Looking at all my broken plastic shuttles, I wonder why I haven't heard of any that are reinforced somehow (e.g. with carbon fibre). Do these exist, or are all shuttles made of roughly the same plastic material? Aleik.
I think various companies are doing research to manufacture better nylon shuttles, such as Ashway and some chinese manufacture(s).
hehe - not enough money in the market.. plus if you spent too much on development and manufacture the cost would escalate to that of feather shuttle - thus defeating the object. the difficulty in making a synthetic version from a more durable material is copying the flight characteristics - even the most advance super computers we have today can only guess at the turbulence patterns caused by different materials - hence sythetic shuttle design will remain a tried and tested method... also - not that many people play with plastics anyway - bad karma or something
even if the "indestructible" shuttle was created...who says its theft proof. If it was indestructible it would have to cost like 50 dollars but then again it still has to be playable...if you reinforce the nylon shuttles, it'll be heavier and faster/slower and i doubt ANY organization in the world would allow this shuttle for tournament play rendering it useless unless you get pissed and wana take whacks at a bird? =/
doing research and selling some is one thing but having market acceptance is another. Prince, black knight, ashway, carlton, wilson, hi qua, blah blah blah plastic shuttles i have tried them all already. The point is, one model, mavis 300, still out sell them all, several times over.
yes, the feather shuttles have to rise significantly before more people demanding plastic, especially in asia.
true but do we HAVE to duplicate EXACTLY the flight characteristic of feather shuttles. Given the number of speed and brands and bending of feather vanes, flight profiles of feather shuttles are so inconsistent IMO. take any popular sports that badminton wish to be similarly successful: golf: golf balls have changed several times since the first home made ball. Today golf balls have little characteristic of the original ball. Same goes for tennis, basketball, baseball, etc They all have been modified and changed to suit today's majority users. Badminton rackets have changed, string has changed, why can't it be the shuttle too?
I agree with the theft thing, but a club would only need four of them, so they would be counted at the end of the night. If it were woven with carbon fibre, it would be heavier, but maybe to take some plastic away wouldn't be a bad idea? I'd be prepared to pay about £15 for an indestructible shuttle! Aleik.
Damn I forgot about this post I was too busy with work to reply. Anyway there's no such thing as an indestructable shuttle. However if we measure it's life time in terms of DSLs, defined at Decent shuttle lives, ie the average amount of time a decent shuttle will still in in playable condition when used by players who don't hit the feathers much most clubs would pay whatever that amount of shuttle lives is, AS LONG AS IT PERFORMS THE SAME AS A COMPETITION LEGAL FEATHER SHUTTLE. If not then no one will bother (except for those clubs that use those yucky nylon shuttles *shudders*).
I'd like to see money put in R&D. But maybe there isn't a solution to this. What might be good is to make sure our strings don't do anything damaging to the plastic shuttle. Such as ripping the skirt. Also..mishits can easily cause the cork to break off. If you think about it..plastic birds last long enough. If you don't abuse them
nylons...? it's like playing with nighties strickly feather for us here in the philippines... dirt cheap over here too.
Dun flame me pls... but IMHO nothing plastic can replicate the feel, the sound and the flight of a feather shuttlecock..
even though there is no "exact", the synthetic shuttle should have character within the same mean and variance as the feather counterparts. i believe the current production of plastic shuttles are not similar to the feathers. not at the expense of the game. i am sure the standard for golf and whatever are changed for the better quality of the game. i can tell you most ppl who have played extensively with both plastic and feather will prefer feathers. i say most as i am sure there are some exceptions...
yup. quite agree. unless the material scientists invents a new material, i don't see any current material that can have the same characteristics as feathers and be indestructable. there is always trade off between stiffness, weight and durability. feather shuttle excels in the stiffness (crispiness) and weight (light), but have to compromise on the durability. plastic birdies is good on the weight and durability, but lacking in the crisp feel of feathers.
Actually I could probably (not sure) live without the feel if they had the same spin characteristics as a feather shuttle. The way I play means that plastic shuttles take the edge off a lot of a my favourite sliced shots.
yes, i do agree wif your post, that changes should be made for the better (cost and playability). So far plastic had only dealt the cost issue, not the playability aspect of it.
