I don't know about you, but I think the price of badminton rackets is getting out of hand. Keep in mind, at least here in the USA, if you buy a racket for $235, you still have to pay for shipping and stringing, which will add another $30-50, more if tax is included, and by the time you are done, you've put out almost $300! That's ridiculous for working guys and girls who only have a limited amount of money to buy toys with, even if it is made with Ultra-Unobtainium from asteroids circling Uranus, and my next reason drives the point home. Be honest. How many points do you lose in a match that you can blame on the racket? The vast majority of lost points that I see are because of mis-hits, bad aim, over-anxiousness, bad technique, hitting the wrong shot at the wrong time, setting up your opponent for a kill, not being ready for the next shot, out of bounds serves and shots, lack of experience, and simply not returning a shot. The list goes on and on, but none of these is the fault of the racket. I'm all in favor of finding one that suits your talents and feels the best to you, but I'm becoming more and more convinced that buying an expensive racket is unnecessary, especially if you only play for fun and exercise. The best equipment is wonderful to have, no doubt, and if you can easily afford it, fine, go ahead. But this is for the rest of us. Although there are threads scattered all over the place in this forum, I propose we start talking about and reviewing all the great rackets we've found for under $135, in one place, to make the information more accessible to anyone interested in them. I'll start. When I first began playing a few months ago I tested every racket I could get my hands on, probably around a dozen, and the best I tried that did everything I wanted was a Victor V4000 Wave Tech, available only on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Victor-V-4000-badminton-racquet-single/dp/B00USZS6XK?th=1 For $55 total, including shipping, I was in the game and playing well. In fact, since then, I've owned a Victor Thruster K9000, Yonex Armortec 700, and tried about a dozen more expensive rackets. But you know what? I always come back to my Victor because it still does everything I want it to, enough so that the quality of the racket makes no difference to the outcome of the game. I do appreciate that more expensive rackets can have more stability, be more accurate, be more comfortable, and have more power if you can produce it, but for only $55, I could continue to use this racket indefinitely and be happy. I win the majority of games I play with it, and most of all, I have fun without feeling guilty about having 1/3 of my house payment in a racket. What about you? If you've shopped around for a more affordable racket then you know that reviews on them are scarce, like the Yonex Astrox 22, Abroz Venom, Yonex Nanoflare 270 and others. The reason I started this is because I am looking for another inexpensive racket as a back up for the 4000, but reviews are almost nonexistent, and I don't want to break the bank. My badminton brothers and sisters, let's help each other out and share some of the hidden jewels we've found, especially ones that play just as well as their pricier siblings.
I love my Abroz Venom, it have effective smashing power but still quick in defense... unlike low-end nanoray which is quick but lacks in smash power. Astrox 38s another enjoyable fast racket... fast in defence and have some smash power. Astrox 68D falls under budget range and it is have the most raw power in smash in all my budget racket... better than VT 200 LinDan (5u), Astrox Smash (6u) is already on its way since I do enjoy the Abroz venom and ax38s, its interesting to see how its going to compare between those two. Might be getting NF270.. if there's a good deal
Agree that we lack of mid end racket review & skill is what most important than the racket itself. But, im not sure how a review would be helpfull as to many personal factor involved. I buy AVP coz of many good review & comment about it, saying its powerfull & fast racket. The truth when i got it, its not my liking. Its definitely fast but not quite had a solid powerfull bang when smashing.
I always look around for Apacs, Felet (fleet), Maxbolt and Flypower for mid range price.. and many of their products are better than top tier brand mid range line and some are as good as top tier brand high end.. above all, this is purely my opinion.. based on my own experience
I play with Yonex rackets only. So in Yonex some of the good rackets in mid range that I own or have played are, Yonex Voltric 1DG, Yonex Voltric 10DG, Yonex Astrox 9, Yonex Astrox 69, Muscle Power 29 Lite. Get your hands on any of these and you can't go wrong with them. They would suit you, whatever your playing style might be. Sent from my GM1901 using Tapatalk
Doubt it will suit everyone. All mentioned above are head heavy racket, so might not suit balance/head light lovers.
Let us know how you get along with the astrox smash. I was thinking of getting one for a little girl. (plus it is relatively cheap in HK) Thanks
Basically Astrox 9 and Astrox 69 are pretty much same. The only difference is in color, Astrox 9 is red and Astrox 69 is a replica of Astrox 99 color. I don't know why Yonex released it. So coming back to review, Astrox 9 or Astrox 69 whatever you say, is a head heavy racket but you won't feel it like Voltric series because of rotational generator system. Because of this system you could deliver devastating smashes along with solid defense. The manoeuvre is awesome. Muscle Power 29 Lite could be said a beginner racket and would suit you whichever style you play. And same is Voltric 1DG. You won't feel head heavy in them. And lastly Voltric 10DG is somewhat a serious affair. You need perfect skills to handle the racket and unleash it's full potential. It is really head heavy and you feel it the moment you hold the racket. You need strong wrists to handle it. And it could also deliver devastating smashes and help you win the point. That's all. Sent from my GM1901 using Tapatalk
Many thanks to all who have shared so far, and it shows how much we've needed a comprehensive thread for this subject. As I'm sure we can all agree, first do your homework to find out as much about a racket as you can before purchase (the point of this thread), but the only way to be sure it fits you and your style of play is to get it in your hands to try out. Borrow from your friends or club-mates, find a store with a loaner program, or even rent one if you must. If you cannot try it before you buy it, then ask as many questions as you can think of about the racket in relation to how you play. The more information you give us, the better we can help you.
Arcsaber 7 gen1/white and yellow color Plus points - Once used by international players Highly reviewed. There is a review in this forum and another one by Paul Steward Recommened by the coaches here in india Suits players of various skill levels and physicality IMHO Negative points- Quite older model Cannot be strung to very high temsions May not be available easily outside asia
Ashaway Phantom x-fire and x-speed, and their respective second gen racquets, are also fantastic value for money. There's been sales where it's buy one get one free, both custom strung, for less than 100 USD.
While browsing around, found Yonex Voltric 8DG, 11DG, & 21DG. Next gen of VT7DG & 10DG. From its tech i think VT is more for raw power while AX series is semi power & speed. Personal choice i guest, so maybe it will be worth to try.
Im not arguing but i need to correct you there regarding Astrox 9 and 69. The head heaviness on 69 is hefty. Much higher than Astrox 9. Astrox 9 actually feels like a very traditional voltric of the 2010-2012 era. The time when Yonex didnt have a laughable different mini series of a series in their catalogue. I sold the 69 as it required a skill level which I obviously wont have (even after 5 years), so I kept my Astrox 9 since the handling is similar to my Voltric 7. Bizarrely, often find the Astrox 9 to be much easier to do stick smashes than the Voltric 7. Far more power and accuracy. For other shot types, roughly the same. Its likely due to my low skill level.
Great thread. Of course, there are very decent mid-level rackets around that will play perfectly fine with the vast majority of non-pro players out there. First of all, you need to make sure to find a racket that is spec'd accoring to you preferences in terms of balance and flex. For example, I have always really liked the Voltric 7(Neo) and have recommended it to a number of players in the club. Haven't heard a truly bad thing about it really. Same goes for the Astrox 7 as its unofficial successor. You have to keep in mind one thing though: The factory string jobs suck. Big time. On every mid-level racket that I have touched to date. So first thing you MUST do when buying a mid-level racket is to cut the factory string job as soon as you get it in your fingers. Or directly spend a couple of bucks extra and order it with a decent set of strings at a proper tension on it. For example, Yonex ships the VT7/AX7 with some sort of climbing rope they call BG3. It's thick, kills every last bit of feel and has a repulsion rating of -3. Seriously, it actually steals some of the power you put into the stroke. I could make the comparison on a AX7 a couple of months ago. A club mate ordered it and wanted to stick with the factory job in the beginning. She played some old Muscle Power bat before (but with LN1 on it...) and looked anything but happy after the first session with the AX7. I tried it myself and... well... it plain sucked. I'd rate the tension at around 18 lbs. max, there was no feel, no control, no power. If you asked me to rate the racket at that point, if would have scored shockingly bad scores, believe me. I gave it a LN1 job at 21 lbs. the very next day and you wouldn't even think it's the same racket anymore. I'm pretty sure that if I was forced to use that racket with decent strings from now on, I would get along with it quite well. Long story short, IMO it's the strings that have a huge influence on the performance of a racket. You can screw up the best racket in the world easily by putting bad strings on it, whereas an mid- or even entry-level racket can get fairly acceptable with good strings.
