^ Keep in mind, knowing what we know now from Racquet Force, the pro rackets should now be called KR**P, instead of KRP.
There is also the Korean league where a lot of the players are still currently using the Blue BS12, my guess is that they're also KRP coded. Production was probably intentional rather than just being off spec as it's more than just the weight which makes them feel different. Thinking back to when it was first released there were only a handful that were available to the commercial market on SOSA; but then with its popularity they must have went back to produce more, and now pretty much every high end release is available in a players version... I always wondered how SOSA sourced their stuff back in the days when these player versions weren't readily available. The domestic market for Victor Korea also has apparel and other accessories which are only available to to them, I always found that weird considering that they don't have their own Victor factory. Unless I'm wrong?
I was wondering if people are ACTUALLY looking & buying player version of racket for the purpose of collectible item (reasonable enough) or with expectancy of swinging the racket and immediately turn some lousy skill to be pro-skill ?? Or perhaps just having too much money to spend off? I bet those pro players would just laugh when hearing this and might just hand you one or two of their rackets due to being pity.
It's all a bit of a worry to be frank. Something major has got lost in translation with the whole KRP debacle. There's been major miscommunication and maybe even misrepresentation going on here.
Every of your guesses is wrong. Most people just go for it, because the commercial BS12 is a great racket but a wet noodle. Also the JS10 is lacking in head weight for a bunch of people. The Players Editions are also more consistent in weight an balance compared to the commercial ones and are mostly a bit stiffer and a bit heavier/head heavier. That's the reason why some people prefer the Player's Editions. Alot commercial rackets fit to your guesses like the 3U ZF's, SP and JP versions etc. Do you play with a 10 bucks walmart?
Please kindly explain to me as whom and where did you get such valuable information? I sincerely hope that you obtain this very sightful information from R&D of Victor or Yonex or LiNing or any other badminton manufactures. I do agree that 2U, 3U, 4U, 5U, 6U, 7U, 8U weight of any rackets of any brands are slightly inconsistence in their weight distribution. However, i haven't been told that someone has proved the special "player-edition" are all very consistence in their weight distribution and not even miss out by 0.1gram. Even if these rackets vary by 1~2gram, i doubt if the great LYD/YYS, MB/CM, LCW, LD, etc...would even notice nor care about it. Yes, i used to have a 10 buck racket from Carefour (there was/is no Walmart in the country i live) but it was +20 years ago. It was horribly lousy in everything. Anyway, i had this conclusion for a while now and it just happen that someone wrote a post about it, and i couldn't be more agree about it. My doubt was just that why would anyone willing to pay extra 50% of retail price just to ger the engraved coded KRPxxxxx on the shaft/cone? Anyone with laser tools, able to read/write, & posses engraving skill can also do better job at cheaper price. Again, it's none of my business and i simply agree with the information on the 1st post. Apologize if i had offended those who worked hard in obtaining "KRP" rackets.
Two of my KR_P racquets. I forgot to mention before that last time I was in Taiwan (May 2015), I found the "KR_P" racquets here and there, and all of the shops had were pretty clear about the "KR_P" with signs in big bold letters. And for whatever reason, the "KR_P" coded racquets were always cheaper than their "normal" counterparts. At the time I assumed the KR_P were somehow inferior.
Please browse BC. Here are alot OCD people and here is a BS12KRP measurement thread which will tell something about the consistence. Also KRP rackets are cherry picked (I also read here), so consistence is not an absurd issue. That other versions differ from the KRP and MYP versions is no mystery and was also reported on BC several month ago. Racquetforce also measured JS10 KRP and MYP. I just quoted the statements from other people. FME with Victor rackets, I can tell you that they are not pretty consistent. Especially made in China tend to be more off than MIT. I have limited experience with Yonex and none with Li-Ning, so I can hardly compare. 2g weight difference is noticeable for sensitive people and 2g head weight difference is nearly the difference in head weight between a 4U and a 3U.
Any rackets made in China are guaranteed inconsistency with their weight no matter how many QC it passes, it's a matter how adaptable you are in bringing the best out of what you got. Sadly, other than consumption or hygiene products or collectible 80's items, what isn't made in China nowadays? (I deeply curse those who would write or even think "iPhone/iPad" as i've read countless iDiots believe Apple items are the last on earth that are not made in China)
What if they just produced a bunch of rackets, then only weight them, put those that are very close in terms of weight together then only they laser engrave them with "player" codes? This would made their XX_P coded racket much more consistent even if their QC is bad. While others that did not made it into the group are labeled with "normal" code. Sounds legit heh?
My commercial 3U BS12 have a dry weight of 88.6g (90g - 1.4g for plastic wrap).. And it felt head heavy and stiff Maybe it was a surplus cherry that didn't eventually get engraved with KRxxP code?