Hi All, First post and new here, hope to learn a lot from you all! Looking to up my game and get playing more seriously, joining a club and getting some coaching. I've been using Carlton rackets, which although seem fine to the level I have been playing they don't seem to last very long. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Been looking at some Yonex Voltrics/ Li-nings and would love some suggestions for an aggressive racket; slightly head heavy. Thanks! If you want a racket: 1. How often do you play, how serious are you? -2 times a week currently, looking to play more and get more serious 2. What style of player are you? (Aggressive smasher, net player ...) -Aggressive smasher, like to play the court. 3. Do you care much about durability or is it all about performance? -Bit of both, wish for a racket I can use for a while, restringing opposed to replacing. 4. How much money do you want to spend? -£70-120 ish, has to be from amazon though as part funded by a gift card.
I know you're keen to use your Amazon gift card, but it would be wasted on a new racket. Rackets on Amazon are substantially more expensive than you could find them elsewhere. So much so that you'd likely end up putting the same amount of cash into the racket as you would buying it elsewhere. For now, I wouldn't look at anything too head heavy, but a slightly head heavy racket would probably work well for you. On the premium end you have rackets like the Arcsaber 11, on the cheaper side you have rackets like the Arcsaber 4DX, or you could look at rackets such as the Voltric 5 or 7. Most Li Ning rackets are out of your price range; their lower end rackets are absolutely nothing special. Their higher end rackets all start at around £120. One of the cheaper ones being the N80 at £110.
Thank you very much for your suggestions! For online retailers I've been told direct sports are worth checking out, would you agree with that? Will look into those models thanks!
Yeah, DirectBadminton and CentralSports both do some great offers in the UK. They sometimes stock rackets the other one doesn't, so I'd take a look at both.
100% agree with Charlie. You may want to look at Ashaway rackets too. I personally think the are an underrated brand that make very good rackets.
Amazon prices are completely random and not neccessary more expensive. There's some real bargains to be picked up. Although a word of caution, all the Victor rackets I've gotten from Amazon have been unstrung and I'm not sure other brands are the same.
Thanks for the input guys. I went and ordered a Voltric 7 from amazon, came in at the same price as Direct Sports so wasn't losing out by using my voucher. I think it will be a good stepping stone as I'm still unsure about what racket style will suit be best, without spending too much money. It's my first Yonex racket, I'm looking forward to trying it.
Voltric 7 was my first racket too. I absolutely loved it, in fact I regret moving on to a Votric 70ET.
Glad to hear you speak so highly of it! To be honest I hadn't ever looked so closely at rackets until deciding on one the last few days. I had not considered the need to re-string, or the impact that different strings could have on the behavior of the racket. Its clear to me how naive I was and how much I have to learn about this sport still (which is a lot by the way), which is a great feeling!
To be honest when I bought my VT7 I didn't do too much research. I was lucky enough to buy a great racket. I'm sure you'll enjoy the racket.
Out of interest, why weren't your Carlton rackets lasting? I've strung a few different models and they all seem pretty sturdy.
There has been clashes certainly. My first one had a string snap so replaced it with the second (racket was cheap so didn't seem worth being restrung), which is now cracked. I realize this comes down to physically being damaged but it hasn't taken particularly hard hits! My friend's whom I play doubles with have had similar issues too!
How cheap were these rackets that replacing them was cheaper than getting them restrung?! Haha, yeah you definitely want something a little better than that. Honestly the Yonex rackets, especially the DX frame rackets, will take a knock or two, but no racket should /expect/ to survive clashes. Sounds like you guys need to work a bit more on doubles tactics and communication
My first was probably £20-25 and my second one was less than £30, to be honest I wasn't aware re-stringing was a thing; but I hope somebody can recommend an Edinburgh based re-stringer for when that time comes (is there a forum section for this?). It's not that I don't care for my belongings but I'm looking forwards to trying and owning more rackets so that I can work out what works for me! Gosh yes, my regular doubles group is quite co-ordinated, but the 'club' I have set up with work as part of a "get fit" initiative is anything but. You would think its a contact sport at time! Thanks again for your words Charlie!
Yeah that's why I asked - you don't want expensive rackets getting broken in clashes that's for sure! In theory clashes should be pretty rare - for example if a shot comes down the middle, it should be taken by whoever can hit it on their forehand. Of course it does get trickier when you have a left-hander and right-hander playing together, but then I prefer to miss the shot rather than potentially break a racket. Bear in mind that every time you clash, although the racket may look fine, it can develop micro cracks over time. These will cause weakness, especially during restringing. The best thing it to avoid it in the first place. Anyway enjoy your new racket! Voltric 7 is a nice choice, light but with enough head weight to give power to clears and smashes.
Little update: Think the Voltric 7 might not be perfect for me, although I do like it and may just need to get more hours in with it. Will try a more balanced racket, with the view of buying another soon. Will also try some overgrip to see if it makes the 7 feel any different to me!
