulsion I think both have similar repulsion. 100X wins in term of speed. I think Ryuga 2 is more all round and better solid feel than 100X.
How about comparison between Astrox 100zz and Ryuga 2? if you were to sum up the pros of Ryuga 2 in one sentence, what would it be? How about the cons in one sentence as well? thank you.
Ryuga 2 is easier to play with than 100ZZ because of the softer shaft and bigger racket head. But 100ZZ still have bigger smash potential. control on both racket is good but I felt more confident using ryuga 2. Pros for ryuga 2 would be. One of the most complete "all-round" racket in the market and one of not many rackets that can cater to all types of player skills from beginner to pro. Cons would be. If you are expecting super offensive racket like Ryuga 1 then you will feel somewhat disappointed since Ryuga 2 doesn't offer that kinda of power.
Comparing it to the Axforce 90 Tiger, how would you rate the Ryuga 2 in terms of speed, power, control, ease of use. Coming from a 100ZZ, which racket would you pick if you're looking for a more forgiving racket for off days. TK-F Enhanced, AX 90 Tiger or Ryuga 2? Mainly play doubles with emphasis on rear court (70% rear 30% front).
Axforce Tiger shaft is noticeably softer than Ryuga 2 and a bit more head heavier. In terms of speed, Ryuga 2 blew Tiger away since the shaft is stiffer and more head light. I can get better control from Tiger and the racket head felt more steady than Ryuga 2 but not by much. For Power I think both have similar smashing power but, I think Ryuga 2 gives more power in power smash and Tiger gives more power in half and stick smash. I just don't like Tiger flexible shaft. Ease of play I would all day recommend any Victor's free-core racket. I don't know if it's on purpose but all free-core racket are easy to play with and I really like the shaft of Ryuga 2. The shaft is medium-stiff but felt "springy" but not too soft like Tiger. In terms of power, I will still pick TK-F over Ryuga 2. Both are easy to use but Ryuga 2 is easier since the racket head is bigger and somewhat felt lighter. If you came from 100ZZ then TK-F would be my suggestions since it's more of a rear court racket compared to Ryuga 2. But Ryuga 2 is not a bad pick either. You won't go wrong with both racket if you wanted to play a relaxed game with.
Thank you for this review. One of the first English reviews for the racket. I have never played with the TKF and am very curious how the Ryuga 2 compares to the Yonex 88D pro and the 99 pro in terms of head wheight?
It might be just my racket but the Ryuga 2 felt head lighter than all of the racket you mentioned above. If I remember the feeling correctly TK-F is closer to 88D pro. 99 Pro is too head heavy for me to even play doubles with.
Isnt Victor had quite big tolerance on their spec. You could get the heaviest & head heaviest model or you could get the lightest & head lightest on the same model making it very different beast.
I’m actually going to try a 3U Ryuga 2 and I wonder if it is going to make a difference. Is Zoap able to advise on this?
Doubt Zoap he would know unless he try some number of racket. I think the paper spec Zoap mention could be the initial base for reference & ask the shop to measure it before you buy it. From those you might want to choose maybe lighter or head heavier to fit your liking.
Victor does have a big tolerance but all brands do. It's just maybe more common then other brands. Another thing is the average weights and BPs of Victor are different then say yonex. Yonex = avg 83g Victor = 80 to 85g avg? From measuring over 300 victor rackets of various models for a 4u around 50% of the rackets are around 85g. A minority are 84g ish. Then you got what I call "off spec" which are 82g or 87g. 3U seems to be more spot on at 88g similar to Yonex. Ofcourse you could have some variation but it's like 1% for me so far. Don't know if times have changed but I dont understand Victor's balance point and how they would match up with their classification of HL EB HH. I have yet to find a HL racket from Victor at less then 290mm and to me that's just borderline HL-EB. Too bad zoap may not keep us updated on durability. Already known of 4 ryugas with frame failures near the ugrommets
https://www.facebook.com/161959867185920/posts/pfbid08NokTW61ChxDxoVpW8AsgGi6QfNTHQzAmFdoMoSyTUorLYvMsae7rmqtTHDxmNorl/ LZJ went back to using Ryuga 1.
Well, Ryuga 2 is wayyy too different to Ryuga 1 so many ryuga 1 user doesn't like it. LZJ attacks are not as sharp and powerful while using Ryuga 2 that's probably why he switched back.
Hi Zoap, you mentioned before that 4U Ryuga II is a lot light than Ryuga I. I know that you have not tried 3U Ryuga II before but any idea if it is still lighter than Ryuga I? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Like for example, can Ryuga II be used for doubles without the fatigue? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
TK-F Claw (white) is way more head heavy than Ryuga 2 krub. TK-F Claw is more suitable for rear court player only while Ryuga 2 is more all round in doubles. Ryuga 2 is faster and a lot easier to play with than TK-F Claw.
I know a guy who primarily use Ryuga 1 4U version and tried Ryuga 2 3U version. He said the swing weight for Ryuga 1 4U and Ryuga 2 3U version is the same, so while playing these 2 felt similar swinging-wise, but holding Ryuga 2 felt heavier due to 3U weight clasee.Ryuga 1 shaft is noticeable stiffer and the impact felt "raw" compared to free-core ryuga 2. In the end he preferred ryuga 1 4U purely on feel and the price difference is kinda huge.
