Having used the carbonex 20 and 21, progressing to the
Titanium 8 and 10,experimenting with the red Nanospeed
800 and Nanoray 60, I have now graduated to using the
Nanoray 700 RP which I have discovered suit all my
requirements fully.
With my playing style the racquet outperforms all the
previous racquets I have been comfortable with.
The racquet is headlight and has a frame with tapered edges
so it performs well in terms of power but loses out in terms
of raw smashing power to the Ti 10 or Voltric racquets.
Its strengths however are its control and speed and
manueverbilty,qualities already found in carbonex 20,21,
Ti10 or 8, and Nanospeed 800 and Nanoray 60 but it has
extra power and is a very comfortable racquet to use
and I am able to execute clears,drives, net dribbles,
smashes,slices etc almost perfectly and very comfortably.
It is almost like wielding a weapon that can be swung like
a broadsword and also thrust and jabbed like a hunting knife
when desired.
To me,if there is a flaw in the racquet, it is the slightly soft,
wobbly,flexible head, ,I find myself sometimes mishitting or making
wild clears out of court when attempting easy smashes or clears
because of inadequate backswing.
Although not as powerful as head heavy racquets for
smashing this is compensated by the speed of execution
and superior accuracy and sharpness in the delivery.If you
are thinking of executing booming smashes from the baseline,
you will be disappointed and should look to Li Ning models.
It is no wonder this is the racquet of choice of players like
Saina Nehwal,Sayaka Takahashi,PV Sindhu,Aya Ohori and
many doubles players as it is basically an all round racquet
with modest power to match.It seems to be the prefered choice
for ladies and probably for veterans or juniors.But the Korean
Men's Doubles players wield head light Victor racquets and are
very speedy and powerful!
It is in essense a refined version of the raw powered Ti 8
and 10 and yet a power packed and faster version of the
Nanospeed 800 and Nanoray 60 and would not cause any
injuries to the player's hands.In fact the racquet feels as though
it is a part of my hand and responds effectively to signals from
the brain.Its greatest asset is the braking effect,after a fast swing
the racquet brakes quite quicly and it only requires a minor twitch
of the wrist to bring it back to position.Its easy on the hands and
will not tire out the hands after hundreds of swings unlike head
heavy racquets.It can be switched from overhead to under the net
shots very quickly and effortlessly,and is a "forgiving" racquet, ie.
it allows a bigger margin of error in your shots.
Whilst even a child can appreciate that a good racquet does
not make the better player, playing with a racquet that I can
execute all manner of strokes in all possible styles and not
making any unforced errors while at it,sure builds up confidence
and takes up one's game a few percentage points up.Nanoray
racquets are marketed as "out of position racquets" requiring
long backswings overhead and can easily hunt and reach the
shuttle well before the feet are in position for shots below the net,
and therefore good for defensive play and driving in doubles.It can
perform like a head heavy racquet with a slight adjustment and also
for driving and other below the net shots where it is best at ,a very
versatile racquet indeed!After all a good player needs to have both
attacking strokes as well as a sound defence too.
The key feature of this racquet is its aerodynamics as its frame design
has little air resistance and its light frame allows it to be wielded up and
down rapidly,a boon for players who build their game on speed in attack
and defence.It is possible that Yonex may be developing a model with the
700 RP's qualities but with a slight increase in smashing power (if at all
possible).I suspect the racquets currently used by Tago,Kamilla Richter
Juhl, Koo and Tan fall into this categoryory.
I wonder what possible improvements can be made to this
racquet or the Voltric series in future.
While the Nanospeed 800 and Nanoray 60 in terms of racquet
performance may resemble its car equivalent in Toyota or
Volkswagen,the Ti 8 & 10 in Lexus,the Nanoray 700 has to
be a BMW or Merc.
My racquet is 3U and 5 G and strung at 25 Lbs.
The racquet retails from US$ 160-200 in KL and there is keen
competition here where aggressive marketing by close rivals are
threatening to muscle out what is essentially a technologically
more advanced range of products.
Useful racquet selection tool : http://www.directsportseshop.co.uk/Selector.aspx?Sport=Badminton
Latest Nanoray 700
