Actually, I find that sometimes the opposite occurs. With the plastic, the cork starts spining off the skirt, and the shuttle won't have that nice bounce as when it is new. For feather, when number of feathers come off, there seems to be less drag, and it just launches like a rocket.
I agree the opposite can occur for feathers. What I usually do is save the ones that are not too used (such as missing 2 or more feathers), the ones that have all the feathers in tact and not too "fluffy". Cheers!
Another point to bring is that feathers have a lot less impact on your elbow and ankle when you hit it than plastic birds. Therefore, for injuries, feathers are way better. JRMTL
I would definitely go for feathers. Then again, which brand? I've been trying out a few brands like Wilson, Aerotec and SeaLions and found that usually we would use about 3 shuttles per game. Is that normal? or is there a more lasting shuttle? jeez, its darn expensive.
feathers! used, but serviceable feathers for practice, for fooling around. New feather birdies when the competition is decent and the score is being counted.
i tend to use plastic at certain open gyms, and feather at others, really depends on the level of the gym and my opponet ^_^. but for coachin i mainly use plastic to coach , because they tend to kill feather ones realli realli fast -_- . i remember once i brung out the feathers , they hit it bak n forth say.. 4-5 times ? and the feather was destroyed -_- i didnt know how they did it, but they accomplished sumtin i didnt think dat was possible haha ^_^. so i stick wit mainly plastic, and since the tournaments uses plastics aniways ( high school team) but i do order feathers alot of it , well the cheapeset i can get just to get them a feel on feathers, its like.. 2-3$ for a dozen , they are decent feathers and when i buy them i buy in bulks since, i order them out of country.
feather defintely hurts less than plastic. when i hit with plastic at 27 lbs, even for short periods of timem, my arm hurts like hell. with feather 29 is fine and some people mess up feathers really quickily because they are use to plastic. you can hit a plastic bird on the skirt a bit and sitll hit very good shots. so they are basically used to the timing of plastic and end up hitting skirt alll the time when they hit. hence, wasted goose feathers please don't serve noobs high quality birds when they are starting off :crying:
Plastic's a lot easier. It doesn't need half as much strength to pull a backhand, unlike feathers. Looks like I'd have to stop buying Yonex birds and start picking up unwanted birds off the floor at my training club. And get cheaper shuttles too. Any reccommendations? A beat up shuttle travels more slowly than a new one, right? p.s we hate to admit this but we must: tennis players never have this problem with their balls...sigh
Don't buy bottom-of-the-line "training" shuttles, just buy quality shuttles that you can afford and you would like to use during regular play. Then save the used ones for drills. Cheers!
Not true though, tennis balls do lose their bounce over time. Depending on how hard the player hit and the quality of the balls, one could use up a tube of 3 balls in one day/session. Not as expensive as shuttles, but still needs replacing.
Normaly i use recycle feather for training and drill. You may carry 1 or 2 empty tube and these recycle feathers shuttlecock you may find everyware at your club after you play. Not every one is born to be rich, these is one of the way you may save some of your money.
i find plastics harder to hit ie more strength is needed to get it across. the heaviness is similar to when i hit used shuttles. that's why i just stick to feather. but i save the used ones for stroking.
feather all the way, the sport hall that i fequent have lots of rich ppl that like to throw slightly dmg shuttles away just walk 1 rnd and lots of shuttles to use for stroking
I use the used shuttles for wram-ups and stroking or if these are not available, the cheaper new shuttles.... Games and tournaments are diff. But its feathers all the way. I never liked nylon - it's flight is well.. a little wierd and the past 2 times I used nylon I found that it favoured hard hitters... smashes are faster - and you need a lot less effort to do a proper clear... I guess we are quite lucky here - we get feather shuttlecocks ranging from USD6 to USD 20 per tube..... theres something to suit everyone !
Plastic for me Least it is durable.Will have enough time to aim and get use to other badminton skills.
You will never go wrong using feathers for practice. You can really 'feel' your shots compare to plastics.
i have to say feather i mean when you play with plastic and then feather you can see a noticable difference i find that the hit off a feather is cleaner but thats just my opinion. and if you cant afford feathers then just look for then at where you play im sure that you can find some that are just sitting there in good condition waiting for you to take them
Feathers!!! Feather birdies are best in the humid countries. But here it's dry and cold and the birdie doesn't fly too well. So plastic would be better. But in Asia feather birdies are awesome, my shots are so much more accurate and it flies so much better. The disadvangtage is that u gotta so through so many birdies, cuz they break easily.
I still prefer feather shuttlecocks for practices, lowergrade feathers that is. The cost is relatively lower. It has a different feel, can't switch to plastics even for practices.