[Review] Lining Blade X Max 900 Sun 4U

Lining released yet again their top-tiered rackets and super expensive rackets.

Blade X 900 would be top of the range blade X (speed type) racket. Lining top rackets are numbered between
7-9 but it doesn’t mean 7 is worst than 9, they have different specs. For Blade X series, I have tried 700,800 and 900 Sun all in 4U so I will compare them so you guys can understand the difference between all 3.

Blade X 900 Max Sun 4U
The racket paint job is beautiful with kind of rose gold color and black throughout the racket. The shaft is slim at 6.6mm which is noticeably thinner than 800 and 700 at 6.8mm. Holding the racket felt head heavy. Dry swinging felt stiff but not overly stiff like 800. I still feel a bit of shaft whip.

Drives
Very good, because there are some weight on the head, the power and repulsion I get from Sun are great. Fast drives are easy but not as easy as 800 and 700. For front court drives, Sun did well but cant compare with 700 and 800 which are super fast, due to heavier head I felt slower with Sun. But that doesnt mean it’s bad. Mid court drives are great, when you get time to wind the racket and let the shaft bend a little, you can produce some great power and speed with Sun. Back court drives Sun did the best out of 800 and 700, due to head heavy nature, the shuttle speed felt good throughout compared to 700 and 800 where the shuttle speed drops significantly at the end of the court. So, 700 best for front court drive, 800 best for mid court drives and 900 best for back court drives. All 3 are great for fast exchange but I think 3 rackets excelled at different area of the court.

Clears
Effortless, back court to back court. You don’t really need very good swing mechanic to play with Suns because of the technology and material they’ve put in to help with repulsion and feels. All 3 are easy to clear with, but I do think that you need to be more precise with 800 compared to 700 and Sun. That very stiff shaft make it hard to generate good clears when you’re off balance.

Smash
Out of all 3, Sun hands down have the best smash. It really surprised me that the smashing power I get is very much the best out of the speed racket I’ve tested so far. Luckily my friend brought his Axforce 90 dragon and I still play with Axforce 80 so I decided to just compare side by side. Sun smash better than Axforce 80 and comparable to Axforce 90 dragon which really surprises me. You do get some whip from the shaft smashing with Sun but not as much as Axforce 80, basically if you think Axforce 80 is too whippy, Sun is the better version of Axforce 80 IMO. I do get better stick and half smash with Axforce 80 but I will think that Sun got better overall offensive capability. 800 and 700 just don’t do well in back court smash and that shouldn’t be your concern if you’re going for 800 and 700 anyway since 800 and 700 are catered towards mid-front court player. You can get by with and ok smash at rear court and push to dominate front court.

Defence
Very good, not as fast as 800 and 700 but good enough. the shaft really helps generate the repulsion needed to push the shuttle back to rear court and it’s fast enough for you to pick and choose where you wanted to return the shuttle to. I do get better defence from my trusty Ax80 but that just because I’m used to it and Sun doesn’t lose.

Control (shot placement,slice, drop shots)
Very very good for a “speed” racket. Some times the racket head is too fast and makes it difficult for user to judge the power (like BS12 and Blade X 700). Sun doesn’t have that, because it’s slightly head heavy, I can easily guide the shuttle to where I wanted it to go. Drop shots are great, the shuttle go down fast which are very hard for my opponent to return or react to it. Net play are easy and I got nothing to complain about.

Overall
A very very good racket, good all-rounder for all gender and all level. It comes at the same price as Halbertec 8000. While Hal8000 is better with the control aspect of the game. Sun is literally better at everything else.

If you’re
Front court player > Blade X 700
Mid court player > Blade X 800
Rear court player > Blade X 900 Sun

Never tried moon but my friend said that it’s an easier to use version of Blade X 800.