I was looking forward to renew my badminton tournament clothing kits and was really wanting this new collection that CTC and VA are wearing since the WTF. I had a rather "comfortable" budget in mind to renew my kits but I know when something is not right I would say. For instance I wouldn't spend 63 euros for a badminton jersey... Yes that's the recommended Yonex price in Europe. That's 126 euros for 2 jersey. Shorts are priced at 49 euros per unit. If I wanted to buy 2 kits for tournaments that would set me back to 224 euros. For 2 kits. I was more or less judging the value of a kit around 75/80 euros which is possible with Li-Ning even with their most expensive kit such as the Sudirman Cup one. I believe I have a certain value of money regardless of my budget and I just wanted to raise my concern (complain a bit too hoping this would act as a sort of "open letter" and some people at Yonex would read that one day) regarding Yonex pricing that keep increasing season after season. I want to support the badminton industry and specialised brands so I am aware it comes with a cost (small industry + small sport = smaller production & higher cost) but still. 224 euros for 2 kits is 8 hours of badminton coaching lessons for me. I'll take that instead of renewing my kits this season
Agreed. Much happier sweating in "value" brands and old/sale kit. Except for the training shorts (YS2000) which are often the cheapest badminton shorts available from any of the top brands. The white shorts are practically see-through so be careful about what you wear or don't wear under them I wonder if there could be a Yonex index for tracking inflation. Shoes alone get more expensive despite mostly visual changes each year.
The question is how long do you wear a Yonex Jersey/short compared to something cheaper? IMO the price is always set into the relation what you get for it. I have jerseys which get washed over hundred times and worn for several years and stay in good condition. I have 5 years old Yonex Shorts which are also in excellent condition without any tear. I also had some Nike Budget Jersey and shorts and need to say that apart from the more boring design, the quality is lower. I have shorts which went into the bin, jerseys with holes which start to fall apart. I don't want to start with decathlon. Like in every sports, if you wanna look like the pros and always buy the stuff when it comes out you need to have deep pockets. If soccer, basketball, whatever... The LD stuff was also high priced when it came out but dropped to a more acceptable pricing. It's up to anybody how important clothing is to anybody. I rarely care about the design, just when it is stunning. More important is the function and how comfortable it feels on the skin for me. Nobody force anybody to pay such prices. Otherwise you can also start complaining about any designer clothing which is roughly just a sweater with their name on it for 450€.
