Not sure about which is @Quentin11's favourite anymore but AX88D beat AX99 today in China Open... Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
Momota's game to lose. He was up in both sets - 4 or 5 points. Lack of focus and then nerves kicked in when Ginting started to relax and play calmly.
Any rationale why Astrox website advertise the below stringing suggestion for AX99? Do users significantly benefit from their suggestions? Or nah, it is just a gimmick? Control: BG66UM Power: BG66F Thks for sharing.
hello badminton central! this is my first time posting in this site, but since the topic is astrox 99 and luckily I get to have one then I'll try to write a review about it. I'm sorry if my explanation is messy since it is my first time writing a review about rackets and English is not my mother language. the method in this review is comparison between astrox 99 and other rackets. I'll just write about the differences so if some aspect is not mentioned it means the feeling for each racket is same. my rackets are: Astrox 99 (4UG5), Voltric LD Force (4UG5), Voltric Z-Force II (4UG5), Duora 10 LCW (3UG5), N90IV (3U), N9II (3U), Jetspeed S 12(4UG5), and Brave Sword 12(4UG5) okay, here we go. in this case, I will compare AX99 with VTLDF, VTZFII, and N9II (since it looks like this three rackets are mentioned most to compare with AX99) AX99 4UG5, BG 66 Force 25/27 lbs comparison with VTLDF 4UG5, BG 80 Power 25/27 lbs: 1. for weight in hand comparison (just hold the stuff on your racket hand) without any strings applied, AX99 feels much more heavier, the differences are really significant until I got second thought before bought the AX99, but I still bought it because YOLO. 2. in strokes, ax99 is slower but more solid and got more hold to control the shuttle but ax99 got more edge in its shot.. I can control the shuttle easier and my crossing becomes deeper. 3. oddly, when I swing the ax99, it doesn't felt really heavy like when I just hold it on my hand. Swing is not tiring ad all. 4. smash power for both rackets are same but I can feel the #SteepEdgeAttack here. Even my friends are surprised when they receive my smash because the shuttle falls a bit shorter on the front court. comparison with VTZFII 4UG5, BG 80 Power 24/26 lbs: 1. ZFII is more tiring on the shoulder 2. swing speed are same but it is easier to change between attack and defense with ax99. 3. I still think that ZFII got more control for shuttle placement and smash force. I don't really know why but receiving smash from ZFII will feel heavier to return than ax99. 4. AX99 still wins in the shot's edge aspect as mentioned in VTLDF comparison. 5. defense is faster and more forgiving with AX99. comparison with N9II 3UG5, Li-Ning No.1 26 lbs: 1. N9II is significantly faster and lighter in every aspect 2. for me, li-ning rackets are a bit lacking with strokes like clear and drop (I also have experiences with N9, N7II,N90IV, and Razor 95). 3. smash power are same, but it is easier to do repetitive smash with n9ii even-though ax99 is more forgiving. 4. control is better with ax99 since n9ii's frame is aerodynamic which gives it less hold. 5. drive and defend is easier with n9ii, especially in doubles. 6. my smashes are become less likely to be caught on net when using ax99. that's all, hope it will help u guys on your research about this racket.
ah sorry i forgot to mention.. all yonex and victor rackets are on 4U except duora and Li-Ning on 3U. compared to duora 10, ax99 defence is slower but ax99 got more hold.. so it is easier to control the shuttle trajectory.. for maneuverability, duora is still winning
AX99 3UG5 Review I really wasn't that interested to get this racquet, but someone was selling it for a price that was too good to refuse, and so here is a quick review. As usual, I don't have a scale, so could not measure the overall weight or head weight, but honestly, with racquets I always just go by how it feels so this will be more of the same. There will actually be two reviews in this post. The first is with the racquet I just acquired. In order to make some comparisons, I'm going to define a scale that reflects on my own feelings of various different racquets and measure the AX99 against it. Stiffness scale: 1 (softest) - 10 (stiffest). BS12 (6), 88S (7.5), 88D (8.5), 900C (8.5), ZF2 (9), DZS (10) Balance points (all have the same setup): DZS (295mm), 88S (300mm), 88D (305mm), 900C (308mm), ZF2 (310mm). Onto the first review Initial feeling whilst holding the racquet felt like a zf2. The head has a noticeable concentration of heaviness, and manually flexing the shaft showed that it is very stiff (I rate it at 9). With the same setup as other racquets, the bp is 307mm. Dry swings with the racquet felt remarkably slow. One of things I try to do is see how quick I can continuously "drive", and the racquet did not have the snapback feeling I got from the 88S or D. In fact, the zf2 is noticeably more aerodynamic, swings faster, and recovers faster. There are two possible reasons to this. The zf2 has a thinner shaft, and the frame is more aerodynamic. The 99 is quite boxy like the 88S/D. On hitting - The head heaviness makes it obviously easy to hit any type of overhead shots. Quite frankly, it is as easy as the zf2 because of the heavily concentrated head weight. The racquet also exhibited the characteristics of other AX racquets, namely sharp drops and smashes. I still maintain that I've hit the sharpest drop shots with all AX racquets I've tried so far. Drives were slow though, I preferred blocking because driving was just too slow. Slightly faster than the 900C (you can view my review thread on the 900C), but again, the zf2 was better at driving because it just felt so much more maneuverable. Net shots depend on the person, but for me the head weight helps because I can feel it and control the racquet better so there wasn't too much of a difference with the 99 over other racquets. I think strings play a more important role when it comes to net shots. Onto the second review The reason that there are two reviews in this post is because I've also hit quite a bit with a demo racquet, also a 3UG5 version. In fact, the demo and the one I bought are both from the same supplier and I'm pretty sure they are from the same initial batch that the stores received here. This is a quick review of the demo. Initial feeling whilst holding the racquet felt like the 88D. The head was not too heavy, with the weight distributed a lot more. Manually flexing the shaft showed it as quite flexible (rating at 7.5-8), almost like the flex of the 88S. I obviously didn't get to change the setup to my own and also couldn't measure the bp, but it was using a normal PU overgrip, and from personal experience my setup reduces the bp by 3-4mm. Dry swings of the racquet felt remarkably fast; I seriously thought I got a 4U racquet (I checked the cone and it's 3U!). Continuous driving swings were much easier, and more importantly, the snapback feeling was very quick like other AX racquets, and so recovery was incredibly fast. On hitting - The racquet behaved more or less like the 88D in every aspect. Access to power was very easy, and the flex was much more noticeable and comparable to the 88S. In a way, this made it feel like the 88D is a more solid feeling racquet than the 99. The usual qualities of the 88D were all there; sharp drops and smashes; fast recovery after shots; and easy defensive clears. To me, the speed of the racquet was more or less between 88S and D. Conclusions If you've read both reviews and thought, "they sound like two different racquets", well my answer would be "they felt like two different racquets". I don't quite understand why, whether there really is a QC issue, or something else is wrong, but for me, if I held both racquets blindfolded I would be able to tell them apart quite easily. The one I got is actually harder to use than the zf2 and feels like a hammer, but the 99 demo was agile, easy to use, and frankly, what I expected from the 99 after using the 88D.
Can someone help me decide on a string? I am choosing between AeroBite and BG80(26/28lbs). I have both in my (3U) 99's right now and I have played with them for 3~ hours. I still don't know which one to commit to. I enjoy the feeling of both and I seem to play equally well with both too. But I don't know which one I like better. AB is generally gives me a slight *specialness* on drops, and nets, but the feeling on smashes is sub par. It's quite clean and crisp, which works well for drops/nets/clears/stick-smash, but not so well on a smash where I put >65% power in. BG80 is quite pleasant on everything, especially smashes, but the feel is slightly muted and very solid. I use "muted" in the sense that I just know the general area(sweeetspot) in which I contacted the shuttle on the stringbed, I don't think like I could point to an individual cross/main and say that that is where I hit the bird. Lost 2 lbs after 1 week and 10 hours of hitting ;( I like the sound of both, but because I used 80 for a while it's just more familiar to my ears. I've tried 66UM, 80P, and AS. I don't like them. 66UM looses, both tension and playability, much too fast. 80P just feels like 66UM with a little more hardness, but less control. AS feels like **** to me. I had it freshly strung, I'm taking within 1 hour, and I didn't feel any specialness what so ever. It just feels like BG80 but softer, pingier, and less control/grip when doing nets/slice drops - super disappointed in that. Can't get LN No.1 without paying for shipping so I won't do that. Also, can someone give me the run down on Pre-Stretching and if I should consider it? I am definitely not going to string above 29 for now because I won't make use of it and because I don't want to damage my frame.
G-tone 5 is always a good one to recommend and try. You could always hybrid with ZM62 Fire or BG85 for durability. Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
My shop does not carry any Gosen Badminton strings. They are primarily a tennis store that also does badminton. They have 99% of all tennis strings, all Yonex badminton strings, some of the Victor ones and LN No.5. I don't think I'll order it because paying for shipping and delivery where I live is a B****
It's 95% like BG80, hard feeling, but it's slightly different. It's a bit thinner, and you can feel the little more repulsion. It has great ping sound as well.
Love and hate 85. Strong and repulsive. Dies on me for within two weeks. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
