Diadem Nova Playtest

[time410s]

A first impressions and playtest of this racket. I'm definitely rooting for Diadem. What to you guys know or think? I think that ridiculous tennis spin channel where you have to watch at 1.5x speed might have brought them to my attention, I forget.

But I was intrigued when I learned it was an American brand and foam filled as well as their elevate model which was 16x20 which I liked the idea of coming away from 18x20 then (gravity pro, pro stock)

Their quality control in terms of weight and balance is much higher than most, up there with Yonex.

I like the Nova , I think it's a beautiful racket but the elevate I think could use some kinda makeover. More on that later.

But wanted to share and would love to hear your thoughts on the company or rackets and answer any questions if you have them. I think they're a brand worth keeping an eye on for changes and new lineups. Definitely a respectable brand and a new welcome face to tennis rackets.

 

[Gee]

There is already a thread on Diadem rackets. Please post there your experiences.

 

[time410s]

There is already a thread on Diadem rackets. Please post there your experiences.

Sure I'll post it later there.

 

[abarth20]

I do like the Nova especially at the net. But! There is no vibration tech to it at all. The Foam does literally nothing.
This is the only racquet that I have to play with dampener. Otherwise I get serious elbow pain. I don't like dampeners.

 

[beltsman]

I do like the Nova especially at the net. But! There is no vibration tech to it at all. The Foam does literally nothing.
This is the only racquet that I have to play with dampener. Otherwise I get serious elbow pain. I don't like dampeners.

Are the racquets just pure graphite?

 

[BallBasher247]

I do like the Nova especially at the net. But! There is no vibration tech to it at all. The Foam does literally nothing.
This is the only racquet that I have to play with dampener. Otherwise I get serious elbow pain. I don't like dampeners.

2 questions:
1. Does the racket feel too light?
2. What's the balance of your current racket?

Using rackets with different balance points than you're used to can cause elbow pain since you end up changing your swing to accommodate the racket often times. Also, I've heard that these Nova's tend to be pretty light with only around a 310 or so SW strung on average...that instability could cause some issues if you hit a bigger ball.

Are the racquets just pure graphite?

No, they're foam filled and the FS ones have ribbed carbon and I believe a little bit of high-density foam. The Elevates are entirely foam filled, and the Nova's are foam filled everywhere except the handle.

 

[beltsman]

2 questions:
1. Does the racket feel too light?
2. What's the balance of your current racket?

Using rackets with different balance points than you're used to can cause elbow pain since you end up changing your swing to accommodate the racket often times. Also, I've heard that these Nova's tend to be pretty light with only around a 310 or so SW strung on average...that instability could cause some issues if you hit a bigger ball.

No, they're foam filled and the FS ones have ribbed carbon and I believe a little bit of high-density foam. The Elevates are entirely foam filled, and the Nova's are foam filled everywhere except the handle.

Thanks

 

[abarth20]

2 questions:
1. Does the racket feel too light?
2. What's the balance of your current racket?

Using rackets with different balance points than you're used to can cause elbow pain since you end up changing your swing to accommodate the racket often times. Also, I've heard that these Nova's tend to be pretty light with only around a 310 or so SW strung on average...that instability could cause some issues if you hit a bigger ball.

No, they're foam filled and the FS ones have ribbed carbon and I believe a little bit of high-density foam. The Elevates are entirely foam filled, and the Nova's are foam filled everywhere except the handle.

Nope, the racquet is on spec with SW and static weight. You can notice the vibration just by bouncing the ball. Not only with my copy but others as well.
Also there is a wrong info, Nova is also foam filled on the handle.

 

[time410s]

Nope, the racquet is on spec with SW and static weight. You can notice the vibration just by bouncing the ball. Not only with my copy but others as well.
Also there is a wrong info, Nova is also foam filled on the handle.

Can confirm Nova is handle filled.

I'll have to see if I notice what you mean about dampening because I always play with a dampener.

 

[BallBasher247]

Nope, the racquet is on spec with SW and static weight. You can notice the vibration just by bouncing the ball. Not only with my copy but others as well.
Also there is a wrong info, Nova is also foam filled on the handle.

I see. I'd presume that you prefer a more muted racket, in which case the Nova isn't it. It's still surprises me you're having elbow pain with it though. If that's the case and you don't like dampeners, you should probably look at ProKennex's rackets; they're more comfortable than anything on the market with their moveable mass. If you look over in the racketaholic thread, people rave about em.

According to Diadem themselves:

We are getting picked up by brick and mortar shops across the country. We have been very happy with the feedback and success of rackets being sold so far!

Elevate is completely foam filled.

Nova and Nova lite are throughout the head and into the throat.

 

[abarth20]

I see. I'd presume that you prefer a more muted racket, in which case the Nova isn't it. It's still surprises me you're having elbow pain with it though. If that's the case and you don't like dampeners, you should probably look at ProKennex's rackets; they're more comfortable than anything on the market with their moveable mass. If you look over in the racketaholic thread, people rave about em.

According to Diadem themselves:

Probably they were talking about the non FS variant.. All Nova's come with foam in the handle. I hate muted racquets btw. I might try the Solinco Tour Bite soft though.. That could help a little.. Alu Power & Confidential is a no go for me without a dampener..

 

[BallBasher247]

Probably they were talking about the non FS variant.. All Nova's come with foam in the handle. I hate muted racquets btw. I might try the Solinco Tour Bite soft though.. That could help a little.. Alu Power & Confidential is a no go for me without a dampener..

I guess they added foam in the handle of the FS Nova; the OG didn't have it. That's good.

The problem is the Confidential; as much as I like its Hyper-G esque softness and ball feedback once broken in, it has TOO much vibration/ping, more than any poly I've used...and it gets worse as the string bags out. Now that I think of it I started getting elbow pain from my Ultra Pro strung with Confidential after four uses, and had to put a dampener in it, and that's probably one of the most comfortable rackets today. Confidential's best for muted rackets like the Blade v7, VCore, etc.

IME Tour Bite Soft is pretty comfortable and feels nice; great ball feedback but not too pingy. Make sure to string no less than 53lb/24kg or the string's control will be gone after 2 hours. Another great string to try is MSV Focus Hex Soft (in black); it's a lot like TB Soft but with a smoother feel and better durability.

 

[time410s]

I guess they added foam in the handle of the FS Nova; the OG didn't have it. That's good.

The problem is the Confidential; as much as I like its Hyper-G esque softness and ball feedback once broken in, it has TOO much vibration/ping, more than any poly I've used...and it gets worse as the string bags out. Now that I think of it I started getting elbow pain from my Ultra Pro strung with Confidential after four uses, and had to put a dampener in it, and that's probably one of the most comfortable rackets today.

IME Tour Bite Soft is pretty comfortable and feels nice; great ball feedback but not too pingy. Make sure to string no less than 53lb/24kg or the string's control will be gone after 2 hours. Another great string to try is MSV Focus Hex Soft (in black); it's a lot like TB Soft but with a smoother feel and better durability.

Ytex quadrotwist in crosses is good

 

[KYHacker]

I do like the Nova especially at the net. But! There is no vibration tech to it at all. The Foam does literally nothing.
This is the only racquet that I have to play with dampener. Otherwise I get serious elbow pain. I don't like dampeners.

Ummm... You do know that dampeners don't actually do anything, right? All they do is change the sound. Dampener vs. non-dampener is not going to cause or prevent elbow pain. This is entirely mental or it's literally just the weight of the dampener changing the swing weight enough that your swing mechanics are oh so slightly different.

 

[BallBasher247]

Ummm... You do know that dampeners don't actually do anything, right? All they do is change the sound. Dampener vs. non-dampener is not going to cause or prevent elbow pain. This is entirely mental or it's literally just the weight of the dampener changing the swing weight enough that your swing mechanics are oh so slightly different.

I disagree. Dampeners mute the feedback of the stringbed and often lower the launch angle by limiting the range of motion of the two center mains. They do also change swing mechanics since they add ~3g to the lower hoop, but they definitely impact a racket's stringbed.

 

[time410s]

I disagree. Dampeners mute the feedback of the stringbed and often lower the launch angle by limiting the range of motion of the two center mains. They do also change swing mechanics since they add ~3g to the lower hoop, but they definitely impact a racket's stringbed.

I agree with everything but they probably don't do much for arm problems. Do you think they would? I wish people understood the physics of how it affects the shot. But they don't and assume any observed change is purely placebo. Whatever.

 

[BallBasher247]

I agree with everything but they probably don't do much for arm problems. Do you think they would? I wish people understood the physics of how it affects the shot. But they don't and assume any observed change is purely placebo. Whatever.

They don't do much for arm problems from janky stroke mechanics, racket wt. & such, but they do wonders for arm problems from racket stiffness, poor wt. distribution or string. I personally hate dampeners so for me it's a bad reflection on a racket or string if I gotta use one. The people who think they're imagining the changes a dampener makes are usually the people who will buy two Blades with blatantly different weight and tell you they feel the same, lol

 

[Crocodile]

I think Diadem make good racquets. The original early batch of Elevate frames had easy paint chipping problems but after that, no problems. The main advantage I found with both Nova and Elevate lines is the simplicity of the range and the comfort of the frames with the added foam filled technology. Would like to see them add a 325g static weight version in a box beam design and large grip options, that would be magic.
Would also like to see them have a go at manufacturing in the US.

 

[time410s]

I think Diadem make good racquets. The original early batch of Elevate frames had easy paint chipping problems but after that, no problems. The main advantage I found with both Nova and Elevate lines is the simplicity of the range and the comfort of the frames with the added foam filled technology. Would like to see them add a 325g static weight version in a box beam design and large grip options, that would be magic.
Would also like to see them have a go at manufacturing in the US.

Is manufacturing here ever affordable? I don't even think there's a factory here for that. All the best names use one of two factories that have mastered this craft and then there's yonex in Japan. That's kinda it. Then a ton of off name factories.

I think making them here wouldn't yield better quality and if it did somehow, would cost many times more and nobody would buy it.

 

[time410s]

They don't do much for arm problems from janky stroke mechanics, racket wt. & such, but they do wonders for arm problems from racket stiffness, poor wt. distribution or string. I personally hate dampeners so for me it's a bad reflection on a racket or string if I gotta use one. The people who think they're imagining the changes a dampener makes are usually the people who will buy two Blades with blatantly different weight and tell you they feel the same, lol

They've never heard of matched rackets. Never tried a prostock or maybe never heard of it.

 

[Crocodile]

Is manufacturing here ever affordable? I don't even think there's a factory here for that. All the best names use one of two factories that have mastered this craft and then there's yonex in Japan. That's kinda it. Then a ton of off name factories.

I think making them here wouldn't yield better quality and if it did somehow, would cost many times more and nobody would buy it.

Heysil source their frames from Taiwan and Dahcor from Portugal.
I understand what you are saying but it’s time for western countries to start making things again and try and make it work.
Otherwise the whole thing is stuffed.

 

[J D]

One of my regular hitting partners uses the Nova +. He was having wrist problems so his stringer recommended Diadem.

I’ve hit with them several times. Definitely a whole notch lower on power and spin than a PD, maybe half a click up in control. Serves are good but not the extra boost you expect from a + frame.

They have decent but not great feel. They have a large sweet spot but the sweet spot doesn’t have that satisfying “nailed it” feel of most tweeters. Probably could get it with some weight added. They’re very maneuverable for a + frame. You really can’t tell they’re extended most of the time.

Solid on everything but special on nothing. I think this is a frame many could use well but few would play their best tennis with. They do seem to be arm friendly, though.

 

[5point5]

Diadem cuts corners when it comes to the material used in their rackets. Wouldn't mess with this third world racket.

 

[princemidplus]

Diadem cuts corners when it comes to the material used in their rackets. Wouldn't mess with this third world racket.

Can you explain more and give proof for this statement?

 

[BallBasher247]

Can you explain more and give proof for this statement?

He doesn't like the company so he trashes em when he gets the chance. Don't mind him

 

[time410s]

Heysil source their frames from Taiwan and Dahcor from Portugal.
I understand what you are saying but it’s time for western countries to start making things again and try and make it work.
Otherwise the whole thing is stuffed.

I get you but employees here are expensive. The whole reason it's profitable to do manufacturing in China is because a fair wage their is much less here when you convert our money to theirs. Additionally their regulations are much less strict for many manufacturing standards. Here it's very high. Anything morally questionable that might affect the health or safety here eventually will get some lawyer to sue for millions and create a new law or tax for something that business/industry has to pay.

Our laws and expensive employees are discouraging business being done internally for manufacturing but what are you supposed to do about that?

Whatever the employees cost, will raise cost of the product and the consumer isn't making any more money so why would they buy it?

I don't disagree with you about it being nice to do that here but where do you start? Paying employees a lot less so that the business can afford it or make the consumers pay many times more for the same product? Or somehow completely reinvent or optimize how things are done to make it affordable with high quality?

And even then, once you figure it out, someone else will copy that (in China) and it will be cheaper to do that in China.

So really, what do you do?

 

[time410s]

Diadem cuts corners when it comes to the material used in their rackets. Wouldn't mess with this third world racket.

I don't find this to be true at all. Did you actually mean TenX?

Yes, I'll trash them every time I get.

 

[time410s]

Heysil source their frames from Taiwan and Dahcor from Portugal.
I understand what you are saying but it’s time for western countries to start making things again and try and make it work.
Otherwise the whole thing is stuffed.

Also how is taiwan not basically china in this example? Also DAHCOR is still in a foreign country with different labor costs and expenses but they are a speciality shop and actually just got sold so it's not the same story anyway.

 

[Crocodile]

Also how is taiwan not basically china in this example? Also DAHCOR is still in a foreign country with different labor costs and expenses but they are a speciality shop and actually just got sold so it's not the same story anyway.

Taiwan is not China!

 

[Crocodile]

I get you but employees here are expensive. The whole reason it's profitable to do manufacturing in China is because a fair wage their is much less here when you convert our money to theirs. Additionally their regulations are much less strict for many manufacturing standards. Here it's very high. Anything morally questionable that might affect the health or safety here eventually will get some lawyer to sue for millions and create a new law or tax for something that business/industry has to pay.

Our laws and expensive employees are discouraging business being done internally for manufacturing but what are you supposed to do about that?

Whatever the employees cost, will raise cost of the product and the consumer isn't making any more money so why would they buy it?

I don't disagree with you about it being nice to do that here but where do you start? Paying employees a lot less so that the business can afford it or make the consumers pay many times more for the same product? Or somehow completely reinvent or optimize how things are done to make it affordable with high quality?

And even then, once you figure it out, someone else will copy that (in China) and it will be cheaper to do that in China.

So really, what do you do?

Market based solutions is the answer is just one idea that we can look at. Since CCP is emitting the most carbon, they should pay a carbon tax and as US companies transition to more green energy they should be warranted preferred status with credits and other preferential accolades for doing the right thing.
It comes down to politicians doing the right thing for their own people.

 

[esm]

Also how is taiwan not basically china in this example? Also DAHCOR is still in a foreign country with different labor costs and expenses but they are a speciality shop and actually just got sold so it's not the same story anyway.

Taiwan is not China!!

 

[time410s]

Taiwan is not China!!

That's silly. The whole point I'm making, though, is that it's an outsourced country with similar business appeal to doing that kind of labor in China. Hmm, what country is the next closest thing to China? Probably Taiwan. Regardless, your example is not that of a mainstream large scale brand. Almost nobody has heard of Heysil.

 

[time410s]

Market based solutions is the answer is just one idea that we can look at. Since CCP is emitting the most carbon, they should pay a carbon tax and as US companies transition to more green energy they should be warranted preferred status with credits and other preferential accolades for doing the right thing.
It comes down to politicians doing the right thing for their own people.

But that's up to their country to decide, not us. And for us, whatever makes it cheaper is prioritized.

China has come a very long way so give them some credit. It could also be viewed that anything to raise costs would lose many jobs as the whole reason they have our business in the first place is because of cost and ability to scale.

It's a nice idea you have, morally speaking, but I'm doubtful we will be able to do such things affordably. Or just get the consumer to pay more. Do you expect to achieve this without a significant cost change or do you think the consumer will be happy to pay that much more?

What's really insane to me is the hundreds of millions the top players get for endorsing a racket they don't play with. A lot of the profit from these cheap china rackets go to pay those expenses.

 

[esm]

That's silly. The whole point I'm making, though, is that it's an outsourced country with similar business appeal to doing that kind of labor in China. Hmm, what country is the next closest thing to China? Probably Taiwan. Regardless, your example is not that of a mainstream large scale brand. Almost nobody has heard of Heysil.

i was not refer to anything else apart from the bits about Taiwan - ie. Taiwan is not China.
China is a communist country, whereas Taiwan is a republic country - huge difference.
I'd say Russia is probably the biggest & the closest country next to China.

 

[tim-ay]

Market based solutions is the answer is just one idea that we can look at. Since CCP is emitting the most carbon, they should pay a carbon tax and as US companies transition to more green energy they should be warranted preferred status with credits and other preferential accolades for doing the right thing.
It comes down to politicians doing the right thing for their own people.

Hahaha….. it comes down to money. Unless you don’t believe in capitalism. Then sure, it comes down to socialism. But the anti socialism crowd are the ones complaining about Asian manufacturing. Can’t have it both ways…

The equation is very simple - investment, working capital, operating expenses, labor, taxes, benefits vs. return. In the US, some things make sense. Others don’t.

I can put 3 million capital into making a factory to make tennis rackets. Or I can put 3 million capital into a plug in to salesforce ….. which do you think has a better return? Which is better for creating jobs? which is a better future for our kids?

I don’t know what the future is, but I 100% know it isn’t the past.

 

[time410s]

Hahaha….. it comes down to money. Unless you don’t believe in capitalism. Then sure, it comes down to socialism. But the anti socialism crowd are the ones complaining about Asian manufacturing. Can’t have it both ways…

The equation is very simple - investment, working capital, operating expenses, labor, taxes, benefits vs. return. In the US, some things make sense. Others don’t.

I can put 3 million capital into making a factory to make tennis rackets. Or I can put 3 million capital into a plug in to salesforce ….. which do you think has a better return? Which is better for creating jobs? which is a better future for our kids?

I don’t know what the future is, but I 100% know it isn’t the past.

Well my point is ok you can open the factory but how much more do you think cost of operation and employees would be for racket manufacturing here vs in China?

 

[tim-ay]

Well my point is ok you can open the factory but how much more do you think cost of operation and employees would be for racket manufacturing here vs in China?

Thats my point too. Your return is going to be far less, with way more money tied up. Why would anyone smart at business do that? When there are far better investments….. For populist politics? Nah, people have money because they are good at making money.

 

[abarth20]

Ummm... You do know that dampeners don't actually do anything, right? All they do is change the sound. Dampener vs. non-dampener is not going to cause or prevent elbow pain. This is entirely mental or it's literally just the weight of the dampener changing the swing weight enough that your swing mechanics are oh so slightly different.

Appearently, you have never tried a Nova. It has '0' vibration tech, and Dampeners plays a Huge role in dampening the vibration coming trough your hand. Even while you bounce ball on your racquet!!. Your opinion could only be valid if we were talking about a racquet with a dampener tech already inside. But here you can really feel the difference with a dampener!

 

[time410s]

Appearently, you have never tried a Nova. It has '0' vibration tech, and Dampeners plays a Huge role in dampening the vibration coming trough your hand. Even while you bounce ball on your racquet!!. Your opinion could only be valid if we were talking about a racquet with a dampener tech already inside. But here you can really feel the difference with a dampener!

I do notice the resonance of string vibration more and much longer in the Nova. It's one of those things I imagine some would attribute to better feel but it would be this subjective grey area that can be argued both ways. I don't necessarily feel it is more harsh but one could maybe convince me it must be if I'm feeling more of the smaller vibrations. However, I don't feel a jarring harsh one.

 

[ericykchan]

That's silly. The whole point I'm making, though, is that it's an outsourced country with similar business appeal to doing that kind of labor in China. Hmm, what country is the next closest thing to China? Probably Taiwan. Regardless, your example is not that of a mainstream large scale brand. Almost nobody has heard of Heysil.

you don't know what you taking about. China so big a company can setup a factory and hire staff with a very wide range of quality, leading to a wide range of quality of products. Your can pay for people who is willing to cheat to overlook things. In Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea and especially Japan, people ensure things done right and comply to standards. Therefore, the cost is different, NOT the same business appeal.

 

[tim-ay]

you don't know what you taking about. China so big a company can setup a factory and hire staff with a very wide range of quality, leading to a wide range of quality of products. Your can pay for people who is willing to cheat to overlook things. In Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea and especially Japan, people ensure things done right and comply to standards. Therefore, the cost is different, NOT the same business appeal.

I’m thinking you shouldn’t accuse people they don’t know what they are talking about with this type of argument. Are there bad suppliers in China? Duh. There are bad suppliers in “anywhere”. Japan started pretty crappy also…. Do you know anything about Deming? Until embracing continuous improvement Japan kinda sucked.

Large OEMs pretty much set the standard by specification and cost. Unless they are stupid, they pick suppliers with the right process capability and quality systems for what they are trying to achieve. And they regularly check it.

If Wilson or anyone else wanted to tighten the spec, they would do it, for the cost impact and trade off and then selecting the contract manufacturer that can meet that spec. The days are over where Japan had an instrinsically better quality system - everyone is control charting and tweaking processes these days to stay capable within a specification. Sure, you can find someone hacking crap together in a garage, but there are hundreds of other options than choosing that supplier.

 

[time410s]

you don't know what you taking about. China so big a company can setup a factory and hire staff with a very wide range of quality, leading to a wide range of quality of products. Your can pay for people who is willing to cheat to overlook things. In Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea and especially Japan, people ensure things done right and comply to standards. Therefore, the cost is different, NOT the same business appeal.

I think you completely misunderstood the intention of what I'm saying. I was responding to someone that was trying to make a point that we need to do that kind of work within the USA somehow but I was talking about how this would be completely unaffordable and that the general reasons we outsource work is the same and why we go to China or Taiwan or what have you.

The reasons we outsource are the same, is my point.

And China is very good. If you want to go with more sketchy options there you can but some of the best are there as well.

 

[KYHacker]

Appearently, you have never tried a Nova. It has '0' vibration tech, and Dampeners plays a Huge role in dampening the vibration coming trough your hand. Even while you bounce ball on your racquet!!. Your opinion could only be valid if we were talking about a racquet with a dampener tech already inside. But here you can really feel the difference with a dampener!

There's plenty of scientific testing on this. Dampeners literally do nothing but change the sound and a little bit of feel. They do nothing that would increase or decrease a tennis elbow or golfer's elbow injury. They do make you "feel better" but that is just your brain playing tricks on you. Actually, if you don't use a dampener, you will much more quickly realize just how often you don't hit in the sweetspot which is the real cause of shock-related injuries. That's why it's called the sweetspot. It's literally where the least shock is transmitted to your body. I have actually played with the Nova with and without a dampener. It might not be the frame for you.

 

[time410s]

I’m thinking you shouldn’t accuse people they don’t know what they are talking about with this type of argument. Are there bad suppliers in China? Duh. There are bad suppliers in “anywhere”. Japan started pretty crappy also…. Do you know anything about Deming? Until embracing continuous improvement Japan kinda sucked.

Large OEMs pretty much set the standard by specification and cost. Unless they are stupid, they pick suppliers with the right process capability and quality systems for what they are trying to achieve. And they regularly check it.

If Wilson or anyone else wanted to tighten the spec, they would do it, for the cost impact and trade off and then selecting the contract manufacturer that can meet that spec. The days are over where Japan had an instrinsically better quality system - everyone is control charting and tweaking processes these days to stay capable within a specification. Sure, you can find someone hacking crap together in a garage, but there are hundreds of other options than choosing that supplier.

I wonder how Yonex margins are for their rackets with the highest QC spec in mass OEM.

Why is Japan able to do this but America not? I suppose they started up in a better time to do so and have just been running since. But you'd think if they figured it out, we could as well.

 

[time410s]

There's plenty of scientific testing on this. Dampeners literally do nothing but change the sound and a little bit of feel. They do nothing that would increase or decrease a tennis elbow or golfer's elbow injury. They do make you "feel better" but that is just your brain playing tricks on you. Actually, if you don't use a dampener, you will much more quickly realize just how often you don't hit in the sweetspot which is the real cause of shock-related injuries. That's why it's called the sweetspot. It's literally where the least shock is transmitted to your body. I have actually played with the Nova with and without a dampener. It might not be the frame for you.

It's probably not. It's also a little too head heavy and stiff for many to swing the way they will be used to compared to any other tweener spec frame and that's kinda my issue with it. Will be uploading a video review that goes into more detail about this but I wish the frame was a few pts more headlight or at least overall lighter to open up that room for balancing the way you like while keeping the weight within reason. I've added 7 grams directly in the trap door and it's still 2pts more head heavy than my ezone 98+ and 7 grams over. So that tells you even though the weight is the same without that 7g, applying that at the maximum point of counter weight still isn't enough to match the balance on paper. I might have to go up to 12g or 15g just in the trap door to get the balance the same and that would be ridiculous to have so much weight in the trap door alone.

And if we're talking about distributing that across the handle instead to get that balance, it could easily mean about 20-30 grams.

Then you have a very very heavy racket.

Frustrating because I think I could love it if it wasn't for this.

 

[tim-ay]

I wonder how Yonex margins are for their rackets with the highest QC spec in mass OEM.

Why is Japan able to do this but America not? I suppose they started up in a better time to do so and have just been running since. But you'd think if they figured it out, we could as well.

I think we are more driven by immediate earnings. If you can improve gross margin by 15 points in the US you consider it immediately. And also we hold return on assets as a very valued efficiency of use of cash. And it is.... but Wall Street loves companies with high margin and less invested capital. Private equity is not much different. Who wants to invest more capital to make less margin?

Japan does this in pretty rare cases, just like the US. We have some manufacturing businesses that are able to withstand the global onslaught of capitalism because they have found a niche that really works for them. It's a combination of "Made in xxxx" loyalty, margin, capital, and operating efficiency.

 

[time410s]

I've updated my review with another video which express my final thoughts on the Nova +

 

[tim-ay]

I've updated my review with another video which express my final thoughts on the Nova +

Pretty great review, nice job. You should give the Pro Kennex Q+5X Pro a try. It plays so fast for an XL. Not quite the pop of the PD+, but more controlled.

 

[time410s]

Pretty great review, nice job. You should give the Pro Kennex Q+5X Pro a try. It plays so fast for an XL. Not quite the pop of the PD+, but more controlled.

I believe I have tried that a while ago and while liking it initially, I felt that it was mushy and had a much lower top end power threshold due to this as well as directional control. Also the handle is made from the frame mold I believe, not a PU mold so the flex characteristics are pretty different between grip sizes. Kinda strange. I also feel like that extends the flex feel into the handle and I prefer a more isolated flex point.