Victor Thruster F Ultra Badminton Racket Review - What Has Happened To This Great Racket?
- CKYew
- Jun 2
- 6 min read
Victor has come out with a new 3rd generation of the Victor Thruster F, called the Victor Thruster F Ultra and it's certainly different from it's previous generation... and not in a good way!
So much has changed compared to the previous generation, which was the Victor Thruster F Enhanced (review here). In my opinion, that was one of Victor’s most popular badminton rackets, especially when it was famous for being extremely user-friendly and forgiving. However, it’s different with this generation. So if you’re thinking of upgrading from the previous generation, keep reading until the end!
Before I start, for those of you who don’t know, I’ve launched a podcast with another Viktor, and it’s none other than the two-time Olympic champion, Viktor Axelsen. It’s called "The Average Not Average Podcast" and you can check it out here!
Review Of Appearance Of Victor Thruster F Ultra Badminton Racket
Now, back to the Thruster F Ultra! In terms of looks, the frame shape hasn't changed that much as well as the frame thickness and depth. However, you can see that there are some lightning stripes decals along the details of the frame, and it is still black in colour. Also, some of the copper tints are still present compared to the previous generation.
Specifications & Measurements Of Victor Thruster F Ultra Badminton Racket
Talking about the frame design, the thickness of the frame does vary, being thickest at the T joint as well as the top of the racket, specifically above the 2 and 10 o'clock regions. The thinnest parts of the rackets are around the 5 and 7 o'clock regions at only 10 mm thick. The frame height is 24 cm, whereas the frame width is 18.2 cm, almost identical to the previous generation. The recessed area on the frame is again at 2/3 of the top half of the racket, identical to the previous generation.
If we look further down, this is where the most significant change is: the shaft. The previous generation Thruster F Enhanced had a pretty standard shaft diameter of 6.7 mm as well as being 21 cm in length. However, this generation has reduced significantly in terms of shaft thickness - advertised at 5.8 mm, but I measured it at 6.0 mm flat. The length of the shaft remains at 21 cm which is attached to a free core handle measuring in at 17 cm. The previous model mentioned that the rackets were made in Taiwan whereas it is not stated for this generation. Another thing to note is that I really like the racket butt cap that's on the bottom of the free core handle. It looks modern, minimalist, and pretty cool!
6 mm in shaft length is actually the thinnest ever shaft that has been measured on this channel, and it's shared amongst two rackets, the other being the Victor Auraspeed 100 X Ultra racket, which you can check out the review for here.
Traditionally, a thin shaft often means a flimsy response as the racket is more whippy, especially from the torsional perspective. However, Victor has stressed that this version of the super-thin shaft isn't flimsy. It actually is slightly stiffer if you look at the racket stiffness chart printed on the racket shaft. Thinner racket shafts also traditionally mean that the racket will have a slightly smoother swing feel, and air swings of this generation compared to the previous one actually do sound different!
The one I'm testing with is a 4U model racket rated to 31 lbs in tension. In terms of stringing, I strung it with my usual string set-up of Yonex Aerobite (UK here) at 27 lbs x 29 lbs in tension. There were no issues with stringing this racket. As the sample racket came bare without any racket grips on, I then put two layers of my usual Yonex AC108 graps on to mimic the usual stock grip, plus one grap on the racket which I’m used to playing with.
Here are the swing weight measurements for the Thruster F Ultra against its previous generation:
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Playing Feel & Performance Of Victor Thruster F Ultra Badminton Racket
I started with the previous generation (Thruster F Enhanced), and it felt true to my previous review. It was very, very easy to play with, slightly head-heavy, and with lots of easy power. As soon as you swap over to the F Ultra, you will feel that it has a different response, and nowhere near as forgiving as the previous generation. I mentioned earlier that dry swings feel faster, or at least with thinner shafts, you generally will feel faster swings but I did not feel that at all. I felt it was quite hard to get clean-hitting timing with this new generation Thruster F Ultra. It was not the best start!
There is also a reason why this review has taken quite a while to be published. For those eagle-eyed, you will have noticed that I posted a photo of me playing with it on my Instagram, and the photo was posted in early March. In actual fact, these photos were taken in mid-January. Hence, I have been testing this racket for a while.
I was not happy with how it felt as I couldn't believe how hard it was to play with the new generation F Ultra, especially when the previous version was so good. And sometimes during testing, you can have bad days, just like any other playing day. So I left it a little while and then came back to it multiple times across different periods. And each time I felt the same way.
The new generation F Ultra simply responds very differently to the previous generation. The previous generation's response was much more predictable and this new generation racket just isn't as forgiving. I found myself having a hard time timing overhead shots and it just did not feel easy to play with. Granted, Victor has to make the shaft stiffer somehow with a thinner shaft, but through this process, I felt the response from the F Ultra wasn’t consistent. It is much harder to time with this model, and the feeling of the shuttle coming off the racket was also not as nice as the previous generation. If you are off-timing, there is also a dull vibration that comes through the handle too.
For me, the Thruster F’s frame, Ultra or not, are slightly longer than usual at 24 cm compared to a standard racket. Hence, you’d expect an easier time with the sweet spot and timing, but this isn’t the case here. I also want to add that I didn't really feel that this version was faster than the previous generation. As I mentioned earlier, thinner shafts normally mean faster swings, but I didn't feel that in this generation. Additionally, I actually felt that this one was slightly slower or head heavier compared to the previous generation.
Previously, I mentioned the Thruster F Enhanced as a racket that I do not consider a true heavy racket, as it only felt slightly head heavier than an even-balanced racket. However, with this generation, it feels more like a heavy racket, that suffers in defence. It feels draggy during those short, sharp shots, and I didn’t enjoy that very much. But if you catch one cleanly, you will have no issues finding lots of power within your shots.
Ultimately, it sounds like I'm really harsh with this racket but if you are coming from the previous generation, you will be disappointed with this one as you will find this one not as easy to play with. However, you might be completely new to Victor and have not played with a Thruster F before. In that case, you find this racket is a normal, high-end, decent head-heavy racket with all the usual pros and cons of a head-heavy racket, but nothing exceptionally unique.
I'm all for really easy-to-play rackets nowadays, and this isn't exactly one of them. I'm not sure if Victor is trying to squeeze in that headline ultra-thin shaft but then compromised how the feel of the racket was developed or simply, it affected the racket's playability. The next racket I will be reviewing is the Auraspeed 100 X Ultra, which also has the same advertised 5.8 mm shaft. That one went so much better than this one, and you can find out all about it here! With that said, I'll see you there (or in the next one)! Also, don't forget to use the code 'CKYEW' for extra discounts!
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