Not left at all, but considering this will simply continue if somebody doesn't put an end to it. Hence I sent a conversation Eppsy and the same will go to Xiaoqiao and Mike. Mike, there is no point any racket manufacturer trying to sell in Japan. Yonex is simply too large. The UK market is very different and we are a lot smaller. Paul www.badminton-coach.co.uk
Victor control in the UK? I don't think so. Yonex have all but a strangehold on the UK market. But I do agree, that Yonex doesn't seem to care about the market; we just get a smaller selection at a higher price. I'm not even sure it's for a lack of players but rather, 'we can get away with it here'.
Victor doesn't have control of the UK market. Yonex is still the biggest by a long way. It's had 25+ years of dominance. As a small market we have a limited number of products. Paul www.badminton-coach.co.uk
Boooooriiing!!!! This "my multi million dollar company is better than your multi million dollar company"-screaming is leading nowhere and doesn't make any racket better or worse.
Hahaha. Stopped reading the oft-debated oft-contentious racket reviews a long time ago. What used to be a voice of reason is now being called out as a voice of treason... "Reviews", by definition, are hardly objective. For objectivity, I'd recommend specs sheets! (Although I acknowledge that even these are sometimes inaccurate)...
All that.. uh.. racket about these brands won't cause a drop in the ocean on their sales, tactics or no tactics. But as for me... I'm keeping the ZF2 and BS12 for a long time to come!
Nah, I'm simply stating very little people play in UK, therefore in proportion there are few top players. Why we started this fight out? That's pretty long ago, but looking page 1 of this Duora 10 thread would be obvious. We want fair and balanced opinions on rackets.
This is.. Intriguing. Sorry to pitch in into the debate a bit. I recently tried a duora 10 3ug4 with bg66force from a shop. Good racket. Not to my taste. But it is good. Two sides did give different 'taste' to the shots. Did it make my shots like professional players, no. But it's skill, not racket. Funny thing: I returned the racket to the seller. We talked a bit about the rackets, shoes, manufacturers and all.. And he said: People are liking yonex a lot, search for them, and we (the seller) do like it's products.. But how they treat the seller.. Is hell. Yonex know their things are selling. But still do it to the seller.
Duora 10 is good, i dont have it but tried it several times, typical high end racket. Its good but nothing special (for me, i tried 3ug5 version, bg80 @28lbs). I didnt feel anything special about its each side, maybe my level of play is not sufficient to feel the benefit of its technologies, or the differences is marginal. Just so-so. Off topic : about paul, i think he have full rights about everything he wants to write on his website. However, its ourself who decide to believe him or not. I mean, i will look up ONLY to a good/professional player's review of racket as my references.
Had a chance to hit with the Duora 10 and agree with the above - nothing overly special about the racket - good in all areas but not outstanding. Possibly seemed a little to even balanced for me whereas i'm now used to a bit of weight in the head of my rackets. The version I tried was 3U and felt heavier to swing than my usual 4Us For me personally the Arcsaber 7 (Gen 1) is still the best Yonex racket i've owned followed by Z Slash (TH edition)! And just on the subject of 'no one plays badminton in the UK' - last statistics I saw had badminton down as the second most participated in sport behind football! but do agree about the comment re top players - main issue is badminton just doesn't have the allure of other sports in the UK such as football or tennis and therefore the current training structure is miles off countries such as China, Korea or even Denmark. But please don't hold that against us or use it as a basis for attacking the UK badminton scene - a lot of us love the sport as much as players from Asia! And most lower club or recreational players couldn't even name the 'players' who have their own edition rackets, let alone give a monkey's about whether they are using the 'on spec' racket or not. People will buy a racket that feels good and is within their price range - that is a fact!
So what's the problem with the pros like LCW using repainted version ( if it ever proven existed) then ? The pros have been the total opposite of what recreational or social players like me perceived and totally mythbusted all the things we think of in badminton. Taufik and PG mentioned their high 34-35 tension is for more power. Total opposite of what social players believes. Takahashi spinned her Duora 7 on serve receive and breaks during AE Final without caring which side or worrying about which side of Duora, total opposite of what social players dwelling with which side and which. Praveen Jordan smashed the heaviest smash with head light Nanoray 900 (don't start with another rumour he's using repainted as he's used VTZF2 in the past), pretty much tell us it's not the racket's lacking power, it's us whose lacking power not to be able to smash like them. I mean these pros they have trained their whole life in badminton so why would I expect them using generic rackets like what I'm using? I wouldn't play any better even if I use what racket LCW's using. I wouldn't expect a Dato driving a 500k Lambo Aventador to drive a Prius like I do, just as I wouldn't expect LCW to have to use generics. They're just in a different league on their own and I'm just enjoying badminton as my hobby. We just have to be able to keep things separate sometimes.
i think we need to separate the issue here. I see 2 types of players. the ones who *think* they will play like LCW if they are wielding a LCW branded player racket. those are the types whom you are referring to. and honestly i do very much agree with you. a fancy racket won't make any of us into Lee Chong Wei or Lin Dan. no question. the other type is simply just those who wants to look like Lee Chong Wei, or simply carry the same racket. That's just human nature. Some like to dress themselves up, for fun, to make them look cool, or just show their allegiance. it is very common, just go to any sporting events you will see lots. and honestly, I don't think there is anything wrong with this either. in both cases though, it plays right into the hand of Yonex marketing.
It's reasonable for you to think that way, since you don't understand Chinese, but the subtitle is totally different with what he said. He was saying that someone, which is a close friend to him, was severely disappointed when he left Yonex. And now with the friend's help he's back since Yonex is still a leading brand.
a) The NR900 is not considered a head light racket, even by Yonex's racket charts it's displayed as a head heavy racket. b) It's like McDonalds hamburgers. They look so much better in the pictures than in the box. That's what they've purposely done for marketing. It just looks shady when the players aren't using what's on the shelf. It's speculation to say one is worse than the other, but one could suggest it.
my thoughts exactly^^ thanks epic, I'm still working on my Chinese ^^ Shady practice for me is manipulating racket review/rating, negative propaganda and constant endless nitpicking from Victor. Again personally, I don't even care what all the pros are using as I enjoy playing with my YY rackets and I love it. I don't make multi million dollars like them and there's no need for me to be like them. That's all there's to me, the love and passion for the sport and making tons of friends on court (I guess I'm not making many off court in forums like BC defending Yonex lol).
furthermore, it is just good marketing from Yonex's part. strong name and strong brand sells. and what's stronger than the four most famous players from recent years. who in badminton world doesn't know Peter Gade, Taufik Hidayat, Lee Chong Wei, and esp Lin Dan. it doesn't come cheap. I am sure signing Lin Dan from Li-Ning cost Yonex a pretty handsome amount of money, Lin Dan's contract with Li-Ning was rumored to be in the millions, how much would it take to buyout that contract? and who is going to pay for Lee Chong Wei's fancy sports cars? so Yonex will for sure milk what they paid for. no question about it. As long as their contract is still active, there will be non-stop player merchandise out there. In fact, I think it is a good thing. I in fact wish Yonex would go one step further. I used to live in a sports crazy city back in the old days when this site was born. It is very common to see, just on a regular weekday, people walking around town wearing the jersey of their favorite football (American) or hockey players. Official and comes with numbers and name at the back. They are everywhere. I'd love to live to the day where I see people walk around town, proudly wearing the jersey of their favorite badminton player. I don't even think a country as badminton crazy as Malaysia, Indonesia have people like that today. And if Yonex start selling these shirts, maybe it will change. Yonex I hope you are reading this.
Off topic: majority of Malaysia football fans love their English premier league jersey, they would sport their favourite team's jersey just about anywhere, even in badminton court. Badminton jersey, not so much. On topic: I've tried the blue Duora 10. Compared to my black Duora 10, the blue one is lighter in swing, a friendlier version I would say. Other owners of the black Duora concurred with that. The paint job of the blue Duora is great, it is was only second to Li ning's N99 which is phenomenal. If you've seen the paint job on N99, you would be astounded - ultra smooth matte finish, no sticker bump, accurate and complimentary color. No monitor display could do it justice, you have to hold one in your hand to appreciate it. Oops, kinda got distracted. Anyway it's an early impression on the blue Duora. Remember to always try it yourself.
