Thruster K Dong - 3U Owner's Diary

Discussion in 'Badminton Rackets / Equipment' started by swsh, Jul 1, 2020.

  1. swsh

    swsh Regular Member

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    First, lets deal with the controversial bit. This racket carries with it an air of uncertainty that I've seldom come across before outside of the extremely limited stuff. Market limitations dictate I'm not supposed to even have it with it being limited to China.

    2020-07-01.jpg

    I've been lucky enough to own almost every racket I've ever wanted to and with it has come a less than enthusiastic mindset about more new purchases. It now wanted something less than ordinary. Gambling with my purchase could perhaps be the ideal course of action.

    Now, I've searched the net to see and there are some beautiful shots of the racket courtesy of the original photoshoot by Victor but not much information by users. No videos of the racket introduction either. A hidden treasure so to speak.

    The rackets I've owned that would seem similar originally would be TK9900 MK3 (stunning racket) and my ZF2's but it wouldn't turn out to be the case.

    The proportions of the Thruster K Dong are so similar to the Yonex Z Force II that you'd be hard to distinguish it from one another if it didn't have paint on it. There are no bumps however on the 10 o clock and 2 o clock top edges, it's all smooth. Shaft is 6.4 mm (claimed) and it feels that thin. I remember being absolutely stunned by the TK9900 Mk3's shaft and the feeling hasn't gone away with this. The frame is compact headed.

    Grommet strips are present at the bottom but none at the top unlike a Z Force II. It's a smooth frame and the single grommets will be a) easy to obtain anywhere and b) cheap to replace.

    Dry Weight is dead on at 80.5 grams for the 3u variant I have and it's 90.5 with the original grip and BG65 on it. To me it feels more 4u than 3u or at least partly but oh well.

    The racket is beautifully designed. Matte almost cranberry red in person as a base layer with Gold decals that have a comb font making the logos seem like they were patiently and passionately hand painted. Blacks are also matte.

    First Impressions:

    Courtesy of a really tired me and restrictions on travel lead me to have it strung with just BG65 as I didn't have time to go to the usual shop. The impressions might become even better.

    If your shoulders are a couple, the 3u ZFII over long gruelling sessions can be the widowmaker. Power seems inaccessible to most in the heavier specced variant not only due to the head heaviness but the stiffness that comes with it.

    The TK Dong however is nowhere near as stiff as the ZF2 or the TK9900. It is really incomparable because the power is so accessible from such low effort range that its hard to fathom sometimes.

    As the head weight carries itself and the shaft bends so well and so easily, the clears and lifts are some of the most effortless I've experienced. It isn't a noodle however and stiffness is most certainly felt with the precise touch shots or when driving the shuttle. It's just right.

    Overhead is where this shines the most. Where the ZF2 took a lot out of your body, this doesn't. You can smash just as satisfactorily with this as you can with the ZF2 without the excessive fatigue that comes with it. Stick smashes are MUCH easier due to how easily you can flex it compared to say the more extreme stuff like a ZF2 or a Z Strike.

    Defense doesn't suffer hard like it would with a head heavy frame that was box shaped. This is very smooth through the air. Do not expect great retrieval like with the Braveswords etc however for obvious reasons.

    I'll write more about the feel from the racket when I put a hard feeling string on it next but for now, I can still feel 65 relatively well even tho on most rackets it feels absolutely numb when shifting from a hard feeling string. But I guess that's just Victor for you.

    I'd like to conclude with the fact that for most people, this is the racket they should own instead of the ZF2. ZF2 is what you want because of the reputation and your severe overestimation of personal skill level but the TK Dong with it's approach to this style of a racket is what you SHOULD own. It's not applicable to all but I'd use it as a normal recommendation approach to those who struggle to even know their racket preference.

    Bravo Victor.

    The racket due to it's lack of virtual footprints and popularity for clearance purpose is merely 35 $ here. Extreme discounts are present on top of the original price cut courtesy of the rather horrid market / economic state courtesy of lockdowns and restrictions of working in the epidemic area.
     
  2. swsh

    swsh Regular Member

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    Post reserved for photos. (The iPhone has been screwed up so will have to wait a little bit)
     
  3. Martynas

    Martynas Regular Member

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    apacs ziggler with victor badge :) and as usual for victor their 3u is just 4u +2 grams of weight in the handle...
     
  4. swsh

    swsh Regular Member

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    Not even close mate, not even close. (Had two of those as well)
     
  5. Martynas

    Martynas Regular Member

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    lhi pro one in 3u as well?
     
  6. swsh

    swsh Regular Member

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    LHI Pro 1 or 2? Played extensively with v1 but didn't own it. Also, thought you were talking about another Ziggler.

    Still, not rebadged.
     
  7. Martynas

    Martynas Regular Member

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    Just LHI pro 1 or 2 in terms of specs are just like thruster dong (not so HH and more flexy zf2), and really 3u :)
     
  8. swsh

    swsh Regular Member

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    First impressions seem to be rather opposite of actual reality as I know of now. Before we get into that, as promised, here are some pictures. I know, I know it isn't a yonex but I only had the LD stencil lying around.

    1_opt (2).jpg 2_opt.jpg 3_opt.jpg 4_opt.jpg

    So we have a guy (U-19) who runs Astrox 100 ZZ's as his setup atm (AX99's before when partakes in tournaments abroad for the country) and he literally struggles to play with this in a semi-serious doubles practice match owing to the headweight and stiffness of it.

    I've given it to almost everyone in the club and the opinion seems to be of the "I can't play with this, take it back nature" which is rather reminiscent of the ZF2 times. I take back what I said about it not being stiff because I finally had time to run a bunch of rackets side by side (after not playing for a long while courtesy of lockdown) like the 100ZZ, 99, 99LCW, ZF2. Nothing but the ZF2 compares. The ZF2 still feels stiffer, harder and more fatiguing but wow this feels close side by side.

    Measured BP with GT5 and Tourna grip (.6mm) on wood (approximately) - 318 mm.
     
  9. Sgupta02

    Sgupta02 New Member

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    I own this racket and its my go to racket. I am so much in love with this racket and how it plays that whenever it good for stringing I have a hard time playing with my secondary racket.
    Since its head heav, the clears are a walk in the park, smashes have that bite in them and also since its a compact frame, like zf2 with a slim shaft, its quick enough for retrievals and net play during doubles.
    Unfortunately i broke mine today in a clash and was searching for a new racket, but i can't forget the feel i get playing with this racket so much so that i think I'll be ordering the same racket again.
     

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