Feather vs Nylon adjustment

Discussion in 'General Forum' started by twlih, Mar 3, 2004.

  1. twlih

    twlih Regular Member

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    Hi,
    I play nylon bird twice a week and feather once a week.
    I am having problem adjusting to the feathers. I have been working
    on defferent stroke and method but always I play far better in nylon.
    When it comes to feather, I just kinda below my performance.
    Does this happen to anyone?
    Does it really a feather vs nylon problem or something else.
    Just your thoughts. :D
     
  2. wood_22_chuck

    wood_22_chuck Regular Member

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    Think this is the 2nd or 3rd time, BUT ... if you have two rackets, string one at a higher tension for feathers, the other lower for nylons.

    -dave
     
  3. Oranjmaan

    Oranjmaan Regular Member

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    just relax when u're warming up with feathers, n' take a good long warm up too, ur body just need sum time to adjust to the slight difference in timing. there's not much u can realli consciously do, cuz the differences are THAT big.
     
  4. other

    other Regular Member

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    yeah, just try to warm up lots with the feather, as they will take time to adjust to if u usually play with nylons. Why do we need higher tensions for fether shuttles?
     
  5. Neil Nicholls

    Neil Nicholls Regular Member

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    Dunno, but it works for me.

    Alternatively, use lower tensions for plastic. I remember some threads from ages ago where people talked about getting arm pain when using plastic after being used to using feather.
     
  6. ryeung

    ryeung Regular Member

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    You're right. The odd time that I play with plastic, my arm and shoulder will be sore the next day. The coach at our club suggests not switching between the two. I do use my secondary racket for plastic. It is a couple of pounds lower in tension.
     
  7. xofrevlis

    xofrevlis Regular Member

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    I think it's because feather shuttlecocks have faster recovery times than plastic ones, hence you string rackets at a higher tension to get the most out of feathers before they start to recover and slow down. I can't remember too well, but I think I read somewhere that it takes feather shuttlecocks around 0.015 seconds to recover its normal flight path whilst it's been more for plastics. The newest Yonex plastics, (Mavis 370s, I think) are quoted to have a recovery time of 0.020 seconds.
    I've have looked into this very shallowly so it's probably best not to trust it too much. :D
     
  8. other

    other Regular Member

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    you're right about the times.....well i'm used to plastics...the feather ones are too slow (after some of the feathers start coming off) and they are too expensive to keep replacing.

    higher tension to get the most out of them before they start to slow down? what did u mean?
     
  9. JChen99

    JChen99 Regular Member

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    It dont happen to me. What happens is when I play with plastic I just use more wrist than when I play feather. You can still get a LOT of power into your shots
     
  10. weekey

    weekey Regular Member

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    my suggestion is dont play with palstics any more. playing with plastics is not real badminton.
     
  11. LazyBuddy

    LazyBuddy Regular Member

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    Maybe that's true for a lot of ppl. However, the cost for feather shuttles is quite high in north america. Many high school teams and recreation clubs have to settle for plastic to save $$$ with its superior durability.
     
  12. cooler

    cooler Regular Member

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    there are pluses and minuses for both feather and nylon shuttles.
    If you're really good in badminton, you should be able to be good in both feather and nylon. While at this topic, I think the cost of feather shuttles could be partly to blame for badminton from being popular in north america. If u compare with the staple sport in the US like basketball, football, basefall, volleyball, etc. The initial and subsequent costs of equipment are lower.

    basketball - around 30 USD and last almost lifetime
    baseball - leather gloves 50 USD and last almost lifetime. Each ball should last for years
    volleyball - around 30 USD leather ball, last for years
    football - around 30 USD leather ball, last for years
    tennis - racket dont break under normal use, balls last for days (when played constantly), last for weeks from casual plays.
    lacrose - equipments last for years (popularity rising fast)
    soccer - ball last for years

    feather shuttle - last for 10 minutes or less, 1 to 1.5 USD a pop
     
  13. mlvezina

    mlvezina Regular Member

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    You do raise an interesting point Cooler. I guess an extension to this point would go as follows:

    1\ If you decide to dedicate yourself to a sport in order to make a living out of it and you are faced with so many choices in your country, which one will you choose ?

    2\ For those remaining after point 1 who wish to dedicate themselves to a sport just for the fun of it (i.e. no expectation of revenue), which one will they choose when faced with so many choices in their country, given the respective costs involved ?

    3\ Those remaining after points 1 and 2 can only be considered real badminton fanatics :D

    Cheers,

    Mike
     
  14. LazyBuddy

    LazyBuddy Regular Member

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    Also, facility renting could be a pain as well. The above sports almost all can use out door fields, or at least, plain school gyms. Badminton facility has tons of more additional requirements which means, price up.
     
  15. weekey

    weekey Regular Member

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    fortunately, I am not in north america, I am in england. I had never play with plastics before I came here. and i was shocked when I saw people playing with plastics. I do agree the plastic shuttles are more durable, but i also think the game with plastics is less enjoyable. do you guys enjoy the game with plastics?
     
  16. cooler

    cooler Regular Member

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    why the shock? i think it's snobbish and one dimensional to think plastic players are not badminton players. It's like saying people who dont use yonex are not badminton players. Feather is just an adopted standard for IBF sanction tournament, same as white color attire. It is just a long carried tradition. It is just a status symbol.

    How can u conclude that plastic shuttles are less enjoyable when you havent play them before?

    Do u know that wooden racket and real gut strings are first used in badminton like the feather shuttle? How come you are ok playing with titanium/carbon fiber/kevlar/boron composite racquet and NYLON strings? Shouldn't you also use wooden racket and gut string to go with your feather shuttles like a real badminton player?
     
    #16 cooler, Mar 5, 2004
    Last edited: Mar 5, 2004
  17. Gollum

    Gollum Regular Member

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    Come on Cooler, there's little doubt that feather shuttles have superior flight characteristics and "feel" compared with plastics :p They are not just a status symbol. How do you think the professionals would react if the IBF forced them to switch to plastics?

    That said, there are many high-standard clubs who play with plastics, for reasons of economy. But feathers are clearly better if you have the money.
     
  18. cooler

    cooler Regular Member

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    you miss the point of my post.
    it is just one standard been adopted by IBF.
    How does feather flight is superior or better feel? Can u reverse the statement and say how come feather can't imitate the flight of a plastic shuttle? I would say feather do have more variables that can be manipulated. .

    How do you think the professionals would react if the IBF forced them to switch to plastics
    Same as asking all the chinese replace their rice staple with bread. Of course they dont like it because they are so use to it. Is rice really superior to bread?? If money is no object, i'll eat pearl pink rice hand washed with mountain spring water and cooked with 500 USD rice cooker, and use AS-50 shuttles too. A standard is just a standard. If pros uses plastic in tournaments and lose, his opponent uses plastic nylon too. So was the lost due to poor skill in plastic or just poor skill in adapting to change? If the purse prize remain the same, i bet the pros won't complain as every other players are subject to the same standard. Would u buy the excuse if the pros says he played lousy and lost because of using plastic in his match? Have you heard any pros blaming his lost because his/her opponents have better racquets and shoes?
     
    #18 cooler, Mar 5, 2004
    Last edited: Mar 5, 2004
  19. cooler

    cooler Regular Member

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    Robert L (there are actually two Robert L at the club but it being a Thursday, I would assume that it is the older Robert L that you talking about) is good (uses Winex) . Surprising he prefers nylon birds over feathers as he thinks the nylons are more consistent from one to the next as compared to feathers

    yes, in previous threads, i have pointed out that one advantage of nylon (plastic) is consistency. In many tournaments i had witness time consumed to test all feather shuttles. If the flight is so superior, why all this testing? In some matches, some players still have complaint on feather shuttles used - too fast or too slow. You have zillion brands and each have dozen grades. In plastic, i play with mavis 300, same as 99% of the clubs, same as 99.99% of the plastic shuttle tournaments.

    The flight and feel of feather shuttle degrade right after the first hit. How superior is that?
     
    #19 cooler, Mar 5, 2004
    Last edited: Mar 5, 2004
  20. Gollum

    Gollum Regular Member

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    No Cooler, I did not miss the point of your post. It's just that I disagree with you completely!

    Okay, so feathers are "just another standard adopted by the IBF". So is the height of the net, the court dimensions, the restrictions on rackets, the service laws.......

    Presumably if it's only a standard, we can replace any of these things. And while you're at it, why not replace shuttlecocks with small beach-balls?

    Feather shuttles DO have different flight characteristics. For example, when hit with a high lift shot, feather shuttles will travel to the top of their flight arc before dropping almost vertically to the floor. Plastics don't do this - they follow a more parabolic path. You may not agree with the comments on the superior "touch" or "feel" of feathers (though you'd get strange looks at most decent clubs if you denied this), but the difference in flight on a lift shot can be observed objectively. Just try it out yourself!

    Sounds to me like you have an inferiority complex because you always play with plastics, and some people look down on you for this. That's not the right attitude - the quality of the player has nothing to do with what type of shuttle he uses.

    You mentioned "snobbery" in your first post. Ever heard of something called inverted snobbery?
     

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