Shopping Product Reviews admin  

Yonex Arcsaber Z Slash Badminton Racket Review

There has been a tremendous amount of traffic on the forums about this badminton racket. I can’t remember a time when a new racket has been so eagerly awaited. The Yonex Japan website lured us in with their hype, however they kept us all in the dark about what this racket looked like until a few days before release.

When the images became available, the Arcsaber Z Slash badminton racket received a mixed response. Some said it was gruesome, while others raved about its colorful graphics. But did it live up to the hyped anticipation and expectation? Let’s get into the review. Above all, remember that choosing a racket is personal and you are the only person who can judge if this racket is for you.

With all the hype surrounding this racket, I was expecting a flashy deck, something different that would set it apart from the rest of the Yonex range. As you can imagine, I was a bit disappointed when I saw the standard deck on the Arcsaber racket. Fair play to Yonex though, they are trying to standardize their range, so why should this racket get any special treatment in a way?

I had that Christmas morning feeling as I slowly unzipped the lid and pulled out the racket. wow! I came across some of the most eye-catching graphics I’ve seen on a racket in a long time. If you’re ultra-conservative, you might see the racket as flashy or crazy, but I really liked it. The graphics combine black, red, yellow, gold and white.

At first glance, apart from the graphics, it looks like any other badminton racket. But, there are a number of differences when you investigate further.

First of all, the head looks a bit thinner. Initially I thought this was due to stringing. But, Yonex stringers are among the best in the world, so this needed further inspection. No, this is definitely a slightly different shape, drawing from the sides about half a centimeter each side, which is considerable. The length of the head is the same.

The axis of the Z Slash is about 1cm longer than my Nanospeed 9900, so it should make a bit more power. The handle is about 2cm shorter and the splint (plastic piece on top of the handle) has been reduced by 25% (my estimate). The splint itself appears considerably smaller and is a slightly different shape. I personally don’t see this adding much, if anything, to the performance of the racket, although I’m sure marketers will tell you otherwise.

The racket is a standard 3U (weight 84-89g) with a G4 grip size. This is a bit surprising as usually in the UK we get the G3 grip size which is slightly larger. Yonex have previously supplied larger grip sizes to our market because they feel we have larger hands. Therefore, I cannot understand why this high-end racket is supplied with a smaller grip size. Let’s go…

So how does this racket feel? It’s certainly different from the Arcsaber 10. It’s almost a cross between the Armortec 900 Power (which readers will know is one of my favorites) and the Nanospeed 9900 (my current racket).

It’s certainly well balanced, although I’d say it leans towards more head weight. Before heading out the door, I grabbed my racket and couldn’t take a few hits in my living room. wow! The speed through the air was amazing. Certainly much less “drag” than other rackets. This racquet certainly felt fast for power shots, which was a surprise considering the heavier head. It will be interesting to see how it performs both in terms of airpower and defense.

I used the racket on a training night at my league club. First I played a men’s doubles match. In the warm-up I felt pretty good with the racket, although I knew it was going to take me a bit to get used to.

Why?

The racket is certainly solid enough. My playing was a bit weird, but that was partly due to the lower string tension and having to adjust to the racket. He felt a little heavier in the head, although he was certainly fast around the net.

Where this racquet wins a lot is when you really time your shot correctly. The shuttle travels like a bullet and all the comments about how powerful this racket is are to be believed. In the warm up I landed some good shots that went down like a shell – fantastic, now I’m game ready.

Wrong! Getting my timing right in the warm-up didn’t prepare me for the speed of the game at all. I realized that even with my experience, I was miscalculating so many overheads. Even though I stayed there, we lost the game easily, which was disappointing.

Then I fed a bit with the racket and it felt great. Lots of underarm feeding was a doddle. I was still very conscious of the weight on the racket head and felt very comfortable with it.

After this, I worked with the players in defense. Having previously been the feeder, I really wanted to get involved as a player and try out the racket. I was delighted with the results. This racquet was really solid on defense moving very fast to respond to the shuttle. The extra weight on the head felt great and gave me that extra kick on high lifts to get good length, even when taking shuttles off my racket hip.

After this we did some quick hands work around the net. Again, I was delighted with the racket. It was certainly fast enough in this department with the added “meat” and consequently the control I lost when using my Nanospeed 9900.

Unfortunately I couldn’t play another game, I’ll have to wait until next week.

To sum up my evening, the racket performed like a troupe in all departments except my top, the place where it’s supposed to shine the brightest. I really was delighted with all the areas we tested, and boy did we test hard tonight.

I have read with interest on the badminton forums the comments of players who have bought this racket and found that it does not suit them. I can completely understand the frustrations of these players, as I guess I was feeling the exact same thing earlier in the night.

This is a brilliant racket, without a doubt. So why can’t I play him immediately? The answer is simple…

The Arcsaber Z Slash badminton racket is a racket that requires persuasion to achieve greatness. When timed right, this beauty offers power in abundance. And herein lies the crux of the matter… when. I have a harder time getting used to this racket than any other I’ve used before.

Maybe it’s the combination of a longer shaft, shorter handle, and smaller head? Maybe it’s the streamlined head that moves so fast when asked to act this way; it’s almost too good for me right now.

After thinking more about what I just wrote, I came to the conclusion that it’s the rackets ability to generate such magnificent speed through the air that traps me and throws my timing off. When I master this, I think I’ll tame this beast and be able to get the best out of it.

I also lent this racket to other players tonight. The looks on his faces when they timed a shot was a sight to see. Tonight I witnessed some incredible shots with this racket. But, these big hits were a very small percentage of the many hits overnight.

How am I going to rate this racket? The retail price is around £180, making it the most expensive Yonex racket on the market. It is possibly the most expensive Yonex racket ever! It’s worth it? Only you can say it.

Personally, for many players it will be out of reach. Maybe not from a price perspective, but more in terms of what they can get out of it. An average league player can do better by choosing his next racquet wisely, instead of thinking that the most expensive is the best racquet for him.

With all that being said, and even though I didn’t propose on our first date, I really love this racket. I want to spend more time with him, get to know him better, and figure out how to make us a perfect partnership.

This racket has blown me away. I don’t know exactly why, but I really want to try it again and again and I want to master the overload time and see what this beauty can really offer. I can’t wait for our next date.

I can’t remember the last time a racket had this effect on me. So despite the immediate negative that I think is due to the amazing airspeed this racquet generates, I am going to rate this racquet 4.5 stars. I truly believe this racket has the potential to be a classic, if it can be tamed. I’ve deducted a half star for the price, though I must confess this could be dropped entirely and down to a 5 star rating when I get used to the incredible power this racquet generates.

I also posted a Z Slash vs Nanospeed 9900 video review on my badminton blog which you may find interesting.

Leave A Comment