Just back from the session actually. I’m officially hooked on how this thing accelerates through the shuttlecock. It’s like the racket is almost hitting on it’s own once I’ve set it in motion. 10 something netcords in the session. I’ve never hit shots so tight either so it’s not just the power aspect of it but the stability and touch it offers. On defense I very surprisingly didn’t face any issues. I’ve always defended better with very head heavy rackets and took everything thrown at me with relative ease. Panic clears were just insane. Opponent was covering the net more once he thought I’d be playing a slice drop to mid court but boom and the shuttle went way out of the back line. I was able to adjust and keep it inside the court which threw my opponent’s game off by quite a bit. Don’t think I’m 1. Ever going to change to something else other than n90 anytime soon and 2. Remove any of the lead tape anytime soon. It’s almost as if it was meant to be this way whereas on ZF2 after awhile it felt forced and out of place. Only complaint would be that BG66 (normal) is perhaps too thin for this type of racket now or at least what I’m trying to get from it. A thicker string would do me much better. I can either take 80p from my roll or maybe even try some other .70 (or so) string for this.
Can this orgy of N90-love be temporarily interupted for a racket recommendation request from a Li Ning noob? Which Li Ning racket would be like a Victor BraveSword Lee Hyun Il.... but a little more flexy? Thanks in advance.
I haven't played the BS LHI myself, but based on specs I would say you should look at the N9II. Aerodynamic and slightly compact frame (so it's damn fast), slightly head heavy with a bit of flex in the shaft. And the Li-Ning typical super solid feel on impact.
I found the N9ii a little bit too heavy for my style of play, I like playing the net in singles. Forearm would get tired using it too but no doubt a very good racquet for physically stronger players with excellent technique. I really enjoy playing with the N7ii Light, it's super quick, flexible and head heavy. I've strung it with Li-Ning No.1 at 28x30, and with the head speed on overheads, it delivers powerful smashes making that lovely swoosh sound. It may be promoted as a 'ladies' racquet but if men can leave their egos at the door I think many of them would find it to be a superb racquet. It's also available in colours other than pink.
N9II for sure fits what you're describing. Otherwise on similar specs the N80II or the new N90IV should too. Sent from my LG-H990 using Tapatalk
The best fit from li ning that I can recommend is the n9ii. It is a damn good racquet from li ning. It is a 3u that swings like a 4u, with cleverly concentrated head heavy frame, slightly more flexible than 4/5 stiff, but with satisfying smashing power, and does netplay like cutting through butter. I also owned and tried the n90iii, n50, and n7ii light, but none of those can compare to the n9ii.
This is accurate. I'm coming from 4u rackets, js10, js12, and voltric 80. The n9ii is a nice combo of swing speed and power. My defense hasn't suffered from being slow, and still packs a solid punch. It's definitely more flexible than all three rackets listed above, but I was looking to get away from stiff frames anyway. My shoulder is thankful. P.S. This racket feels great with gtone5, so thanks to ucantseeme for the recommendation. Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
Could you explain the feeling of ''cleverly concentrated head heavy frame''? I had try of my friends n9ii and there was something I couldn't explain and was wondering if this was it.
Most head heavy racquets that I have used before mostly have the head weight concentrated at the 2 and 10°clock point of the head frame, which gives the racquets a slow head heavy feeling. A few of them had their weight at the t-joint only to give that slightly head heavy feeling. The n9ii, however, had its head weight concentrated mostly at the 3 and 9°clock point, which rewards it an agile head heavy frame. Racquets with weight at 2 and 10 points have good power but lack speed. Those that have the weight mainly at the t-joint will have slightly more power than the head light racquets, and also maintain a little bit of speed. With the n9ii, the weight is distributed just right at the 3 and 9 points, which in turn gives the racquet greater power and faster speed than most head heavy racquets. However, just the clever head weight is not enough to make it work, the new techs like the turbo charging tech, wing stabilizer, and anti-vibration tech all play their important role in the racquet to make it work. I got most of those info from li ning racquet tech ad sheet and adding in a little from my own experience, since I did drop 200+ hours on the n9ii. When I first read those tech detail info, I was skeptical about it as well, since the n9ii was my first li ning racquet. But after spending so much time playing with it, I can definitely say that the n9ii techs did exactly as advertised. To sum up the feeling, to me, I feel that the n9ii swings like a 4u racquet, with smash power of a head heavy 3u, but does great netplay like a head light racquet. It feels like a combo of power, speed, and control in one package. There you have it, my own 2 cent answer to your question. I hope it's worth something .
Interesting, 3-9'o clock weighing would result in max amount of torque experienced. Guess that's why many manufacturers would refrain from it. But tech seems to weirdly work with li-nings. Guess, I am being lured to the dark side.
Yes, my girlfriend see's the amount of racquet stuff i am buying, will simply up her demands ! Out from the Pan into the fire! n9ii/n90iv pls, somebody buy it and review it properly!
Actually it can reduce the amount of torque you experience when hitting the shuttle slightly off-centre. Also I have my doubts regarding the in-depth analysis of rackets weight distribution unless you cut the head off and measure that alone. I don't think just playing with a racket can give you that kind of insight, most of it will be either placebo (I.e. entirely in the user's head) or just a simple weight/NO difference at work. While the weight distribution can certainly make a difference, unless you have spent thousands of hours comparing rackets with different weight distributions but otherwise entirely identical specs (and no one outside a racket company will have access to those specs) I doubt you can determine how the racket is constructed simply by playing with it. I don't think many of the cheaper racket companies out there do design the heads with a certain distribution in the first place. Anyhow, I would butt in and say that the N9ii certainly doesn't feel like a head heavy 3U racket in any situation. Whether you can smash hard with it depends on your technique and body type. It is a light racket, so players who accelerate more through grip and pronation will like it more than players with more emphasis on upper body rotation and arm extension. For me, coming off the N80ii, the N9ii felt uncomfortably light at first, actually causing a lack of control on drives, net shots and smashes and a lack of power in smashes, which all got much better with some time. I still prefer the N80ii a it swings through the shuttle better due to the higher head weight, which I appreciate immensely in singles and which suits my above average body frame better (not huge acceleration, but more strength than the average player).
Oh no, I didn't get those info from just playing with the racquet, of course not . Like I said in my post, I got all those info from li ning's advertisement spec sheet when the n9ii was first introduced, and I think it was there in their catalog also. It had detail paragraphs explaining all the techs they used on the n9ii, plus info on the head weight distribution choice they made and the reason behind it. My insights were all based on my experience to see whether their advertised techs really work or not, and as my own 2 cents I felt that they weren't bullshiting. So I was simply passing on the info that I read and threw in a little of my own experience. My post was definitely not solid facts. I definitely don't drop thousands of hours into comparing racquets, but I do drop hundreds of hours on comparing different racquets, because I'm always trying to find a better racquet for myself, one after another. Even though I've settled for the n9ii right now, it is still only a matter of time that I might find another racquet that suits me better, and then I would ships again . However, I'm hoping it would be a n9iii . I'm sad to hear that your affair with the n9ii was not a pleasant one. But like I wrote in my review from a few months ago, it is not for everyone, and no one racquet can satisfy everyone. As least you are still with the dark side, that's all that matters .
I know how you feel, because I am way over budget with buying new racquets this year . A couple months ago I bought 3 different high-end racquets in the same month, plus all the racquets I bought from the beginning of this year until now .
