The Yonex Voltric Z Force 2 is, in my opinion, the most iconic racket ever released by Yonex, at least in this millennium. I am sure it is also one of the most successful and best selling rackets ever.
Pros:
A very potent racket which adds power to each and every one of your shot, shot accuracy is increased due to its stiff shaft, fast swing speed and manoeuvrability thanks to the smaller footprint of the racket (smaller head and shorter shaft)
Cons:
The smaller head frame size along with its super stiff shaft means it has a smaller sweet hitting spot. Because of this, the Z Force 2 is not very user friendly and might not be for everyone.
The Yonex Voltric Z Force 2 was released just before the start of the 2014 All England Championships. But even before the release, Lin Dan was spoted using a completely black racket (which later turned out to be the Voltric Z Force 2). The hype around the racket was already there. On top of that, Lee Chong Wei won the All England Championships 2014 using this racket beating Chen Long in the final. The win was of great significance as Lee Chong Wei had lost the last 4 encounters against Chen Long prior to that final. Added to that, Lee Chong Wei had lost the final last year to none other than Chen Long.
This meant a lot of people including me associated the Voltric Z Force 2 with Lee Chong Wei’s title. Indeed, the racket offered great performance. Shortly after many other professional players started using this racket. It was widely used for the next five years by many international players and also casual players. In my opinion, this racket is still one of the best rackets available in the market even in 2019.
RACKETS WHICH ARE SIMILAR TO THE VOLTRIC Z FORCE 2
No other racket in the market feels similar to the Yonex Voltric Z Force 2. I would say the racket is truly very unique. You must try it to know what it feels like.
PLAYING STYLE THIS RACKET IS SUITED FOR
This is a head heavy racket. This indicates that the racket is primarily meant for singles play. However, it does not mean that you cannot use this for doubles play. Many top doubles players like Mathias Boe, Carsten Mogensen & Chris Adcock used this racket.
The head heavy Z Force 2 is suits an an attacking style of play. The racket performs better with overhead attacking shots. It lacks a little bit with the defensive shots as it has a smaller sweet spot.
I had never used a racket with such shaft stiffness before. So it felt very strange the first time I used this racket. Badminton shots are a combination of the movement of the arm, wrist, flex of the racket among other things. With the Voltric Z Force 2, you can say the flex component has been removed. This means you ‘feel’ your shots more. This also means you need to have a very good wrist technique to hit your shots well with this racket.
Full bloodied smashes, half smashes, clears, drop shots, net shots, counter drives, fast flat exchanges – this racket performed well in astounding fashion.
Personally for me, the area where I suffered the most with this racket were my lifts. I had no trouble controlling the length of my lifts if I was in a good position while hitting the shot. However if I was late and out of position, I was not able to lift the shuttle to the back court. I could lift well with other rackets from similar positions.
I also hit the shuttle with the frame of the racket more with this racket while defending full power smashes from my opponents.
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