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Here it is, the Victor Thruster F Enhanced Edition, which is super popular with professional players, sponsored by Victor
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On the top of my head, I can remember Hendrissa Tiawan, Thruster F, Praveen Jordan of Indonesia
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Thruster F, Malaysian Mixtables pairings, Tan Ken Meng, Lai Pei Jing, Gosen Wad, and Jamie Shifon Lai
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Also, Badminton Insights, Greg Mez, and Jenny Moore too. Hello. Hello. Hello
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So that's quite a list and let's find out why it is so popular
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This Thruster F is the second generation enhanced Thruster F and replaces its original blue version
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It now comes in matte black alongside some pretty cool gold patterns on the frame
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Some of you will have noticed I've played with this version of Thruster F as I joined Greg and Jenny
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to have a flavor of their intense training schedule back when we did a collab video
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And back then I was playing with Jenny's racket and was pretty impressed with the Thruster
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F but needed more time to test the racket before I was able to give you guys a proper review
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Until now of course. I certainly had trouble locating this racket in the UK as it was always out of stock
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And even when I was in Malaysia earlier this year, I was also unable to find any in the stores I've visited then
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Very popular indeed. So obviously I said yes when Central Sports asked me if I wanted to test out the Thruster F and thank you to that
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So remember to use my CKYW discount code when you're shopping with them
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So when the test racket arrived, the first thing I noticed was the new head shape, which was longer than usual
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which I didn't notice back then when I was playing with Jenny's racket. Victor had updated this generation of Thruster F with a new racket frame shape to have a longer and larger street spot It is still an isometric or box shaped frame but felt
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longer. Upon measuring, it had the longest frame height that I've come across on this
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channel at 24.2cm, alongside the smallest width for a badminton racket frame 2 at only
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18cm. And to put that in perspective, normal non-compact badminton frames are generally
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around 23.5cm to 24cm in height and generally 18.5cm to 19cm in width. So by being slightly
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longer but slimmer allows the Thruster F to still have a very fast and smooth swing speed
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Both these measurements made sense. Another unique design feature that I've come across
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this Thruster F is the actual frame design. What I mean is traditionally you will only find
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mainly one or two types of frame shape within the construction of a badminton frame. So imagine if
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you cut a frame apart and look at its frame shape and you'll see that each racket depending on the
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series has its own uniquely designed frame shape which generally falls between box frames, diamond
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or aerodynamic frames or a combination of something in between from all manufacturers. However, when I
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ran my fingers through the frame I was able to feel four different zones on the Thruster F's frame
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If we start from the T-joint, I was able to feel a box-shaped frame until the gold foil around the 7 o'clock region
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A slightly slimmer box frame is then present across all the gold foil area up to the white back gold foil
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And as soon as the foil area finished, a smooth rounded aerodynamic shape was present and it ran all the way up to around the 10 o'clock region where the sharp gold lines were present
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This frame then turned into a diamond-shaped frame where Victor calls it a sword frame
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As it turns out, Victor calls this frame design a tri-formation to allow and account for different frame flexing and hitting feel at different regions
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Again why a simple racket bend test is not going to tell you much with modern day rackets Also because of this variable frame design frame thickness is also variable from around 10 around the 3 and 9 o section
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going up to 11.1mm at the very top. Additionally, to help with swing speed, Victor certainly went more than halfway with the recess of the frame on the outside to help with aerodynamics
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and they end up where the box shape frame starts. So I'd say 70% recessed
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Besides the frame, Victor also updated the Thruster F's handle. It's now a free core handle
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which is Victor's proprietary plastic handle instead of a traditional wooden handle. My first
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proper experience of the free core handle was with the Aura Speed 100X, which I've reviewed
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previously here, of course. But in my previous review, I never saw the semi-transparent one
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and here's an example of what it looks like in its full semi-transparent glory from a UK 3U
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version of the 100X. I especially love the butt cap which shows the Victor logo glowing under the
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right lighting conditions. Pretty cool indeed. This free core handle on the thruster F comes in at 17
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centimeters in length. For the rest of the racket, the predominantly black and gold combination
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certainly gives off a classy look and oh yes it's certainly matte too. The racket shaft I measured
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is a 6.7 millimeter diameter shaft although similarly to the frame, there are areas which
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are slimmer than the rest. Shaft length is 21cm and needless to say, the Thruster F is made in
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Taiwan, where Victor is headquartered. This test racket is a 4UG5 model and is strong with my usual
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aerobytes string at 27x29lbs whilst it's also rated at 31lbs. In terms of playing feel and
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performance, this Thruster F was really easy to play with. Surprisingly, it wasn't shown on the
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Racket Matrix on this year's Victor catalogue, but I would have considered the Thruster F to be
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pretty even balance or just a touch head heavy. For those who want a comparison and perspective
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it was head lighter than my usual Asterox 88D Pro, but did feel slightly head heavier than
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the Aura Speed 100X as well as the Aura Speed 90K which its review is coming soon so get subscribed With its slimmer head the EZROSTA F certainly swings fast and pretty smooth but what I think is a big plus point for this racket is its responsiveness and playability
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I remember back when I was training with Greg and Jenny, there was no steep learning curve or adaptation that I needed to do to my hitting technique and timing
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to enjoy playing with this racket, and I'm certainly no pro player
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The Thruster F responded well to a wide variety of shots and is able to get me out of trouble when needed, especially under pressure
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It seems like the combination of the FreeCore technology to the Triformation frame design
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worked really well, allowing the racket to flex at the right places at the right time
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In terms of hitting feel, I'd certainly agree with the little scale on the racket shaft to say that this felt just right, just a simple stiff, a 7 out of 10 on a scale and wasn't
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crazy stiff or too soft for that matter. The Thruster F also had no trouble generating power from overhead power shots or even short
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sharp shots and it was very consistent and predictable with the shuttle which I often
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find very confidence inspiring. I certainly placed a premium or priority for rackets which are easy to play with as many
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of us aren't pros and don't have the skill, speed or power to be able to pull out tricky
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get out of jail shots as easily. Hence this Thruster F is certainly a good racket in that respect
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For defence as it's not a sledgehammer, it was pretty fast and stable which was reassuring
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Having not played with the original Thruster F before, I can't tell you guys what I'd exactly changed from that version to this one, but Victor did say that they've made
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this version less head heavy and faster by moving the swing weight slightly backwards
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and my experience with it does marry up pretty well. It felt like this Thruster F is pretty elastic but controlled, which then provides us with
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really good levels of responsiveness. I think Victor has done a good job with this Russell F and I did enjoy playing and testing
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with it. Now the trouble is to find a store that has it in stock. I'll see you in the next one
