i use them for singles and they last at least 1 game to 1.5 games without humidifying. maybe 2 if humidified. it's nowhere close to AS30s.
I just played my first session with these. @gundamzaku when someone says 'nowhere close', they usually mean in a bad sense. But you mention that these shuttles last 1+ games. In my experience this is better than AS30. Please can you clarify which is better in you experience? In mine, the victor gold are better than as30. I found the feathers quite durable. Over the course of ~45 minutes of singles we had to change twice, both times due to shape/wobble issues rather than feather damage.
In my experience and having used these shuttles since September, they are equal to AS40. And, I pay a lot less for these compared to AS40 saving in the region of £4 per tube! Paul www.badminton-coach.co.uk
i'm sorry, i totally misread the model of shuttles, i've only used victor gold, not victor gold champion. please disregard my comment from previous post.
I tried Victor Gold champion based upon your review which in India I was getting at 60% of AS40 price and since you said that it is similar to AS40. With due respect I have following observations on Victor Gold champion . The shuttle flight and speed is consistence but heck the durability is not even close to AS 10 or even RSL no. 4. Now what explains the problem . I think either of these 1) Either Paul's batch is different from what we get in India. 2) The recent batch is degraded 3) His reviews are biased Its durability is not only low but its feathers are also visibly weaker than even AS 10 . Now i have not used AS-40 before but even it does not stand against AS-10 which Paul doesn't like much . I will insert the stem pictures of both Victor and AS-10 to prove my point . I am not biased and generally hate yonex for their high pries and love victor rackets but in this case I am cheated . Yonex AS-10 Victor gold champion Now i will honestly say that if what I get is what victor really distributes all over world and to Paul also then I am afraid it is a crap .
The sticker band on my gold champion are purple, yours looks blue (perhaps thats a speed indicator). What does the sticker on the inside say? I know the asian market has a Gold and a Champion shuttle. My club has switched from AS30's to Gold Champion shuttles. Ours are more durable and much better value. I think the Gold Champion shuttle is a European model as I've never seen them on any asian websites.
If you see the website of Victor India , they have victor gold champion shuttle listed . Besides I think in victor India distributor is tied with Victor germany because all the products are imported from Germany and are DEF coded. I will include further pictures to see what you can tell more . Te cork sticker you will find is purple only and earlier it was white balance issue . The picture really shows how weak the stem looks . I will even take one similarly used AS-10 and also Victor one and post pictures to have better understanding of how they behave after game play .
Yours are the same as we use, ours are normally great. We get on average 2-3 games per shuttle compared to 1 with the AS30 shuttles. Our climates are much different though.
Hmmm. what can I say , I think there is some balance between flight and durability then . AS -10 flight not good but extremely durable , victor gold flight excellent not so durable
Victor Gold Champion Feather Shuttlecockshttp://www.directbadminton.co.uk/sport/badminton/feather-shuttlecocks/victor/victor-gold-champion-feather-shuttlecocks-?ProductID=12426
Victor Gold Champion Feather Shuttlecockshttp://www.directbadminton.co.uk/sport/badminton/feather-shuttlecocks/victor/victor-gold-champion-feather-shuttlecocks-?ProductID=12426
I bought a few tubes of these a few months ago on the recommendation that these were more durable than AS30 as well. Bit of a disappointment tbh! Didn't last as long. Now I'm playing with RSL Tourney Classic from MBS (Only about £15.50 per tube for a bulk purchase! ).
Interesting reading some of the comments and it seems to differ from person to person, and to a certain extent which sort of halls are being used as to which shuttles are better. [MENTION=120231]sh_shashi1[/MENTION] - I was amazed by your comments on the durability of the Gold Champion - used them last night for an hours MD and got through four shuttles in six games, and one of those was owing to a totally framed smash. One thing I have noted though is that the sticker on the inside of the cork on your GC is different to that of the ones we have in the UK. While yours simply state 'champion' above and below the logo, the ones I use have 'VICTOR' above, and 'Gold Champion' below. So could it be that these are indeed a different production batch - who knows. As for AS10 - bought a tube from the Al Englands a few years back - a bargain at £10 a tube - however used all 12 in a one hour session - not such a bargain. As for the GC vs AS30 debate - its a tough one and I personally like both shuttles so I guess its down to personal preference on this one.
I've tried the Victor GC and AS 40s; I noticed that the Victor GC when destroyed, got completely destroyed. Split feathers, broken feathers, major faults. The AS40s took a beating, but not quite to the same extent; I found that the feathers broke enough to compromise flight, but wasn't as visibly apparent as the Victor GC. I assume it's a fairly similar story with 30s. This kind of makes me question how durability is rated, because those 40s were unplayable when I discarded them, but it just wasn't as visibly obvious.
Well that's a good question - to me it is up until the point that the shuttle can no longer be used - either due to speed or flight issues (wobble). If a feather is cosmetically damaged, but still flies OK, then this is fine by me. I played with some Yehlex the other day that seemed to lose speed so quickly, like after 5 points - they still looked fine but just didn't fly. I guess there is someone somewhere who can fill is in on how durability is calculated - just haven't found them yet.
I some how suspecting that victor is selling some victor champion shuttles in the name of victor gold champion . will others comment what their champion shuttle inside stickers look like and also of gold champion .
I recently cut through the cork base of Victor GC since I knew that the GC has full cork base . I was in for a expected surprise . Now I got my GC from India distributor retail store itself and it ( packaging ) had all the original qualities . I don't suspect I got a fake one since Victor is not that popular . Its a case of new wine in old bottle and a serious fraud by Victor . I am going to write to Victor Germany and also think that since India is only ( Mostly ) yonex country , they tried to dupe us by passing on cheap shuttles .
Well the GC I get in Germany have a different sticker, it says "Gold Champion" on it, not "Champion Champion". The tube looks the same. And legit GCs are definately MUCH, MUCH better than AS10, at all aspects (except for the price, of course). Its even above AS30 I would say. A 2-layered cork is somehow not really adequate for this shuttle, but I never cut one so I can't tell you how the ones in Germany are. Can you give us a close-up of the stem and of the feathers? Looking at your pictures I can't even tell if it's goose feathers. For reference, this is the GC I bought in Germany (the left one). Sorry for the focus, the picture was originally taken to show the quality of the feathers. But you can see that the sticker is different.
I have had a close look at the stem and some shuttles have a major trough in between stem just like a goose feather and some shuttles with fine lines indicating duck feathers. Just look at these pictures and you will get it . Goose look alike Duck look a like Can we have comments and pictures from those who dont found GC as good as AS30 or AS40 . Feathers