Paul, thanks for suggesting the armchair exercises.

After some more research and testing I found that:

Arsaber Zslash – good: great smashes/drives,  bad: terribly inconsistent, frame hits, mediocre net play (probably due to small sweet spot).

Voltric 80 3u (own) good: powerful, good control/feel  bad: too heavy in doubles defence.

Carlton Vapor trail Elite: good: feel, net play,  bad: mediocre swing speed

Wilson Kteam: good feel –  good: surprisingly good feel, OK power  bad: slow swing and defence.

ns9900 good: fast and surprisingly friendly  bad: too head light

(these are purely subjective observations)

I am looking at Victor bs10 and meteor mx80 based on my requirement (fast swing but friendly). Both having great swing speed – mx80 being more head heavy but as stiff and almost as fast.

I read a review that said the mx80 is like vt80 only a little lighter which makes it more suitable for doubles play which reminded me of the vt80 4u.

I'm still contemplating buying the 4u vt80 but it's very expensive and its from abroad… and I haven't yet had the opportunity to test any Victor rackets. Any suggestions based on your experiences will be much appreciated!

 Thanks!