Wilson Badminton Racquets

Discussion in 'Racket Recommendation / Comparison' started by geokos, Jan 30, 2010.

  1. geokos

    geokos Regular Member

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    unfortunate that the latest BLX series is not yet launched in India......it is popular in Denmark so you have the privilege of using their latest racquets.......
     
  2. OliverHH

    OliverHH Regular Member

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    Haven't seen them in DK yet, not in stores or on the internet. Hope to soon though. They look lethal :D
     
  3. Yoppy

    Yoppy Regular Member

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    There are severals things that i believe Wilson is still behind other brands in badminton rackets:
    1. Materials (strength/weight/durability)
    2. Technology (that adds improvement to the players game)
    3. Research/Testing (including test by the pros)

    1st tier badminton rackets currently: Yonex Lining Victor Carlton Ashaway Mizuno RSL
    2nd tier: Apacs Pro-Kennex Wilson Dunlop Astec Flypower and hips more of other brands

    Obviously some products are really good and some aren't, i just think that of it as in overall quality. Even for Wilson to compete (with price consideration) againts other 2nd tier competitors, I just cant see the value. Especially when they are up againts very good Apacs rackets at $45-60 mark or even Li-ning TC range at $100-120.
     
  4. geokos

    geokos Regular Member

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    I am a little surprised that you are placing wilson in the 2nd tier racquet space. I think it is a tier one racquet. I might be saying that because after yonex the only available racquet brand is wilson in India. I wish CARLTON, ASHAWAY, VICTOR and LINING had good distribution in India. Perhaps I like wilson because that is the only brand I have evaluated since I used yonex. I personally feel ashaway and carlton have good equipments. Especially ashaway is good in terms of the price factor.

    When I wanted to shift from yonex, I tried to get ashaway superlight 79 racquet but couldn't get one. Hope these brands distribute their products better in India.
     
  5. Yoppy

    Yoppy Regular Member

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    As you know, Wilson just introduced "BLX" series. Maybe they are good and i hope they are not as bad as the "K" and "N" series. I will buy them only if i tried them, simply wont risk like i had in the past.

    http://www.wilson.com/wilson/racquet/index.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673996700&bmLocale=en

    I visited Wilson web site, its really good. But any good web designer can make that looks nice, right? As far as we concern its the actual product quality. Sponsoring Jonas R may add marketing result for Wilson. As I said i hope BLX series will not be another disappointment.
     
    #25 Yoppy, Feb 28, 2010
    Last edited: Feb 28, 2010
  6. Yoppy

    Yoppy Regular Member

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    O BTW, i use Wilson grip. The one with Roger Federer pic on the package. They are really good.
     
  7. geokos

    geokos Regular Member

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    I had a bad experience with the N series racquets but I found the K series racquets very good.....thats the reason I stuck to using wilson racquets......lke you said hope the BLX racquets are even better......
     
  8. OliverHH

    OliverHH Regular Member

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    Please enlighten me about these points, because I don't think they lack in those.
     
  9. geokos

    geokos Regular Member

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    Oliver......Wilson is widely used in your country....if I am right it sponsors the denmark team......you should be able to comment on what you fellow players feel about wilson racquets.......
     
  10. OliverHH

    OliverHH Regular Member

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    Head sponsors our national team ;) but people I play with have only said highly positive things about Wilson, especially their doubles rackets.
    Yonex is by far the most used brand in denmark, followed by Forza, but after that it's hard to tell which brand is thirdly most used, but from what I've seen, Wilson takes third, followed by Head.
    Babolat, Tactic, SteinP and Carlton is some brands I've also spotted a bunch of.

    Most stores in denmark carries all four major brands in DK (Yonex, Forza, Wilson and Head). And I remember when I was younger, they carried Pro Kennex and Carlton :)
     
  11. Eric Soon

    Eric Soon Regular Member

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    Wilson new BLX range looks great and solid, especially Recon. Vertex looks sharp. Anyone tested these before? Hope to get a feel of them.
     
  12. Yoppy

    Yoppy Regular Member

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    OK here we go:

    1. Material: I dont know exactly what material Wilson use, but i had 2 wilson rackets (1 N series and 1 K series). Both could not withstand the string tension at 28 lbs and hence both broke within relatively sort period of time (without any clash with other racket). On the other hand, i have yonex, Li-ning and apacs racket most of the strung at 26-28lbs no problem. Only had one NS9000S broke at 3 o'clock position due to clash.

    2. Technology: Please compare Wilson and other well develop brands such us Carlton Yonex Li-Ning etc. Wilson do not even mention what innovation they add to their products on the web site. I strongly suspect that their R&D budget is very limited and therefore their products are being develop mainly based on available technology, nothing new. This lead us to point number 3;

    3. Research/Testing: I believe one the important things in racket development is working closely with the pros. The recent endorsement by Jonas is great for wilson, especialy for the latest BLX series. It shows to some extend that the quality is there to meet the requirement for the highest level. However, 2 points are important to mention. First, apart from the racket quality it self im sure there are many considerations that Jonas thought about before agreeing a contract with Wilson. What are they? I dont know, only Jonas can answer that. Secondly, if you compare with other top brands they are endorsed by more players than wilson. Eg, Li-Ning endorsed by the whole CHN nat team, Victor by the Korean team, Carlton by a buch of mainly European players, Yonex endorsed by top players too.

    So i conclude, in general (apart from BLX series which i have not tried) N and K series are not as good as other brands top range rackets.

    But perhaps Im wrong, please let me know if thats the case :cool:
     
  13. twobeer

    twobeer Regular Member

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    Looking at Wilson, t does seems that they just inovate Tennis stuff, and then use the same "marketing" to market Badminton racket.. Personally I doubt r&d for tennis is te best way to come up with badminton racket tehc and design...

    BLX seems to be invented for tennis and adapted to the badminton rackets. I have not tired it but to me Wilson seems more of a Tennis company than a badminto focused company, like Li Ning, Yonex, Victor..

    /Twobeer
     
  14. OliverHH

    OliverHH Regular Member

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    Not at all. I stand corrected. But I do not think they rank as a 2. tier racket, but maybe not as a 1. either. I just hope the BLX will work better for you, if you ever consider buying a new ;)
     
  15. Sketchy

    Sketchy Regular Member

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    Well, I wouldn't be convinced by those arguments.
    The first point about durability may be valid, but looking at the other two points it seems Yoppy is way to influenced by marketing (no disrespect Yoppy).

    The last real technological breakthrough was the isometric frame - anything since then is just racket manufacturers trying to find new ways to sell the same stuff. You'll see the same thing going on in just about any industry. What matters is just the basic makeup of the racket - weight, balance, flex - not what nano-BS it claims to contain.

    Same with pro endorsements. So what if a racket was made to Lin Dan's preferred specs? Do you really think what's right for Lin Dan is going to be right for us mere mortals? No - it's just that they know there are a lot of Lin Dan fanboys out there, and making his signature racket will guarantee a big boost in sales. Again, it's the same in any sport.

    Of course, none of this means that Wilson rackets are good - they may be crap, and they probably are too expensive - but if you personally like them, then you shouldn't be swayed by comments like Yoppy's.
     
  16. geokos

    geokos Regular Member

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    personally I feel that using tennis or any other racquet technology for badminton is not wrong.....as long as it is tweaked to suit badminton players.....we are just assuming that wilson is just replicating tennis technology blindly to badminton.......

    To answer yoppy earlier point no 2 about wilson talking about their technology.......i think they have done a decent job of explaining it on their website....infact they have also segmented their racquet models in terms of power and control .....they have also mentioned their take on what racquet is good for singles or doubles in their racquet description page.......
     
  17. Yoppy

    Yoppy Regular Member

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    I understand that point 2 and 3 is somewhat quite subjective. And to be honest i dont have enough information to fully stand on the arguement. However, Wilson web site explain more on the racket specs (weight balance flex etc) not the technological innovations (eg. http://www.yonex.com/badminton/technology/racquets.html and http://www.carltonsports.com/docs/badminton/technology/frame_technology.php). So if I assume that there is not much going on the technological front, may i conclude that this particular racket is as good as other rackets? And if we put the arguement on car industry for example, would you see/feel the difference between a Benz and a Hyundai? Wouldn't be the difference lies on the details?

    In regards to pro players endorsement, the first point is (as i already mentioned) that if its endorsed by a pro, to some degree the quality is there. If you are a pro would you endorse a cheap low quality brand? Perhaps not.
    Secondly, to our benefit as a general users, we often use it as an informative refference. My fav player is Chandra Wijaya, but i dont have any of his racket simply because i dont play like him, far out. However for those player who play in similar style (although no where near as good) as Chandra may find the information is useful for them to find the right racket. Please check out below thread:

    http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81649

    Finally i would like to mention that in no way i intend to prevent anyone from buying Wilson. I would like to try the BLX series my self. I only suggest that if possible we try them first before buying, regardless of what brand. At least we know that it will suit us
     
  18. Charlie Liu

    Charlie Liu Regular Member

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    Dear Yoppy,

    Please see my points below:

    1. Material and Technology - there is no shortage of technology for Wilson:
    a. [K]arophite Black - New structures created at the nano level for more feel and ultimate [k]ontrol.
    b. [K]ontour Joint - New frame and shaft technology that enhances stiffness at t-joint area for improve torsional stability.
    c. [K]onstruction - New frame construction provides a more stable hoop and allows higher string tension.
    e. [K]ap - New top cap design on the handle for more flexible shaft resulting in increased power.
    For details, you may download the brochure or refer to the video at

    http://www.wilson.com/wilson/racquet/videos.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198674747106&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=9852723697226456

    K Tour have been well reviewed in Badmintoncentral.

    Personally I own a K Blade which is good value for the price I paid for. Just note that you have to change the factory string to a better one (as in other racquets).
     
    #38 Charlie Liu, Mar 3, 2010
    Last edited: Mar 3, 2010
  19. Yoppy

    Yoppy Regular Member

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    Thank you Charlie Liu for the info. I guess my assumption (on the technological matter) is not entirely true. Its based on my past experience with Wilson, thats all.
     
  20. KhanOnCourt

    KhanOnCourt Regular Member

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    i think technology is there. Utimately it is down to the end-user to find racket which suit him/her, whether is Wilson, YY, Victor or etc. It all about the personal feel, touch, skill and fitness level.
     

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