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Last time, I mentioned about the new series from Yonex, called ArcSaber. This racket has been out for Pro tour player for quite sometime. Gao Ling of China has been using it. I don’t know when Yonex USA will import this, but I think they will eventually, because it’s a new series. On the other hand, Yonex USA has been disappointing to me that they don’t import some of the older series anymore. One of them was Muscle Power series, my favorite, which eventually discontinued in Asia a few years later. May be, it’s from the business stand point. Another not-imported racket is the new Ti-10 that’s used by the current work number one double ranking, Koo Kien Keat & Tan Boon Heong. Foo Haifeng is also using it as well. Foo is the record holder for the fastest smash in competition. I believe he was using the old Ti-10 back then. This new Ti-10 has been sought after a lot by many people, so I may bring them in to my eBay store later on, since Yonex USA don’t.

Anyway, I went out of the topic abit, so here is the link to the review by Ants on BadmintonCentral.com. As I expected, it’s still an early model, and always the prelude of things to come.

Yonex ArcSaber 7 Review

Continuing on the discussion (to myself) about picking a new racket, I took my own advice on how to choose a badminton racket and borrowed my friends rackets to test over the previous weekend. Since they were in the same game with me, I wasn’t able to play game with their rackets, only a lengthy warm up/sparring.

As I expected, Armortec 900, both Technique and Power, were a bit too heavy for my liking, although the smash power and accuracy was awesome from both rackets.

Nanospeed 9000 S, on the other hand, is a very fast racket just like Nanospeed 7000 that I’m playing with. What impress me was its solid feel. Each drive, clear, smash felt really good in my hand. Drop shots felt good too, either at the net, or from the back of the court. I was able to do offensive clear to my friend backhand side with enough depth and speed to cause them to use their backhand consistently, instead of around the head forehand, and that spoke a volumn (to me at least) because my friends footwork were really quick. The keyword here is consistency, because I incorperate that attack into my game already, but 50% of the shot are either go out or not deep enough or fast enough. I’m talking about dropping it in the rectangle box in the corners (actually against my friends, the target area is 1/4 the size of that box) Just like that, a new way of attacking was offered to me. As a result, my friends may not be able to hang out closer to the net too much (to catch my drop shot). The new aspect of my game open up. Love it!

So that’s my short review about Yonex Nanospeed 9000 Type S. To read more review, you can catch Ants reviews about both NS 9000 Type X and S on BadmintonCentral.com.

Yonex Nanospeed 9000 Type X Review

Yonex Nanospeed 9000 Type S Review

I heard about this new series from Yonex, called ArcSaber. The first one in the series, ArcSaber 7 was released a few months ago. I will try to find a review for it and put it up on this blog. However, I am usually not so thrill about the first one of the series because it usually the defensive/soft feel one. Yonex always saves the offensive/solid feel racket for later releases.

After a long hiatus, I came back to write this blog again.

I have written about how to choose a badminton racket earlier in this blog. Now, I’m at that juncture myself because my Muscle Power 100 is broken, and I need to find a replacement. I could pull the last MP 100 out of my inventory, and don’t have to face this question, but getting a chance to try the new racket is really hard to resist. So here I am, blogging about it.

I have 2 options to go to, head-light, or head-heavy. Currently, I’m using Nanospeed 7000 as a substitute for my Muscle Power 100. I was using Armortec 800 Offensive before that, and found it to be cumbersome at the net. On the other hand, it gives me smashing power and accuracy from the back of the court. When Nanospeed 7000 was released, I pulled one from my inventory to try it out and really hook on it. I can intercept bird with very little time to react. I can change direction at the last second. It’s a very fast racket, and I like it. I know that head-light racket with suite me well. However, over times, I find Nanospeed 7000 lack in smashing power (comparing to Armortec 800 Offensive). So here I am trying to figure out if I should give Armortec a try again, or go with what my instinct is telling me that head-light is the best bet for me.

I did some searches on Google to find review for Armortec 900 series. I came across “ants” at BadmintonCentral.com. I found that he is a friend of either Koo Kien Keat or Tan Boon Heong (or both). Members on BadmintonCentral seems to give him respect and his opinions are sought after, so I think I can assume that he is an advanced player, and his review are reliable.

Here are his review on

Yonex Armortec 900 Power Review

Yonex Armortec 900 Technique Review

The problem a lot people face the most when trying to purchase a racket from eBay is determining who are selling fakes, and who aren’t. I would say that you should purchase from reputable seller with at least 100 positive feedback. You should also make sure that he achieve that feedback selling rackets. Some sellers sell many inexpensive items to achieve high ranking then pull scam on customers by selling high price item and ship fakes, or not shipping them at all, before bailing out of eBay (and come back with different user name) You can also check on badminton forums to see what other people say about a seller. One of the best forums is BadmintonForum.com.

Beside that, don’t be cheap on the racket. As a power seller on eBay, I can tell you right off the bat that if the racket price is lower than $100, it’s right out fake. I know that because my cost is way more than that. Besides, Dollar continues to devalue which make it impossible to import racket at lower than $100. If you go for a cheap one and found that it’s fake when it arrives, I consider that purchase to be a very expensive one, because you are paying for something that you do not want at all. Of course, you will say that, since I’m a seller, I’m writing this to get to you to buy from my Badminton store. Honestly, I just express my opinion, because I would not want to buy a fake product myself whether it’s badminton racket, or computer, or anything at all.

Enough said.

I have some pictures that I want to share with you. This one credit to ants of BadmintonCentral.com. These are pictures of fake Yonex Armortec 800.

Figure 1 - The fake shaft is slightly longer than the authentic one. Also the fake has just regular cone cap, but the authentic Armortec must have CSC cap.

Figure 2 - The fake has all round grommets. The authentic one has rectangular grommets.

Figure 3 - The authentic one has green and red strip in the last zero of the “800″. The word defense of the authentic one has the letter D connect to the dark green, while the fake one is a bit off.

If you happen to have fake racket, and want to share them so others can avoid it, please send me the pictures with some information about where you get it from, at my email address at tum98.ebay@gmail.com. There is nothing feeling better than helping others out and nailing the bad guy at the same time.

When I answer my customer’s emails, there is one type of questions that I receive all the time. It is about where the racket is made in, and why I claim that they are made in Japan, but the serial number ends with TH.

Let’s take a look at the serial number of a Yonex badminton racket. There are 2 parts of it. One is on the shaft. Another is on the cone of the handle. It looks something like 2752123 070275TH. The first part (2752123) is the actual serial number which is unique per racket, increased with each manufactured racket. The second part is the date code which is encoded the information about the date the racket is manufactured. The date code follow DDMMYxCC pattern where DD is the date, MM is the month, Y is the year after 2000, x is some arbitrary number, and CC is the distribution code.

Now, let’s move on to the next topic, which is the distribution code. It is the code of the country in which the racket is intended to be distributed in. For example, TH means the racket is intended to be sold in Thailand. This has effect on, for one thing, the term of the warranty of the racket. The Yonex of that country is the one who will honor the term of the warranty. The most important of all, this distribution code is not where the racket is made in.

Hopefully, this can clarify things up a bit.

Last time I talk about how to choose a badminton racket that work for you. There are so many rackets in the market, so answering what model is best for you is very difficult. I have been in that situation myself. I recommend that you try it out first, to see how you like it.

Once you try a racket out, you might get some idea of what ballpark you would like your racket to be. Head-light or Head heavy or even balance. Stiff shaft, flex shaft. Big grip, small grip. Another factor to consider is how your play your game. A lot of people say you are either offensive or defensive player. I’d rather think of it as hard hitter or finesse player. After all the so-called defensive player who like to counter attack is, in my opinion, an offensive player.

For hard hitter, those who like to hit hard, you most likely will need stiff shaft, and solid feel to produce fast, accurate smash. For finesse player, you will tend to like more flex shaft for quick reaction shot, and produce more whipping from your wrist action. Here is the Yonex racket chart that should help you narrow it down, and choose the racket that’s right for you. Game on.

Choosing the right badminton racket has been the topic that I’m sure has crossed your mind sometime in the past or even now. I must admit that, at first, when I started playing badminton, I want to go for the newest latest out there in the market, obviously for a good reason. The newest must be the best out there the money can buy, which should improve your game significantly, right? I found that methodology to be not quite true.

The latest badminton rackets usually incorporate the newest technology which, at least in theory, should help you improve your game, by transfer the energy better, smash harder, etc. But what if you don’t need those??

In my opinio, badminton racket is like clothing. It’s personal, and it’s your preferences that count. The racket should fit your game, and allow you to hit your shot the way you want, and you should feel comfortable with it, just like clothing. Say, your game is based on your quickness at the net, so you might need something that allow you to pump fake at the last second, or drop with the feather light touch. That’s personal, and the latest greatest may not help.

I own an eBay store and I always get this question about which racket I recommend. I always answer that I don’t really know. The best way to choose your next racket is to try it out. Borrow your friends’ racket. Test it out to see how you like it; to see how you feel about it. Hit some long lob, do some smashes, drives, drops. 5-10 minutes with a racket would give you some idea if you may like it or not. Playing with it for a game is even better. Of course, reading online review might help narrowing it down a bit, but you’ve got to know what you are looking for in the first place.

However, if this is the first racket, and you are a beginner, it’s going to be difficult for you because you don’t know what you want yet. Everybody has to starts somewhere. I would say aim for the middle of the pack or slightly closer to the top of the line, and have it head-light, so it’s easier to whip it around. The head heavy tends to require a little bit earlier preparation before hitting a shot, and usually beginners are going to be slow on that.

Summary

1) If you are beginner and big budget, aim a bit high, so your racket can grow with you. Choose light head or even balance for quick maneuverability and help you prepare for each shot faster.

2) Know yourself first. See what you may need in your game that your current racket lacks of.

3) Read online reviews, try it out before you buy.

Hopefully, all of this can help you find the perfect racket. Remember that racket a part of your game. The right racket can help your excel in the right direction, or hurt your game development if you choose a wrong one. However, it’s you and your skills that matter the most. Game on.