Yonex Voltric Z-Force LTD (2012) review: the 'Purple-Gold' grail, fourteen years on
The 2012 London Olympics limited Voltric Z-Force LTD is a Lee Chong Wei-era attack icon. The 4U version (about 88g) is a surprisingly all-court frame, if you can load its brutally stiff shaft.
Disclosure: Some outbound retailer links may be affiliate links. They never change editorial order or fit scores. Affiliate policy
Jump to section (5)
The racket that defined violent attack
Yonex built the Voltric Z-Force LTD as a 2012 London Olympics limited edition, and it became shorthand for top-end smashing in its era as Lee Chong Wei's weapon at his peak. The purple-gold-white gradient is widely regarded as one of Yonex's finest limited finishes, complete with the 2012 Limited marking and laser Z lettering. As with the other grails in this batch, I treats it as a heritage evaluation rather than a live recommendation: it is discontinued, trades second hand at inflated prices, and the paint is notoriously delicate. Buy on condition and provenance, not on the legend alone.
The 4U surprise
The popular image of this racket is a 3U single-handed cannon for specialists only. I's 4U/G4 example reframes that: fully set up it weighed about 88 grams, in line with a modern 4U attacker, and that lighter head turns it into a genuine all-court frame rather than a one-dimensional bludgeon. It keeps the brutal attacking ceiling while adding enough manoeuvrability for continuous play and flat drives that you would not expect from the Voltric name. For a buyer, the practical message is that the 4U is the more usable version for doubles and mixed all-court games, where the 3U asks for more strength than most amateurs can sustain.
Smash: weight and continuity together
Smashing is the whole point, and I breaks the appeal into three parts. Heavy smashes do not have the absolute one-hit demolition of the 3U, but land with concentrated, accurate weight that floors most amateur opponents. The underrated trait is the soft press: with the well-judged head weight you can lean on a steep half-court push without full effort, and chain those together relentlessly. Point smashes are fast with awkward placement, especially on a crisp string. Crucially, recovery after a smash is quick rather than laggy, and the frame does not punish a long, high-intensity session with arm fatigue, so you can hold attacking pressure across a full match.
Clears, net and the honest deal-breaker
The pleasant shock is the clears: I rates them among the most effortless of any racket played, thanks to the shaft elasticity and head weight, with passive rear-court returns rescued on frame momentum alone. Drops and net work are better than the small old-frame reputation suggests, with clear feedback and a slightly larger sweet spot than the VTZF2. But the deal-breaker is real and unsolvable: the shaft is in Yonex's stiffest historic tier, in the class of the 100ZZ and Astrox 99, with almost no flex. If your power is not concentrated and whip-timed, it transmits nothing to the shuttle, jars the hand, and risks wrist and shoulder strain. The 4U does not lower that threshold; it only lowers swing weight.
Buy advice
This is a love-and-hate racket: the violence, speed, looks and unique feedback on one side, the punishing threshold and fragile finish on the other. For the player who can drive it, the attacking payoff is hard to replace, and that is the honest case for owning one. For everyone else, a modern stiff attacker such as an Astrox 99 Pro delivers a similar ceiling with current support and a warranty, without the second-hand premium or the eggshell paint. If the heritage is what you want, target the 4U, insist on proof of authenticity, and accept that you are buying a piece of history as much as a match tool.
Was this article helpful?
Your vote helps us prioritize the next editorial sweep.
More reading
Yonex NanoSpeed 9900 LTG (Green Sword) review: the rarest 2011 grail still plays
The 2011 London Worlds limited Green Sword is the rarer half of the NS9900 LTD pair: a 3U frame that handles like 3.5U, with a firmer shaft and the line's signature fast, forgiving drive game.
3 min read
Yonex Power Cushion Comfort Z3: cushion-first match shoe
I switched to Power Cushion Comfort Z3 after Aerus Z2 and kept it as a match shoe because the trade-off finally made sense: more weight on the scale, less punis…
1 min read
Yonex Aerosensa 50 shuttle: premium flight half a step beyond AS-40
You know whether a shuttle is good within two hits. Is the flight straight? Does contact feel hollow? Does it wobble on flat drives? Experienced players clock …
2 min read