These are the Victor A970 NitroLite badminton shoes which are worn by some of Victor’s biggest stars such as Lee Zii Jia and Anders Antonsen. After testing the shoes for almost 4 months (as of June 2024) myself, it's time to let you know why I think this is going to go up against some of the best badminton shoes out there in the market today, such as the Yonex Power Cushion 65 (UK here).
I don’t release shoe reviews or comparisons very often because I like to take my time to test them and find out all the little details before sharing them with everyone and there were certainly a few little surprises with this A970.
So Victor launched the current generation A970 very late in 2023 and have really pushed with the promotion of the NitroLite midsole that’s on the shoe. Personally for me, it’s been a while since I’ve worn Victor badminton shoes but I am not new to the brand itself as I had quite a few pairs of Victor badminton shoes previously. The last ones I had were the SH-9000 in both the red and green about 10 years ago!
Review of Appearance & Materials Of Victor A970 NitroLite Badminton Shoes
I remember the SH-9000 were very durable and hard-wearing but was slightly stiff, but still a very good shoe! And remembering that, I wasn’t sure what to expect with the A970 but as soon as I opened the box, I loved the pearlescent sections of the shoe a lot but I did think it felt quite chunky.
The heel section of the shoe, which is where the NitroLite material was present was fairly thick which gave the impression that this will be a well-cushioned and well-supported shoe. Printing on the A970 itself stated it was an ‘all-around’ shoe, putting it in direct comparison with something like the Yonex Power Cushion 65, which is a well-proven, ultra-popular shoe with both professionals and amateurs alike.
Besides the NitroLite infused midsole with E-TPU Heel cushion pad that looked shiny, the A970 also had a super shiny LS-S plate moulded on the outside of the A970 which Victor states is to improve lateral stability when moving around. The outsole of the A970 also shows a carbon plate around the footarch area which should again help with stability as we move around. However, I don’t see any ventilation holes on the bottom like some of the other higher-end badminton shoes on the market but the upper of the A970 does have ventilation holes.
The insoles of the A970 felt pretty nice and the orange sections on the back were super grippy with a soft touch feel so that’s a thumbs up from me. The insoles also had ventilation holes on them and the upper section had little waves which were similar to some of Yonex’s badminton shoe insoles. In comparison to Yonex Power Cushion 65’s insoles, the Victor A970’s insoles felt slightly thicker and softer than Yonex’s. The orange underside was also more grippy than Yonex’s insoles.
Looking upwards, the top sections of the A970’s were treated with some synthetic leather which should help with some added durability, especially when badminton movements involve so many lunges when on the court. I then spotted the super unique heel protection tab that’s on the back of the shoe to support the achilles. It felt like the headrest in a car and having not seen many badminton shoes having that extra little tab, it felt pretty funny just by looking at it!
Overall, if you’re someone who’s OK with a slightly chunkier-looking shoe, I think you’ll like this one as the look continues to grow on me the more I look at it. I do like the pearlescent NitroLite midsole and I think it looks great. The shoe also comes in 2 colours and the white version is worn by Anders Antonsen.
Weight Measurements Of Victor A970 NitroLite Badminton Shoes
In terms of weight, the A970 weighs in at 732g per pair in my size of 280mm whilst the Yonex Power Cushion 65 came in at 667g per pair and the C-90 variant of the Power Cushion 65 coming in at 648g per pair. The difference in weight compared to the 65 is noticeable when you pick them up side by side, especially the C-90 variant. But as the A970 was taller and bigger, I guess it needed a little bit more material to fully build out the shoe.
The closest shoes from Yonex in terms of weight are the Yonex Power Cushion Eclipsion Z (review here) at 731g per pair and the Yonex Power Cushion Comfort Z (review here) at 740g per pair. All in the same sizes. The Eclipsions and Comforts are Yonex’s offering for more cushioning and comfort type of badminton shoes so maybe the A970 should have been classified as a cushioning type of shoe.
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Playing Feel & Performance Of Victor A970 NitroLite Badminton Shoes
Despite my initial impressions of it being a chunky shoe, when I put it on for the first time, it did feel slightly taller than Yonex’s Power Cushion 65, but you don't feel it being clunky at all. In fact, the fit was comfortable and you’re able to adjust the laces to ensure how snugly you want your foot to be wrapped up.
I do have to add that when I wore it to training for my first session and didn't lace up the fronts as tightly as I should of, I felt my toes going a bit raw from the intense movement inside the shoe as they were rubbing around. But once I had tightened up the front of the shoe, everything was alright.
As soon as you are moving around the court, the weight difference compared to the Yonex Power Cushion 65 was negligible as I felt I had a lot of support and moved around well. Also surprisingly, I didn't feel discomfort from the heel protection tab and it was very comfortable. I was assuming it was going to be a bulge pressing up against my achilles but nope, it was super comfortable and nothing catching or rubbing against my achilles or heel section at all.
One little thing about the heel protection tab was my socks were stained blue from moving around in the A970. It didn't look like the heel protection tab or the supports surrounding the ankle was made out of blue materials but blue was stained onto my socks. I’m generally on court for 2 hours a session and it was only after 8 hours of wear, on my 4th session that it stabilised before I stopped seeing the stains around my achilles area.
Because this is a long-term review, I can also report to say the blue stains didn’t come off my socks after they went in the wash. Because of this, I now have a few pairs of white badminton socks with a slight blue tinge around the heel section. So if you’re concerned about this, don't wear white socks whilst your A970s are still pretty fresh!
However, I am happy to report back that I didn't have any soreness from the A970 from the very first session I had them on as well as any subsequent sessions. The outsole of the A970 was also grippy and even though I’m a big fan of Yonex’s Radial Blade designs, the A970’s outsole kept up well and was very grippy on all the surfaces that I’ve tested it on and the outsole rubber compound was also as soft as the ones present on the Yonex Power Cushion 65s. The insoles were also grippy and cushy for me so it was all pretty good.
Overall, I’m very impressed with the A970 if I’m honest and it’s a really well-cushioned and padded badminton shoe and it looks like it’ll also be fairly durable. If we do a quick fire comparison to Yonex’s Power Cushion 65, I would say that the A970 had more padding and cushioning compared to the 65s as well as being slightly taller off the ground. In terms of grip, I think they’re both evenly matched. Weight-wise, obviously the A970 loses out as it's heavier but it does have more padding and cushioning.
If you’re someone who likes the Yonex Power Cushion 65s or even the Yonex Eclipsions, I think you’ll like this one too. It’s good to have competition between brands and I think Victor has done well with this one. Looking forward to seeing how they’ll improve future versions of this shoe. Let me know what you think if you have tried the shoe, and 'til then, I’ll see you in the next one!