is 88D more powerful than arc z slash? m looking for z slash replacement.. currently usinh Voltric LDForce... control of LDF is better than z slash bt lacks in power...pls help
must be a 4u user, but still you're not wielding LDF properly. No-one complains about lack of power in a voltric
Unless he is a god of thunder who likes wielding a sledgehammer True enough, some voltrics kind of still lack some power, but I'm talking here about low to mid and 4U high end ones. So yea, one can still complain about certain voltrics
I'd rather he look at getting the Z Strike or Z Speed as a replacment for the Z Slash. At least they play more similarly instead of an Astrox or Voltric.. Sent from my LG-H930 using Tapatalk
Don't think the 88S or 77 are crazy heavy to be honest, 88S is probably quite comparable to the Z Slash
I'm not saying they're crazy heavy that it differs. The performance is what differs IMO. Box frames just don't play the same as the Arcsaber frame type. Sent from my LG-H930 using Tapatalk
I think the Astrox frame is more like the Arcsaber frame than a Voltric frame, it's quite rounded off.
Yeah it is. But it still has that blocky quality to it just with a really smooth swing. I'm pretty sure the cross section is still thicker than the Arcsaber frame. Sent from my LG-H930 using Tapatalk
After my usual Wednesday and Thursday sessions, spending another 8 hours total with my 3u 88d, I can say that I really enjoyed using it. It's not as powerful as my n9ii, but it compensates in other areas drops and steep angles. To help some members here to get a better understanding if this racquet fits their playstyle: I normally play doubles with other advance players, college league players, and sometimes with the regional team players. I’m an attack oriented player with an aggressive gameplay style at the back court as well as in the front. I’ll be comparing the 3u 88d with the 3u 88s and my n9ii (my main go-to racquet). 88d using bg80 @ 26lbs one piece stringing 88s using bg66um @ 26lbs two piece stringing N9ii using main/Zymax 66fp + cross/Zymax 64tx @ 26/27lbs Front court interception: It is definitely not a slouch at the front with its fast speed. I can intercept shots for days. I can always quickly get the racquet to wherever I needed. The 88d is a deadly force at the front with forehand and backhand interceptions, especially with the added power compared to the 88s. I’ve already lost count of the body shots that I’ve scored in those hours, whoops . The 88d feels faster at the front than my n9ii, and it should have something to do with the counterweight design of the astrox. This is one area that the 88d excels over my n9ii. Mid-court smashes: This is where my smashes shine best on the court. Whenever my partner or myself forces the opponent to do a short lift or a low quality lift, the opponents can rarely defend against my smashes. Body shots, defense piercing shots, and cross-court shots are all deadly from the mid-court. Jump smashes from the mid-court are almost all winners. However, it is still an area where my n9ii dominates over both the 88d and 88s, with its higher power output. Back-court smashes: Like the 3u 88s, it still lacks behind my n9ii in this area, but it does smash harder than the 88s with the same swing. With my n9ii, I can most likely dominate with raw power doing jump smashes. But with the 88d, to dominate at the back with smashes, precise timing and carefully selected placement of the shots are crucial. Not that my n9ii doesn’t need good timing, as with every racquet still needs good timing, but the n9ii is more forgiving and can still generate good power in its smashes with slightly off timing due to the extended sweet spot towards the top. When jump smashing in the back with the 88d, even when my timing is perfect, if I didn’t pick my placement advantageously, my smashes will mostly get defended back with interest by the opponent, making it hard for my partner to follow up with a kill. So to dominate in this area with this racquet, precise timing and perfect placement are the key. Comparing it with the 88s, which is a racquet that also require the same key elements as the 88d, the 88s does back-court smashes with steeper angles than the 88d, but with less power output. Drives: Drives are very good and solid with the 88d, but not 88s good. However, it still does it better than my n9ii in this area. Drive defense is still a pleasant shot to execute, although the 88s does it more deadly due to its faster speed and shuttle holding head frame. Backhand drives are also fast and effortless to execute. Drop shots: Here comes my favorite feature of the racquet, the drop shots. The 88s might feel like the master in drives between the two, but drop shots are where the 88d claims the throne. Due to the slightly heavier head and higher flex points of the frame, the 88d does drop shots with venom. Drop shots are going down at a quicker speed with steeper angles. Most of the time, I just needed two disguised drop shots to open up the opponent’s defense, giving me an open area for me to finish it off with a jump smash, or vice versa with two smashes and a fast drop shot to finish the job. It works like a charm almost every time . The 88s does really good drop shots as well, but the 88d really does it better. And with n9ii’s head weights at the 3 and 9, its drop shots are not as good as the 88d, because the top head weight of the 88d does aid the drop shots better and quicker. For the skilled players who like to play variations, the 88d is a great weapon of choice. Netplay: It can keep up with fast pace netplays, and it enables you to do steep angles as well, albeit not as steep as the 88s, but definitely steeper than my n9ii. It has good speed to be fast at the net defending against net drops and cross-court net shots. It’s just as fun at netplays with the 88d as with the the 88s. Clears: Clears are quite effortless. I don’t have to put a whole lot of wrist and the shuttle will fly close to the baseline. Cross-court clears are just as easy, and with effective quality, as I did score several times with cross-court clear defensive shots. Accuracy: The 88d has very good accuracy, although not near pinpoint accurate as the 88s, but very close. It is slightly better than my n9ii, but not by much in my opinion. My n9ii is still more forgiving in timing for accurate shots, but the 88d, like the 88s, still requires much more precise timing to execute more accurate shots. Defense: For a head heavy 3u racquet, the 88d is very fast, enabling me to defend against most attacks from opponents with ease and can quickly recover for the next shot. It is not as fast as the 88s, but on par with my n9ii, and definitely faster than LDF and other head heavy racquets. Head heaviness: It is heavier than the 88s and my n9ii, but less heavy than ZF2 and LDF. Similar to the 88s, I can feel the head weight points at the top and t-joint of the frame. The nice head weight points, along with the higher flex points of the frame, let the racquet generate good amount of power at the mid-court area as mentioned earlier. Stiffness: As expected, the stiffness feels similar to the 88s, but stiffer than my n9ii. However, I feel that it is not stiffer than JS10 and Arcsaber 11. The stiffness is good enough to generate good power. If only my n9ii had that stiffness, it would have been near perfect. I put together one of my usual comparison charts below, comparing the 3u 88d, 88s, and my n9ii. Back court smash - n9ii > 88d > 88s Mid court smash - n9ii > 88d > 88s Front court interception - 88d >= 88s > n9ii Flat Drive - 88s > 88d > n9ii Backhand drive - 88s > 88d > n9ii Clear - 88d > n9ii > 88s Drop shot - 88d > 88s > n9ii Net play - 88s >= 88d > n9ii Accuracy - 88s > 88d > n9ii Defense - 88s > n9ii >= 88d Stiffness - 88s >= 88d > n9ii Head heaviness - 88d > n9ii >= 88s Swing speed - 88s > 88d >= n9ii Recovery - 88s >= 88d > n9ii Overall, the 88d is an excellent racquet. If I didn’t already have and still love my n9ii, it would definitely be my one and only main racquet. But as good as it is, it is not by any means a replacement for my n9ii, which that is something I hope would be left to a future n9iii. It is a very subjective matter, and I can see that some players might prefer the 88d over the n9ii, especially for those who find the n9ii’s somewhat flexy nature to be a little unbearable. However, for those who have the n9ii and are doing well with it, I really don’t see the 88d to be something to spend money upgrading to, instead I would suggest to opt for better shoes. But of course, that’s always a personal preference, everyone is different and may choose their different route. The 88d does require a lot of handling skills and control to really unleash the full potential power of the racquet. Even though the model name “d” suggests “dominate” with power, I feel that it is much like its sibling the 88s, which this racquet is still all about skill and control, instead of dominating by raw power, so “d” is more appropriate to be named “d” for “doubles” instead of dominate . I hope my one man’s opinion review can be helpful for some people . I’m simply stating how I feel about the racquet, and they are strictly my own personal thoughts and opinions, so please don’t shoot the messenger if you have different feeling or have different experience with the racquet . So now last but not least, the million dollar question, do I prefer the 88d over the 88s? The answer is simply, yes. The extra punch of power output just intrigue me more. It still has the similar desirable handling and control of the 88s, with minor trade-offs, but I feel that I like the 88d more. I can’t help it that I’ve always been a fan of head heavy racquets. And when Yonex throws in excellent control and handling into a head heavy racquet, I’m sold . Sorry, wallet ! @badmintony @RajUS I hope my info is useful for you guys.
