The Li-Ning N9 is a slick racket, with black and gold adorning the entire racket from the head down the shaft, fading to an elegant white at the cone.
At first handling the racket felt very heavy, characteristic of the Fu Hai Feng playing style of hard shuttle smashing. The head wasn't very mobile when I tried to juggle the shuttle around, and initial thoughts of a slow defending come to me.
Flashback to when I first started with the Yonex Armortec 900 Power, and all the useless attempts at defense with its ridiculously heavy head.
But then again it's been a few years, and I think the racket makers have learnt a little lesson with head heavy rackets.
The Li-Ning TurboCharging N9 Fu Hai Feng comes with a unique head shape, the top half resembling the sword shape that allows you to cut through the air with ease, the bottom half reversing to an armored frame that resembles the Yonex Voltric series, adding to the weight and stability for the downswing and resultant destructive aftermath.
This gives rise to a potentially powerful racket, and it shows by the lack of effort needed from one to sent the shuttle to the back of the court. From high forehand clears to the backhand straights, the racket does the shots with ease.
The natural downward momentum of the N9 also makes quick drop shots an ease to execute. A small swing is all you need to start the strong, and the pressure applied at the gripping point gives you the length and sharpness you'll need for that deceptive shot.
What didn't come across was the powerful smash. Since it was singles and my playing style really isn't the heavy hitting sort, I can't say much about the racket's power.
However, the Li-Ning N9 does have a natural whip to it, owing to the slightly flexible shaft, and this brings back memories of the Yonex Voltric 70 and it's powerful smashes.
I'll have to take this to doubles tomorrow to find out :)
Review soon.
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