Saturday, March 17, 2012

Badminton Racket First Impressions: Li-Ning Woods N90-II

It's the time for buying, and I've gotten myself a shiny new racket coz I've heard so much about the brand and decided to give it a try.

Of course it also helped that the N90-II looks so good.

At first string the racket felt really heavy, the type that I can't get much use out of since I'm not much of an offensive player.

Then I hit the courts this morning and boy did it impress! The hits off this racket were amazing. It gave me a sense of control that I've not felt from head-heavy rackets for a long time (not especially since the Yonex Voltric Z-Force).

Smashes were surprisingly forceful too, but what made it stand out was the defensive capability. Blocks were solid and I could even lift the shuttle to the far back of the court when in trouble.

I'll use this one a bit more before I commit a full review.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Arthur

I'm actually considering of getting between the voltric z of woods N90-II but haven't tried the li ning before. I think the Z force is really good when i first try them. Which would you prefer between them ? Thanks

Arthur said...

Hi, first off, thanks for reading!

The two rackets have quite a different feel, and if I were to compare the Woods N90-II to a Yonex, it's probably be the closest to the Voltric 80.

Compared to the Z-Force however, the Woods is less stiff and less head-heavy, which gives me a greater ease when it comes to controlling the shuttle.

That ease of control translates to my attackes and defenses too. The Woods N90-II gives me more satisfying smashes and the defense I get with it is both confident and strong.

Physically, the Woods also has the benefit of a bigger head frame, which is less punishing for the less-than-perfect player (as if the stiffness of the Z-Force wasn't enough).

Here's another thing I learnt from my experience with rackets - you often feel good and receive better results with the first few tries; after a few more attempts you'll start to discover more about the racket.

Finally, to answer your initial question, I prefer the Li Ning Woods N90-II. But since you enjoyed the Z-Force, you might want to give it a try if you can afford the big price tag.

Anonymous said...

Thanks a lot for your quick reply and details review arthur ! after going through your your reviews, i found that you rank the Victor Braves wood 15 very high.

Is that racquet something similar to the Z force and N90-II ? cuz i've never tried a Victor so i have totally no idea how's their racquet acts.

Thanks :)

Arthur said...

Hey there!

Unlike the two, the Bravesword 15 offers an even-balance, which I found to be more suiting to my style of play.

So I guess rather than asking what's the difference between brands, you might want to explore different types of rackets out there - stiffness of shaft, weight-distribution, overall weight etc.

For me the even-balanced BRS15 offers a faster game and more variety of shots from the added agility as compared to the head-heavy Woods N90-II and the Z-Force.

I've also an ArcSaber 10 that'd like to review soon. It's also an even-balanced racket and the initial games felt great.