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Introduction
This post reviews the Yonex Nanoray Z-Speed. The Yonex Nanoray Z-Speed is a Yonex badminton racket which advertises support for the player to handle the racket fast and hit heavy smashes [1]. It has been used to achieve a world record smash speed of 493m km/h in a laboratory setting by top professional men’s doubles player Tan Boon Heong. It is a relatively expensive racket.
Pros
Cons
- Helps to generate power
- Solid feel for precision and minimal arm strain
- Light-weight and fast to move
- Isometric-square frame increase sweet-spot area
- One-piece and resin T-joint adds to racket durability and stability
- Expensive ($210+ AUD)
- Smaller racket frame/head resulting in less area for contacting shuttlecock
Specifications [1]
- Weight (average, unstrung): 88g (3U) or 93g (2U)
- Length: 675mm (26.5 inches) [1]
- Stringing Advice: 3U 28 lbs, 2U 27 lbs
- Frame material: H.M. Graphite, SONIC METAL, EX-HMG
- Shaft material: H.M. Graphite, NANOMETRIC, X-FULLERENE
- Grip Size: G4, G5
- Flex: Extra Stiff
Racket technologies [2]
- Swing Speed increased by 10%
- Compact Frame
- NANOMETRIC™
- X-FULLERENE
- SONIC METAL
- ISOMETRIC™
- NEW Grommet Pattern
- HORIZONTAL-A CONCEPT
- SOLID FEEL CORE
- AERO Frame
- NEW Built-in T-Joint
- ULTRA SLIM LONG SHAFT
- Control Support Cap
Performance
I have played with this racket for a total estimate of about 8 hours.
Rackets setup
The racket I used was strung with an unknown string with at least 26 lbs of tension. It also had a towel grip.
Results
The following are the results I found playing with this racket.
Smashes: Smashes were easy to hit. The racket was light and fast to move allowing for fast swing speed with minimal strength which would translates to faster speed of the shuttlecock.
Clears, lifts & long serves: The shuttlecock required solid technique but medium effort to hit for it to travel to the back court of the opposing side.
Drives: Drives can be hit quickly and the shuttlecock travels flat and straight expected.
Net shots, drops, short serves & slices: Net shots, serves and slices were precise. I could consistently make net shots and serves which passed low over the top of net. The stiffness and string tension of the racket allowed precise control over the direction and distance travelled by the shuttlecock. Excess propulsion of the shuttlecock through flexing of the racket and propulsion of the strings was not an issue.
Blocks: High string tension and stiffness of racket shaft helped to rebound the shuttlecock without needing to apply much of my own force.
Solid feeling: Hitting with the racket also felt very solid; the arm does not feel much resistance or feedback from the hit. This was great for producing fast shots and precise shots with minimal strain on the arm.
Conclusion
Overall, the light-feeling racket helps to be able to move the racket fast to get into position for all the basic shots and to hit fast for the heavy smashes and far clears/lifts. The racket also seems to assist the player well so that they do not need much strength to give their shots power.
At a high enough string tension, the racket offers good precision to consistently hit the various control shots such as net shots, drops, slices and short serves with precision.
I rarely mishit the shuttlecock. I think most players would not have any problem with the narrower width, since most hits would contact the shuttlecock near the middle line of the frame anyway.
However, the racket is quite expensive at over $200 AUD from even the cheapest sellers. It may not be worth it for those who do not need the precision and power, and it may not even be affordable for some players.
The racket is available for purchase at the following links:
See and compare other rackets from our racket list or strings from our string list!
Feel free to comment any questions, concerns or other.