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Friday, November 12, 2010

Victor Super Waves 35 vs Yonex Armortec 900 Power comparison


I decide to dissect the performance of these two racquets.
Victor Super Waves 35 (2010 model) vs Yonex Armortec 900 Power (2007 model)
Both are roughly similar at 3U weight, G5 Yonex grip/G2 Victor grip with BG66 at 25lbs.

Why this comparison?
answer: both occupy a niche in the attacking player's style: Head heavy and stiff

Round 1

Both have some metallic-like tape/structure at the top of the frame.
Victor named it E-Titanium whereas Yonex named it Power Armor system

The thickness of the shaft; I found are similar.
The Victor racquet has slightly longer shaft/shorter handle whereas conversely is true for the Yonex.
Victor adds Nanotec resin to stiffen the flex of the racquet to extra stiff whereas Yonex has elastic titanium in it, to stiffen the flex. Not much to choose between the stiffness of the two. The Yonex felt just as stiff perhaps of my perception owing to the shorter length of the shaft. The SW35 is in my rating considered very stiff.

Regarding the frame: Both are roughly similar in thickness. The differences are:
1) The armortec has a more boxy frame at the lower-half portion of the frame
2) The SW35 has a more aerodynamic lower-half portion of the frame

Round 2
Playability:
AT900P
Feel: 9.5/10
Control: 9/10
Power: 10/10
Defense: 6.5/10
Maneuverability: 8/10

SW35
Feel: 9/10
Control: 9/10
Power: 9.5/10
Defense: 6.5/10
Maneuverability: 7.5/10

Summary: I find that the feel of the Yonex marginally better than the Victor, but 'feel' is very hard thing to describe. The Yonex armortec 900P has one of the better 'feel' even among the Yonex range, but on the other hand SW35 holds it's own. Control wise roughly similar. Power wise marginally similar, not much to choose. Defense I rated on par, but on court, the AT900p felt easier to defend owing to the longer handle, facilitating backhand defense. Possibly the difference in handling of the racquet is the longer handle of the AT900P, made it better suited for doubles game (especially maneuverability near the net and in driving and maybe a 'faster' racquet).

Conclusion: On court and in theory, the Armortec 900P wins marginally over the Victor SW35. But in the hands of a good or advanced players, it boils down to preference, negating the marginal differences in performance. On performance/price ratio, the SW35 wins hands down, e.g. for every 2XAT900P, one can get 3X SW35.

1 comment:

Imaster said...

Any chance to see a AT700 review? Also, could you add the AT700 and AT900T to this comparison, that would be amazing