Hi all, Just ordered 2 tubes of medium speed Bird2 to try out. We are used to playing with Mavis 2000 and sometimes feather shuttles. The trajectory of these Bird2 shuttles was closer to feather than Mavis 2000. Durability was the same as Mavis 2000: the skirt broke between 1h30 and 2h of play. Visibility is much better with the dual coloring. The main disappointment though was the speed consistency of the shuttles. From the same tube: 1st on was way too slow, 2nd and 3rd were ok but the 4th one was way too fast. The speed of the remaining two is unknown as they did not leave the tube. Flixor
For twice the price of a plastic shuttle, I tend to find these disappointing. They are much faster than most plastic shuttles and have an even flatter trajectory. Makes the transition between feather and these even worse than with plastic. The durability didn't seem to be better than Mavis 350. Although I haven't gone through it, the plastic as well as the seam between both materials started breaking after 15-20 minutes of hitting various shots. It's worth noting that even with this damage, the shuttle flight was relatively unaffected because the base of the skirt does not deform easily.
I play with a group of over 60’s ex-league players. We all miss hit/miss time shots now and again and all have varying degrees of hitting power, which effects the durability of any shuttle but our experience is the Bird 2 will easily out last a feather shuttle, whilst retaining the characteristics of a feather – positive feel and control. We find most other plastics are to slow and require hard hitting from mid to rear court when height and/or depth is required. Not so with the Bird 2, like feathers a more controlled shot is needed, which helps maintain technique and skill levels, and is far easier on the shoulder and elbow! Expensive maybe - but why spend pounds on rackets and shoes, only to then skimp on shuttles. Shuttles do break and vary marginally in speed but overall the Bird 2 fulfils our requirements and is very much our preferred alternative to feathers and other plastic shuttles.
