Hi, so I've recently started getting back into badminton with my college roommate. We both played some in high school, but never competitively. We've been playing about 3-5 times a week now and we are getting sick of using the rentals at my university's gym, so we have decided we should probably just invest in getting our own. Also we are considering playing some intramural doubles. I can say for me, I have a pretty strong grip (been getting some blisters from the torn up rental's grips), so I am guessing I should go with a softer grip. I definitely want to favor durability over performance at this point. And yes I do sweat a ton lol. As for my style of play, I really consider myself pretty balanced. My smash has recently gotten a lot stronger and I will use it freely, but I love to throw in drop shots a lot and play by the net. I guess you could consider me defensive only in the sense I force long rallies because I just don't have the control to really "kill" the opponent with precision placement shots. Just from personal experience, I think I like a more lighter feeling racket, because I like to be on the move a lot and have a pretty large wind up on my swing. Anyways lastly, my price range is anywhere from 30-50 bucks. Maybe a little higher if you guys convince me otherwise. Thanks guy !
within 50 i think you can get an arcsaber 002 for that price now. it's an all round racket but i find it good enough to play a decent game. it's even balance so you'll get some weight for smashes but light enough so that it won't feel like a brick at the net. there's also a yonex carbonex 8600 titanium on sale for 40 bux, but it's oval head frame so i'm not sure if you want a smaller head frame.
by the way, my pricing is based on www.badmintonalley.com, so shop around you might find some place cheaper.
