Hey guys! Let me introduce you to the current Li-Ning badminton racket range on the market as well as break down their naming convention. If you want to check out some of the Li-Ning rackets I’ve reviewed on my YouTube channel, check out this playlist here!
Also, if you’re purchasing Li-Ning rackets from Central Sports in the UK or Li-Ning Studio in India, remember to use “CKYEW” as the code for further discounts! Let's go!
First off, Li-Ning breaks their badminton racket ranges into 4 major categories --- Attacking or Offensive, Control, Speed and the Super or Ultralight badminton rackets. For 2023, in the Attacking category, there are 2 relatively head-heavy, power-based series: the Tectonic and AxForce rackets. In the Control category, we have the incredible-looking Aeronaut series as well as Li-Ning’s latest Halbertec series. In the speed category, we have the legendary 3D Calibar range and the newer BladeX series. And finally, for the Super or Ultralight category, we have the Windstorm series.
Many of you would be familiar with the TurboCharging racket series which would fall in the Speed category of rackets, but I understand that they are slowly being phased out from the market. Additionally, if you live in South East Asia or South Asia, you’ll probably have access to a few more racket series such as Wind Lite, Ignite and G-Force series.
So let's start with the 2 current Attacking racket series: the Tectonic and AxForce series. The Tectonic and AxForce series are relatively new in Li-Ning’s racket lineup and both focus on helping players transfer more power onto their game. From experience, Tectonic rackets are pretty head heavy and stiffer in feeling. All Tectonic rackets feature new graphite material in the 5 and 7 o’clock position, which is actually thinner than other areas of the racket frame but aiming to provide greater strength and stability on the racket head, supposedly providing a faster rebound. I’ve previously reviewed the Tectonic 9 which at the time was used by Jonathan Christie and Srikanth Kidambi so you can check it up here in the playlist. Another popular Tectonic racket is the Tectonic 7I which is currently used by Pornpawee Chochuwong so that review will come soon.
If we then look at the Axforce series, this is a very popular series and is used by the likes of World champion, Loh Kean Yew with the Axforce 90 MAX as well as Jonatan Christie, Yuta Watanabe and PV Sindhu with their Axforce 80. In fact, the first Li-Ning Axforce racket was used by Chen Long in 2021, who actually went on to win silver in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games! The Axforce racket is aimed at improving hitting power with its slightly softer shaft, providing maximum speed, control and power. The AxForce rackets in my opinion arent generally as stiff and head heavy as the Tectonics so perhaps slightly more user-friendly. The AxForce 80 was certainly a standout in terms of looks with a super classy matte black design. Remember, protect your precious rackets with the Premium Racket Protection Tape from ckyew.com/shop. They’re worth it!
Moving onto the Control category and we have the Aeronaut and Halbertec racket series. You all know for a fact that I consider the Aeronaut rackets the best-looking rackets currently available on the market. The Aeronaut 9000 and 8000 rackets do look incredibly good! These rackets use a unique air-stream channel design, essentially the 4 holes around the T joint to reduce air resistance and therefore enable players to generate faster shuttle speeds. So with less air resistance, you can have better control over your shots, without sacrificing on power. Players like Anthony Ginting use the Aeronaut 9000 and Ong Yew Sin, the Aeronaut 9000C. Personally, I love the design and look of this series, especially the Aeronaut 9000C and Aeronaut 9000I which have an incredible matte finish alongside very sharp futuristic designs. The feel of the different rackets does vary slightly depending on the model so watch some of my reviews to find out which racket is right for you.
The Halbertec series is certainly Li-Ning’s latest racket series and the first racket in the series is the Halbertec 8000. Marketing info tells me it's aimed at players who want accurate control and precise attack. I’ve been testing the Halbertec 8000 for a while now so the review will be dropping soon. I’m loving the colour scheme on the 8000 thus far and the feel is pretty different too. I’m aware there’ll be a Halbertec 5000 and 2000 being released later in the year so we’ll keep an eye out for them.
If we look at the Speed category, we can see the 3D Calibar series and the newer BladeX series. I’ve yet to formally review the 3D Calibar series but I have some samples with me so I’m very keen to test out some of the super popular models from the 900 range. The racket frames certainly have got a super unique design and lots of the pro players who use them all have big smashes so I can’t wait to formally test them out soon. I mean who doesn’t want a bigger smash?
For BladeX series, it's a relatively newer series and I’ve only reviewed the BladeX 800 thus far which was very disappointing for me. That racket just didn't click for me. Check out my full review video to find out why. This series is marketed for its mobility and often aimed at more defensive players and headlined by Zhang Nan, updated with the new BladeX 900 Max. I’ve also been testing it so the review will be dropping soon, remember to subscribe! I hope the 900 Max will go one step in the right direction for the BladeX series.
I will also introduce the Turbocharging series here as they’re part of Li-Ning’s legacy speed racket series and they’ve been very popular with the pros. For example, Loh Kean Yew was playing with the Turbocharging 75C when he won his world championship title and a few of the Indonesian doubles players are still currently playing with the Turbocharging 75 Extreme racket model as well. Turbocharging rackets normally feature a trapezoidal frame design for aerodynamic efficiency which makes it ideal for quick players with strong swing speeds and fast reaction times.
And finally, for the superlight and ultralight range, we have the Windstorm and the more budget-friendly Wind Lite, G-Force and Ignite racket series. These 4 series focus on rackets that are under 80g in weight, hence they’re rackets in 5U or 6U weight classes. I expect these to be super fast too due to their weight but am certainly looking forward to testing some of the more popular models soon. I have previously reviewed some G-Force rackets and they were a nice pleasant surprise for their price category.
Let me also quickly show you how Li-Ning number their racket models which hopefully helps you understand them better. There are 2 parts to a Li-Ning racket name that are important to know:
Number 1: The first number after the racket series shows you the performance level of the racket. For example, if the first digit after the racket series is 1, 2 or 3, it means it is suitable for entry-level players. Numbers 4, 5, and 6 are for intermediate-level players. And lastly, if the first number is 7, 8 or 9, it will be more suitable for high-performance players. Often, this also means the higher the number, the rackets are manufactured with better materials which are also normally reflected in their costs. They should also generally provide a better feel too.
Number 2: The letter at the end of the racket tells you the style of the racket. For example, you’ll often see Tectonic, Aeronaut and 3D Calibar rackets have letters behind their racket models. Each racket has a letter at the end, which can be either D (for Drive), C (for Combat), B (for Boost) or I (for Instinct).
Drive rackets are for speed and quickly switching between offense and defense. These rackets will generally have a stiffer shaft and more elastic head, suitable for faster players.
Combat rackets have a heavier head and higher balance point, meaning it’s mostly for aggressive players who want maximum power.
Boost rackets, on the other hand, have a moderate balance point and medium shaft making them great for the more well-rounded and balanced players.
Lastly, Instinct rackets are a combination of being lightweight (weighing less than 80 grams) - 5U most of the time, whilst still enabling speed and agility too with their flexible shafts.
So for example, the Aeronaut 9000I racket. If we break the name down, 9 in the 9000 shows that it’s aimed at a high-performance player, and the 'I' represents it being an Instinct or lightweight racket.
Each racket series actually has quite a good variety of rackets for different levels of players and the type of playing style. So when choosing a Li-Ning racket, you just need to remember the 2 parts of the naming system once you’ve decided on the racket series that you’d like. Let me know in the comments below which is your favourite Li-Ning racket series or model.
In the meantime, If you’re looking to learn more about the Yonex badminton racket series, check out this video here! I’ll see you in the next one!
