[Review] Lining Axforce 90 Max Tiger 4U
This racket series came in with hype in Thailand, after 2-3 days of release it’s out of stock till September. So I got my hands on Tiger 4U version since I like a less head heavy racket for ease of play and I like faster pace rallies which I probably will struggle with Dragon.
Decided to drop the ranking since it’s super tedious to do.
Specs
( ) / ➡️Weight/Grip: 4U/G5
➡️Racket weight: 86 (85-87) g
➡️Balance point: 300 (300-302) mm
➡️Swing weight: 85.5 (84.5-86.5) kg.cm2
➡️Flex: Medium
➡️Max.Tension: ≦30 Lbs
Mine strung with VBS 66 Nano 27 Lbs (usual tension for all of my rackets)
I got small hands so I removed the original grip and wrap electrical tape + cushion + Yonex AC 102 EX
Overall weight (racket + string + grip + cushion etc.) : 87.8 grams
My Current Racket
2X Victor Hypersonic 4U
1X Venson Krissword K6R 4U
1X Felet Woven TJ Power 4U
1X Lining Axforce 90 Tiger 4U
Initial Impression
The paint job is good as expected of Lining, I really like black and red theme which suits my taste.
Dry swinging felt “whippy” and medium flex. My feeling were a bit more flex than medium flex. All of my racket are on the stiffer side and felt a bit head heavy but not much. The frame is noticeably tiny (Same as 100ZZ I guess). Overall good looking racket.
Clears (Overhead, Backhand and off-centered)
“Effortless” is the word that comes to mind. You only need to use minimal power to generate enough power to clear backcourt to backcourt. I would say I use less power on clears than my main Hypersonic. The help could be from the shaft which felt “springy” and does felt too flexible on clears. You see the shaft help from backhand clears, I normally don’t do high backhand clears since this shot requires good timing and good power generation to do it perfectly so I normally do backhand drives or drops. But using this rackets makes backhand shots 20-30% easier. By easier I mean I don’t really need to excert a lot of force to push the shuttle but with the small racket head, you will still need to hit the sweet spot to do it efficiently.
Drives
Drives are good with this racket if you got the timing right. Because of medium flex shaft you will definitely felt the racket head lagging behind a bit. Because I’m used to stiffer shaft I need 1 hr to adjust the timing. This racket excels are mid-back court drives, the power I can generate is insane. I only need to put 70-80% of the power to get the shuttle speed of 100% of my Hypersonic which is unbelievable. Front court drive however is just meh. Boxed frame design + head heavy + flexy shaft = slow in front court. Front court drive or fast exchange are not this racket strong suits which are reasonable. It’s usable but I don’t really recommend predominantly using this racket because you will feel sluggish from the shaft and heavy head. But I would say this racket is one of the best if not the best at mid-back court drives.
Control
This racket control is *chef kiss* the best I’ve ever used by far. The touch you get from this racket is the best. Drops and slices are super easy to judge. The racket head are super steady and once you got used to the shaft action, you can basically play darts with this racket. Anywhere I wanted the shuttle to land, it landed right at the spot I aimed at or super close to it. Cross court reverse slice, Watanabe deceptive smash drop you name it. it’s possible with this racket and I felt it’s easier to pull of than other racket I’ve used so far.
Smash
To be honest on the first day of use, this racket got super weak smash. But after 2-3 days of use, my smash got 1-2 steps better but the smash still not at the level of 88D Pro or TK-F but it’s good enough to get by and put pressure on opponent. You probably wont get 1 hit kill with this racket but you won’t be tired easily smashing with this racket either. My full smash power are close to my hypersonic which is good for me but as a head heavy racket, it’s not gonna wow anyone. But this racket shines in half and stick smash. This is where the medium flex shaft comes into play. When I go for a full smash, sometimes the racket head lagged behind a bit so I decided to lower my power output to 70-80% which to my surprise the power and shuttle speed are exactly the same as my full smash. So anyone that are physically strong or like to go 100% everytime they smash, this is not the racket for you. Stick smash is amazing and half smash felt solid and super reliable. My goto with Tiger is now cross court or down the line half smash into mid court kill. If the shaft is stiffer, this racket will be the best all-round racket in the market. Sadly it’s medium flex.
Defense
Now this is where medium flex shaft goes to shine. Because the “springy” shaft, defense is a breeze. Lift, drive, counter attack you name it, this racket can do it all. Because this racket is reasonably light, moving the racket around to defend is easy. Normally on lift defense sometimes you power generation is not enough to lift to backcourt but not this racket. just a simple flick will push the shuttle to back court easily and you will feel like LYD sometimes lol.
Overall good racket for all-round control player that are looking for an easy racket to play with. But the price will probably will put people off this racket. In my honest opinion, I would suggest ppl go test this racket out first before buying or go for a 2nd hand one first because buying 1st hand since this racket is kinda hit-or-miss because of the shaft.
