Yonex Armortec 900 Technique Racquet Review

If you’ve already read my other reviews, then you’ve already noticed certain similarities in basic Yonex racquet design. Notably, they are a good solid racquet with little “lateral” twist due to the built-in T piece.

As this is another top of the range racquet, it is strung slightly tighter. I do wish at times that all racquets were sold to retailers unstrung so that you can then decide on the racquet of your choice with the string and tension of your choice. It’s very popular in Europe but sadly not over here. I guess there are too few sports shops that have the ability or skill to string a racquet well.

Straight out of the bag, this racquet had a very different feel to it. This is because of the balance and weighting in the lower part of the racquet head, more towards the T piece.  Whereas the Arcsaber 10 felt like an old friend or a comfortable pair of shoes, this feels like the same pair of shoes that have been re-soled and re-heeled – not quite right at first.

That’s not to say it’s a good racquet, because it is. It’s because this weighting is unusual and takes a while to get used to. Being fair, I didn’t play with the racquet all night to see if my opinion changed at all. I gave it a fair amount of hitting, about the same as I’ve done for my other reviews.

The racquet is designed to give the player more control, to paraphrase Yonex’s description of this racquet. Perhaps. It certainly wasn’t a slouch in the power department, as there’s plenty of power to draw upon when required.

For all aspects of the power game the racquet performed well. I had to adjust a little because of the difference in balance, but after that it was OK. The racquet also performed well in defence and around the net. It was fast and sharp.

I understand what the control element of this racquet is about. With a stiff shaft and the weight shift, there does seem to be a “delay” in the hitting zone.  It’s almost a different solid hit as the focus in feel moves towards the T piece rather than the top of the racquet.

I began to wonder what type of player this would suit and it soon became evident that if your style of play is accurate placement to hurt your opponent, then this racquet delivers by the bucket load. I don’t know whether it will suit a power player, so if that’s your game you’ll need to try it for yourself. But, for a thinker and a good tactician, this could be a potent weapon.

I rated this just under 4 stars in my system. Again it lost a star in the general value for money criteria. At RRP £150 it’s expensive. Best you try one before you buy one, as you would with any racquet to make sure you’re really happy with it before parting with your hard-earned money. Look at www.yonex.co.uk “demo days” for one appearing near you. Make sure you take the opportunity to test as many racquets as you can.

When I was initially testing racquets to choose for next season, I got my choice down to 4 racquets, Arcsaber 10, Arcsaber 7, Armortec 900 Power and Technique. This was such a hard decision. Having played with them all and I then spent another hour mulling over which one I’d choose. For some strange reason, that I don’t know to this day, I kept returning to this racquet, trying it again and then putting it down. I must have done this 6 or 7 times before eventually ruling it out. It just seems to be one of those racquets that’s got a piece of magic but you really can’t explain it.

As you know, if you’ve read my other reviews, I eventually opted for the Armortec 900 Power as my racquet of choice. I could easily have chosen any of the 4 racquets and been happy. To this day, I don’t know why I continue to wax lyrical about this racquet – it’s just got that kinda something to make you want to pick it up and play.

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