Li Ning No. 1 String - Anyone using it?

Discussion in 'Badminton String' started by Charlie-SWUK, Aug 20, 2015.

  1. markiewan

    markiewan Regular Member

    Joined:
    Nov 12, 2008
    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Hey guys, through reading most of the posts on this thread I bought my self a reel of li Ning no. 1.
    I have it strung currently on my 88s at 27lbs. For some reason it just feels like an absolute wooden plank, i have very little confidence in my backhand clears now and my lifts and smashes are just not going where I place them. Am I missing the sweet spot or something? Is this a matter of breaking the string in?
    I find it a bit hard to want to play for hours with a poor experience just to break a string in.
    Just for reference, I am an intermediate to advanced played who used to play at state level. The strings I have found most joy with currently is 65ti at 30lbs. I strangely enjoy the 65ti far more than the beloved bg 80 and other popular strings. The li Ning number 1 just feels 100x more unforgiving than any other string I’ve tested. I’ve tried at 28 lbs on an ax88d, 28 and 27 on a NF 700. But it’s been a similar story for all of this.
    My stringer uses the haribito pattern
    I really want to like this string (mostly because I bought a whole reel of it)
    Any thoughts are welcome
     
  2. ucantseeme

    ucantseeme Regular Member

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2010
    Messages:
    5,052
    Likes Received:
    2,401
    Occupation:
    Z-Force II
    Location:
    Z-ForceII
    Normally I need to string it, rest it 3 days, play or train 2-3 hours an then it feels perfect and stay pretty constant for weeks. Never played a string I got so much court time out like No.1. And I played everything from Yonex and other brands.

    My first thought was that you strung it too high for you. 30 with BG65 Ti, which loose instantly tension when it comes of the machine, I would recommend to start with No.1 at 25lbs.
     
    markiewan and s_mair like this.
  3. s_mair

    s_mair Regular Member

    Joined:
    Oct 10, 2013
    Messages:
    5,362
    Likes Received:
    4,151
    Location:
    Germany
    exactly my standard break-in routine for the No.1 as well. The feel you describe is there if you jump on court with it right after it's come off the machine. In general, No.1 is not an unforgiving or especially hard-feeling string. If it feels to you that way even after a certain break-in period, you might simply want to lower your tension.
     
    ucantseeme and markiewan like this.
  4. markiewan

    markiewan Regular Member

    Joined:
    Nov 12, 2008
    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Thanks for the replies! It’s helpful to know what it’s supposed to feel like.

    Okay, I’ll give 25-26 a try. 27 was already lower than usual. I’ve played 28,29 with bg 80 with no problems previously and i read somewhere that people are going +2 on their bg 80. Potentially i just need a bit more patience with the break in period. It’s actually been a few months since that racket has been strung, I’ve clocked maybe 2-3 hours? In reality probably less because I’d just default to using my 65ti strung one :p.
    The li Ning 1 pings a little higher than the 65ti but i assumed that was because of gauge rather than a drastic difference in actual tension.
    Also the stringer who does my LN1 is different to the stringer who did my 65ti’s. So there’s a few variables that might explain an actual tension difference.
     
    #1384 markiewan, Apr 18, 2022
    Last edited: Apr 18, 2022
  5. ucantseeme

    ucantseeme Regular Member

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2010
    Messages:
    5,052
    Likes Received:
    2,401
    Occupation:
    Z-Force II
    Location:
    Z-ForceII
    That can be the highest influence. IMO No.1 is easier on the arm and more repulsive than BG80. Hardly to believe that you struggle with it.

    I remember a time before I bought my machine and went regular for 13kg, 13,5kg in a shop and still had the impression it is too soft. When I did my first job at 12kg I was like "OMG, that is like a plank of wood, it's sooooo hard." Stringer can be very different in workflow, machine and equipment. I recommend to hit with No.1 your regular BG65Ti Stringer. This guy makes you happy, so stick with him.
     
    markiewan, thyrif, boby and 2 others like this.
  6. s_mair

    s_mair Regular Member

    Joined:
    Oct 10, 2013
    Messages:
    5,362
    Likes Received:
    4,151
    Location:
    Germany
    This. If you change stringers you can start your approach towards the optimal tension from scratch. There can be huge variances (+-3 lbs. is realistic) between different stringers only due to different techniques and equipment used. And then there are those who are deliberately stringing lower tensions than requested.
     
    markiewan, thyrif and ucantseeme like this.
  7. markiewan

    markiewan Regular Member

    Joined:
    Nov 12, 2008
    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Melbourne
    That's really helpful to know, thanks so much. After this advice, i'll to try the LN1 88s for another session or two, if still can't get along with it i'll cut and reduce tension.
    Fingers crossed it's just a tension/stringer problem and not the string :p

    I know the one who does my 65ti uses the regular 4 knot Yonex pattern and the LN1 stringer uses haribito. Is there any difference in playabilty with stringing patterns? or is it mostly just like tension holding properties?
     
    #1387 markiewan, Apr 18, 2022
    Last edited: Apr 18, 2022
  8. s_mair

    s_mair Regular Member

    Joined:
    Oct 10, 2013
    Messages:
    5,362
    Likes Received:
    4,151
    Location:
    Germany
    If done by the same stringer on the same machine with the same tensions, then the answer is a loud and clear NO.

    Not even that - again, the most important factor is the stringer, the machine and the tensions that are used. If you feel like digging deeper into some stringing nerd science, you might want to check out this thread: https://badmintoncentral.com/forums...riments-1-piece-vs-2-piece-and-others.188234/

    I know that many stringers want to cover their doing in a lot of magical fairy dust, pseudo science, voodoo and all other sorts of mumbo jumbo. Bottom line is that it's good and solid craftsmanship that matters most to provide jobs with the best possible consistency from one job to the next. Then it's up to the player to find a string/tension combination that fits best to their swing style and liking.
     
    tyler_durden, visor, decoy and 4 others like this.
  9. Mark A

    Mark A Regular Member

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2005
    Messages:
    7,170
    Likes Received:
    695
    Location:
    St Helens, UK
    This.
    Oh, dear lord, THIS.

    String patterns are like lucky socks: they work if you think they do. Just get the string in

    safely,
    consistently, and
    with the minimum possible effort.

    In that order. After this, it's just looks - granted, I loathe that pattern where the top cross is tied at a shared hole, but this is entirely down to aesthetics; it will play exactly the same as the correct pattern.
     
    yenyesoh, markiewan and s_mair like this.
  10. Charlie-SWUK

    Charlie-SWUK Regular Member

    Joined:
    Dec 17, 2014
    Messages:
    4,398
    Likes Received:
    1,223
    Occupation:
    N90 sycophant
    Location:
    SW UK
    Can't say I've played much since Covid stole my hobby.. Can't believe this thread is 7 years old and 70 pages long. If nothing else, Li Ning No.1 has earned its place among the 'consistently goods'. I now worry that as we are so many years in, this string will be discontinued, and we'll get something to replace it that might resemble their more ghastly NS strings.
     
    Rob3rt likes this.
  11. Aayoosh

    Aayoosh Regular Member

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2022
    Messages:
    27
    Likes Received:
    9
    Location:
    India
    Been playing with the No.1 Boost for a while now. Lovely and lively string once it settles. The tension loss is palpable initially and takes a while to adjust, I was loving the high tension initially but I knew the loss was coming (strung at 27lbs).

    Everyone at the club who played with it loved it. I played with the No.5 just after it and the feel is extremely different, control feels much better on the No.1 Boost. Great sound, good power.

    All I need to compare is the durability vis a vis the No.1, might permanently shift to the Boost if durability is equal or better.
     
    ucantseeme likes this.
  12. ucantseeme

    ucantseeme Regular Member

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2010
    Messages:
    5,052
    Likes Received:
    2,401
    Occupation:
    Z-Force II
    Location:
    Z-ForceII
    But in which area is the No.1 Boost better than the regular No.1? You would also shift to the Boost if durability is equal to No.1, so where does it shine brighter?
     
  13. Aayoosh

    Aayoosh Regular Member

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2022
    Messages:
    27
    Likes Received:
    9
    Location:
    India
    The most obvious one to me is the sound :D

    Seriously though, it just feels a touch sharper to play with. It's basically the No.1 with some coating on top of it from what I understand. No significant reason to pick it up over the No.1 other than just it being the newer string.
     
  14. Vivek Bagadhi

    Vivek Bagadhi Regular Member

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2016
    Messages:
    950
    Likes Received:
    430
    Occupation:
    Doctor
    Location:
    Solapur, India
    Well I am No.1 user since like 3 years ago, left the sport for around 1 yr (AX88D) and recently just for past times sake tried it again, it still has that pop damn.
     
  15. kaffars

    kaffars Regular Member

    Joined:
    Mar 28, 2017
    Messages:
    256
    Likes Received:
    76
    Occupation:
    Geologist
    Location:
    SE. London
    Has anyone notice that online supply has seemed to dry up? Has this string been discontinued?
     
  16. s_mair

    s_mair Regular Member

    Joined:
    Oct 10, 2013
    Messages:
    5,362
    Likes Received:
    4,151
    Location:
    Germany
    No.1 and No.5 are still listed in the 2022 fall/winter catalogue (https://www.shopnings.com/pub/media/descriptions/liningbadmintoncatalog2022FW.pdf), so it doesn't seem that they will be discontinued shortly. However the supply is heavily affected by the global supply chain crisis. Next batch for the European market (not sure if UK is included here) is expected to arrive in October according to li-ning.dk.

    Time will have to tell if it will be replaced by the N65 at some point.
     
  17. speCulatius

    speCulatius Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 17, 2017
    Messages:
    1,129
    Likes Received:
    1,210
    Location:
    'round here....
    Not only Li Ning strings. The thing that's supposed to be global logistics is an utter mess at the moment. In addition to that, there a shortage of truck drivers in Europe since a not insignificant amount of them is defending their country at the moment.

    I know about Yonex that they have real issues to get shipments from Hamburg to Willich, even if there is something arriving from Asia. It affected me only with the color of overgrips I got, but if you're looking for new Yonex shoes this year, you better hope that your retailer has them in stock already.
     
    Woesi and s_mair like this.
  18. AdamMorin

    AdamMorin Regular Member

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2018
    Messages:
    211
    Likes Received:
    76
    Location:
    Thompson, Manitoba
    I have been using No.1 for 5 years now. I have been thinking about changing. I tried Aerosonic and thought it felt pretty crisp, definitely a nice string but it didn't feel like No.1 did with that "oh man...this is my string baby".

    I have no reason for wanting to change, I would be fine continuing to use it. I just see a lot of hyp around exbolt 63 and some other strings. Also Lining is now starting another line of strings which may mean No.1 being discontinued soon.

    Any similar strings out there? I went from 66UM to No.1 due to durability and it performed better I felt. I'm not 100% sold on aerosonic I don't think.
     
  19. s_mair

    s_mair Regular Member

    Joined:
    Oct 10, 2013
    Messages:
    5,362
    Likes Received:
    4,151
    Location:
    Germany
    Next logical thing to try would be the N65 - although it doesn't seem to be available in US/Canada region. I'm still on my first test set of the N65 (https://www.badmintoncentral.com/fo...ng-series-n58-n61-n63-n65-n68-n69-n70.190175/) and so far, it's a great string. With the current outrageous price tag outside CN they will have trouble replacing the No.1 though.

    My advise? Stock up on No.1 in case it really gets discontinued and see what happens with the Nxx series. Gosen GT5 is also still an acceptable alternative imo.
     
  20. bismantaka

    bismantaka New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2016
    Messages:
    18
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    indonesia-singapore
    Hi all,,
    has anyone tried these strings?
    LN N1 REBOUND
    I didn't find any difference except for the words "REBOUND" on the packaging.[​IMG][​IMG]

    Sent from my CPH2217 using Tapatalk
     

Share This Page