Tuesday 29 November 2011

Yonex Voltric 70 Review

I have taken the plunge and bought myself a Voltric 70 for the eye watering price of £140. This goes against all my principles of buying expensive badminton rackets, however, the fact that about 99% of all serious badminton players on the planet want to know if this thing is any good or not has swayed my better judgement. Having said that i also have an 8DX in my bag and that wasn't cheap either, although i will be selling it pretty soon if anyone is interested?

Ok back to the review. My Voltric 70 is actually a 4U spec, which is pretty rare to find in the UK, most Yonex rackets that come to the UK are 3U. This means it is slightly lighter than usual. I have strung it at 28lbs with BG65Ti string which is my usual tension. The 70 has a head heavy balance and a medium flex, and the Yonex marketing proclaims this racket is the best thing since sliced bread, it gives 5% more power, and although it is head heavy it is still easy to manoeuvre for fast reaction rallies and net play. So in essence you get the best of both worlds. Is this possible? Lets find out...

What Yonex have done is to add weight near the top of the racket with tungsten, and then balance this extra weight by adding more weight at the bottom of the head, on either side of the throat of the racket. One other thing to note is that yonex have added sound filters which are supposed to make the Voltric sound different when you hit the shuttle. Now we have got that out of the way lets get on to what it is actually like to play with it.

As soon as i hit the first shot i could tell the 70 was going to be good. There was no vibration, no distortion from the head, it felt solid as hell, which is what i always look for right away. This was impressive because you usually get some vibration when you string at 28lbs. As far as the sound filtering goes, well i have to say i am really not bothered at all. If you have higher tension you will always get that crisp sound from the racket when you middle that shuttle. I did a few shots with my lethal 70 which is strung at the same tension and the voltric did sound different, but it makes no difference to how you are going to play. A nice marketing gimmick i think.

The 70 is an easy racket to play with, it makes things easy, so for me it is a low work racket, which is the best kind to have. It is a funny combination really, to have a head heavy racket with a medium flex shaft and high string tension, but the main thing for me is that it works perfectly. I have had it for 2 weeks now and i have played with it about 8 times, so i think i have got a very idea of what it is like to own.

Around the net it is very responsive and easy to move around. It appears that Yonex have managed to pull it off by making it easy to work with for fast reaction shots. I also think the fact that it is a 4U helps quite a lot, perhaps a 3U would be a little more difficult for faster shots. Overhead it was also easy to use, exceptionally stable on impact, in fact i have never played with a more stable racket, and that includes my lethal 70, so that is high praise indeed.

I would say the Voltric 70 is a bit of an all rounder. Power players will enjoy the head heavy balance and the stable head on impact. Yet defensive players will enjoy how responsive it is on drives and net shots. It really does offer the best of both worlds.

This racket is probably more suited to intermediate and advanced players. The flex is stated as medium but to me it still feels stiff so you need to be capable of bending the shaft with your swing speed to get the best out of it. The recommended tension is a maximum of 24lbs, but mine is just fine at 28lbs, and it could no doubt take much more than that if you so wish.

The Verdict

I am going to stick my neck out here and say it is one of the best racket i have played with. It suits my game down to the ground, it is more stable than the lethal 70, but more impressively is just how much more responsive it is on defensive shots compared to both my lethal 70 and my 8DX. Yonex have made a future classic with this voltric 70. Next up will be the voltric 80, and i have high expectations for this as the 70 is a pretty fantastic racket.

Just a quick update, the Voltic 70 is selling for £117 from Amazon.co.uk for everyone based in the UK. This is just about the cheapest i have seen it advertised anywhere on the internet. The shipping charge is also very reasonable at £3.99. Click on the link below to take a closer look.

YONEX Voltric 70 Badminton Racket

43 comments:

novak said...

I just bought one VT70 3U, my drops are not going they were previously, i wanted to ask will regutting help..? if yes then which strings and tension should i opt for..??

Anonymous said...

can you of apacs lurid power 21,22,and 23?

Anonymous said...

canyou make a review of apacs lurid power 21,22,and 23?

Anonymous said...

Hi antony,

How did your comparison with V80 go? I am tossing between V70 or V80 at the moment for my doubles play.

I havent had a chance to play the V70 on court. The V80 I have, it feels head heavy and gets my arms tight after repetitive lifting motions. Cant seem to put my finger on which shaft stiffness I would prefer as my defense just isnt as good as my offense.

Regards,
UI

antony said...

@Novak
You may find you have to adjust your game a bit when you use a new racket, it depends what racket you were using before the V70. Strings are vital, they can change the way the racket behaves and feels to you. If your drops are not going where you think they should then first look at your technique and footwork. Are you in position to hit the drop shot? After this you could then look to change the string tension.

@anonymous

I have not tried the 80 yet, but the V70 is less head heavy, so it should be easier in defence. In all honesty i will probably get another V70, it really suits me.

Anonymous said...

Hi antony,

Wow you do like your v70 very much. How does the v70 compare to the L70 in terms of forgiveness in shots? And would you recommend a 4u over a 3u?

antony said...

The V70 feels more head heavy than the Lethal 70 for sure. The Lethal 70 is very forgiving, but i would place the V70 as its equal, and probably more so in 3U form, it gives it just that bit more weight, and weight is always good for both power and control.

ShuttlerForever said...

Thanks for the review. I am kin to have the racket thou it is very expensive in my country. I will cost 1/3 of my salary haha! Always play with cheap cheap racket. But v70 is to tempting.

Anonymous said...

Hi, do you think you will have the chance to review the Apacs Tantrum 500 international? Cheers!

Anonymous said...

Great blog! If you would like, please look at my blog too!

antony said...

I have not heard anything from the guys at Apacs Sports for a good few months now, and looking at their website, there are many rackets that are out of stock, so i doubt they will have the Tantrum 500 to lend to me.

Anonymous said...

Hi Antony,
In your opinion which is better vt 70 or vt80

antony said...

I have not tested the voltric 80, so cannot say. At the moment i am about to get another 70, as i am loving it right now.

badminton rackets said...

very nice full information for badminton rackets i 'll follow soon

ansy said...

Thanks for the thorough info. But I'm a little confused as this racket has all the things you were against in terms of causing injury: light weight, head heavy, medium flex but still feels stiff. And yet you conclude it is an easy racket to play with. Can you please comment more on this? I'm really tempting to buy this, but try to stay away from injury even I have to compromise my play. Thank you.

antony said...

Hi Ansy

The Voltric 70 has a head heavy balance, but when you play with it, it does not feel head heavy. This is down to where yonex have added the weight in the head. The medium flex may feel stiff, but it it isn't. The lighter weight is a bit of a problem however, but when you add the strings and a decent sized grip, the weight soon goes up.

I know it sounds like a contradiction, but you really have to play with it to realise what i am getting at. The biggest factor by far is the string tension for injury, followed by a very stiff frame. If you go for higher string tensions before you are ready to play with higher tensions, then i can guarantee your arm and shoulder will soon let you know about it. The Voltric 70 is a bit of an exception to most rackets, in that i think it can be used by intermediate and advanced players. Hope this helps you, and if you have any more questions just ask away.

ansy said...

Very good. Thank you very much, Antony

Jualan said...

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Anonymous said...

hi..
already own VT70 recently...i feel that this racket is really head heavy compare to my VT80.. how come this can happen?? i cant generate smash so powerful compare to my VT80 when i used it.. beside that, is really hard for me to find the sweet spot for my VT70 at the beginning, it take time longer than before to get used this racket..can u tell me what is the problem that i face?? thnxss

Joshy P L said...

I want know about Slayer 88.. how we can compare with Lethal 70 and slayer 99?

Anonymous said...

i used VT70 over a month and all i can say is it's a superb racket...
a very user friendly racket...
the head is not too heavy and the shaft is not too stiff....
i feel it's the perfect racket for my game, i feel very comfortable to play with it....
it's an all round racket with the balance between attack and defense...

one thing that makes me wonder....
yonex claimed this racket is medium but i think it's slightly stiff...
i feel like it's between medium and stiff....
yonex also claimed VT80 is stiff but when i try to bend VT70 and VT80, i feel the hardness of the shaft almost the same...
what do you think antony??

Jammy K cric said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jammy K cric said...

Nice Information ... if i am right then Vol-80 is an Heavy Head badminton racket from the house of Yonex .. it is very good racket for advance players also it give great racket swing...

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Unknown said...

Hey guys, its very good conversation and feedback seeking kind of discussion is going on.I think i am helpful by portraying my feedback on badminton rackets here. sorry if i am not giving compelling reasons to buy that racket

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your blog, I empathise with many of your experiences on court! I’m from Sydney and train twice a week. I’m no pro though, I just love the sport ?? When i started playing there werent many badminton blogs…it would have been good to hear other people’s experiences. I started a blog at badmintonlab to make sense of it all. It’s a fun project during time off court!

ashish said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ashish said...

Hi can you also review, these two rackets also

YONEX ArcSaber Tour 33 Badminton Racket Unstrung
https://www.sportsbarrel.com/badminton-racquets/yonex-arcsaber-tour-33-badminton-racket-unstrung?filter=96

YONEX CARBONEX 21 SPL BADMINTON RACKET
https://www.sportsbarrel.com/badminton-racquets/yonex-carbonex-21-spl-badminton-racket?filter=96

Anurag said...

Great Post. Yonex is the best badminton racket.

shubh said...

yonex is the best brand for badminton equipment.

Helan said...

Yonex Voltric 70 is one of the best rackets going around in the badminton circuit. It gives more power in the badminton shots for the players with the revamped Tri-Voltage System while in comparison to the rackets launched before in the Voltric Series. Buy the best Yonex rackets from the Canada Elite Badminton & Sports at very affordable rates, Shop Now!

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Eric Civault said...

I am going to stick my neck out here and say it is one of the best racket i have played with. It suits my game down to the ground and i know it sounds like a contradiction, but you really have to play with it to realise what i am getting at. The biggest factor by far is the string tension for injury
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