An eternal myth of equipment: can badminton rackets improve a person’s level? In a specific era, this proposition is undoubtedly affirmative. When you switch from wooden racket to alloy racket, and from alloy racket to carbon fiber racket, there is no doubt that an equipment upgrade in a short time will greatly enhance your personal strength. However, it seems that such an obvious promotion pace has gradually slowed down in the carbon fiber era. From a long-term perspective, the replacement of equipment is indeed constantly improving the personal level, so as to affect the technical and tactical pattern of professional badminton. However, over the years, the promotion brought by each equipment upgrade is really not so easy for amateurs to feel. Limited funds have split the amateur players into two factions: the technical party and the equipment party. Should I invest my little money in a coach or a racket to really make me feel strong?
For me, how to spend my money is my own business, and there is no need to argue about it. But this time may be an exception. YONEX’s new AX88, if you are still hesitating, go ahead and buy it.
As the preface says, the biggest motivation for buying a racket is probably that it can make me stronger. In the past, all kinds of rackets can only be started from the suitability of the ball style. The performance of high-end racquets is gradually converging, and the positioning is overlapping. Even the low-end racquets are almost as high-end because of the popularization of production technology. With such a dazzling array of things, you will get sick in an instant when you choose difficulties. You only hate that the balance of Alipay in your mobile phone does not have 8 zeros. Amateurs really don’t have a particularly fixed style. Today, they are in a good state and want to kill the ball. Tomorrow, they just want to stand and roll. Even if a racket has all kinds of martial arts, it is difficult to satisfy the ever-changing nature of DIVA.
Fortunately, AX88 accelerates in a straight line, giving you a way to become stronger: improving efficiency. No matter what style you are, whether you are weak or strong today, it can perform better than your other beats: it directly makes your power more effective, just like adding a continuous buff.
As this is a late review, you should know what technology AX88 has. Its principle is very simple. Imagine yourself as a rocket. Your fuel utilization rate is too low, and it is hard to push 10 tons. One day, you got a catalyst named AX88, which suddenly increased your fuel utilization rate by 20%, and 10 tons was no longer afraid. This is how AX88 makes you stronger. You can only hit the ball so hard, but the speed and depth of the ball have changed.
This point should be attributed to the new material NAMD and the brand-new whole-beat weight distribution system. I felt it in AX77, but AX88 took this feature to a new height. It’s said that a 10-point racket is a 7-point shot. Maybe you don’t need to know about other technologies of AX88. Just look for it.
On this basis, AX88 derived two models: AX88D and AX88S, D for Dominate, S for Skill. Look at the full name, but the type is clear. 88D must be born for attack, and 88S is "it’s time to show real technology".
YONEX AstroX 88 Dominate
4UG5
Swing weight 88
BG80 28lbs SZ method
YONEX AstroX 88 Skill
4UG5
Swing weight 84
BG80 28lbs SZ method
In appearance, the style of AX77 has been continued, but the color scheme has been changed to red and green this time. The frame is still an oval box/broken wind frame that YONEX knows well. It is unpretentious and obviously takes the connotation route. In addition to the difference in swing weight, the only difference between the two is probably the different bending point and length of the racket in the propaganda (with different advantages in different paths). AX88S is a relatively rare racket with a length of 670mm, and its short body and short grip are very suitable for the quick hand-to-hand combat in the middle and frontcourt of doubles. The AX88D is a conventional 675mm extension, and the extra 10mm makes your swing torque bigger, which is naturally suitable for a strong swing attack. Of course, it’s probably not easy to mix the two racquets. For you who are a master, the difference of 5mm hitting point, amplified by strength, is likely to be the improvement of the error rate. It doesn’t matter if the level is average. Anyway, there are many mistakes …
The difference of bending point is not as obvious as the difference of swing weight in normal times. The 85-swing weight of AX88S belongs to a fairly standard doubles racket setting. It is better to pursue accuracy and speed than power. Therefore, it is a racket that is more suitable for middle-distance rbis and close hand-to-hand combat. The feeling of hitting the ball is not as tough as expected, and it is about the same as that of AX77. For friends who like hard steel on the front, its feel may not be Jason Wu enough, but the ball is really fast and sharp, just like a M416 with a silencer. Its power is not diminished, that is, you don’t have to press the gun so hard, and some people feel it is not exciting enough.
AX88D has a slightly higher swing weight, so it doesn’t make much difference for people with good strength to swing and fight in the frontcourt of doubles like 88S. However, when it comes to killing the ball, the difference of bending points begins to be reflected. It is normal for 88D with higher swing to kill the ball better than 88S, but the feel is really different: 88D has a second bending hitting feel, and the downward pressure is purer and more carefree, and the power seems to be used to accelerate the ball. The 88S will feel that the racket face is very stable, the feel is clear, the ball is sharp, and the strength seems to be used in the angle. For amateurs, it is a good choice to use the characteristics of the racket itself to strengthen the specific hitting feeling.
The high efficiency of AX88 is quite obvious in hitting the ball, and it is obviously much easier to pull up the long ball. In the single-shot all-out attack, high-level players are already very strong because of their own strength, and AX88 is subject to marginal effect, so the feeling of improving the power of single-shot is not significant, but in the multi-shot attack, high efficiency means saving effort. The later, the more dominant the physical strength of AX88 is, and the clearer the situation is. In the passive ball, AX88 is not better than other high-end shots in the fast block with short reaction time/short shooting opportunity, but it is quite excellent in the type of swinging vigorously to save the ball after running passively, especially for amateurs with insufficient strength, it can better exert your strength and increase the depth of the passive ball.
Generally speaking, for amateurs, AX88 has an outstanding hitting feel: slightly hard, without annoying vibration, but the ball is as strong as an ultra-hard shot, and at the same time, it can greatly improve your hitting efficiency, thus improving your physical fitness, not to mention its controllability. Its offensive power is among the best in YY’s other high-end shots. For amateur golfers, the 4U AX88 is not difficult to drive (88D may be a little bit difficult). Improving the success rate of passive ball saving is equivalent to reducing the possibility of losing points actively, and can also improve their strength performance. After all, for amateurs, the error rate and physical fitness are the two biggest hurdles. A racket can make it easier for you to cross the hurdle. Why not?
Of course, due to the unique characteristics of NAMD (so-called "soft-hard combination"), AX series can’t provide the extreme feel that some people love, such as hard and painful, and soft. AX77 and AX88 cover a wide range of playing styles, but the hitting feel is similar: they are not hard and elastic, just like QQ candy that is slightly frozen. Some people like it, while others are too sticky. If you are such a person, YONEX has many other options. If you just want to play well, you can try AX.
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