Jayce
Ten, hundred, thousands of these numbers in the badminton racket models appear very often, at the same time, their appearance also means that the peak of this series of work. Now, the NF1000 series is on the market, including the NF1000Z, which players have been waiting for. 1000 combined with Z, what kind of sparks will come out, let’s read on:
First, let’s take a brief look at the face value part, the NF1000 series is painted in the industrial style design that YONEX is good at, mainly in black and yellow, which has a strong recognition. The head and the tee are positively yellow, the rest of the frame is black, it is worth mentioning that in the frame eleven o’clock to one o’clock and five o’clock to seven o’clock position for the matte lacquer water, the remaining part of the glossy lacquer.
The NF1000 series does not have a complex design language at first glance, but when you take a closer look, you will see that the NF1000 series is full of details.
Detailed parameters
| NF1000 PLAY & NF1000 Z (4U G5) | |
| Racket Weight | NF1000Z: 91.6g top line off the bottom and on the top hand rubber NF1000P: 90.6g top line, bottom and top rubber |
| Center Stick Diameter | NF1000Z: approx. 7.14mm with lacquer. NF1000P: Approx. 7.43mm with lacquer |
| Frame Width | NF1000Z: Thickest approx. 13.02mm Thinnest approx. 12.20mm NF1000P: Thickest approx. 12.73mm, thinnest approx. 11.90mm |
| Frame Thickness | NF1000Z: approx. 6.29mm NF1000P: Approx. 6.37mm |
| Threading Specification | 26*28LBS (BG80 for ball thread) |
Exclusive tech point introduction:
New Frame Design
The NF1000 series has a thicker frame to increase rigidity and increase the speed of rebound, and with the sharp fluid frame design, it significantly reduces wind resistance and improves consistency when swinging. In addition, the frame area of the NF1000Z has been reduced by approximately 5% compared to the conventional model, which improves swing speed and net pressure, and also increases the speed of killing the ball. By the way, the NF1000Z has a full groove, which makes the racket frame more rigid and requires more power, while the NF1000PLAY has a half groove, which makes the racket frame more prone to deformation, and reduces the power requirement for the user.
Sonic Blitz System
The Sonic Strike System is a system of carbon materials with different functions for each part of the racket. High-modulus carbon is added to the top of the frame, and carbon is added to the bottom of the frame for strength and flexibility, which provides high bounce for the ball. The placement, amount and structure of the carbon have been carefully calculated to improve stability and ball control.
NF1000Z Exclusive Design
As the top racket in the NF1000 series, the NF1000Z is designed with materials that are unmatched by other models in the series. Torika M40X carbon is placed in the lower part of the frame to improve the stability of the racket surface and its maneuverability. The addition of EX-HMG high elasticity carbon fiber and dense nano carbon DR gives the NF1000Z a stiff feel and faster ball speed.
The NF1000Z also features a new built-in T-head for better frame stability and improved maneuverability. The lower part of the frame is equipped with an anti-bounce spike, which is made of a highly rigid potassium titanate material that suppresses frame deformation and improves bounce performance. The Power Conversion Cone Cap is an integral part of the construction that enhances the deformation of the center stick by limiting torsion, and is shaped for easy thumb contact, making it easier to transfer power from the hand to the racket.
Hands-on experience
Initial Hands-on Experience
At first hand, the NF1000Z has a slight head weight, while the NF1000PLAY has a more balanced weight distribution, and after a simple air swing, I found that the NF1000Z has a faster swing speed, a slightly lower swing weight, and a stronger feeling of downward pressure. In the YONEX English official website NF1000Z middle shaft hardness logo for Extra Stiff, meaning ultra-hard, but in the author’s simple test hit feeling found that the NF1000Z drive difficulty is not high, the actual playing sensation for the hard; NF1000PLAY logo for the moderate, and the actual playing sensation is the same, as opposed to the general entry-level racket is too soft or wood. “Compared to the general entry-level racket which is too soft or wooden, the NF1000PLAY has a little more toughness in the center stick, not too soft to affect the consistency, and it is softer and easier to drive compared to the “burning stick”.
As mentioned above, the NF1000 series are all windbreaker frames, but there are many differences between the NF1000Z and the NF1000PLAY: the NF1000Z has a sharper frame, especially at the head, which gives it a faster swing speed, and its frame is smaller in size, along with the full-linear groove design, which makes the NF1000Z require a certain amount of power from the user, and also gives better results. The NF1000PLAY has a slightly rounded frame, which reduces swing speed a bit, and the half-slot design makes it less difficult to use and more beginner-friendly.
In-depth experience
The most prominent advantage of the NF1000 series is “fast”, and by fast, I mean fast swing speed. The most obvious benefit of a fast swing speed is consistency, especially in doubles – the extremely fast swing speed and slightly lower swing weight reduces the burden on the fingers and wrists, making passive defense, net blocking, and blocking much more manageable. It is worth mentioning that the NF1000Z is different from conventional speed rackets in that it doesn’t just touch the ball and go, but instead lets the ball stay on the racket surface for a short period of time, which makes the feel of the racket more solid, making it more suitable for control players, especially those who play mixed doubles, and it is simply a godsend to bring girls to the court! Of course, faster swing speeds also bring faster initial ball speeds. Faster consistency combined with faster initial ball speed makes our center court sharp, and when we are in the front half of the court, it will bring a full sense of pressure to the opponent.
The lack of offense is almost a common problem with the NF series, and even with the iteration here in the NF1000 series, the power attacking ability hasn’t improved significantly. For the NF1000Z, its fast swing speed gives us an advantage in the center court, and the ball speed is very fast in short distances, but when it comes to heavy kills, we can feel the ball’s speed decreasing significantly after it crosses the net, and instead, it’s surprisingly effective at point kills and hitting points.
I was most satisfied with the feel of the NF1000Z, which reminded me of the Bow Sword 11 when I first put it on my hand, shooting the ball like a slingshot under big power movements, and with the BG-80 string, the crispness of the ball is evident in small power movements such as slingshots, transitions, and so on. The only thing I feel sorry for is its center stick, although it greatly reduces the threshold of use, and the sugar water tuning can be adapted to a wider range of people, but if it can be a bit stiffer and more elastic, I believe that its offense will be a higher level.
Comprehensive Recommendation Summary
The NF1000 series, as the possible capper of the NANOFLARE series, has introduced models suitable for different stages and levels so that golfers can choose according to their own situation. In terms of speed, the NF1000Z undoubtedly reaches the peak of the NANOFLARE series, allowing us to maintain stronger consistency and more variation in the confrontation. Compared to the general speed racket’s single speed attribute, the NF1000Z is better in control, with high rigidity of the racket frame and a good sense of downward pressure, allowing us to be more threatening in hitting the drop shot, but the drawback is that it is a little weaker in the strong attacking power, which is recommended for middle court and mixed doubles players. Recommended for center court and mixed doubles players.
The NF1000PLAY, as the entry-level racquet of the NF1000 series, retains most of the speed performance while reducing the difficulty of starting compared to the NF1000Z, and the overall feel is on the softer side, which is more recommended for beginners.
At the end of the day, the “Z” series, as YONEX’s familiar ultimate killers, we can always see them in the court, and they always have a notoriously difficult to handle, or extremely high swing weight, or extremely hard center, back to the NF1000Z, we do not see the shadow of difficult to handle on it, perhaps in the face of the growing community of badminton enthusiasts, YONEX seems to be more suitable for the masses, but it can adapt to every occasion. Perhaps in the face of the increasing number of badminton enthusiasts, YONEX seems to prefer rackets suitable for the general public, NF1000Z’s saccharine inevitable, but it can adapt to various occasions, in the high-level games, its speed will be turned into a sharp blade, straight into the opponent’s throat; in the ordinary games, it will be turned into the oil of the world, and it is easy to use.
