auraspeed 100x recommend?
searching online for 100x 3U vs 4U and landed here, by reading the post I am glad to say I am quite familiar with your play style since I am almost exactly the same – control style, not focus on power smash, win most cases when in long rally (10~20+) but happy to lose when opponent smashes a lot. Enjoy seeing opponents get worn out and become weaker and make more unforced errors, especially those friends whose footwork are still improving.
So I find 100x 4U is by far the easiest to me and highly recommend it – I string it with 26.5/28lbs on BG-85 main and BG-66u cross. The feeling of crisp on mid/back crout on high clear both fore/backhand, and easiness to attack with soft kill with followup make it the most comfortable racket for me, and as soon as I hold it my confidence level boost, I am not afraid of anyone who are even much better and faster than me, that is how good I want to say about this racket.
But indeed I found it by accident. I try TK-F, then DriveX9X, and 100zz 4U before I bought and own 100x. DX9X 4U is a bit HH and stiff, so it takes a little bit more prep and wrist power to deliver what I want, 100zz is my choice of ZF2 replacement, both 100zz and ZF2 are good for my good days, but won’t last more than 2-3 hrs when I find my defense and control become too weak (I play MD focus on mid/front court, and XD all around) TK-F is just as good as 88Dp but didn’t add a lot to my game especially XD, due to my play style.
Over the last 20+ years, my most comfortable racket is AS-11 (not 11p) – the 3U balance racket with 26lbs is a racket of choice for the long games and long rallies (I usually enjoy any game aim at 17 all then try to focus and finish last few points) so AS-11 delivers long-lasting result in terms of balance in between offense and defense. My goal for games is to reduce error as much as possible so most of the time I play a little better when opponents are better, and less when playing with weaker ones, just enjoy more fun and put less pressure on others.
For that, AS-11 is my default standard when I compare and evaluate all other rackets. Here are some –
2023 YY NextAge – easy to play, a little bit too HH (surprise) it reminds me of the feeling of ZF2 but softer, good choice to replace ZF2, especially for the price. The color is solid and I really like it along with ZF2 (dark blue/gray and dark green)
100zz 4U – all around good, 28lbs with thin string (<0.65mm) make it very fast on attacking but due to my trigger finger lately, I have not use it a lot, will try more after I recover. Switch to 26lbs with AB (0.68mm +0.62 or 0.66mm) helps to save more energy and can play this racket at a slower pace
Victor HyperNano HX-800 – I use two of these when I focus on defense – learning from Korean double players (such as Kim HaNa who use that racket), headlight, fast swing, easy to return smash to a different angle, fast on defense to offense switch during play, but a bit two soft so unable to deliver a powerful attack from back court. 100x is a lot better on that situation, can put pressure on the straight attack (along the sideline) so 100x is for long-term replacement for my HX-800, instead of DX9X, otherwise I have to go for NF-800, which is easy to break.
JS-10 – I use 27 lbs on it, like the stiff shaft as well as the small frame, when switching from HX-800 to JS-10, I immediately can speed up my offense, especially the first half of the game. 100x can deliver the same, making it a little easier to replace JS-10
Voltric DG-10 and DG-21 slim – I use these two combined for regular training, string them 28lbs and sometimes 30 just for fun. They carry the familiarity of Voltric rackets, not hugely different from ZF-2 or VTZF-LD, but as age catches up, I play less single, still these rackets are joyful play on half court. If you are not strong on smash, use a VT one in a while for training, then switch to either 100x or AS-11/11p, you will find and appreciate how much they can deliver since they are balanced rackets.
Will share my experience of other rackets in the future, but my hope is that if you can try or own 100x you won’t regret it.
Good luck!
