[Review Experience] YONEX NANOFLARE NEXTAGE

Jayce September 6, 2024 14 0

A year ago, ASTROX NEXTAGE came out of nowhere and brought a brand new model of ASTROX racquets. Different from the traditional ASTROX series, the unique design of NEXTAGE has a different experience of using it, and since then it has announced the official birth of the NEXTAGE series.

As a brand new branch, NEXTAGE currently only has two racquets, NANOFLARE NEXTAGE and ASTROX NEXTAGE, which inherit the genes of their respective series while adopting different technologies, and their unique experience distinguishes them from the other racquets in the family. Today we will bring you a detailed review of the NANOFLARE NEXTAGE (hereinafter referred to as the White Cut) to explore the differences between them and the other models in the NANOFLARE family.

Color Coating

Low-profile and stable matte white, black and silver gray are used to modify the body, black and white outlines the minimalist lines, silver paint embellishments texture appears, in addition to not too many fancy elements, inherited the consistent low-key style of YONEX. The streamlined lines seem to be interlaced with light and shadow, and also seem to be like lightning and thunder, the wind whistles, highlighting the status of its speed family.

Technology Point Utilization

Sonic Strike System
The Sonic Blitz System consists of a carefully designed combination of high-modulus carbon at the top of the frame and high-elasticity carbon at the bottom, which is designed to provide a powerful rebound on shots, and a carefully calculated combination of carbon dosage and positional blending, which is designed to provide stability and maneuverability.

[Enhanced Sonic Blitz System]
Designed to enhance the Sonic Blitz System through a careful combination of high-strength carbon at the top of the frame and connecting spikes at the bottom of the frame. These materials are highly resilient and comfortable, delivering fast rebound and an exhilarating feel.

[Wide Frame]
NANOFLARE’s unique wide frame and aerodynamic shape with sharp edges are designed to minimize frame deformation during the swing, resulting in improved bounce and penetration.

Detailed evaluation experience

Racket Specifications
Racket specification: 4U/G5
Stringing specification: BG80 26-28LBS
Racket weight: 84.7g (empty), 92.7g (strung and unprimed)
Center stick diameter: 6.95mm (with lacquer)
Frame width: 11.85mm at the T-head, gradually narrowing to 11.45mm at the head.
Frame thickness: 6.32mm

Hands-on experience

When I first got the NANOFLARE, besides marveling at its high face value, the first reaction was its ultra-light head and swingweight, which is the lightest head of the NANOFLARE series racquets that I have touched. Afterwards, I played a few matches with moderate intensity, and had a preliminary understanding of this racket: the ultra-light head has a very fast speed and a good sense of control in front of the net, and the flat draw block is better driven and responsive, but the backcourt ability is relatively lacking, and I believe that the White Cut is more suitable for doubles in favor of the front midcourt, and is more suitable for the singles all-court.

Detailed Feelings

Control the net and strike quickly

Players who are good at the net should know that it doesn’t require much power at the net, and they only need to find a good angle to complete the hook, roll and release technical movements, and the White Cut has a natural advantage in this regard. Thanks to the ultra-low swing weight of the white cut, it is very fast, and can gain more advantages in the front court. At the same time, the load on the fingers of the white cut is small, and even a little weak girls can do a fast and continuous hitting, and for the players with poor finger strength, the design greatly reduces the threshold of use, and even the beginners can get started quickly.

Compared to the traditional NANOFLARE racquets, the White Cut has become more rounded while inheriting the wider frame, and with the new carbon fiber, it brings a soft hitting feeling different from the mainstream NANOFLARE, and you can still feel the faintest hint of the Bow Sword series when you have a cursory experience. Such changes in the soft hitting feeling at the same time more a little bit of holding feeling, not as the mainstream NANOFLARE generally touch the ball to go, although reducing the speed of the ball, but also brings a better sense of control, for your net changes to provide more help. In the evaluation process, I also invited a lot of female players to try White Cut, and most of them rated White Cut quite highly.

Defensive and responsive

As an ultra-low swingweight racquet, I think White Cut is more suitable for doubles, where a racquet’s defensive performance plays a crucial role. As mentioned above, the load on the fingers and wrists of the white cut is small, so it can be quicker to set up the racket after completing the stroke, and get ready for the next shot in advance, and the same is true in defense, when you push the ball or pick the ball, you can quickly change the defensive posture, and be in a high-speed game to reduce the user’s passive situation.

Combined with the low threshold of the white cut itself, you can react quickly when facing a fierce attack, whether it’s to split the ball or block the net with relative ease, and the excellent consistency will help you turn the tide of battle. However, it is important to note that you need to put extra effort in catching soft kills or hanging shots from your opponent, otherwise the ball will not be in place, thus increasing the pressure on your own defense.

Light and fast in the center, quick and consistent

The attribute of soft and quick popping allows White Cut to perform quite well in front of the net and in defense, and this good attribute also lays a good foundation for it to be a flat blocker in the mid-court. The combination of sharp reaction and quick strike helps the user to take advantage of the situation and win the game after getting the advantage. However, it is a pity that the white cut is not explosive and threatening enough. The dexterity that sacrifices some of the offense in exchange for it will help you respond quickly to your opponent’s incoming shots, but it is less capable of hitting a powerful draw, although flexibility is more important for mixed doubles women.

Weak backfield and lack of offense

As the NANOFLARE series is known for its speed, they are not exactly strong in absolute offense, but some of the higher-end models are capable of blowing up the offense, but the backcourt ability of the White Cut is relatively weak. The light and soft hitting sensation when hanging or soft pressing, and the crisp sweetness released when hitting the sweet spot are endearing, but with the same hitting power, the white cuts have a lighter exit quality and slightly slower speed, while hanging far from the net requires extra effort.

The low swingweight of the white cuts will allow you to play like a fish out of water in front of the net, but it is not enough for you to play a strong and effective offense in the backcourt, so it is difficult to gain an advantage in the continuous downward pressure, and the opponent is prone to counterattacking if you don’t hit the quality of the downward pressure. In this case, you can hang the ball more and rotate it quickly to change the battlefield to the center field, which is more suitable for white cuts.

My opinion on the center stick

Although the YONEX website lists the feel of the White Cut as moderate, I believe that the frame is the main source of its soft feel, while the center stick is quite stiff in comparison. The stiff center stick is able to ensure the stability of the frame during fast strokes, but unfortunately, the middle stick is not flexible enough, which leads to the lack of downward pressure and threat in most of the situations, and the lack of flexibility of the middle stick also makes it difficult to absorb the excess vibration generated during the strokes, especially during the hard strokes, which will generate more vibration, if the White Cut is paired with a stronger middle stick, then the White Cut will be a great player. The NANOFLARE would be an excellent driver if the White Cut was paired with a stronger mid-range.

Summary

As a mid-range racket, the White Slice has a lot of advantages, such as fast speed, soft feel and better ball holding than the traditional NANOFLARE series, which helps the user to take the initiative in the mid-court battle, and has a better control over the net. However, the shortcomings are also relatively obvious, the center stick performance is a bit lacking, the threat of the ball is not enough, the backcourt attack is weak, and there is a shocking feeling when hitting the ball vigorously. Considering that I use YONEX hard BG80 line, the shock-absorption is obviously insufficient, we recommend that players use XB63, BG66U and other more shock-absorbing soft elastic line when purchasing.

To sum up, the NANOFLARE NEXTAGE is a speed control racquet for intermediate advanced players, and it is highly compatible with doubles players who favor the forecourt, among which the mixed doubles female players have the highest suitability, and it is also recommended to use it with soft strings.