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
Friday, 13 March 2009
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2 comments:
Mr. Antony,
Maybe you should think about these reviews. While badminton rackets are subjective, you must try to be objective in your work.
This include string to iron out all but one variable. for instance, are you using the same string strung at the same tension on all rackets? Are you making sure all the grip sizes are the same, and you used the same brand/ type of grip in the same color? this all make a difference.
Also, you should try not to bring other rackets feeling into this, AKA not hold it to the same standard as another racket, or assume that it is the same.
Because you get 'so many hits' and have a large 'following', you must take these precautions in order to accurately deliver the information to the people who read. you hold enough weight in those peoples minds to be able to swing their perception before they even Touch it.
Thank you
LimeFTW
Hello Lime
I always try to incude the technical information of each racket before i test it. If you look at the review on this page you will see i have mentioned the string tension and type, which i do for all the reviews. The latest batch of Apacs rackets i tested have all been strung at 28lbs. The grip sizes are not always there, but this does vary depending where in the world you are.
I have also menioned at length before about the subjective nature of badminton rackets, one size does not fit all, we are all different, so what one person likes, another may not. The review i have just posted about the Tantrum 11 is a bad review for that racket, i did not like it, but this is my opinion of it, someone else may love it and think it is a great racket. I am just giving an independent opinion of it, if people decide not to buy it because of the review then it is up to them.
"Also, you should try not to bring other rackets feeling into this, AKA not hold it to the same standard as another racket, or assume that it is the same."- I am not too sure what you mean by this. I don't assume that one racket is the same as another, all the rackets i have tested are quite different in the way they feel and play because they have different weights, balance etc, so i have not assumed they are the same.
As far as not holding the standard one one racket to another, well i do this on price. For example, if i were to compare the cost of a top Yonex racket to the cost of an Apacs racket, there is a big difference. The Yonex ArcSaber 10 is about twice the price of the Apacs equivalent, but in my eyes it is not twice as good, so for me, the Apacs racket represents value for money.
As far as "having so many hits" and a large following, well no not really. This blog gets about 200-250 visitors per day, and considering how many badminton players there are in the world, this is a very small percentage indeed. I do absolutely nothing to attract new visitors, i just post information on this blog, my own personal blog, if people take the time to read it then i am happy. Not everyone will agree with what i write, which is why you left your comment, and i respect that.
There are far more detailed sites on the internet that provide much larger resources than this blog does. Badminton Central is probably the best resource for all things related to badminton in my opinion, so you may want to head over there for more detailed reviews on many more rackets than i can ever test on here.
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