Hey, I am an active intermidiate-advanced badminton player looking for a manual stringing machine that would best suit my needs. The owner of the badminton center currently lets me string my racquets on their Victor EMS 7032 Elektro free of charge but as I am possibly moving out of the state soon, I would enjoy a machine I could use to effectively string my racquets. I string at 27lbs so a good tensioning machine would be nice. My preferences are: -Able to string up to 30 lbs -6 point mounting -Preferably fixed clamps -Manual -$1000 give or take a couple hundred -Beginner friendly Also, what other equipment would I need to string my racquets? Thanks.
A Pro's Pro XP Plus or Eagnas Combo 910 will come in way under budget and fit all your privisos. You'll get some kit with the machine, but I'd invest in a load spreader and a starting clamp.
Thank you for the recommendations, they look very solid and the reviews I have found on them seem to say good things. What's the purpose of having a load spreader or a starting clamp in the first place? What's the difference without them? Thanks.
Load spreaders help spread the forces that the racket has to sustain at the 12 O'Clock position, which helps preventing breakage at that position while stringing. It is strongly advised to have one, I wouldn't even string without one. Starting clamp is not necessary if you have fixed clamps, but I still like to have it around to tighten knots and some other things. As for the machines, I strongly recommend to not buy from Eagnas. You will have about 50% chance of getting a used/defect machine and another 50% chance of not receiving everything that should come with the machine or that you ordered with it. While they do offer the cheapest prices, their customer service is by far the worst I've ever seen. Keep in mind that you also have to add shipping and custom charges to the price, which are very expensive. The Pro's Pro XP Plus machine is a great choice. You'll also have to add shipping and custom fees to the price. Shipping for the biggest machines from watdon costs about 175$. Customs seem kind of random, I've paid anywhere between 15% and 35% of the items price in the past. Since you're in Canada, you could also look at this machine: http://www.vitalsports.ca/the-tennis-shop/stringing-machine/spinfire-blaze-stringers.html It looks great, has everything you need (you can even ask them to replace the clamps for badminton clamps at no charge according to the description) and it ships for free, so what you see is what you pay. Only thing though is that it is back ordered right now, so you might have to wait a couple weeks to get it.
