Badminton Racket Comparison: Yonex Voltric Z-Force (4U) versus Yonex Voltric Z-Force II (4U)

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Here's the review for the Yonex Voltric Z-Force
Here's the review for the Yonex Voltric Z-Force II

I enjoy journeys of discovery, and one of the reasons why I started this blog was so that I could share my experiences with different kinds of badminton equipment with fellow badminton enthusiasts.

Well, having been through the excellent experience that is the Z-Force II, I was convinced by a reader (didn't take much really) to have a go at its predecessor and come up with a comparison.

Well, I had two hours with the Yonex Voltric Z-Force in a singles session yesterday and here's this here's my conclusion.

Since this is my first comparison article, I will attempt a rough structure that will probably guide the future comparison articles.

You are encouraged to read the reviews for the rackets before attempting to read the article, since I would have already given my take on the rackets.

And if you'd like to see two rackets compared, leave a comment after this one and I'll see what I can do.

Disclaimer: This is an article on my experiences after the use and comparison of two rackets. Pinch of salt please, and comments are always welcome. Please don't ask me to weigh them or measure the size of their frames, or for the exact ratio of head weight to handle weight. You catch my drift. Hopefully.

P.S. And please don't ever ask me to compare a Yonex racket to its mainstream equivalent. I'm not really interested in finding out the difference between a red ArcSaber and a White one.

Here it comes.

First Impressions:
The Yonex Voltric Z-Force rackets traditionally come with super stiff shafts and an unforgiving head heavy weight distribution. This makes them hard to handle and tiring to use for the long run. This would also have contributed to many a badminton player's tennis elbow or sore shoulders.

The Z-Force came across as an unforgiving mentor, one that expects you to perform well but is willing to give you very good results if you manage to subscribe to its philosophy.

In sharp contrast is the Z-Force II. The black wonder is like the same mentor, but ten years down the road. He's seen the world, had his share of tormenting helpless students and has mellowed. This concentration gives him even more power, and he's willing to share.

Defense:
Both rackets offer a good level of defense. I was able to turn and twist and block and lift at will. If I had to choose a winner, I felt that the Z-Force II came off a bit faster and easier to move around. I also had a noticeable increase in defensive shots when I use the Z-Force. This could be due to the fact that I offered more attacking chances.

Attack:
The Z-Force II wins hands down. The Z-Force's attacks not only comes off softer, the chance of mishit was also higher for me. Much times I wasn't able to get as good enough a hit as I would have if I had used the Z-Force II.

One thing that the Z-Force won over its descendant was the power on the drive shots. The Yonex Voltric Z-Force delivered awesome drives.

Control:
While I didn't have much trouble with shot accuracy when using both rackets, the Z-Force II offered more ease when I played with it. I could move faster, clear easier, drop more accurately, net better, the works. The Z-Force II just made executing the hardest shots that little bit easier.

Conclusion:
No contest. There's no reason why you would want to use the Yonex Voltric Z-Force when you can use the later rendition.

The Yonex Voltric Z-Force II offers an all-round improvement in terms of speed, attack and control. It may not be as nice in terms of design, but the user-friendliness of the Z-Force II makes it an obvious decision.

Sell your Z-Force rackets. Go for the upgrade.