New Badminton Racket: Yonex Voltric Z-Force II

Sounds like they got tired of thinking up cool names for their rackets.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this could be the first time the badminton giant created a racket sequel... From warehouse sales to lousy names, it seems their marketing division is down the dumps.

Kudos on the SunriseClick site though - looks and functions awesome.

Now on to the serious stuff. Shock Force, or so they call it.

The immensely popular Voltric Z-Force brought a whole new level of attacking play to the game with its ultra stiff and ultra head heavy construction. What else has to be improved to make the racket even more powerful?

Perhaps making it a little more user-friendly with a broader head frame? Perhaps softening the shaft? Perhaps by making the grip a little longer? Maybe paint it a little more intimidatingly?

Well, Yonex seems to have gone all Tron on this one. The Z-Force II comes packed with new material, shaft design, grommet retrofitting, and a funky paint job.

I won't go much into the details since the website already has it all. I've collected the important portions for your reading, since the darn website takes so long to load.

All information and images courtesy of Yonex. Visit the official website for the real deal.

First off is the thin and stiff shaft... sounds like a nightmare to me but it all adds up to increased swing speed and power.

This here is some math about the plausible effects of the new material.

This, I'm more interested in. Head frame construction and grommet patterns are proven methods to increase swing speed and power for your shots. The inside grommets look promising, as you will see below.

Check out the grommets, sunk in at the tri-voltage areas to allow less resistance from the strings and the air.

Seriously, where do I sign?

Once again, all material from the Yonex site.