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| Friends pix of the Yonex Carbonex 8 |
The Carbonex 8 was popular as it was lighter than racquets of the era as Yonex introduced an aluminum frame instead of the then traditional steel or wood. Feels like a proper broomstick when you compared it against today's modern equivalents!
In the late 1980's, I was living in NZ and played inter-club during the winter. When temperatures dip below 10-degree Celcius, you would often notice quite a few players wielding a broken Carbonex 8. This is because aluminum is a soft and brittle metal. After a racquet has been strung, it's alike an empty soft drink can. You can put your foot on it and press hard - the can will retain it's shape. The moment you poke or tap it with a little force, that empty soft drink would collapse if still under pressure. Thus any mishits on the frame or racquet clashes on a cold winter night would deprive you of your old favourite...
Here's some good news for the fans of the Carbonex 8 - Yonex introduced re-issues but these are made in Taiwan, not Japan as per the original. I bought a few of the reissues for an Australian friend who was a die-hard fan of the Carbonex 8. His spouse was extremely surprised I was still able to obtain new Carbonex 8 racquets for her man!
..... still feels like a broomstick though (since I was never a fan of the Carbonex 8)!
