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Victor Thruster Ryuga Metallic review: black-dragon smash ceiling

Victor Thruster Ryuga Metallic (TK-Ryuga Metallic) is the family’s extreme smash outlier. Lee Zii Jia’s association belongs here — not on Ryuga II Pro. After Ry…

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Jump to section (5)
  1. Overview
  2. My 4U G5
  3. On court
  4. Who should buy
  5. Verdict

Overview

Victor Thruster Ryuga Metallic (TK-Ryuga Metallic) is the family’s extreme smash outlier. Lee Zii Jia’s association belongs here — not on Ryuga II Pro. After Ryuga II’s more balanced brief disappointed attack purists, Metallic is Victor pushing the original Ryuga violence further with metallic-carbon frame layup, the hardest shaft in the line, and a short wood handle instead of Free Core.

My 4U G5

- Built weight about 93 g with butt; on-court balance about 306–307 mm - Shaft 6.8 mm, length about 218 mm exposed with short ~202 mm handle — more whip room than the long Free Core sticks - Hardness at the top of the family (sources mark Metallic ~9 vs ~7 on gen 1 / II) - Tri-composite box frame with metallic carbon in the hoop, 76 holes, 9–3 grooves, warranty around 31 lb; I ran VBS-63 at 26–28 lb - Cosmetics: black base, deep red accents, asymmetric dragon language, raised METALLIC mark at the shaft crown — same metal-carbon story as DriveX 10 Metallic, now in the hoop

On court

First impression after a DriveX 10 Metallic stint: higher swing weight, slower to start the head, hard to brake late. Frame barely lags the handle — deformation is tiny — so the stick feels like one rigid bar until you load a full smash. Head mass makes shaft bend accessible once you commit; light force on an open lift still presses like a heavy clear. Rear-court kill is the point. Inject burst and the metallic hoop returns crisper than gen 1 — torsion hold and energy conversion are absurdly high for a club frame. Clears and long diagonals stay pointable once you adapt; this is not a wild hammer that only sprays. Soft net work is usable but not flea-weight agile — weight helps unload on blocks, hurts on rushed flicks. Mid-court flats and continuous drive wars are the tax. Small-space acceleration fights the swing weight; panic defence is on you. Singles: adrenaline when you find the kill ball, dead weight when footwork is late. Doubles: fine as a rear-court cannon if your partner owns the net; miserable if you are the one digging and flat-fighting. Wood handle choice matters. Free Core would damp the hit; Metallic wants the smash force felt in the hand. Feedback is direct without turning into useless buzz — clearer than soft Free Core frames, less filtered than II Pro’s Power Ring Pro setup.

Who should buy

Buy Metallic if you already drive stiff head-heavy Thrusters and want the family ceiling smash with Lee Zii Jia’s black-dragon brief. Skip if you need Free Core comfort, live on doubles flats, or still struggle to finish gen 1 / II Pro cleanly — step down before you step “black.” Do not confuse with Ryuga II Pro (Naraoka / Free Core / Power Ring Pro) or original Thruster Ryuga gen 1.

Verdict

Metallic is a power amplifier: it multiplies clean mechanics and punishes wishful aggression. Highest smash ceiling in the Ryuga line I have used — also the least forgiving continuous tool.

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