Hi everyone,

I will try to give as much info as possible here:

I used to play quite a lot of badminton, but stopped about 5 years ago. At the time that I stopped, I was considered intermediate in the club I played. But of course, being a NE-US local club, the intermediate classification doesn't mean much. I was never much of a smasher, relied mostly on quickness. Being female and slight of build, I always lacked power. Even till the end, I still had problem hitting a solid clear from base line to base line, but I was decent with placement.

Now I am starting to play regularly again, about 3 times a week for 2 hours a time. I am looking at the following raquets: carbonex 8200 light, MP 23 and Iso 75 MF. The Iso and carb8200 are both 3U while the MP-23 is 2U. Although I have always prefered a lighter racquet, the fact that I couldn't consistently do a base-to-base clear lead me to think that I need to develope more arm strength, so maybe the MP-23's heavier weight will help?

Also, no yonex or any decent badminton racquets are carried in any local shops (all they have are the dirt-cheap 10 dollar ones), so I can't go try them out. One local dealer does say that he could special-order any Carlton that I name, but I must know which one I want. Having never used Carltons before, I have no idea. So if any of you have recommendations on a Carlton instead of Yonex for me, I'd like that too.

Thanks for any help in advance!

Heavier racquets would help with clears... but it'll reduce the effectiveness of your quickness. Once a player is proficient enough, s/he could play with any kind of racquets... not just clearing. Search the forum for information on technique and practice until the stroke becomes second nature. BTW, it doesn't take much strength to hit a 5g shuttlecock baseline to baseline. It's a matter of timing the hit.

For you, I think that an ISO 75 MF would ease your problems somewhat. It's more forgivable when it comes to mis-hits due to enlarge sweetspot. Carlton has a few new ISOmetric frames out right now, go on their website or just plain google it for references.

I agree with the Isometric 75 MF, honestly I think 2U is pushing it a bit for a girl, no offense, but especially when you say you lack power, it'll tire you out quite easily. The 8200 Light would be good since you rely on your speed, but it lacks quite a bit in power, and that's not good... I have a friend who uses the 75 MF, it's quite alright, I doubt you can find a professional stringer, but if the 75MF was strung it wouldn't be too bad a racquet, and always remember the lamest thing that everyone repeats in BF, it's not the racquet, but the player. :D Good Luck

I suggest that you get a cheap heavy racket as well as a light one. What I usually do is use the heavy racket during the warmup and to build muscles. Then when I switch to a light racket..I can play longer without getting tired.

I have a U version of old Cab 7000(aluminum head), and a Black Knight PC 68 which is 87 grams(same as a 3U).

If you are going with one racket, then get the MP23. Otherwise, get something like a ISO 20 U version and the ISO 75MF.