let's together answer : what is the ideal tension?

[Gollum]

If you have doubt about this topic, please experiment it yourself or find a better person who can answer your question.

No, I don't have any doubt about this topic.

I have played in 16 court halls and 1 court rooms. I have never observed a correlation between hall size and shuttle speed.

[Gollum]

If you have doubt about this topic, please experiment it yourself or find a better person who can answer your question.

No, I don't have any doubt about this topic.

I have played in 16 court halls and 1 court rooms. I have never observed a correlation between hall size and shuttle speed.

Perhaps it is true for the particular hall(s) that you play in. Or maybe you just perform worse in tournaments, and want to blame it on the hall conditions.

I think your claim is based entirely on subjective experience, with no honest reasoning or objective data to support it. When someone exposes a flaw in your argument, you deny what you previously said, and even make a new claim that contradicts the old one!

For example:

Hot air moves upwards as well. It will hover in the ceiling too. When you are performing high clear, these currents (or better to call them layers of thicker air) will block the flight of the shuttle, making it harder to tavel 44 feet from rear court to rear court.

Here you claim that hot air rises, and slows down the shuttle. But then:

i thought hotter air speeds up the shuttle?

In an 8 courts hall, how high is the ceiling? You must be very good to reach half way. You bring up one good point though: larger hall is much actually cooler than a smaller hall.

What goes up, must comes down. The cumulating layers of air in the ceiling will form a downward flow and there will be a constant pressure acting downward as well.

Now you've contradicted your previous claims about air temperature and shuttle speed. And you've also complicated the issue with more baseless claims -- trying to hide the weakness of your argument in invented complexity.

I'm sorry to be so harsh. I spent four years studying philosophy and mathematics, and it left me with a loathing for intellectual dishonesty. In other words, I can smell bullsh*t a mile away.

The one thing you've said that I respect is this:

Go for a 16 court tournament to experience yourself, then you'll know.

That claim is fine. You're just saying what you've experienced. But don't invent a load of spurious nonsense to justify it.

[Keevin]

yes. a "safe recommendation" is what i am looking for.

with the lack of information, 22-24lb could be the best or "ideal" tension we can recommend.

if we want to be more specific, then we will have ranges for beginners / intermediate / advanced players. but let's start from the simpliest.

just remember, it is not possible to find an absolute ideal as we all know that is not possible without complete information. we are trying to look for the range that will work for most ppl.

Kwun,

I guss it depends on what racquets you use. I have a question and hopefully you can help me out on it: Do you know the maximum tension is best for the old Yonex Carbonex 15 & 20? I am told 20 lb is the max but is it true?

Thanks,

Keevin

[DinkAlot]

The ideal tension is...

...between 18-32lbs.

I know, *KICK!* ...OK, I'll craw back under my rock now, thanks I had fun playing.

[firehorse]

Can you make this a poll. It is easier to read.

aside from "what is the best" racket, the most common question seems to be "what is the ideal tension?"

of course, we all know that there is no answer. but most ppl won't be happy with that answer, cuz we effectively didn't answer their question.

of course, we know nothing is absolute. but how about we redefine "ideal"?

if the question is "what is the ideal tension" without any other information, then we can say, well, "given what we have been told by you" (ie. very little), the ideal tension is:....

so what is the property of "ideal" in that situation? the ideal in the uninformed situation will be "the most typical", or "the tension that most ppl would likely be accustomed to". in other words, probably bang in the middle, or the median tension.

given this definition of "ideal", i'd vote for a tension of 22-23lbs. even beginners should be able to hit decent shots with 23lbs. and the hard hitter will not find 23lbs to be too weak a tension.

so what do everybody else think?

[SPaterson]

Although I'm no "super-star" at badminton, having not been ever coached etc. I've attended few clubs and won my local School's badminton championship relatively easy (It's not a Very popular sport locally, anyway). I used a Slazenger Pro Carbon Ti @ 22lbs string tension for a year and a half, the racket later broke (my fault), and I got a Karakal SLTi-80 as a replacement, which I got strung at 22lbs also. Seems fine for me. I can smash "powerful-enough", while still having excellent 'control'.

I've also played with many other racquets, several of which I still own, such as the Forza Asia Amour 20,000; this is 24lbs string tension, which was perfectly fine for me too, more powerful smash but seemed a little less control for me.

The ideal tension changes person to person, and changes for each need IMO, but for all-round use, I'd say 22-24lbs.

[Patriotesq]

Hi,


I want to know what is the ideal tension for a player like me who have a lack of power, and who are an intermediate player (maybe between beginner and intermediate). My new racket will be a Yonex Nanospeed 8000. And before I will get it, I play with a Yonex TI-5, with 19 lbs string (BG-65TI).

I don't want to loose power ( I don't have a good smash already), and I want a string with a good compromise between control and power for someone like me who don't have big strengh in his arm.

Thanks.

[quintessence]

Hi,


I want to know what is the ideal tension for a player like me who have a lack of power, and who are an intermediate player (maybe between beginner and intermediate). My new racket will be a Yonex Nanospeed 8000. And before I will get it, I play with a Yonex TI-5, with 19 lbs string (BG-65TI).

I don't want to loose power ( I don't have a good smash already), and I want a string with a good compromise between control and power for someone like me who don't have big strengh in his arm.

Thanks.

I found that when I put the tension below #20, the dwelling time of the shuttle in the string bed is too long and much of the energy is absorbed and dissipated. My ideal tension (not yours) is 24 to 26 lb. on a 21GA (.70mm) string (Gosen Pro-70 @ #26M/27C on an oval shape is still OK in Winter) or 22 to 24 on a 0.66mm/0.68mm string (Gosen B505). I only use Gosen strings because they stick to their specifications, while a 0.70mm YY is actually 0.75mm and the 0.68mm is actually 0.72mm+. I also found that 0.66mm Gosen string works very well on YY racquets stung at #21M/23C that is within the recommended tension of most YY racquets. Many Naospeed racquets broke at the head of the racquet because of the extra dedicated holes (for main and cross strings) there.

One way to check your ideal tension is to send a shuttle (with correct rating i.e. #78 in Canada, #77 in US, or #76 in Asia) from the base line to the opposite baseline, using an offecsive underarm clear shot. If the shuttle landed within the opposite single and doubles service lines, that racquet tension is probably probably right you.

Good luck.

[quintessence]

Hi,


I want to know what is the ideal tension for a player like me who have a lack of power, and who are an intermediate player (maybe between beginner and intermediate). My new racket will be a Yonex Nanospeed 8000. And before I will get it, I play with a Yonex TI-5, with 19 lbs string (BG-65TI).

I don't want to loose power ( I don't have a good smash already), and I want a string with a good compromise between control and power for someone like me who don't have big strengh in his arm.

Thanks.

Since you are living in Quebec, you can check this out with Vezar, the dealer of Babolat in Canada. Their Satelites series are also using dedicated holes for main and cross strings at the head of the racquet.

[DinkAlot]

I want to know what is the ideal tension for a player like me who have a lack of power, and who are an intermediate player (maybe between beginner and intermediate).

Go with BG-85 or BG-80 at 22lbs. See how that works for you and adjust accordingly.

[taneepak]

I recently strung a racquet using BG85 for a friend at his requested tension of 24/26lbs. He was pleased as pie, with its power and control. But when I tried it I was thinking what a waste of money and string-the racquet, to me, was so-so as it lacked any real punch or controlled power. I then used another similar racquet with BG85 but tensioned at 26/28.5lbs, and, man, this is an entirely different ball game. The funny thing was that he liked his tension more than mine. So tension can mean different things to different people. However, so far, I have found more players that I come into contact with prefer the 26/28.5lbs or 27.3/30lbs tension to the lower tensions of 20lbs to 26lbs, than the other way around. This has resulted in strangers passing their racquets to my friends to hand them over to me to string at 26/28.5lbs as well as at 27.3/30lbs. I kind of like this-taking on tensions that other stringers fear to even try, on both Yonex and fake ones, and other brands. I am not complaining. If I cannot cope with it then I would just raise my stringing charges! I need the law of supply and demand to help me cope

[quintessence]

I recently strung a racquet using BG85 for a friend at his requested tension of 24/26lbs. He was pleased as pie, with its power and control. But when I tried it I was thinking what a waste of money and string-the racquet, to me, was so-so as it lacked any real punch or controlled power. I then used another similar racquet with BG85 but tensioned at 26/28.5lbs, and,........... to string at 26/28.5lbs as well as at 27.3/30lbs. I kind of like this-taking on tensions that other stringers fear to even try, on both Yonex and fake ones, and other brands. I am not complaining. If I cannot cope with it then I would just raise my stringing charges! I need the law of supply and demand to help me cope

Regional climate is a major factor in the determination of string tension. In HK the Gosen Pro-70 can be string to #29 to a max of #33. Racquet shape is another important factor. Before I move over to an oval shape Gosen 5300, I tried a few YY isometric racquets. I can hit effortlessly with these racquets strung at maximum recommended tension of the racquet, but they just can't give you the sharp, powerful smash. When I increased the tension even if I had to break the racquet, I found that the racquet is not responding and is very dead.

With the oval shape or wide-body racquets, string breakage may be more often, but the satisfaction you get from that is so great that it cannot be described in writing/words. (I found many players use the same string in their racquets for more than a year. For me, I would be deliked if I cound break the string in about 5-6 games). The advantages that I can tell are increase in performance, shape powerful kills, and loud popping sound. It seems that everybody in the hall is looking at you. After all, badminton is a spectator sport!

[lex1437]

humm , i see many 19 to 23 lbs here .
but correct me if im wrong. those tension produce soft smashes.
and i do believe when people post in a BADMINTON forum , they are serious about the sport and possess a certain degree of badminton skills.

i am using 26lbs ( 85g rsl ti racket , yonex 68ti string), and the smashes are very tight and powerful. as for other tensions that i've tried , this is the best overall for me .
please forgive my ignorance , if any expert thinks i am wrong , please enlighten me .
i hope to get answers in this forum to improve my knowledge about my badminton game.

[lex1437]

humm , i see many 19 to 23 lbs here .
but correct me if im wrong. those tension produce soft smashes.
and i do believe when people post in a BADMINTON forum , they are serious about the sport and possess a certain degree of badminton skills.

i am using 26lbs ( 85g rsl ti racket , yonex 68ti string), and the smashes are very tight and powerful. as for other tensions that i've tried , this is the best overall for me .
please forgive my ignorance , if any expert thinks i am wrong , please enlighten me .
i hope to get answers in this forum to improve my knowledge about my badminton game.

and oh yea , i wanted to express my opinion

General Stroke|Smash
high tension (26 - 30 lbs)----> high strenght used = powerful return , mid strenght used = low return , low strenght used = low return.

low tension (20 - 24lbs) -----> high strenght used = powerful return , mid strenght used = mid return , low strenght used = mid return.

[erictay2000]

lower tension = higher racquet life*
higher tension = lower racquet life*

*of course depends on your usage

I own a MP-55 (2U-G3) stringed frequently with BG-66 at 25lbs and for about two weeks i had to restring as i played quite often and i am quite a hard hitter... This racquet of mine only lasts for about 6 months... Compared to one of my friend who bought this same racquet with me around the same time has already used it more than 1 year till now which he string at around 21-23lbs... For myself i prefer high tension...

[Gollum]

humm , i see many 19 to 23 lbs here .
but correct me if im wrong. those tension produce soft smashes.

Maybe for you.

It all depends on the player. Whilst absurdly low or high tensions will not benefit anyone -- people who play with 15 lbs or 40 lbs are just ignorant or silly -- there is a wide range of "ideal" tensions, depending on the skill, accuracy and swing speed of the player.

Even among the pros there is up to a 10 lbs variation in the preferred tension!

[zahirshah]

Well that shall clearly depend on ureself... 21/22 lbs shall be ok if u are not a hard hitter... well it increases based on an individuals strength ... 23 - 26 lbs is fine actually ...well thts for me... for others it shall be up to their individual self....zahir