Hey BC-ers, I've been training/playing persistently for some time now, and while I know that the player matters more than his racket, I am also a badminton fan. Recently I've been more active on these forums because I wanted to move on to 'fancier' stuff to cater to that sensationalist, fun, side of the game. Which means that I would love to play with the racket of a player I idolize. The thing is I don't know much about rackets and every time the chance comes up I'll let it pass because I simply do not know whether it suits me. The rackets I normally play with are Yang Yang Fearless Series, the most low end racket among all my peers. Yet when I try their rackets, sometimes it just doesn't feel good. Here are some details but do ask if you need more to offer better recommendations. Shaft: 6.8-7mm, high module 24 tonne graphite, nano carbon (do these matter? I kinda feel the difference between 6.8 and 7mm though, as I have 2 rackets with different thickness.) Tension: 26-28lbs Weight: 85g +/-1 Balance Point (not sure what this means): 285+/-5 Frame: Multi Angle Graphite Frame + Slim Frame + High Tension Spring: 22x22 (?) Flex: High (9.0 I think) Other things: Aero Speed AD (Attack & Defense) (What's this? How is a racket rated for attack or defense?) 76 Holes (Does this matter?) Many thanks!
TBH the most important thing for suggesting a racket for you is your play style and preference... such as Singles, doubles, mix doubles. Front court player, back court player, smasher, control? For example: it would be silly to recommend a ZF2 to you if you play fast paced mens doubles games. Also balance point means where the weight balance is at. Like headheavy, even balance, headlight. (in this case 285mm balance would mostlikely be even balanced) If you like flexible high end rackets I'd recommend Victor rackets. MOST Yonex high end rackets are stiff. An even balanced flexible racket that immediately comes to mind would be the Bravesword 12.
Well, I mostly play doubles, and I tend to be fine at the net but would like more power from the back (I'm mostly a control player). Also I like to play singles when the opportunity arises.
IMO your search is really technology based, which leads to a racket which have fancy materials and design but the most important thing like it performs, feels and works for you is missing. Tell us something about you. How often do you play, since when, how would you rate your level, what is your strenght and what the weakness? Their are alot 7,2 out there which feel gorgeous and their are some rackets with a slim shaft which feels like crap. E.g MX80 vs NRZS I think it's a smarter and easier way if you blindly buy beautiful rackets, if you don't use them or you name us your actually go-to and were it lacks. This is IMO the best way to recommend you great racket. Regardless if it's a 72 or 80 hole racket, etc.
Okay, let me see. I started off with a grassroots coach who emphasized footwork and control. Along the way due to moving states I came under a coach who emphasized speed and athleticism. That made me pick and choose the philosophy of the moment. If I thought I could conserve energy and play a placement game with long rallies, I would. If I thought I could play a fast game where I relied on how early I got to the shuttle to generate pace instead of simply whacking the shuttle, I would. If I thought that trying to kill every shot works, I would too. Although the foundation of my game was not power, rather control, strategy, counter attacks etc, a racket that would aid power play will be something very new and exciting. I do have power in my smashes but I rely on steepness, accuracy, and deception to win a play (mine is one of those crisp and sharp smashes, not monstrous booming smashes). I want to go for something fancier. In other words, being always the 'no nonsense' kind of player, some fancy power play would be fun! I'm not sure how to rate my level properly. In my country usually it's just whether you're a state player, or not. I usually play with 2 kinds of players. The first type are players who have already mastered footwork and the full range of strokes like backhand, drives, pushes, deception. The 2nd type are 'advanced' players who represent the state. I am somewhere in between those 2. In doubles, I have a 9/10 chance of winning against a player with all strokes in their arsenal and a 3/10 chance of winning against a state player. In singles I have a 7/10 chance of winning against that first kind of player and a 1/10 chance against a state player (it also depends which state, but I don't play singles often so I'm definitely weak there). Back in the day I used to play 4+ times a week. But now as I have commitments to study I reduced that to 3-4 a week. When I trained intensively, some of the fun got lost, as there was a lot of emphasis on performance. Which is why I now want to gravitate to the fun and fancier side of badminton.
I just compared reviews of the Bravesword, MX90 and found them to be very good recommnedations. However, I found this review to be particular enticing. http://badminton-coach.co.uk/7051/victor-jetspeed-10-badminton-racket-review/ I think you all are on target on my kind of racket though, as the Yang Yang series I am using have fast frames.
I think for Victor you must go for a MX60 or BS12 or JS Bao to have a midflex shaft. For Yonex I would recommend Arc7, ArciSlash or NR700FX. IMO the I-Slash has nearly als criterias which you are looking for. TBH every review sounds good, but it don't tell you if the racket will suit you. And with all respect, if somebody asks for a racket with a 9.0 on Sotx scale to recommend a JS10 or MXJJS is a really bad suggestion.
So 9.0 counts as high flex, and that's why mid flex is the most you're suggesting for a potential racket right?
yes, but at the same time the op is nearly malaysian state level, so his technique must be good enough to use stiff rackets. Yes, 9 is high flex.
A lot very decent players and even pros don't choose always stiff rackets. IMO this isn't a question of technique, it's a question of the liking and if this racket suits his type of swing. FME their is no rule like: high ranked players ->stiff rackets. Everybody is different and like different things and is used to them. OP's previous choice was a flexible racket.I guess it suited him, so IMO it's the logical step to stay in a close area of racket type than recommending something totally different. Just my 2 cents when it comes to recommendations.
My first rackets were the same and I kept going back to the same supplier. Also while my peers went after fancy shots and rackets, I was always loyal to the philosophy of footwork and control, it's the player not the racket yadayada (whatever the coach said). But the nagging suspicion is that I don't actually know whether I like it because I like it, or because it's the only thing I ever knew. Perhaps I should borrow a stiff racket for a few months to find out.
It's safe, but not the most logical thing to do... see below. What you're asking for at the moment is for something 'different', but we don't know how different to go - you yourself are not sure. The most logical step is to experiment with as many rackets as possible - borrow off your friends if possible (sounds like it is from earlier posts) and give each racket a fair test. Then you can see which you like best and we can suggest alternatives around that. At the moment everybody is really shooting in the dark a bit, hence the massively different suggestions.
Li Ning high end rackets are flexible. The N9 is slightly headheavy and flexible and has a frame that is similar to the bravesword frame. Attacking and defending as well as fast drives should not be a problem. I liked the N9 alot however I was not used to the fast swing speed it offered.
Lots of stuff about racket flexibility has already been discussed here, so I'll put in a different two cents. I've had the privilege of trying out quite a few Yonex rackets, Arc 9, ZF, ZF2, ZS, Voltric 0, NR 700, 750, and 800.. list goes on. I find that the high end Yonex rackets, even with a thin grip and tight string, can lack a lot of feeling. The ZF and ZF2 were the exception to this. After trying the N90 II, I bought my first Li Ning racket. If you have the chance to try the rackets, do so. Personally I find a lot of Yonex rackets unpleasant to use these days. I've not tried a Yang Yang racket, but some of the Yonex rackets might feel strange to you because of this dampened feeling.
