50 Words or Less
The Mitsubishi Kai’li Red shaft gives you explosive feel without a soft tip. Higher launch and spin than the other Kai’li shafts. A speed booster for some players.
Introduction
About a year and a half after the creation of the new Kai’li family, the trilogy that we all knew was coming has been completed. What started with Kai’li White [review HERE] now includes Kai’li Blue and the new Mitsubishi Kai’li Red. With a family focused around more powerful, explosive feel, I was very interested to see how the most active profile would perform.
Looks
The Kai’li family has the most vibrant graphics in the Mitsubishi line, and the Kai’li Red is no exception. While the graphics are ocean-inspired, in red they have a fiery feel. The swooping Kai’li branding is incorporated into the main graphics which are limited to the upper half of the shaft. Near the ball, the only graphic is the small, white “MR-70” icon. Otherwise the shaft is a clean gloss black.
Feel
When it was released, one of the primary selling points of the Kai’li White was the idea that it “felt Blue but performed White.” The Kai’li Blue [review HERE] also had that classic Blue feel – active and powerful, but not out of control. Historically, the Red profile has been the most active, so I was very curious to see how that would come through in the Kai’li family.
My biggest takeaway from testing Kai’li Red is that if I had tested this blind, I don’t think I would have guessed it was a Red profile. It has the characteristics I associate with Red – powerful, easy to activate, explosive – but the tip feels more stable than I would expect. The kick feels like it stops short of the club head, and there’s very limited torque or twist in the tip.
Performance
The powerful feeling of the Mitsubishi Kai’li Red translated to the numbers in the form of outstanding ball speed. I never take a 1.5 smash factor for granted, but I got close because the Kai’li Red was so routinely punishing the golf ball. If you’re looking for a shaft that can give your speed a little boost, this is definitely worth a few swings.
What concerned me heading into this test was the shot pattern. As a player whose most-hated miss is left, I worried that the more active profile wouldn’t work well for me. What I found was that the Kai’li Red produced a small, consistent, controlled pull with my swing. The ball rarely curved left, and when it did it was only a few yards. To me, this speaks to Mitsubishi’s success in blending an active profile with lower torque.
Because most of my shots were starting slightly left, those who only look at the numbers won’t recognize the Kai’li Red as a high-launching, mid-spinning shaft. On numbers alone, I make the Kai’li Red look very similar to the Kai’li Blue. But that’s why you read the whole review. The Red produced the same launch and spin on pulls that the Blue did on straight shots. For players who swing smoother or don’t suffer from pulls and hooks, the Kai’li Red will easily out-launch and spin the other Kai’li shaft. As always, getting fit is the key.
The Mitsubishi Kai’li Red comes in four weight classes – 50, 60, 70, and 80 grams. At 50 grams, you can get R2, regular, and stiff flexes. In the 60 gram variant, Mitsubishi makes regular, stiff, X, and TX. The 70 gram version is offered in stiff, X, and TX. Finally, the 80 gram is only available in TX.
Conclusion
If you like the feel of Mitsubishi’s Red profile but have been scared off by concerns of about the tip, it’s time to try it again. The Mitsubishi Kai’li Red has the explosive feel and higher launch that Red is known for while also offering a stronger, lower torque tip section.
Visit Mitsubishi Chemical HERE
Matt Saternus
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Great review Matt ! I think will need to take a look at this shaft!
I find with active tip shafts i want to try stiffer than normal. Did you find different flexes stiffen up the entire shaft equally or stiffen the tip more so, and did that make it easier or harder to release?
I only tested the 6-X, so I can’t speak to how changing flexes changes the feel or performance.
Best,
Matt