VA Composites has been making premium graphite shafts since 2017 and the company’s shafts been played on professional tours as well and can be found in many amateur bags. Victor Afable has been designing shafts for a long time and brought all of that knowledge to VA when he started it. The original Raijin came out six years ago and has been one of the most popular models in the lineup.

The Raijin 2.0 is a new shaft with plenty of updates, but keeps the original Raijin DNA intact. The profile on the 2.0 stays the same as the original with a firm handle section and stiff mid and tip. The torque rating is slightly lower on the new 2.0 and they are both mid-high launching shafts. Graphics have always been something that VA has knocked out of park and the matte finish on the Raijin 2.0 is pretty cool to look at.

I was hitting the 2.0 in my Titleist TSR2 driver and was really impressed with the shaft. I think it feels a touch more stout than the original but keeps the expected smooth feel. The launch was a touch lower and had a flatter flight than the original Raijin and I would slate it as a mid/high launch for me. In the TSR2 I had an average launch of 12.4 degrees, and that was very close to the shaft I have been gaming. The flight was pretty flat and boring with no rise to the shots, even if they were a small fade.

The Raijin 2.0 has a great kick at impact and is easy to square up without having to worry about hitting a big hook. Shots missed off the toe and heel stayed online really well and had very little curve to them. I could easily see that shots struck low heel tended to go right, but without that fade curve to them.

The hybrid Raijin 2.0 was very similar in the Tour Edge Exotics C722 head. The ball was easy to launch off the deck and provided a very straight ball. Even shots struck low on the face, my miss with hybrid, the ball was still able to get in the air a good amount and add some carry. Well struck shots flew high and landed very soft. Using it off the tee was great but I didn’t get much roll, if any, off the fairway. Again the Raijin 2.0 offered very good stability on miss hits and kept the ball online consistently. The shaft was easy to square up at impact but didn’t add any left bias to the hybrid.

Overall I was really impressed with the new VA Composites Raijin 2.0 and think it is a solid upgrade. Victor and his team didn’t take anything away from the original profile and gave us a little tighter and lower launching version. Check out vashafts.com for more info on the Raijin 2.0.

To hear the full review on the Raijin 2.0 driver and hybrid shaft check the podcast links below or search GolfWRX Radio on your preferred podcast app.