Badminton Racket First Impressions: Yonex Astrox 100ZZ

 Hey guys, found out some other site's been taking my article wholesale, so be a sport and bookmark the original site - http://everythinggoeshere.blogspot.sg 

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So I had typically given up on badminton racket reviews, what with Yonex taking over most of the domestic market and basically ruining the diversity of rackets available here. 

Add my recent injury bout to the mix, and also this world-changer called COVID-19 - basically that left me with very little interest in rackets in general. 

But then a visit to the local racket shop for supplies saw this guy in my hands - there was something particular about it that made me pick it up from the shelf and give it a swing. 

The shaft was oddly short - the handle and cone take up more real estate on the racket than usual and there's an odd shape to the cone as well. The shaft is stiff, typical of what comes out of Yonex nowadays I reckon. 

On swing, the racket feels even balanced. The shorter shaft probably had something to do with it, and it feels good to be able to generate power without having to suffer the slower swing speed of a head heavy giant (think Z-Force 2).

But the price! I've never paid that much for a Yonex racket before, and this Yonex Astrox 100ZZ is not about to change my mind. 

The next few days came and I decided to go back for it - gut feel. It was sold. Apparently it's also a popular one... The next few days went by with the thought of missing out eating into my head, and I eventually got my hands on one. 

After a few sessions on the court I also decided to reignite this blog and push out a quick First Impressions for the Yonex Astrox 100ZZ. The racket is strung with the Yonex BG66 Ultimax at 31lbs. 

The racket performed well in its first session, giving me good placement around the court. Netting, in particular, was a joy. The slightest shift gave me the ability to control the shuttle and twist it over the net. Smashes and clears were solid and I had nothing much to complain lest for the lack of accuracy owing to my lack of play. 

The strings snapped the next day.

The next few tries were done with the racket strung at the same tension with the Yonex Nanogy 98. The string has a thicker gauge and would less likely be burning a hole in my pocket. 

Again, the net shots impressed. The new strings also gave me a little more power on the clears, to the extend that I felt my backhand improved in distance simply because of the new string tension.

That aside, the racket performed admirably - swings with the racket were effortless and accuracy and control are out of this world. If you could feel 'one with the racket' it would likely come from handling this guy. 

Between this and the last racket I tested, the Yonex Astrox 99, the 100ZZ definitely came out a winner. More time will tell as to whether I am correct with this initial judgement, and I will try my best to provide a good review here. 

Till soon!