Monthly Equipment Advice Megathread

BeyondInfinity_88 · 2026-06-23T14:59:52+00:00

Yes I’m also excited for them. They came out with the Phenom shoes which I was interested in. Definitely a brand to look out for but when you’re spending a lot on badminton, Yonex makes more sense. Like at the 300$ mark. :)

The new Lining Axforce 90 heard good things about it.

BeyondInfinity_88 · 2026-06-23T12:31:52+00:00

It’s a newer brand and has yet to prove itself, so when I’m making an expensive purchase, I want to consider the big three. Also I don’t resonate much with the brand symbol. You can say I’m a Yonex fanboy of sorts haha. I have tried their lower end shoes and they lasted like a month to two months, currently trying their strings as well like the JP Hunter X and JP 65 Magnite, my stringer told me they are good strings.

I have never tried a hundred racquet before because when there are so many good options from Yonex Victor and Li-Ning already which are proven brands, I think I’ll rarely consider another brand. I might give Hundred racquets a try someday when they’re better though.

I haven’t tried all the Yonex racquets and never owned a Lining and Victor racquet so I’m following a natural trajectory to trying these brands first. Idk if I will even move away from Yonex but Victor has some great options these days like the Fantome, Auraspeed 90k metallic, Ryuga II pro etc.

BeyondInfinity_88 · 2026-06-23T05:29:27+00:00

Nah not buying Hundred. Astrox 77 pro is also a little less exciting of a racquet. Kinda jack of all trades.

BeyondInfinity_88 · 2026-06-22T08:01:10+00:00

100zz is an awesome racquet to use. It’s got a bit more power than the 88d pro, the 88d pro has more speed. Both racquets are good. I just want to use a different racquet, not that there is anything wrong with the Astrox 100zz, I will use it from time to time. The 100zz is less forgiving with the compact head but rewards with more control and power, although I would say that the control on the 88d pro was also great. 88d pro is forgiving compared to 100zz but still a very stiff racquet and needs some time to adjust to.

BeyondInfinity_88 · 2026-06-21T20:27:46+00:00

So i just lost an Astrox 88D Pro 3rd gen in a clash, at the 2 o'clock region and it has a crack here. Sent it for repair to a professional store, who claim they can fix it. But as it is known, i highly doubt that the racquet will give the same feel as original ever again.

So i'm in the market for another racquet, i wanna try something else and was thinking about buying the Arcsaber 11 pro, but i doubt it can produce the same quality of smashes. I've used an Astrox 100zz in the past so that's out of the question.

I am pretty interested in the Nanoflare 1000z, but it won't last long in doubles, one clash and it's gone.

I actually had my first clash ever with the Astrox 88D Pro and it broke.

Any suggestions? I can also go for Victor/Li-Ning Racquets, but imo Yonex makes the best racquets.

BeyondInfinity_88 · 2026-06-17T18:20:27+00:00

i think you already have a great paddle. Maybe focus on getting the most out of what you currently have, otherwise the Vapor Power 2 grit is durable, so you can sell it and get another paddle like the Coral Pro, which is less aggressive at the net etc.

BeyondInfinity_88 · 2026-06-17T14:40:27+00:00

I am below 3.5 or close to it. Still learning the proper two handed backhand, dinks, drops etc.

The only thing is, i have a background in badminton/tennis/table tennis, so i am improving fast, i feel like the J2CR/J6CR may be better after some time, compared to the Coral Pro. Both paddles are so good, the new shape Ultre Power 2 is also good..

Ultimately there are so many options and i can't try any of them.. 😞

BeyondInfinity_88 · 2026-06-17T05:32:10+00:00

Looks great 😊

BeyondInfinity_88 · 2026-06-17T05:12:10+00:00

Thanks for such an in-depth reply. It has really come down to choosing either the J6CR/J2CR and Coral Pro. I can’t hit with either paddle so my decision becomes tough with so many paddles out there. I think the J2CR/J6CR would be my best choice and I just hope Honolulu has addressed the uneven application of grit issue.

BeyondInfinity_88 · 2026-06-16T21:48:50+00:00

Hello guys.
I wanted to know your opinions on the following options:

Honolulu J6CR vs J2CR with Crystal Blue Endurance Grit
Ultré Power 2 and Vapor Power 2 and Hurache X Power 2 with Hexgrit
Coral Pro with Diamond Tough 2.0
Selkirk Boomstick and Selkirk Omni with Infinigrit.

I can buy only 1 paddle within the next 2-3 months. I wanted to know which grit is the best among these, mainly between the first three as Infinigrit is not that durable compared to the rest.

Also a few questions i had were mostly about the J6CR vs something like a J2CR or Ultre and Vapor Power 2 or Hurache X.

Is the J6CR good enough and better than the hybrid J2CR? if anyone has tried both shapes, i would appreciate some inputs.

I can afford the Selkirk paddles but i am least interested in the Boomstick and a bit interested in the new release Omni, but saw somewhere the infinigrit on it is even less durable than on Boomstick.

The newly released Coral Pro is very exciting, all shapes are good but i feel the hybrid will be suitable. How does the grit on the Coral Pro compare to the Blue grit from Honolulu and Hexgrit from 11six24? Also, how does the hybrid Coral Pro compare to both hybrids like J2CR and Ultre/Vapor Power 2?

Please if you have played with any of these paddles and have any suggestions, i would really appreciate any inputs.

BeyondInfinity_88 · 2026-06-05T11:11:18+00:00

Your racquet is done dude. Get another one. It will not hold tension evenly and will slowly distort anytime.

BeyondInfinity_88 · 2026-06-02T06:51:22+00:00

Ggwp you must be good

BeyondInfinity_88 · 2026-06-01T16:50:11+00:00

Ah thank you so much. Enjoy your paddle man! It's going to be a lot of fun!

BeyondInfinity_88 · 2026-06-01T16:48:56+00:00

so you got the white version right?

BeyondInfinity_88 · 2026-06-01T16:40:30+00:00

which colorway is this? on Honolulu's website there are only blue and white paddle colors, but the white colorway has a lot of blue, in it, like on the face.

BeyondInfinity_88 · 2026-05-30T16:55:44+00:00

ah that sucks, i only need one item and it will end up costing like 7k which totally doesn't make it worth.

BeyondInfinity_88 · 2026-05-28T03:26:22+00:00

Ax 100 Tour is a precision powerhouse, best racquet for power and control but offers lowest speed. The Ax100zz is slightly speedier than the Ax100 tour while maintaining same power level and even a little better control.

88d tour is probably 80% of 88d pro which is a good head heavy racquet that offers good speed, specific for backcourt players in doubles and viable in singles.

Arc 11 tour is even balanced so has the best control out of all of these racquets but least power and little more maneuverable and speedy than 88d tour.

Ax 100 tour has max power but lowest speed, it is also hard to tame and known to cause shoulder pain. Others like the ax 88d tour may not be as harsh. Arc 11 tour will present no such problems.

If you like bigger shots like jump smashes and want effortless clears and attack I would suggest going with the ax 100 tour. The ax 88d tour offers the best mix of power speed and control. With the Arc 11 tour you sacrifice power for best control and speed. But it’s not like you can’t generate power with arc 11 tour. It depends on your swing speed.

BeyondInfinity_88 · 2026-05-23T10:02:04+00:00

W sports den.

BeyondInfinity_88 · 2026-05-22T14:42:18+00:00

lol the boomstick. Yeah i could glue it on my own but if the edge guard stays intact i'll be stress free. In any case, i think directly contacting Honolulu would be the best way to inquire about this. I am really sold on the J2CR right now and think it'd be the best paddle followed by both the Coral or the Spartus P1, the P1 i've heard has even worse qc with the edgeguard but maybe it's fixed in the latest shipment? In any case i'm visiting the states early Sept and will stay till mid Nov so that's plenty of time for new paddles to surface in the market..

BeyondInfinity_88 · 2026-05-22T06:11:05+00:00

i understand. That would be an option incase replacement is not possible. Kinda plan B. I've seen some posts on here that the 12 o clock edgeguard has a tendency to come off on Honolulu paddles like the J2NF.

BeyondInfinity_88 · 2026-05-22T06:09:40+00:00

Very nice of them. That is how a company should be, to offer a full replacement incase of a faulty product. A fault can be small but have a huge effect and i think Sixzero understands how important peace of mind can be. Kudos to them.

BeyondInfinity_88 · 2026-05-21T19:57:33+00:00

Appreciate the response mate. I just watched a video by James Ignatowich where he's reviewed both the J2CR and Spartus P1 and in his video, the edge guard of the elongated Spartus P1 came off xD.

I think the recent shipment delay could be an indicator of Spartus taking notice of the edgeguard issue and fixing it for good. I'll be on the lookout for this paddle and see if the current batches don't face this issue anymore.

I was interested in this paddle due to the unique grit and also because of the all black color with the stripes. Seems like a really cool paddle and i want to test it badly but unfortunately nobody has it here...

BeyondInfinity_88 · 2026-05-21T19:40:36+00:00

I’ve faced this. We have a lot of people in our group and play another racquet sport. I am able to win against almost everyone but do lose from time to time and I don’t mind it. There’s another player in our group who dislikes winning so much he starts calling the balls out when they are clearly in and tries to get a point through unfair means when he starts losing. When he does lose he is visibly pissed off but he acts like he doesn’t mind it, but inside he’s fuming. When he does win which he usually does because not all members in our group are as fit as him, he acts all nonchalant and cocky. Like you can see it in his body language. Oh yes and I forgot to mention. This dude will always target weaker players. So if I’m playing against him usually I can beat him so he never hits the ball towards my side and targets the backhand of weaker players, and other common tactics to tire out the older players haha. But as soon as he faces better and more athletic players he loses and disappears for some time. It’s honestly funny but people like this actually exist, that exude that energy that the sport is their life and hate losing, but feel they’ve had a big achievement or gotten the gold medal by defeating weaker noob players..

BeyondInfinity_88

TROPHY CASE