Badminton Raquets
Discussion
hugh_ said:
I play a fair amount. I suppose it depends what sort of raquet you want (head light, long shaft etc.).
Personally I favour Yonex and have got a couple of the Muscle Power (MP) series, namely the MP44 and MP66, both and headlight and I enjoy using both. In general you get what you pay for, though having said that though if you can cope with the slightly strange shape of a Prince then you can get a high end racquet for not much money as they are typically out of favour at the moment.
Ideally I'd see if it's possible to try out some other players racquets on club nights to find out what you like, but if you've just broken yours then that isn't really do-able.
Personally I favour Yonex and have got a couple of the Muscle Power (MP) series, namely the MP44 and MP66, both and headlight and I enjoy using both. In general you get what you pay for, though having said that though if you can cope with the slightly strange shape of a Prince then you can get a high end racquet for not much money as they are typically out of favour at the moment.
Ideally I'd see if it's possible to try out some other players racquets on club nights to find out what you like, but if you've just broken yours then that isn't really do-able.
I have the Carlton C600 Powerblade and its brilliant, so somethin that doesn't flex too much and has high tension strings.
scot-corsa said:
I have the Carlton C600 Powerblade and its brilliant, so somethin that doesn't flex too much and has high tension strings.
A friend until recently has used one of these, he used to swear by it until he broke a couple in fairly quick succession and has since switched to Yonex. He did have it strung to 28lb though so perhaps not entirely surprising.
I had a go with the replacement after he broke the first one before it was restrung and I couldnt get on with it at all. Basically it's personal preference, you've just got to see what you like!
scot-corsa said:
I don't know if there are any players here, but I'll give it a shot anyway. I knackered the strings on my raquet tonight and if its too expensive to replace them I'll get a new one.
I usually get Carlton, but I fancy a change. Any advice?
I usually get Carlton, but I fancy a change. Any advice?
I've been selling badminton rackets for well over thirty five years now and know a little bit about them......
Firstly, irrespective of make, they nearly all come from Tiawan or China, personally I would go for either Yonex or Carlton, but there are lesser known makes such as Talbot, Prince, Head, Grays, all have their good and bad points....
A decent aluminium framed racket can be bought for around £12/£15, Graphite from £25 upwards....anything to over £150.....
Restringing costs around £4 for a couple of broken strings and I charge £15 for a complete restring, so obviously unless it's an expensive racket a complete restring is not really a viable option, you might as well buy a new racket....
HTH......
Wacky Racer said:
scot-corsa said:
I don't know if there are any players here, but I'll give it a shot anyway. I knackered the strings on my raquet tonight and if its too expensive to replace them I'll get a new one.
I usually get Carlton, but I fancy a change. Any advice?
I usually get Carlton, but I fancy a change. Any advice?
I've been selling badminton rackets for well over thirty five years now and know a little bit about them......
Firstly, irrespective of make, they nearly all come from Tiawan or China, personally I would go for either Yonex or Carlton, but there are lesser known makes such as Talbot, Prince, Head, Grays, all have their good and bad points....
A decent aluminium framed racket can be bought for around £12/£15, Graphite from £25 upwards....anything to over £150.....
Restringing costs around £4 for a couple of broken strings and I charge £15 for a complete restring, so obviously unless it's an expensive racket a complete restring is not really a viable option, you might as well buy a new racket....
HTH......
CHeers mate, you might be able to recommend a perfect raquet for me then. I play quite a fast game, can smash quite hard, but i need control close to the net as thats where I'm strongest. What wouls you suggest
I bought a Yonex Muscle Power after using a cheaper ones for a few years. Highly recommend it as the power can be put through the shuttle much more easily.
I can now hit a backhand from between the rear tramlines, which I never had the power to do previously in games.
Doesn't seem to help with the accuracy though, and being randomly crap at times!!
I can now hit a backhand from between the rear tramlines, which I never had the power to do previously in games.
Doesn't seem to help with the accuracy though, and being randomly crap at times!!
scot-corsa said:
CHeers mate, you might be able to recommend a perfect raquet for me then. I play quite a fast game, can smash quite hard, but i need control close to the net as thats where I'm strongest. What would you suggest??
Well firstly I would never recommend buying a raquet over the internet, (Unless you have had the same raquet before and are happy with it), you really need to handle one in a shop....
Obviously in depends on your budget but personally I would spend around £40/£70 on one from the Yonex range, Carlton are excellent too, but really it's all down to personal taste......Just like choosing a set of tungsten darts or a snooker cue, you can't really say this is the best one...........
Wacky Racer said:
scot-corsa said:
CHeers mate, you might be able to recommend a perfect raquet for me then. I play quite a fast game, can smash quite hard, but i need control close to the net as thats where I'm strongest. What would you suggest??
Well firstly I would never recommend buying a raquet over the internet, (Unless you have had the same raquet before and are happy with it), you really need to handle one in a shop....
Obviously in depends on your budget but personally I would spend around £40/£70 on one from the Yonex range, Carlton are excellent too, but really it's all down to personal taste......Just like choosing a set of tungsten darts or a snooker cue, you can't really say this is the best one...........
Cheers mate, I fell i prefer metal raquets to graphite and fibreglass. My raquet is titanium which i like
scot-corsa said:
I don't know if there are any players here, but I'll give it a shot anyway. I knackered the strings on my raquet tonight and if its too expensive to replace them I'll get a new one.
I usually get Carlton, but I fancy a change. Any advice?
I usually get Carlton, but I fancy a change. Any advice?
I assume you are aware you can replace one string.
You can tie back the two broken ends to the previous string then tie the new one back back onto them.
Not a great explanation but if you see it done it's easy. (can be done between matches)
Choice of weapon..... I used Dunlop.....yep sometime ago.
jeff m said:
scot-corsa said:
I don't know if there are any players here, but I'll give it a shot anyway. I knackered the strings on my raquet tonight and if its too expensive to replace them I'll get a new one.
I usually get Carlton, but I fancy a change. Any advice?
I usually get Carlton, but I fancy a change. Any advice?
I assume you are aware you can replace one string.
You can tie back the two broken ends to the previous string then tie the new one back back onto them.
Not a great explanation but if you see it done it's easy. (can be done between matches)
Choice of weapon..... I used Dunlop.....yep sometime ago.
If you've only broken a few strings and you like the racquet then just go for a restring or are you really angling for some new weapons?
If you play a fair amount i really wouldn't replace a couple of strings as this isn't ideal
I used to play at county standard about 10 years ago, I haven't played for ages, then went back a couple of weeks ago to see how I got on. I've always favoured Carlton, but I've had Yonex, Prince and Wilson, and another Kevlar one which I used for years, but can't remember for the life of me what make it was.
Anyway, cut a long story short, get whatever racket you feel suits you best, my Dad (an ex county player too) still plays with a wooden Yonex! He still kicks the ass of most club players locally. He's tried all the new ones throughout his life time but still likes his old Yonex. He looks after it, never seems to put much effort in, and it's lasted him donkeys years!
Anyway, cut a long story short, get whatever racket you feel suits you best, my Dad (an ex county player too) still plays with a wooden Yonex! He still kicks the ass of most club players locally. He's tried all the new ones throughout his life time but still likes his old Yonex. He looks after it, never seems to put much effort in, and it's lasted him donkeys years!
I've been a Carlton fan since I was a nipper and have only bought their racquets over the past 25 years (oh god I feel old)
e-badminton.com used to have a good associated racquet shop (sportsdiscounts.com) or summat. you could buy 2 high-end racquets, strung to your required tension for near enough £100. I've bought my last 4 from them and saved a bundle over high street prices.
FWIW i'm using Carlton Airblade Pro and its damn good when strung at 24 lbs or higher.
HTH
Ben
e-badminton.com used to have a good associated racquet shop (sportsdiscounts.com) or summat. you could buy 2 high-end racquets, strung to your required tension for near enough £100. I've bought my last 4 from them and saved a bundle over high street prices.
FWIW i'm using Carlton Airblade Pro and its damn good when strung at 24 lbs or higher.
HTH
Ben
jerseys2000 said:
when strung at 24 lbs or higher.
That's pretty much near on the limit, I wouldn't personally recommend higher than 24lb. And 25lbs is usually max. (For a decent player, I don't know how much pros use, but probably between 25 and as high as 30???
For an average player 23lbs should be more than ample.
Edited to add, I used to have mine strung at 24lb. The higher you have, the more likely the racket won't last as long, hence my large selection of rackets through the years. Luckily I didn't pay for the majority of them!
Edited by thewave on Friday 20th April 13:34
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