Badminton Racket Review: Carlton Vapour Trail S-Lite

My stringer told me that there are little takers for the Nanoray, Yonex's newest series of head-light rackets. This week he sold 20 Voltric Z-Force rackets over the weekend.

Seems like the work's got a thing for power, and most of the time they gravitate towards the heavy-heavy Goliath series, the Voltric.

Understandably, I've also put my faith in head-heavy rackets. The Carlton S-Lite has been sitting on my wall for the longest time, relegated to the doubles lineup because I though that head-light rackets just couldn't cut it when you want a good singles game.

That opinion changed drastically when I decided to take the S-Lite for a test run this Saturday.

This review is from my opinions of the racket and of the game of badminton. Take this with a pinch of salt. Feel free to ask me if you've got questions on this racket.

ok, now on to the review.

Carlton Vapour Trail S-Lite
Dry Weight: 85g (3U)
Grip Size: G5
Balance: Head-Light
Max String Tension: 28lbs
Flex: High
Strings: Yonex BG66 @ 24lbs

I use this racket for both singles and double play.

Defense
Head light rackets are good at defense! Taking hits became a joy and returning them a pleasure as you move the head swiftly to counter or block. The weight of the 3U Vapour Trail S-Lite allows you to pump the shuttle to the far corner a lot easier than with a 4U racket.

The racket also has what Carlton calls an Optimetric head shape, which is a cross between an isometric and an oval head shape. This allows for a faster swing to get to them faster shots.

Attack
Here's where it gets interesting. I used to think that head-light rackets won't offer as much power as their head-heavy counterparts. Boy was I wrong.

The Carlton Vapour Trail S-Lite offered me one of the fastest smash speeds among my racket. The shuttle left the string bed with a very satisfying explosion every time. Drives made with the S-Lite were even more satisfying, allowing a lot of innovation with the wrist shots.

One thing I noticed is that with a head-light racket, you hardly get a forced follow-through after the wrist smash. The racket stops where you left it without the weight of the head pulling it forward and the shuttle a little downwards.

The Carlton Vapour Trail S-Lite adds a new variety into my attacking arsenal, and I welcome the upgrade.

Control
Using a head-light racket means I can't get the shuttle to as far back to the court as I like without using a little more arm. That translates into wild shots at time, and I've had to adjust my game a little to make sure that I put a little more effort to place the shuttle better.

Netshots also took a slight beating as there's no weight in the head to add that little more push to get those hard shots over. Once more, there's the need to consciously keep in mind that I place the shuttle better, which may even be a good thing.

It took awhile to get used to, but the shot accuracy increased eventually and the game just got more and more enjoyable.

Looks
The Vapour Trail series of 2010 all pretty much come from the same design mold, with a color change inbetween the models so you can tell them apart.

The S-Lite is no different, illustrated in orange swerves and cuts. It's a refreshing color, definitely worth showing off.

Carlton Vapour Trail S-Lite

Defense: 9

Attack: 9

Control: 7

Looks: 7

First Impressions: Yonex Voltric Z-Force

This is exceptional because I usually buy the racket before giving it a first impressions.

So, the hottest things this side of the badminton world is the new Yonex racket that markets itself as the massive smash power racket - the Yonex Voltric Z-Force.

I've had a go at defending against and playing with it today, and I must say that I'm not impressed. If you look back at my Voltric 80 review, you can see how much I loved playing with the VT80 right off the bat.

The Z-Force feels like a Z-Slash with lead tape - overly heavy and sacrificing control to get that little more power. I couldn't feel the shuttle in my game at all, and the smashes were not really that fantastic.

In its defense, I was using some other guy's racket strung with a different brand (my usual's a Yonex BG66 or NBG98) and at a different tension (25lbs instead of 24lbs), so the experience might have felt different.

I had a feel of the 4U version as well, and if given enough incentive I might even grant this racket another chance at a proper first impressions.

But for now, score one for the marketing team.

Badminton Racket Launch: Yonex Voltric Z-Force

This is it, the end all of the head-heavy Goliath that is the Voltric.

Had a feel of the racket today and it's indeed very head-heavy. Seems to me that the frame's a little smaller than the rest too - wonder if this is the trend with Yonex since they also pulled off this stunt with the Z-Slash.

Paint's on a matt coating too, which made me think that (i) it'd be black and scratched rather easily; and (ii) it'll chip soon.

Apart from that, the racket feels hollow towards the handle and very solid towards the end. Users of the Zelm Ultimate Series 700 will be familiar with the weight distribution.

I'll get a shot at defending against this 19KGF racket tomorrow. Let's see what Yonex marketing can translate to.

Whatever Works

Visions from their artistic minds escape my memory as the book closes for the last time and I raise my head to the sky.

The cityscape runs parallal to my journey, raindrops perforate the narrow view of my window screen. It shifts to a blur as the bus picks up speed, leaving my thoughts behind and forgotten.

I've always admired those who can draw, them with their uncanny ability to take whatever lies in their head and present it to the rest of us.

So many of us have these thoughts, grand and majestic; full of vigor and perfection; a paradise among the many fleeting moments of our short existences.

But artists, these are the people who can let you see, truly, the world as they want to see it - uncensored and without the filter other opinions.

The road fills with cars, and my bus draws to a halt. I do not move, but the smaller vehicles continue on.

I can only watch, and follow in their trail eventually, like a wordsmith reading a comic book.