I need to replace my venerable original cab 20 -unfortunately its owner is also not as young as he used to be -age, shoulder and wrist injuries (laziness?) have caught up with me and I need more help -the details 1/singles player twice a week strength /endurance training rest of free time 2/speed about the court and net play main advantages -more of a retriever / defensive style 3/ aforementioned shoulder and wrist injuries have robbed me much of my smashing power need light racquet g4 grip 4/price range £40-£90 (english pounds) 5/prefer yonex (old habits die hard) having searched previous threads my style of play would seem to favour the mp88 but would an armortech racquet give me the extra power I think I need or would I lose my (limited) strengths? thanking you in advance
what string and tension are you using now? if you think you are getting weaker over the years, try lowering the tension and see if that helps things a bit.
the tension I am using is only 19lbs bg 65 - I do not get any `crispness` in my shots I was thinking of getting my new racquet strung at 23-24lbs although conventional wisdom apparently indicates,as you imply, that reduced tension can increase power as has been indicated in many threads thanks for making me welcome kwun
Damn! Any lower and you won't be able to find the 'crispness' at all. Have you tried adapting your choice of shots to your physical conditions? Reduced tension only increase more power if you reduce the speed of your swing as well. Welcome to BF, btw!
can't decide which racquet to buy hi everyone! hope you can help me. i need a suggestion on which racquet to buy. which is good--victor, gosen or yonex? basically i want a light racquet with control and power...something that won't require me to exert extra effort when it comes to smashing or dropping. i'm checking the internet but i get confuse when i start reading the features--carbonex, graphite, titanium, muscle power, 3u, g4, isometric...etc., etc. can anyone just give me the basic features that a good baminton racquet should have. thanks in advance.
what is your price range? go for a 3u or a 4u racket, their the lighter ones. all the brands you listed are good, but you should go out and test their rackets for yourself. features on a badminton racket don't count very much i dont think. its just how well you're able to play with a racket. thats why some people still use the old Yonex Carbonex 20s and don't switch to the newest technology like the armortec. i would recommend the Yonex Armortec 500 or Yonex MP99 or a Yonex Carbonex 30ms. the at500 because overall its light, but its also headheavy at the same time. so you'll get some power right there. this racket is also a bit flexible, so if you have some trouble generating power, the flexablility of the shaft will help with that. the mp99 is a very good racket because of its balance, its not too head light or head heavy. it has good control and produces a good amount of power. if you don't want to pay for the premium price of $150+ for a mp99, i suggest a carbonex 30ms. this racket is also even balanced, produces a good amount of power and control. the difference between the mp99 and the cab30ms is one is isometric (mp99) which has a bigger sweetspot for more power and one is carbonex which is oval shaped (cab30ms) which gives you better control, but slightly reduced power. oh to add one more thing, the mp99 is stiffer and the cab30ms is a little more flexible between the two. if you're someone who has a little trouble with generating power, go for the cab30ms.
is it a 2U cab20 then? i would recommend new strings....BG85 works excellently, and at 20lbs ish (mine) it will last a couple of months. steer away from BG65ti...many few people like this string, it just feels wrong. For 90 pounds, you can get any Muscle Power racquet, the AT300 and AT500, and the AT700 is 100pounds. Basically you can get any Yonex racquet in the UK. i guess if you have a few shops around you can try them out (well, swing them a few times in the shop). If you play singles a lot, then you would need very good technique to use a light racquet (4U)?
Thanks , guys I will get a restring with bg 85 as suggested and see what happens -if not successful I `ll go for armortech 300 and hope for best thanks again
hehe..i only quoted from the catalogue do you have any BG85? fair price for them is around £3.50-5.50.....some guy was selling them for £7+ on here i think
nope, I do not have any bg85 at the moment but if it means restoring some of my lost power it will be well worth it -I will track some down
Try going to the FAQ section of the forum. There, it has a thread that gives you the basic requirements of buying a new racquet.
Anothe cab20 user Can I ask the reason for replacement? Is the racquet broken? Me being a hard core cab20 user for a long time had a test hit with AT700. I found it a little difficult to handle. Admittedly, it was only a knock around. The owner asked to play a game with the racquet but given the price and the risk of racquet clash in doubles, I declined
No it is not broken but I am worried about getting it restrung at a higher tension due to its age and `wear and tear` -I have read all the propaganda regarding newer racquets with more power I must have been persuaded
Don't want to dissuade you from the Cab 20 (or else Cheung will probably ban me ) But the first thing you should do is experiment with the tension settings, then the grip size (thickness) A Cab 2U is a weighty beast but why don't you bear in mind trying a Cab 3U or even still changing to a light racket with a flexible shaft which makes up for your lack of power and you will find they tend to be more forgiving for mis-timed and mis-hit shots. I would suggest an MP88 in that case but go for last seasons colour since the new season colour change is released and the older one will be on sale for about £60-80. A very light and whippy racket. But please try the tension and grip changes first, I would try about 21-23lbs in natural gut, you will notice a complete change in your game and you will get that crispness because for feel nothing comes close to gut. The only downfall is it is very ££££££££££
good advice.....sheldonzhang has offered me some quality string now I have to find a quality stringer as well
It's hard to just say 'good' and "bad" about a racket, as everyone has different preference. For information regarding to 3U, G4, etc, there's a FAQ section u might find the answers. If u really have no idea about the rackets, I suggest u to visit local shops to demo their rackets. Or, borrow rackets from friends and fellow club members. Once u get ur hand on the real stuff, it will help u to narrow down the choices. Then, with additional information u provided, it will be easier for us to give u more suggestions.
