Hi BCers, I have something I noticed happening in Perth and just wondering if it's the same anywhere else in the world. I noticed more and more cheaper lighter faster shuttles are used around the clubs. At first these are used only at social clubs, but now I noticed these shuttles are starting to be used at local tournaments. So faster, lighter shuttles are used more and more, so what? Well, afaik, it is easier to hit to baseline using these shuttles than proper heavier shuttles. And you don't need to get your technique right either. I'm just wondering if this is where badminton is going to. Comments and opinions please. Cheers, Sy
three things affects the speed of a shuttlecock. weight geometry air density with all else being equal, a heavier shuttlecock flies further. as for geometry, obviously the one with the less resistance will fly faster. as shuttlecock are made of natural material, the manufacturing process can only produce them within a range of speeds. the shuttlecock are then test flied and then sorted into speed grades. therefore for each model, you can buy faster or slower ones. this is not to adjust for personal preference, but instead for adjusting to different air density that affects the fly speed. altitude and temperature are both a factor controlling air density. if you noticed that shuttles are flying faster, it is not because they are manufactured that way, but instead the local suppliers probably imported the wrong speed for your region for that particular time of the year.
Thanks for the reply kwun. The club that I go to use the right speed. Rsl standard. 78. But recently due to shortage they have to use the 79 speed. The local supplier my club buys shuttles from is aware of this. I noticed other clubs/individual will just buy the cheapest ones they can get their hands on. Not sure if they are aware of the speed or flight characteristics. There are also local brands (probably not locally manufactured) which seem to fly faster. To me it just feels everywhere I play, the shuttles just keep getting faster. Including local tourneys.
We on the same night went from one tube of yonex as40's that had a nice snap to the cork and flew the right speed, to really soft corked really slow tube of as40's that you could barely feel on the string. Same speed on the tin, same supplier who keeps shuttles stored properly, same night, same brand. (this happens regularly) There is absolutely no quality control with shuttles now and it is just a total lottery. In answer to your question, I don't think there is any trend to the shuttles being faster/slower etc the only trend is that they are totally unreliable and massively inconsistent. Oh and the other trend is that we are having to pay an increasing amount of money for this
Hi Kwun, Just curious, I found this info on Yonex Japan website but not on Yonex International: Does those temperature readings have something to do with the indoor environment? Let say, I only play at night and the temperature is between 13 to 16 degrees, does it mean I have to buy category 5 shuttlecocks? Please advise.
^ Yes, it's the temperature of the gym that you play in. Don't matter what it is outside. Also, for those shuttles that happen to be at the wrong speed, they can always be tipped to the correct speed. I know, not as good as the right speed from the outset, but still better than continuing to play at the wrong speed.
Thanks for the info. I love the international site where you only have two models to choose, Aerosensa and Aeroclub. To buy Yonex shuttles in Japan really gives me a headache, there are so many models to choose from. E.g. Cybertec, Training, Hi-Clear, Official etc. Man, why they make it so difficult for consumers?
