Hello, I'm a beginner badminton player, I'm more of a defensive player, my smashes tend to go up and high (a technique issue i'm working on), but I need a racquet, as right now I'm borrowing one. I know I want one that is very light as my wrist gets hurt and I'm choking up on the racquet a lot, maybe in the 4u territory? Does anybody know one I can get in Canada? I'm willing to go up to around 100 dollars. Help? THank you kindly. On a side note, I went to my local sport mart to try a few out, the carbonex 8600 ti seemed ok, though a bit heavy to swing... if this helps.
For light racquets, not only Yonex has them. Have you tried Wilson and Babolat? I heard they are pretty light too.
Well, I guess not, Yonex to me is just a "sexy" brand, if you can recommend something for me in another brand, well I'm game. What were you thinking?
Yonex AT900P, string it at 27lbs w/BG-66. Some people say it's head heavy, but personally I find it pretty light myself. If 3U is too heavy for you, go for 4U!
If you insist on Yonex, you can look into their Nanospeed series. Nanospeed rackets are noted to be lighter on the head-side, which is good for players who are not so strong on the wrist. When your wrist grows stronger, the Nanospeed racket will "grow" with your wrist strength as you can swing faster to generate faster racket speed, and thus' power.
I think, even though you want it to be 4U, if it was a headlight 2U, you probably couldn't tell the difference because of the fact: you just started. I suggest you just get a cheap racket. Heavy, but not too. Maybe 2-3U sounds nice. It'll work on your strength while you can use it to train without messing your wallet up. If you continue to get better and find you really like badminton, save money up and buy a good quality racket. When I was 8, I played with a 2U racket, and used the same one up until I was 11. After changing into a better racket, I think it was a AT700, I owned the [profane] out of everyone my age level due to my strength I was unintentionally building up. Believe me, training with a heavy racket helps.
Thanks! This is sorta a question within a question, but at a store, how to you test out a racquet? They usually have the cardboard thing on the strings so you don't really get a real feel for the racquet?
Haha, yeah. It seemed like a question for you to answer yourself though, but, I think you can ask the behind-the-desk people to let you try out a few rackets. They'll probably get you the ones you want and give you a try. Feel the balance or perhaps at the club you attend, you can borrow other people's rackets just to get a feel. This will probably determine what kind of racket you want being head-light, even-balanced, or head-heavy. This makes picking out a racket a lot easier and you can generally just get the head-light racket (or whatever you really want). At your level, spending too much doesn't really seem reasonable, if you understand where I'm coming from.
Hi Linty, Perhaps I can help as I was also looking for a racquet not too long ago, and I am quite the geek so I tend to read up on racquets for fun. In general for racquets, you should stick to the middle ground of everything, until you are good and clear enough for you to know what you want out of your racquet to compliment your game and style. Hence with that in mind, look for the following properties: - 3U - medium stiffness - normal shaft length - even balanced - cheap; but don't sacrifice quality for price From the Yonex current range, you could perhaps have a look at the following models: - Muscle Power 19LT, 21 or 22LT - Nano Speed 200 or 300 - Isometric 75 MF LT If you want to further information, you should look up Yonex's website for the details of the racquet and its characteristics to make an informed decision. I would stay away from the other series as they appear, and probably are, for advanced players. Next thing is to get it stringed at the proper tension. Justin
Well, I give you that. justinwyyau has the racket names too! I was just giving you ideas. If you want to find out what type of racket you would like in the future, start with an even balance. Always nice, but try a 2U to train yourself. However, if you don't want to. I believe the MP29LT (either version, there's 2) would be better than the 19, 21 and 22. I suggest you say away from the headlight NS series while the Isometric series is good for starting. I would say it leans to the head heavy side of the even-balance section, but it'll do you good. Tell us what you pick!
As a add-on to Justin's Beginner's Badminton Constant, make sure you don't string over 23 lbs because it would hurt your arm if you are still learning the basic techniques and strokes.
Thanks for all the help, the Iso 75 mf lt looks interesting, is it the same as this one? http://www.sportchek.ca/sportchek/do/style?menuId=67&styleId=21564 Iso 75 VFS?
No, their balance, weight and almost all specs are different but generally have the same idea in a racket. They're for starting out.
mm... this is getting... confusing quickly, stats, specs galore. Would it be dangerous to go into a store, grab a few and pick one that "feels right"?
Okay... Umm....Sportchek is quite expensive to buy a racquet from because their price is unreasonable. But, you can go to their store and see the racquet for yourself.
yah, it is indeed expensive, i'm sorta afraid to buy on ebay because i'm not experienced enough to know fake from real, i've been cruising the wtb/wts section here though so yah
Hi Linty, I would advise you to spend some time at the shops to look and have a feel of the racquet as well. That should and will give you the best indication if it feels right for you. Justin
where you locate in canada? if you are in toronto i would recommend go to lee's badminton store. www.leesbadminton.ca
If you are a beginner, The isometric series should be very good for you as they are quite durable and very ''user friendly''. I consider myself as an intermediate player and I had tried a few ''high end'' rackets, but I decided to stick with my isometric 65 mf light as I really liked how it felt. Unfortunatly, it broke recently so I had to buy another racket. I decided to go with the Nanospeed 7700 as it's price had dropped alot (I payed 195 CDN$, taxes and NBG-95 string included, which I consider good for a Yonex). I can't really give you a review about it because I have only played with it for about 2 hours, but my first feeling with this racket was that it was very good and ''user friendly''. But if you have a low budget, the isometric series is a very good choice IMO.
