It is not uncommon for a racket to have different weight specifications. Taking the Longya Zhi Ren family as an example, as the violent racket of Li Zijiang, it attracts many players. However, the violent attributes are not something everyone can handle. Therefore, Longya Zhi Ren offers three specifications: 3U, 4U, and 5U, allowing players to match according to their strength. An adjustment in one dimension inevitably accompanies a change in feel. In fact, specifications can also be specialized. Not only is the weight adjusted, but how to better refine the positioning of changes under different specifications is the new gameplay brought by VICTOR’s badminton racket.
The classic claw model’s latest iteration, TK-F C Ultra (Golden Claw), has different middle tube thicknesses and technological configurations for different weight specifications. One model has three distinct offensive configurations. From heavy artillery to explosive play, TK-F C Ultra provides optimized matching solutions for various offensive styles, allowing one racket to meet the offensive needs of different enthusiasts.
Racket Specifications / Technology Configuration
3U Specification: 6.0mm Middle Tube + Power Ring PRO
Keywords: Heavy Artillery (Stable Suppression, Power Penetration)
The 6.0mm alloy carbon fiber middle tube with Power Ring PRO, combined with a heavier racket head, provides better stability and power transmission, resulting in a solid feel and more penetrating attacks. With the assistance of Power Ring PRO, the hardness of the middle tube is further enhanced, allowing for faster swing speeds and heavier smashes.
4U: 5.8mm Middle Tube + Power Ring
Keywords: Assault (Agile Assault, Tear Through Defense)
The 5.8mm alloy carbon fiber middle tube provides a golden balance between offense and elasticity. The introduction of the Power Ring enhances the hardness of the feel, ensuring that the racket has offensive performance while maintaining the speed of continuous swings. The head-heavy design provides a noticeable downward pressure. All-around offense, combining elasticity with rigidity, leads to victory through assault.
5U: 5.6mm Middle Tube (Currently the Thinnest Middle Tube by VICTOR)
Keywords: Explosive (Light and Sharp, Continuous Downward Pressure)
The 5.6mm alloy carbon fiber middle tube, combined with a lightweight racket body, allows for quick swings and a noticeable head-heavy feel, providing better downward pressure and enabling continuous rapid offensive performance. Light yet fierce, smashes are faster.
Alloy Carbon Fiber Middle Tube
The TK-F C Ultra middle tube is equipped with alloy carbon fiber and polycarbonate fiber, enhancing hitting speed and smash power, providing a unique solid feel and reinforcing the racket’s offensive attributes. It also diversifies the offensive feel through the combination of Power Ring PRO and Power Ring.
Nanogel
The frame design follows the mutated three-force structure and incorporates nanogel, releasing weight space in the frame, allowing for increased carbon fiber usage. Combined with polycarbonate fiber, it enhances frame strength and provides a solid feel.
Racket Coating Analysis
The TK-F C Ultra features a gold base tone, complemented by black and cyan accents. The large cyan windmill shuriken pattern is its soul, conveying an image of speed and precise strikes with its cold cyan and sharp weapon form. The gold glitter combined with a matte texture showcases luxury, and the name “Golden Claw” succinctly summarizes the entire design concept, locking onto the prey and revealing its claws, ready to deliver a fatal blow, both noble and dazzling, yet containing terrifying tearing power.
Racket Parameters
Detailed Racket Experience
This review primarily focuses on the 4U specification of the TK-F C Ultra, while also comparing the user experience of the 3U and 5U specifications. Now, let us unveil the mysteries of these three specifications together.
Initial Handling
The middle tubes of the three rackets feel noticeably thin, especially the 5U specification, which is as thin as a pen refill. When weighing in hand, there is a noticeable head-heavy feel. The 3U is overall heavier, with the least pronounced head-heavy feel, while the 5U has the strongest head-heavy feel, making it feel like the racket head is leading the swing. The 4U specification, which is the focus of this test, has a certain head-heavy feel, with an overall moderate weight, feeling relatively light in actual use.
Practical Experience
Precise Control, Hard and Elastic
During the pulling process, the hardness of the middle tube is noticeable, as the addition of alloy carbon fiber and the need to ensure the torsional resistance of the thin middle tube necessitate an increase in hardness. The whip effect of the thin middle tube is also evident, and one can feel the ball being propelled by the middle tube. The 3U, due to the inclusion of Power Ring PRO, has the highest hardness among the three, requiring a certain amount of strength, and it is also the most solid in terms of ball output. The 5U has the most pronounced whip effect, with an overall light feel and strong head-heavy sensation, making it easier to leverage in high and far shots.
The Golden Claw adopts a small flat-headed frame design, inherited from the highly praised Platinum Claw. This design allows the sweet spot to be lower, concentrating the force more effectively. The Golden Claw, due to its combination with a thin middle tube, provides exceptionally clear control feel, allowing for accurate placement of drop shots and small balls. All three specifications exhibit very low latency in small power applications, exaggerating the sensation as if the ball is thrown directly by hand.
Offensive Performance
The Golden Claw, positioned as an offensive racket, focuses on its performance in the offensive sector. The impact of middle tube thickness on smashes is relatively direct. Once accustomed to the sweet spot position, one can feel a strong whip effect, with loud smash sounds, significant downward pressure, and fast ball speeds, making smashes very threatening. In terms of effectiveness, the 3U has the sharpest and heaviest landing, followed by the other specifications.
The explosive properties of the thin middle tube are indeed rapid. As mentioned earlier, the characteristics of the thin middle tube provide very clear feedback. Therefore, under conditions of absolute power and heavy smashes, the feedback felt in the hand is strong, but it does not significantly affect the ball output. The 5U, with the thinnest middle tube, is the most pronounced, making smashes less heavy but more suitable for continuous downward pressure. The 3U’s performance is relatively solid but also the most difficult to handle, with its middle tube hardness being quite high, even reminiscent of the TK-RYUGA METALLIC. The 4U is relatively friendly in terms of handling.
Mid-Front Court and Defensive Performance
The Golden Claw’s directionality is accurate, with clear feedback and comfortable feel in small power applications, resulting in crisp and powerful ball output in flat drives and quick blocks. In doubles, it does not lag. The 3U specification, due to its middle tube and overall weight, requires significantly higher skill and strength levels from the user compared to the 4U and 5U. In contrast, the 4U performs smoothly, while the 5U is lighter and quicker, making it advantageous in flat drives and quick blocks.
In terms of backhand high clears, the explosive properties of the thin middle tube allow for good returns, and the head-heavy feel does not create a burden but rather aids in leveraging. The 4U is more solid in direction, while the 5U is easier to handle, both can easily reach the target. The 3U’s relatively hard middle tube requires the user to exert more force, and the experience in handling low returns is similar to the above.
In backhand transitional shots, due to the small amount of force applied, all three rackets provide clear feedback, with good directionality and a sense of wrapping. Among them, the 3U’s transitional shot is the most solid, the 4U is easy to handle, and the 5U produces quick ball output.
Summary and Purchase Recommendations
The TK-F C Ultra is positioned for offense, with all three specifications exhibiting strong whip sensations, good explosiveness, and clear feedback in small power applications, with precise control points. The more detailed distinctions are that the 3U’s solid middle tube has the highest hardness, requiring significant strength from the user, while the 4U is balanced and comprehensive, catering to offense without losing agility, and the 5U is easy to leverage, light, and fluid. The TK-F C Ultra innovatively introduces refined configuration adjustments across different specifications, and its direction and approach are commendable, holding exploratory value.
In terms of purchase recommendations, the TK-F C Ultra will be a rich choice for offensive players. Its 4U specification is solid and balanced, suitable for a wide range of scenarios. The 3U specification, with its hard middle tube, offers strong explosiveness, making it suitable for singles, while the 5U “Little Hammer” characteristic showcases its light and agile advantages in women’s singles and fast-paced doubles. The TK-F C Ultra, through its refined configurations across three specifications, fully meets the offensive desires of various players.
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This article is reproduced from ZhongyuForum Zhongyu Online Review Room“[Official Review] Zhongyu Review | Three Specifications, New Fantasies VICTOR Golden Claw TK-F C Ultra Experience Review”, all opinions are those of the author, and the product descriptions and comparative terms are not related to our company.
