Yonex Voltric 80 ( VT80 )

Discussion in 'Badminton Rackets / Equipment' started by fiq_axis, Jan 31, 2011.

  1. owen27

    owen27 Regular Member

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    Differs from individual to individual... That is why there has to be such a large range of racquets!

    Ie for me I love the armortec700 to bits... cant say much about the newer version of it. Arcsaber 10 was suppose to be a backup for the armortec700 but plays very differently... felt i need to flick the wrist more for the power... not being a direct replacement. However I was presently surprised about the VT80... that it has the power feel of the 700 and also responses to lighter touches at the net... meaning moving faster too..

    That said... a different person will definitely feel very different... no two person reacts the same or plays the same
     
  2. ssj100

    ssj100 Regular Member

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    Good points owen27. That's why I'm not convinced that paying extra (eg. for Yonex rackets) gives better performance. In fact, it may give poorer performance.

    Anyway, will look forward to testing the VT80 when someone else in my club gets it!
     
  3. CanucksDynasty

    CanucksDynasty Regular Member

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    Definitely...a new racket =/= better performance. Look at my friend with the VT70. His play worsened to the point where he's considering selling it or using it as a backup racket and going back to his old racket.
     
  4. Optiblue

    Optiblue Regular Member

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    Alright, had the chance to try this thing out today. It was a 3UG5 strung with NBG95 @ 25lbs, and is quite far from my ideal settings. However, I adjusted my timing as best I could and played my heart out enough to get a fair impression. First off, my main racquet(s) are the AT700LTD's and I was not impressed with the VT70 when I tried it out. At best, the VT70 to me felt like an even headlighter version of the At900P (which I already find a little light) and the power was worse that it. Was not expecting much more from this one as Yonex's trend seems to be making only speedy racquets.

    Well, initial feel of the VT80 definitely felt like it had potential as it feels more headheavy, dare I say more headheavy than my LTD's. Initial warm up felt good and very comparable to the LTD shot for shot. Power wise, I'd say it's at least as powerful as LTD's (more on that in a bit). What I felt that differed the most is the end point whip. It seems that with the slimmer shaft, the VT80 is slightly easier to whip in order to generate power. Where I noticed this the most was during repetitive smashing. Where normally I would start having slight fatigue on the LTD, the VT80 seems to allow me to sustain power for longer. All other aspect of the racquet were similar enough to the At700's. Max power wise, I think my LTD's were slightly stronger today, but that's most likely due to it not being my ideal string and tension. The potential for sustaining power on the VT80 has my attention and approval.

    Overall, this racquet is similar enough to the AT700 so that I wouldn't mind switching to it. Powerwise, you still need to be a headheavy racquet user to get the most immediate benefit from it. Just for reference, the racquet I hate the most from all the Yonex lines is the ARC10. If you like the ARC10 and can generate loads of power from it, get ready for some serious 180 degree timing adjustments!

    Hopefully I'll be a owner of one sooner than later and string it up to my liking and do a more in-depth comparison. My partner who's a AT900P user, tried it out and found he was actually slower, but slightly stronger with it which follows well with my view. So if you're an AT700 lover/purist, this is finally a Yonex racquet worthy of adding to the family.
     
    #924 Optiblue, May 15, 2011
    Last edited: May 15, 2011
  5. ns9900

    ns9900 Regular Member

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    Does anyone happen to know the exact weight of a 3u and a 4u VT80? Thanks.
     
  6. Rivai Zhukov

    Rivai Zhukov Regular Member

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    VT80 3UG4 roughly weight between 95-100 gr with string and grip.
     
  7. sxg2009

    sxg2009 Regular Member

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    Are you using 3U or 4U?
     
  8. avengers88

    avengers88 Regular Member

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    Hey sxg, I'm using the 3U version. The 4U might be more forgiving but the 3U is pretty heavy for me.
     
  9. sxg2009

    sxg2009 Regular Member

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    hey! thanks for a fast reply .. may be you can help me with the following:

    I have a choice to buy - 1 Voltric 80 4U for a price, which is just $60 more than having 1 AT900P LCW (3U) + 1 NS9000X.

    I am an intermediate player, never own Yonex, I play both doubles and singles... and 80% offensive.

    what you would do?
     
  10. twobeer

    twobeer Regular Member

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    A 900P 3U and $60 for shoe budget + an extra 9000X.. sounds like a no-brainer to me..
     
  11. sxg2009

    sxg2009 Regular Member

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    please see color coded correction>> ... I typed it wrong!!
     
  12. owen27

    owen27 Regular Member

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    2 racquets for the price of one... in my opinion u cant go wrong with top range racquets... it differs little when up the table... once ure used to it it will be ur best friend..
     
  13. avengers88

    avengers88 Regular Member

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    Sxg, i think u should give vt80 a try. Since it's 4u it will be easier for u to handle. It would be just the matter of time till u get use to the vt80. And especially u like to be offensive, this racket is gonna help u even more in ur smashes and clear. Take the vt80 u won't regret it :D
     
  14. cobalt

    cobalt Moderator

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    Can anyone please compare the VT80 with a Woven-7 for singles play?
     
  15. samsudd_s

    samsudd_s Regular Member

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    Sxg, go with two rackets....u will get better altenative to play both at same time. that at900p/ns9000x is consider high end....why limit to only 1 racket? :confused::p

    if u don't like it, sell it...:D
     
  16. ssj100

    ssj100 Regular Member

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    sxg2009, I'd be really interested in how you find the VT80. I know you have used a lot of apacs rackets in the past (although you haven't tried arguably the best racket they have - the Lethal 70). If you do get one, please tell us how it compares with your other rackets.

    Anyway, I went to a store the other day and swung a strung 3U VT80 around - felt very head heavy, more so than my Lethal 70. I've read that the Lethal 100 is much more head heavy than the Lethal 70, so perhaps the VT80 balance point is similar to the Lethal 100.

    Again, I'd caution people about thinking head heavy rackets automatically guarantees more power. As I was discussing with Naim.F.C in another thread, if you can swing a head heavy racket fast, you might be able to swing a slightly less head heavy racket even faster. Therefore, the faster swing may actually give you a more powerful smash. I think this at least partly explains why people can still produce massive power from less head heavy rackets (eg. Fu Hai Feng and Tan Boon Heong with the Ti10).
     
  17. samsudd_s

    samsudd_s Regular Member

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    if that's the case, we will miss the technical part of the racket itself....just build up the muscle & strenght,go out and fight like conan the barbarian with his heavy sword....:)
     
  18. ssj100

    ssj100 Regular Member

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    This is why I said "partly explains". I think the flexibility and overall weight of the racket also play a large role. However, relatively speaking, the biggest role has got to be the skill of the person wielding the racket! Other apparent "technological advances" I am not so sure about.
     
  19. samsudd_s

    samsudd_s Regular Member

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    :) yes...racket is just a tool with 'technological advances' packed on it. i had many friends who couldn't careless about what racket they bought, alas suit their budget and for purpose of exercise, but play better than me or others with a 'good racket' holder :(
    if give them good racket, not sure whether their skill will be more powerful or worse. only they can tell us.
     
  20. Blitzzards

    Blitzzards Regular Member

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    The 1st and 2nd gen Ti10 that used to be Fu Hai Feng's and Tan Boon Heong's staple are far from being exactly headlight meaning that the racquets are not designed with a "light head" but are balanced technically "headlight" due to the weight of the shaft from the t-joint all the way to the butt handle being the same or more than the whole frame weight. The 1st and 2nd gen Ti10 are actually mostly even balanced while being on the very end of the "headlight balance" scale. The 3rd gen Ti10 is different, such that Fu Hai Feng rarely uses it and Tan Boon Heong actually doesn't smash as hard as he does with it compared to the two older gen Ti10. It is although easier to use as it is overall lighter and easier on the arms for extended quick doubles rallies.

    It is really from this weight that is in the frame that translates Fu Hai Feng and Tan Boon Heong's swing technique into their smashes so effectively rather than just the swing speed. You have to remember physically if your racquet frame has a small weight and even if you swing it extremely fast, most of the energy will be converted into the impact sound. This is akin to swinging a heavy headed hammer and a light headed hammer with the same power; the heavy hammer will penetrate into your hitting surface more (thus transferring more energy generated from your muscles into the surface) while the light headed hammer will produce a louder impact noise (and more energy will be lost in sound energy).

    This is the observation I found with the VT70. The shaft is quite light and while the frame is not exactly extremely head heavy, the balance is still head heavy balanced. Compared to my PP T2 which has a head lighter balance, but with a heavier shaft and overall heavier weight and thus heavier head, I could generate more power with the T2 than the VT70 even tough you might observe that I can swing the VT70 faster.

    The Nanospeed 8000, 9000 and 9900 on the other hand have their frames composited with extra materials which are lightweight compared to the "more pure" carbon composition of the Ti10. The NS8K has Fullerene, NS9K has Nanoscale Elastic Ti [Gummetal] and the NS9.9K has X-Fullerene. All these composite materials are (according to Yonex) found to be very elastic and repulsive yet less dense than thicker carbon with the same tensile strength. It is the elastic and repulsive property of the frame which allows the energy which can be lost to sound energy be harnessed and then channelled back into the shuttle on impact compared to a headlight all carbon frame.

    The VT80 from my observation is different. It has a weight frame and a light and elastic shaft, which means that it whips on impact and it is from that whip and the heavy frame which transfers the whip energy where a lot of smashing power can be generated. Thus to conclude, a racquet with a true head heavy frame always offers better smashing power than a true head light frame (excluding miscellaneous composite materials such as Yonex's) which you could swing relatively faster.
     
    #940 Blitzzards, May 15, 2011
    Last edited: May 15, 2011

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