Badminton Racket First Impressions: Yonex ArcSaber Flash Boost

This racket grew on me. The longer I looked at it the more I wanted to buy it. And now that I did, I'm glad to say that the Yonex ArcSaber Flash Boost has performed admirably in its first test.

With more of my singles game played using this racket, I was able to get a good feel of what the players on the forum were talking about.

There were mixed reviews on this racket - I had a friend telling me how this racket will seriously screw up our swing and hitting, what with the light weight of the racket and the slightly hollow feel. There were people on the forum who were raving about how wonderful this racket is.

And so now, after a good two-hour session of singles, I'm able to give a little comment on the nicely designed racket.

Dubbed Yonex's lightest racket to date, the Flash Boost comes in at a modest 76g unstrung. The people at the marketing department calls this weight category the F weight.

When you first hold the racket, it indeed felt like you ere holding nothing at all. I am familiar with this sensation however, of Karakal BN60 fame.

First swings with this racket produced quite  satisfactory experience. The shuttle was able to come off nicely from the swing and the shots produced were solid and well-placed.

On to the games, and the feel actually got better. Smashes were nice and steep, requiring next to no energy to pull off. I found myself at ease quite bit throughout the matches.

Light weight rackets usually favour the backhand stroke, but the ArcSaber Flash Boost seemed to come of a little different. I had difficulty pulling off a good backhand clear, and I attribute it to the swing speed of the racket.

Defense was great, however, and I found myself taking a step back from being too anxious. It's a good thing, and the returns were of high calibre.

Another notable problem came through when I wanted to use the racket to block a smash. Often times the weight of the racket doesn't allow you to get decent energy into the hit, resulting in disappointing net hits.

But that won't spoil my mood. The Yonex ArcSaber Flash Boost gives me a good feel so far, and I'm going to try it out against a nice doubles to see how fast I can go with this.

Review eventually.