[Review Experience] YONEX DUORA 10LT

Jayce September 6, 2024 3 0

DUORA 10, launched in 2015; DUORA 10LT, launched in 2018. The specs of the two racquets don’t overlap, and with a 3-year time-to-market gap, I’m sure the differences aren’t just in weight.

In fact, the DUORA 10LT will be more in the doubles field, and I was impressed that Zheng Siwei used the DUORA 10LT for a time in the Eastern Olympic cycle, and went through a period of injury and retirement in the middle of it. The CWF rating isn’t even a 9 yet, but all signs point to this racquet having something.

Parameters: 4UG5, de-bottomed, 88.81g total weight in used condition, 308mm balance point, 210mm center bar length, medium-high stiffness, double-sided shaped frame, 76-hole wire bed, 9-3 point wire slots, 26 lb. warranty, 24-26lbs XB68 threading.

Aside from the DUORA 6, this is the one DUORA that pokes the most at the author’s aesthetic. The overall design of the racket remains the same as that of the DUORA series, with a symmetrical pattern but different colors on both sides of the racket, and the wings of the frame are marked with forehand and backhand zones to differentiate them. While the DZS takes advantage of the white color, and the D9 goes for a magenta color, the D10LT’s fluorescent yellow and rosy red have a much more eye-catching appearance, and are highly recognizable with a striking color difference. Unfortunately, the lacquer strength is very low, and it is easy to cause bumps and paint loss, so that a flawless DUORA 10LT is very rare in the second-hand market, and the price level is also high.

The racket is still relatively light in the hand, and the overall feel of the swing is actually a bit similar to that of the DUORA 9 from a long time ago. At this point I remembered the controversy of the double-sided shaped frame, I think the effect of the reverse side of the wind break may be more obvious in the heavier version of the effect, for the 10lt such a lightweight racket is already swinging fast, the box that a little bit of wind resistance really does not affect. It is said that a wire is embedded in the sharp part of the wind break to improve the bounce performance on the opposite side of the racket, and even the cable guard is specially made. Can’t say it’s useless, when I experience the whole series, the most obvious sense of contrast is DUORA 7, only with the different characteristics of the front and back of the use of different grips to deal with the incoming ball a little bit more than it pays off, as a user to the back of the user will give up to insist on using the advocated direction of the grip.

After the racket with the XB68, the overhand ball is very good, the sweet spot regular face is large, the swing is quick and smooth, the shape variable of the center stick is not big but it is willing to give the elasticity, it is very comfortable for the process of pulling the high long ball, not to say that it is not a sugar water but it is very low loaded, which already ensures that it has the potential of touching the fish.

DUORA’s high-end lineup doesn’t currently have a 5U specification, so the 10lt is one of the fastest models available, faster than the D9. The fastest is reflected in two aspects, one is the above-mentioned low wind resistance, low swing weight and hard tuning, the ball response is fast and forward, on the other hand, the longer grip is still conducive to the user by adjusting the grip position upward to narrow the torque when swinging the racket to further improve the agility. It can be said that the racquet’s flat draw performance is not in line with the DUORA series’ “balanced” impression, but directly into the category of a speed racquet, which is a threatening and consistent attack.

DR Carbon is really bouncy too, the 1000z, Golden Tofu and DUORA 10lt I used not too long ago would make me feel the same way, and the D10LT’s natural suitability for short power shots is even more of an advantage of this new material back then at this point. When encountered to deal with the more passive ball, this overall higher elasticity will play a life-saving effect, low backhand area a shot of power can be better hit to the opponent’s backcourt, when the hand is good to take a little higher directly backhand pump a shot near the sideline of the straight line of the ball and direct scoring possibilities.

D10lt’s net small ball performance is not impressive, lack of solid feeling, simple rubbing hook release for me will still be easy to pop high, but more flexible body allows me to push the ball to hide good, grabbing the hair slide shot to push the bottom corner of the effect I was impressed. So than to do the ball, if you can grab a relatively high point in the net that is certainly still Yi sister pounced on the pressure of a shot better, in the backcourt have big brother to help me output, I can play in the front court of the filler can be very worry-free.

This racquet’s ability to deliver in the backcourt, on the other hand, is still dominated by consistency. Yes, although the smoother power transfer does allow me to hit a high ball speed down the line with good acoustics when I get the chance to make a full power shot, which will give me a pleasing feedback, it still falls short in terms of killing the ball, which is fast but not too hard to catch, and the penetration is a little less than I expected. However, I also realized that the DUORA 10 shares with the NF800 the increased stiffness of the LT version, which is effective in reinforcing the racquet’s power due to the loss of weight, but the NF800LT raises some of the threshold of use as a result, while the DUORA 10LT isn’t that much more difficult to use.

For me, this is a high-end racket that gets better and better the more I use it, and the competitive performance is not bad, of course, I understand that it didn’t get a high score, after all, the body is too weak, the collision is light or paint loss is heavy or broken, and there are often collapses and cracks, and this kind of wear and tear is really not something that the average consumer can withstand.