Badminton Racket Review- Apacs Tantrum Power 11 International

Next badminton racket review is for the Apacs Tantrum Power 11 International. What a long name that is! It has to be one of the longest names i have seen for a badminton racquet. I will say this from the outset, the tantrum power 11 is my least favourite of all the apacs rackets i have tested so far, and it is the most expensive as well. Perhaps this shows that just because a racket is expensive, it doesn't mean it will suit you or your game. Here is the technical spec...

Frame : Japan Toray M40 (40 Tonne)
Shaft : Japan Toray M46 (46 Tonne)
Shaft Out/In Dia. : 7.1-8.7 / 3.7-4.4
Weight : 87-89 g
BCP : 285+/-2 mm
Length : 675 mm
Tension : 28lbs (apacs spider Ti)

Ok, the first thing about this spec is the Japan Toray bit. From what i can gather, Toray indusries are a big Japanese synthetic fibre maker, so their technology has obviously found its way into badminton rackets now. The weight is 87-89g, but it feels lighter than this, and it also felt like a medium stiff racket. The balance was also fairly even, with a slightly head heavy balance, but once the grip was added this made it feel even.

I will get straight to the point right now, this is my least favourite racket from the Apacs range. It is just damn hard work using it. It lacks power and it does not offer too much in the way of control either. I cannot put my finger on why this is, but the racket feels dead. An example of this is when i tried to lift off a smash. The shuttle went half court. You really have to put in the work to get the shuttle to the back of the court. This is not ideal at all. The same problem occurs when clearing from baseline to baseline, you have to give it extra effort to make the shuttle go.

I also found it very difficult to control the shuttle, especially when blocking to the net. My blocks kept on "popping up" to the net, i could not get my returns tight to the net. And bear in mind that this was strung at 28lbs tension, so it should, in theory, have offered more control. After about an hour of this, i did manage to get used to it, but even then the racket just did not feel right. Now, it may just be me, so if anyone else has got this racket i would really like your take on it. The price is also a killer at £75.99.

My overall rating for the Tantrum Power 11 International-

POWER= 5/10
CONTROL= 4/10
VALUE FOR MONEY= 3/10

I know this is a bad review, but in my eyes it is a bad racket, and there is no way i would pay that kind of money for this badminton racket.

Having tested all the Apacs range so far, here is my take on them...

1. Nano 999 Power- Most powerful in the range and one of the cheapest, you win twice with this one, which is why i got one myself.

2. Superlight- Feels solid, easy to move around, best for net play and reaction shots due to the light weight. Bonus is that it has a head heavy balance for a little bit more power overhead. Would certainly add lead tape to it.

3. Edgesaber 7 and 10- Good all round rackets, but are more difficult to get the best out of than the previous 2 rackets mentioned. If you time the shuttle well it will go, if not, it won't, fairly unforgiving rackets so your technique will need to be spot on, but when you get it right they are good to play with.

Hopefully i will be getting some of the latest Apacs badminton rackets to test very soon, unless they stop sending me them because of this latest review!!

Just one more thing, if you ever needed a song to get you in the mood for training then have a listen to this