[Review Experience] Namd New Power YONEX AstroX88S/D ASTROX 88 Racket Review

Jayce September 6, 2024 1 0

One of the eternal myths of equipment: can a badminton racket improve one’s level of play or not? In a particular era, this proposition is undoubtedly affirmative. When you change from wooden racket to alloy racket, and from alloy racket to carbon fiber racket, there is no doubt that an equipment upgrade within a short period of time can dramatically improve your personal strength. However, it seems that the pace of such an obvious improvement has gradually slowed down in the carbon fiber era, from a long time span, equipment replacement does continue to, more or less, enhance the level of personal, so as to affect the technical and tactical pattern of the professional badminton world. However, over the years, the improvement brought by each equipment upgrade is not so easy to be felt by amateurs, and the limited funds make the majority of amateur players split into two factions: the technical party and the equipment party. In the end, not much money in hand should be invested in coaching or racket, in order to really let me really feel strong?

For me, how I spend my money is my own business and I don’t need to argue about it. But this time may be an exception, YONEX new AX88, if you are still hesitant, boldly go buy it.

As I said before, the biggest motivation for me to buy a racket is that this racket can make me stronger. In the past, all kinds of racquets were different, but only from the degree of suitability for the style of play. High-end racquets are becoming more and more similar in performance, with overlapping positioning, and even mid-range and low-end racquets have become more popular due to the popularization of production technology, and their performance is directly comparable to that of high-end racquets. With such a wide variety of rackets, the difficulty of choosing a racket will instantly become a disease, and I hate that I don’t have 8 zeros in my phone’s Alipay balance. there is no particularly fixed style for amateurism, and today’s state is good and I want to kill the ball, tomorrow I want to stand and jerk it off, and a racket with a hundred different martial arts skills can hardly satisfy you with the same variety as a DIVA.

Happily, the AX88 a straight acceleration that gives you a way to get stronger: to be more efficient. Whatever your style, whether you’re shriveled or strong today, it outperforms the rest of your racket: it directly makes your launches more efficient, like adding a constant buff.

Since this is a late review, you should have a pretty good idea of what technology the AX88 has. It’s simple, imagine you’re a rocket and your fuel utilization is so low that you’re struggling to push 10 tons. One day you get a catalyst called AX88, which instantly gives you a 20% increase in fuel utilization, and 10 tons is no longer feared. That’s how AX88 made you stronger, you still could only hit the ball with so much power, but the speed and depth of the ball changed.

This should be credited to the new material NAMD in the center tube and the new whole racket weight distribution system. It was already felt with the AX77, but the AX88 takes this feature to a new level. It is said that 10 points racket 7 points stick, AX88 other technology maybe you don’t need to know, NAMD recognize it.

On this basis, the AX88 spawned two models: AX88D and AX88S, D for Dominate, S for Skill. looking at the full name is the type of clear, 88D is certainly born for the offense, 88S, “it’s time to show the real technology”.

YONEX AstroX 88 Dominate
4UG5
Swing Weight 88
BG80 28lbs SZ Method

YONEX AstroX 88 Skill
4UG5
Swing Weight 84
BG80 28lbs SZ Method

Externally the style of the AX77 has been continued, only the color scheme has been changed to red and green this time. The frame is still YONEX’s familiar oval box/windbreaker frame, which is plain and unassuming, and clearly takes the route of substance. In addition to the difference in swingweight, the only difference left is the advertised difference in racquet bend points (different advantages in different ball paths), and different lengths: AX88S is a rare 670mm length racquet, with a shorter body and a short grip, which is very suitable for doubles in the fast center-court white knuckle battles; while the AX88D is the regular 675mm extension, with an extra 10mm to allow you to swing with more torque, which is naturally suitable for doubles. The AX88D is a regular 675mm extension, and the extra 10mm gives you a greater swinging torque, which is naturally suitable for vigorous swinging offense. Of course, if you want to mix the two rackets, it’s probably not too easy, for you, the master, the 5mm difference in hitting point, through the amplification of the power, it is likely to be an increase in the error rate. It doesn’t matter if you’re average, you miss quite a lot anyway ……

The difference in point of bend doesn’t feel as noticeable as the difference in swingweight on a normal day.The 85 swingweight of the AX88S is a fairly standard doubles racket setup, and rather than chasing power, it’s more likely to chase accuracy and speed. Therefore, it is a racquet more suited for mid-range hitting and close-range fighting. The hitting feeling is not as hard as imagined, probably about the same as the AX77, for those who like the frontal hard steel, its feel may not be enough Wujing, but the ball is really fast and sharp, as if a silenced M416, the power does not diminish, that is, you do not have to press the gun so hard, some people feel that it is not enough to stimulate.

The AX88D has a slightly higher swingweight, and for someone with good power it’s not much different than the 88S for swinging and scrambling in the middle of the court in doubles. However, when it comes to kills, the difference in the bend point starts to show. It’s normal for the heavier 88D to kill the ball better than the 88S, but it does feel different: the 88D has a second-bend feel to it, and the downward pressure is much more pure and fluid, with the power being used to accelerate the ball. The 88S, on the other hand, feels very stable, crisp and sharp, and the power feels like it’s being used to hit the ball at an angle. For amateurs who lack a detailed feel, it’s a good idea to utilize the characteristics of the racquet itself to enhance a specific feel.

The AX88’s efficient characteristics are already quite evident in the stroke, and it’s obviously much easier to pull off long shots. In the single-shot full attack, high-level players because of their own power is already very strong, AX88 subject to marginal effect, single-shot power enhancement feeling is not significant, but in the multi-shot attack, high efficiency means saving energy, the later, the use of AX88 physical strength will be more advantageous, the situation will be clearer. In the passive ball, short reaction time/short timing fast block, AX88 is not stronger than other high-end rackets, but in the passive running after the ball after swinging vigorously to save the ball such as this type, AX88 is quite excellent, especially for the lack of strength of the amateur, it can better utilize your strength and increase the depth of the passive ball.

Overall, for amateur masters, the AX88 has an outstanding feel: slightly stiff, no annoying vibration, but the ball comes out as stiff as a super-stiff racket, and at the same time it dramatically improves your hitting efficiency, which in turn improves your fitness, not to mention its controllability, and offensive prowess that ranks among the best of the rest of the high-end rackets in YY. For the average amateur player, the 4U AX88 is not difficult to drive (88D may be a little bit harder), improve the success rate of passive ball saving is equivalent to reduce the likelihood of active loss of points, but also improve their own power performance, after all, for amateurs, the error rate and physical fitness are the two biggest hurdles, a racket can make you pass the hurdles more easily, why not?

Of course, due to the unique characteristics of NAMD (the so-called “combination of soft and hard”), none of the AX series can provide the extreme feel that some people love, such as painfully hard, soft and scary. It’s like a slightly frozen QQ candy, some people like it, some people think it’s too sticky for their teeth. If you’re one of those people, YONEX has a lot of other options. If you just want to hit the ball well, you can try AX.