sleepy-panda's profile

Gender Male
Age U50
Experience More than ２０ years

  • Use racket, shuttle

    1. Racket

      FORTIUS 10POWER

      Equipped with a new mechanism "BEYOND FORCE SYSTEM" that pursues the ability to transmit the maxi...
    2. Shuttle

User review

  • Doubles only. LCW model.
    For serious matches, the ASX99 has the best overall balance. The shuttle doesn't leave the strings as quickly as with the Zsp, so it's easy to control = easy to control your opponent's strokes. Attack and defense, power and soft touch are all at a high level; it's excellent in every respect. The smash in particular is the CARBONEX-style "cannon that keeps carrying," fast and heavy, so it's hard to return. Smashes from mid-court are beyond reproach. The only flaw is probably that long-range shots inevitably lack power. Other than that, whatever you focus on, it responds at a high level. I think it's a legendary racket that will go down in history alongside the MP900T, NS8000, VT80, ZF2, ASX88S and others. The 3U has quite a bit of overall weight, so if you can swing it around easily, maybe there's no reason to stick with the 99 anymore.
    Added 2024.09: the LCW model and the blue and orange 99 all have different characters. The blue has a slightly stiffer shaft and is head-heavy, while the orange and the LCW model are somewhat similar. Either way you feel quite a lot of power. It's a shame used ones rarely come on the market.

    2021/02/14
    Overall
    10/10
    Control
    9
    Touch
    10
    Swing
    10
    Operability
    10
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  • Used both 3U and 4U. Looking for a powerful smash from the very back of the court, I ended up with this Z-SPEED. I've used it for a long time, but I used to swing the 3U hard without paying much attention to rally speed. Now my theme is how to increase my swing speed with the 4U. It feels head-light, but if you swing with the intention of reaching maximum swing speed at impact, it doesn't bother you much. For regular game practice and senior tournaments I use the 3U, and it seems more than enough for around division 2 of a city tournament. Above that or at other national tournaments, I use the 4U. If you want to speed up your rallies, of course I recommend the 4U, but since it's originally an even balance leaning head-light, even the 3U isn't that hard to maneuver.
    Added 2024.09. I've been switching between various rackets, and whenever my form drops, I come back to this one. As soon as my stamina drops, I can't swing it. At first I thought it was stiff at 23 lbs, but around 30 lbs the shaft starts to flex, so it's become just right. Still, there's no getting around the heavy feel at the start of the swing, and considering that effort, nowadays I can easily get about the same speed with, for example, the ASTROX 77 PRO or the NANOFLARE 1000Z, so I really feel it may be outdated after all.

    2022/12/02
    Overall
    9/10
    Control
    10
    Touch
    10
    Swing
    10
    Operability
    10
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  • How many years has it been since it was discontinued? It's the early type of the VOLTRIC Z series, an evolution of the classic 80 aimed at enthusiasts. Soon after release it was replaced by the classic Z-FORCE II, but in contrast to the fairly refined impression of the Z-FORCE II, this Z-FORCE is truly rugged, like a club swung by a brute; I think it's a racket with an extremely strong personality. When I got the 3U and 4U in my early 40s, the smash did feel like a cannon driving power smashes in, but unfortunately it was too head-heavy, so it ended up shelved. Ten years later, now in my mid-50s, I opened the storeroom door again and tried the Z-FORCE once more, and my impression is that the shaft is quite flexible, and being head-heavy it's stable and easy to hit deep. However, the 4U is too light to put power behind, so I'm now swinging the 3U strung at 22 lbs in doubles; I can fire smashes away even in Division 1 of city tournaments, and I rarely get overpowered on drives or receives. It makes me angry that they discontinued it, but before getting angry, I plan to somehow hunt for more before my two spares break and are gone. I think I can strongly recommend it to rear-court power hitters who understand the subtle feel of loading the shuttle onto the shaft and head and sending it off. I really hope they bring it back.

    2021/08/01
    Overall
    10/10
    Control
    9
    Touch
    10
    Swing
    9
    Operability
    9
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  • Using the 4U. Is this really the direction of the NANOFLARE series??? I wondered, but in a way I think it has shown one clear direction.
    In character, the shaft is stiff and it feels strongly head-light, so it's made for power smashers. At first I deliberately strung it below 20 lbs to create a pocketing feel, but then it flew too far with no power, which reminded me that repulsion is everything with this racket.
    Smashes are incredibly fast when you hit the sweet spot. Speed-wise it's about the same as the hit model Z-SPEED, but the maneuverability is better than the Z-SPEED, so it's more efficient. However, since it pushes with speed rather than driving the shuttle down steeply, it should be easier for opponents to receive. In fact, several smashers around me have switched to it, and all of their smashes became easier to return. In other words, if you don't want your smash returned, just raise your swing speed. Pure muscle-brain logic. For that, I felt stringing at a higher tension works well. Also, drives have good repulsion, but since it's light, you need something besides speed. Receives fly well thanks to the repulsion, but weak shots often float up, so swing speed is required here too. In the end, I think this racket is for players who can raise their swing speed enormously.

    2024/09/24
    Overall
    10/10
    Control
    7
    Touch
    7
    Swing
    9
    Operability
    7
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  • I tried a 3U for the first time in 15 years, but there was no head-heavy feel, the shaft was too soft to do what I wanted, and on receives the racket came through too early so I hit nothing but frame. Maybe because I usually swing a 3U Zsp, all I can say is that the VT80 is a soft, easy-to-hit-deep classic. As you'd expect from something bearing the VOLTRIC name, smashes are fast and heavy. On receives you can still hit deep even when jammed, and my impression is that it's a textbook attacking all-rounder.
    Right now I use a 3U Zsp or a 3U ZF for matches where I'm seriously going for winners, but on top of that, I thought I'd like to use the 80 for fun when playing quick, enjoyable rallies.

    2021/06/18
    Overall
    9/10
    Control
    8
    Touch
    8
    Swing
    7
    Operability
    7
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