Friday 14 November 2008

Apacs Edgesaber 10 badminton racket review

Well i have had the Apacs badminton rackets for around 10 days now, and given them a good testing. First up is the Edgesaber 10, and here is the technical specifications-

Weight- 4U (80-84g)
Grip - G2
Balance point- 285 +/- 3mm
Flex- 8.5-9.0 (stiff)
Max stringing tension- 30lbs

Construction

GS Carbon Nanotech
High Modulus Graphite
Ultra PEF
Control Support Cap
Built in T-joint

The Edgesaber 10 i tested was strung at 25lbs with Apacs Titanium 65 Tour (0.66mm).
The replacement grip was also an Apacs grip (white)with a "soft feel".

First impression was that the edgesaber 10 felt very light, with a slightly head heavy balance, but not as head heavy as the Yonex Arcsaber 10. This badminton racket feels fairly stiff, but not super stiff. As a result i found it very easy to hit the shuttle from baseline to baseline. There is very good feel from the shuttle to the racket, this is a very responsive racket indeed. Power is also there, and the shuttle comes off the string bed very well. This feel comes into it's own when you play fast reaction rallies. One word of warning though. I would say this racket is not for beginners because it is fairly unforgiving, if you do not hit the shuttle in the middle of the string bed, then it will not travel like you want it to. On the other hand, when you do hit it just right you are rewarded with a clean, crisp, solid feel, and this is what the edgesaber 10 is all about. You need to be good enough to get the rewards from these type of badminton rackets.

The Titanium 65 Tour string is as good as any other string out there. At 25lbs the racket does give you a bit of forgiveness, as the sweet spot is bigger, so any shots slightly off- centre will still travel. However, i did re-string the edgesaber 10 to 27lbs and there is a marked difference. This racket becomes a different beast at higher tensions. You get even more reward in the way of power and response. I would say that this racket is better at higher tensions because it is designed for it, that is why you see the max string tension at 30lbs. This is why the strings are really the key for me.

Control is also good, at the net and from all round the court. I am not one for being obsessed with what technology is in a racket and what it does for me. I just want to know how the racket feels for me and what it offers my game. To be honest with you, i could not tell you how the high modulus graphite and the CS carbon Nanotech technology make this racket what it is. I just get the bat out and play with it. I can tell after about two or three shots if it is going to be any good or not, and whether i will like it. The edgesaber 10 is a quality product, there is no doubt about it, but the main point i will make about it, is that it is a good racket in it's own right.

I have been playing with this badminton racket and all my shots are still the same, i can play net shots that are close to the net, and do all the things i want to with the shuttle, and this is what matters. You must feel comfortable with your racket, otherwise, what is the point in using it?

Most modern badminton rackets follow the same formula, and there is only a small difference between them in playability. The manufacturers will try to make you think differently, so you choose them above another, but the reality is that they aren't that much different, we are just fooled by the marketing machine, and the prices.

My overall rating for the edgesaber 10-

Power
I would say that if you have the technique then you have the abiliy to get the power from this racket. It will reward you for this. More weight will help with power, and so for a bit more power use a heavier racket. This edgaseaber was a 4U, so it was very light, therefore, the amount of power i could generate would not be as much as if i used a 3U or even 2U. Personally, if i was to go out and buy one myself i would have at least a 3U, but this is my own personal preference. Because of this, i would rate the edgesaber i tested for power as an 8/10.

Control
Control is very much dependant on the player and technique. The edgesaber has a stable hitting base if you hit the shuttle in the centre of the string bed, and from this you get the shuttle control. I was able to hit all my shots where i wanted to, so i had control. The racket head stays stable through the strokes and this is what you want, a consistent feel. I got more control with a higher string tension, but this is down to the strings. As long as the racket performs consistently that is what i look for, and in this respect, the edgesaber delivers. So for control i would rate it as an 8.5/10.

Value for money
The retail price for this badminton racket is £59.99. However, Apacs are selling this edgesaber 10 for £44.99. Also, as a special discount to any readers of this blog, there is also a 10% discount if you add BLOG10 in the coupon field when you go to buy. This would make this edgesaber 10 around about £40, and that is value for money folks. By the way, i am not affiliated in any way to Apacs, they have just decided to offer this discount to my readers, which i think you will agree, is a great way for you to save some money. At this price i would rate the value for money at 10/10.

Overall Rating
I would give the Apacs Edgesaber 10 badminton racket an overall rating of 8.5/10.

Next up will be the Edgesaber 7. Just one more thing, you can still get free shuttlecocks from apacs if you e-mail them, there is a back log as you can imagine, but e-mail them anyway and just be patient. One more thing, i tested these rackets with the apacs shuttlecocks and i can tell you that they are a bit of a revelation. I am a bit of a shuttle snob, i only play with good quality shuttles, crap shuttles spoil you game, but the apacs shuttles are among the best i have used. I will write my own review of them in a future post, but they really are first class, and they are free if you e-mail them!! Once you try them you will see what i mean. Stay tuned for the next badminton racket post!

11 comments:

CWK said...

Hi.

I just stumbled upon this site and I'm impressed! So much information and knowledge to back up your opinions - great work.

Anywho - I was a few clicks away from buying an EdgeSaber 10 when I noticed it was a 4U. Where would I find a 3U, since that's what I'm used to playing with?

antony said...

Hi CWK
I am not sure which country you are in, but i am based in the UK, and Apacs UK sent me a 4U to test. If you are in the UK i am sure you can send them an e-mail just to see if they do offer a 3U version. If you want i will contact them on your behalf and ask them this question. If they don't you could always add some weight to the racket to make it a bit haevier. Bear in mind that when you add strings and grip it will already add weight. Lead tape on the handle works well for adding extra weight, and if you look through the archives on this blog, there are a few posts on lead tape and what i have noticed with it.
On a different note, i have just received some more Apacs rackets to test, these being the Nano 999 Power, the Tantrum Power 11 international, and the Superlight, so look for some future posts as i review these rackets.

CWK said...

Hi Antony.
I just bought two Apacs ES10 and of course ended up with the 4U. I found a site in Denmark (yeah) that offers lead tape, so I'm gonna try and play with the rackets as much as possible when I get them and then maybe experiment with some lead tape on one of them, if I'm not completely satisfied. I did check out your other posts about the lead tape as well and I guess the only way to find out if it works for me is to try it so -- here goes.

I've played for almost 14 years and have found almost the perfect way to weigh off my rackets with grip, tape, and such so I hope lead tape won't be necessary.

Thanks for the quick response!

antony said...

Hi CWK
When i got my lead tape i went on ebay, there are quite a few sellers on there, and i think i paid about £3 for mine. For some reason they ended up sending me double the amount i asked for!!

CWK said...

Turns out it's pretty hard to find lead tape at a badminton website, but if you look it up at a tennis site you'll find plenty.

Gonna try it out when my rackets get here. Looking forward! :)

asthmaking said...

Nice reviews on these apacs rackets. After reading it , i've decided to bid on the edgesaber 10 and 9( for my gf) on ebay since its pretty cheap . Hopefully its not a fake and pray that i'm not too noob to handle the edgesaber 10 ^^

Anonymous said...

A very helpful review and kudos to you for writing it. It has been a big help as I'm currently looking for a new racket and in light of the good reviews APACS is getting, I'm seriously considering it as an alternate option to Yonex.

A question, have you ever come across the APACS Muscle Tour Ti BT80 or the APACS Muscle Tour Ti BT90 before? The sales person at a sports shop informed me that it was a previous model released by APACS and had since been discontinued (hence old stock and being sold at a discount). First impression when I held it was that it felt really good. You know, the feeling that it's just right :) Anyway, the racket is a 4U-G2 with titanium mesh.

Would really appreciate your comments on this or any helpful suggestions as to where I can find more information about the rackets. Thanks :)

Ray (Malaysia)

antony said...

Hi Ray

I have never come across either of those 2 rackets before. My advice would be to go to badminton central, and look for the Apacs forum on there. You will probably find someone who has used them before. I am based in the UK, so the Apacs rackets i do get to test are prety limited.

Anonymous said...

Hi Antony,

Thanks for the prompt reply and for the suggestion. I've been looking into the threads at badminton central and am yet to find anyone who have tried out the rackets before. I guess I'll have to dig in deeper then :) If I still can't find any information about it, I'll just go with my gut feeling about the rackets :) and adjust my playing style to match either one. Thanks again for the help. Appreciate it very much.

Ray

Anonymous said...

I just got the Edgesaber 10 8and I initially really like the weight of it because my main racket is an AT900P. But after trying the Edgesaber last night, I found it really unstable. After a smash, the head is still vibrating. Which makes it very difficult if your opponent was able to defend against your attack.

antony said...

Hi there

I know exactly what you mean. The head is not as stable as the AT900P, and it does vibrate a bit more. It takes a bit of getting used to for sure. You have to hit the shuttle right in the middle of the racket to get the best out of it.