The TaylorMade AeroBurner irons are not only about speed, but also about forgiveness.
The speed comes from the larger face that is longer than the TaylorMade RSi 2 irons and that enables it to flex more and act more like a wood.
This also makes the face thinner across a wider area and TaylorMade has reinforced the back with a couple of stabilising bars and a badge that is made from steel instead of the usual aluminium.
The main word that comes into your mind when you put the clubs behind the ball is big. Not only are the heads larger, but they have a thick top line and a deep cavity with a large trailing edge.
This trailing edge is well hidden until you get to the 5 iron when it starts to peak out of the back visually at address, which may count against it for some.
That aside, most of the set looks pretty good, although the shorter irons really do look like they have been dodging the salad bar.
As you go down through the set, the offset reduces from 7mm in the 4-iron to 2.5mm in the short irons and this helps the looks throughout.
What does not change is the head size, which remains consistent rather than getting progressively smaller like it does in the RSi 2 irons, which is a good thing in this category of iron.
Like the RSi, the AeroBurner irons come with a SpeedPocket in the sole to maintain ball speed on those low centre strikes from 4 to 7 iron. From 8-iron down there is no pocket as apparently it does not add as much benefit here.
Crucially the feel remains pretty much the same whether there is a slot or not and that makes the set feel more consistent. The feel at impact is solid with a decent level of feedback for such a large cavity back and even minor mis-hits felt like they were coming out of the middle.
Unlike the RSi 2 irons, there are no face slots, which at first glance seems odd given this is pushed as a high forgiveness iron. However the faces are so long you would have to be hitting way off centre to get any benefit from them. It's also a bit of a product/price differentiator as the AeroBurner irons are around £100 cheaper than their face slot siblings.
TaylorMade has paired the AeroBurner with steel and graphite React shafts that are light and have a softer tip to work with the low and deep CG to launch the ball higher.
This is ideal for lower swing speed players and in some of the regular flexes will work well. I tested the AeroBurner iron in a stiff steel shaft and I was pleasantly surprised that the flight was mid to high and broadly similar to the RSi 2 peak height for each iron.
They will go further though, as the lofts are a degree stronger than even the RSi 2 irons. Having a 4-iron at 19° makes a mockery of iron numbering as any iron under 20° in my bag has a 2 on it.
However, that is where we are these days as the numbering is guided by trajectory height and not distance. Anyway iron distance is all about getting a consistent set of yardages from a group of clubs so in theory the numbers are a bit irrelevant anyway.
Having seen a European Tour Pro carry an AeroBurner 4-iron 280 yards, you do wonder where we are going with irons like these, but having large faces with a CT as high as a driver means that distance is controlled as much by length of shaft as anything else.
Anyway, I digress, as the TaylorMade AeroBurner irons do perform and feel very consistent throughout the set and this is what I feel puts them ahead of the more expensive RSi 2 irons if you are a mid to high handicapper.
Compared to other models in this sector, the AeroBurner Irons could offer a little more feel and some form of X factor to make them really stand out. However they are a worthy challenger, look good and offer value for money if you want a quality, forgiving set of irons.