Li Ning Axforce 90 New 5U Deep Dive
I have played less AxForce lately. Three years back, when my main was Astrox 100ZZ, I picked up an AxForce 80. It stunned me — shaft elasticity and crisp-elasti…
Overview
This article focuses on the 5U AxForce 90 New weight class — not the broader AxForce 90 vs 80 vs Yonex 88D Pro comparison. I have played less AxForce lately. Three years back, when my main was Astrox 100ZZ, I picked up an AxForce 80. It stunned me — shaft elasticity and crisp-elastic feel unlike any Li-Ning I had used. In that era it could rival any top Yonex or Victor offensive racket. I sold it for unified feel, but from then on I expected more from Li-Ning. Bladex and Halbertec fit my game better than pure AxForce. Before AxForce 90 New, my favourite Li-Ning was Halbertec 8000 — probably the racket I have recommended most on forums. Many friends still use it. For most amateurs, Halbertec 8000's value beats similar Yonex or Victor options, and overall feel is even better than Halbertec 9000. Li-Ning's R&D feels pragmatic: rackets most people can actually drive. They took detours. AxForce 90 Long, Tiger, and AxForce 100 after the 80 chased ultra-thin shafts like the Astrox 100ZZ, but sales never matched. Astrox 100ZZ's success is not just performance — Yonex brand power, national team pull, champion-racket hype. The brand gap exceeds the product gap. Astrox 100ZZ is not approachable; plenty of amateurs buy it and cannot flex it properly. Still they buy for stars or brand loyalty. Even a Li-Ning racket as good as Astrox 100ZZ would not copy those sales. Better to build hits like AxForce 80 and Halbertec 8000 for most amateurs and grow brand through word of mouth. Some rackets in this review I had not touched for ages. I rebought AxForce 80 before writing and re-tested the others so conclusions match my current feel. Li-Ning stayed pragmatic with AxForce 90 New: shaft diameter 6.2 mm on Long/Tiger down to 6.4 mm, with lower stiffness and swing weight. Entry is friendlier than Long, Tiger, or AxForce 100. Versus similarly accessible AxForce 80 and Halbertec 8000, shaft tuning improved clearly. I would call it Li-Ning's strongest shaft — transparent feel, excellent elasticity, moderate stiffness, good burst, solid floor and high ceiling. Rare for a small head: tolerance is high. First session I adapted easily; few frame hits or sweet-spot misses. Despite a 6.4 mm thin shaft, anti-torque is excellent. Big power, no wobble, placement stays sharp. High-section wind-cut head, narrower frame, full-slot design — 90 New swings very fast and chains offence better than every other offensive racket here. Slightly heavier total weight, same balance — yet 90 New's swing weight is clearly lower. Faster swing, stiffer shaft, crisper feel, better ball speed, direction, stability. Higher-spec carbon and new energy-storage damping help: more elastic frame, better damping, better control. Shaft is a bit stiffer, but lighter swing weight and more elastic shaft and frame did not raise the barrier versus 80. On passive shots you escape better with ball speed; counterattack is more threatening. Rotating both in singles and doubles: singles control advantage is clear — tighter placement, better offensive chains, easier passive escape. In doubles the 80's swing weight feels heavy rotating forward. 90 New still has head weight, but fast shaft rebound makes flat drives and rush-push-kill sharper than 80; back-court chains improve too. For me, 90 New is a full upgrade of 80. I will sell this 80 after testing; I am keeping 90 New. The 80 is more beginner-friendly with stronger head weight — one full smash from head borrow may beat 90 New — but overall performance still lags clearly. I use 8000 occasionally — easy games or unfamiliar partners. Shaft is softer than my usual rackets. Large head, thin fluid box frame, fairly fast swing, balanced everywhere. Most people find it easy. Versus similar Yonex and Victor rackets, value is high: several hundred cheaper than Arcsaber 11 Pro with a smaller performance gap, and 8000 smashes better. Several hundred cheaper than new-colour Astrox 88S Pro with almost full performance disadvantage, but wins on soft, accessible shaft. Same balance as my 90 New, but 90 New feels clearly head-heavier and 1.5 g heavier — swing speed barely trails 8000. Shaft quality differs hugely: 90 New thin and stiff, full of elasticity and burst. Small head gathers power; on sweet spot, ball speed is faster and more aggressive. Receiving shots are threatening. 8000's smash is decent among balance rackets but clearly behind top offensive frames. Defence and passive play: large head and softer shaft make 8000 more comfortable — good for easy games. Front-court flat drives and net kills favour 8000's large head and shorter effective shaft. For men in singles or mixed, 90 New maximises strengths. For men's doubles with lots of front-court work, 8000's large head and relatively lower balance are more comfortable at net. 90 New's small head, high balance, and long shaft hurt in fast net battles. Pure back-court smash threat may trail old-colour 88D Pro and Astrox 100ZZ, but across dimensions it is a true all-rounder. Yonex's strongest shaft, clear feedback, transparent feel, excellent elasticity and direction, relatively low swing weight for an offensive frame. Strong chains plus serious back-court attack. Ceiling is very high — matched to the player, singles or doubles rear, it is near perfect. In my ranking it sits above Astrox 100ZZ and old-colour 88D Pro. Downside: stiff shaft with real power demand. Average generators may find it heavy and hard to flex. 90 New's shaft is clearly one grade softer. Ball speed, power feedback, direction, and absolute back-court threat trail slightly — though 90 New is already excellent among offensive rackets. 88D Pro is elite in those areas. If 88D Pro feels hard to use, 90 New is a strong substitute: balanced, just less extreme. 90 New's frame wraps the shuttle more; drops and delicate control beat 88D Pro. 88D Pro is a touch too fast-crisp with weak wrap and less soft control. I have played Auraspeed 90K Metallic with alloy frame and Auraspeed Hypersonic with WES 3.0. Alloy on 90K M improves attack and placement precision — harder frame, more direct transfer, clearer feedback, faster and more precise ball. Good for attack, but alloy did not add elasticity; it adds swing weight. Passive returns feel harder than non-alloy 90K. As wind-cut speed rackets with similar shaft stiffness, Hypersonic without alloy but with WES 3.0 feels crisper — same effort, easier output. WES 3.0 helps performance more than alloy carbon fibre in my experience. TTY Ultima also carries heavy swing weight — clear head weight versus my usual speed rackets, slightly slower swing. Shaft is not as stiff as Hypersonic, so deflection is easier. High balance makes full smashes slightly better than Hypersonic with sharper placement. More stable frame: stability and drop placement beat Hypersonic — better for singles or mixed. In fast doubles, front flat drives, quick rush-push-kill, and back-court chains feel slightly sluggish versus Hypersonic. TTY Ultima suits singles drop-and-attack to maximise control and back-court power. Versus 90 New from the same period: 90 New's shaft is stiffer, but TTY Ultima's alloy frame raises ball speed and precision — feedback clarity and direction are not clearly behind 90 New. Heavier swing weight keeps back-court attack threatening. But 90 New's faster swing and more elastic shaft win on chains and passive handling. TTY Ultima shares Hypersonic's egg head. I have played Hypersonic long — satisfied overall, hard to fully adapt to the sweet spot; more frame misses than other small-head rackets. TTY Ultima is the same. With 90 New I need almost no break-in; sweet spot is easy even in fast men's doubles. After several games with TTY Ultima I still miss sometimes. Under extreme conditions, 90 New's larger sweet spot has clearly higher tolerance. Both control well — precise and stable. 90 New wraps the shuttle more; control is smoother. Victor's new alloy carbon fibre rackets feel less crisp-elastic than older Victor speed frames. Borrowing power is weaker. My three favourite Victor rackets — Arcsaber 100X SE, Black Falcon SE, Hypersonic — are crisp-elastic. I love Victor because speed rackets hit cleanly and add extra help on top of your active power. That was a Victor speed-racket signature. Last year's launches from the other two brands — new-colour 88D Pro, Nanoflare 700 Pro, Bladex 9000 New, AxForce 90 New — all became crisper and easier to borrow versus their predecessors, converging toward old Victor speed style, while Victor's own new rackets weaken that signature. Alloy carbon fibre hardens the frame and improves feedback to boost attack, but weakens original borrowing power and raises the power threshold. Making attack more extreme versus making more amateurs feel comfortable are opposing R&D directions. Neither is clearly better. For me I kept every Yonex and Li-Ning racket reviewed last year and enjoy playing them. I kept none of the Victor new rackets, including 5.8 mm shaft 100X Ultra — sold after a few hits. I was a Victor loyalist and 100X diehard. After years of Victor, the new feel is strangely unfamiliar.
vs AxForce 80
My 4U 90 New: 89.5 g strung, cap removed, overgrip, balance 304 mm, 26–28 lb N65. My 4U 80: 89.2 g, balance 304 mm, 26–28 lb BG80.
vs Halbertec 8000
Only large-head balance racket in the review. My 4U 8000: 88 g strung, balance 304 mm, 26–28 lb BG80.
vs new-colour Astrox 88D Pro
My 4U new-colour 88D Pro: 89.2 g strung, balance 304 mm, 26–28 lb Z61. In my view the most capable offensive racket of 2024.
vs TTY Ultima
My TTY Ultima: 89.1 g strung, balance 310 mm, 26–28 lb AB. Victor's only racket combining alloy carbon fibre frame and WES 3.0 shaft.