I just got a tube of Aerosensa 50 that was supposed to be Medium Speed, Blue. The end caps on the tube are blue but the banding on the cork is green. The Mavis 2000 Medium Speed Blue that I got have a blue band, and I was expecting the same on the Aerosensa's. I'm assuming I'm wrong but just wanted to check and make sure I got the right birds.
Aerosensa 50? As in the feather shuttles? They don't colour code those. The speed should be on the tube.
Hmm, the place I bought them gave a color/speed choice, 78-medium-blue http://www.amazon.com/YONEX-AeroSensa-50-Feather-Badminton-Shuttlecocks/dp/B009ZDHLMI I don't see any speed rating on the tube.
Huh, not sure why. They don't colour code the bands. Maybe it's to relate to their plastic line? Anyway a 78 is good for around 13-23 celcius. In NY in winter it gets pretty cold, right? You might need to switch a 79 when it gets really cold (like December oh my god I can't feel my toes cold). Oh, duh on my part, Yonex rate their speed from 1-5. A 78 is the equivalent of a 4 I think.
None of our sportshalls are heated, I'm not sure how heated sportshalls effect shuttle speed or what it'd do. When it's cold outside it's cold inside :crying:
The bands for plastic yonex shuttles have different colours depending on the speed. Feather Yonex shuttles have green bands and the speed is not to be found the shuttlecock but on a small sticker on the blue endcap of the tube. For feathers Yonex 3 = 77, yonex 4= 78. I found info on shuttlespeeds on this site. http://www.shuttlecock.com/Resources/Shuttlecock/speed_info.php also in an old BC-thread there is some info. http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php/14631-Which-color-of-shuttlecock-should-I-use
Interesting, I did find a #3 sticker on the end of the tube, also there is a large #3 on the top right corner of the bar code sticker. So I guess in fact this is a 77 medium sea level, not a 78 medium fast cold area as advertised.
If your halls are heated, a 77 might be ok. There are ways to test how fast a shuttle is, but it's quite a specific skill. Just be aware that, plastic shuttles tend to be quite a bit slower than feather shuttles. I find that a 'red' Mavis 300 is more on par with a 78 speed, and the 'blue' Mavis 300 to be more on par with a 77 speed. For many people who are used to playing with plastics, they feel that feather shuttles fly too fast. They just aren't prepared for proper speed shuttles. This is just a note so that when you start playing with your new AS 50s (good choice by the way), they will likely travel faster than the plastic shuttles, but it does not mean they're too fast.
Yeah I just want to use what the local tournaments are using. I played one recently and was quite lost at first trying to adjust to the Aerosensa 50's after the Yonnex 2000's.
Yeah, they decided to go upscale, unfortunately Most used to use the Mavis 350 nylon, which was all I knew so it was fine with me. I switched to the 2000's because I heard they were closer to feather, but they aren't that close.
Well, what level of player are you? The AS50s are coming in at a good price ($34 a tube), but that's still on the expensive side, and it might get quite pricey to train with those. If there are any clubs nearby that use feather shuttles, you might find you're able to buy boxes of semi-used shuttles from them with minor damage at a heavy discount. If you do any training drills, then this is a much more economic way to do things. If you don't have that option, start your own bin of semi-used shuttles.
I'd say on a good day I'm a B level, a not so good day, C level. I'm in a rural area of central NY state so the only opportunity to play against players better than myself is to enter tournaments. Years ago I was able to play at a nearby university with very good international players but that's no longer an option. Plus that was mostly doubles and I prefer singles. My plan is to use mostly nylon shuttles until a month or so before a tournament then switch to the AS 50. If I have some familiarity with the feel and flight characteristics of the feather shuttles I should be able to adjust and reprogram my play. Adapt or perish
Oh it's not just that, it's that you can kill and ruin feather shuttles much more easily than nylon - lower ability players are likelier to have an unclean hit (catch more of the feather than the cork) and ruin them. If that's the case, playing on feathers can get really expensive. If you're at a confident and good level this shouldn't be an issue for you. Honestly, it's more advisable to focus on playing on feather shuttles and switch back to plastics for casual games. You want to be more acquainted with feather than plastic. If you have the budget for it I'd recommend doing so. If you have good training partners there are all sorts of drills you can learn too.
Agree that it makes more sense to use a majority of feather, as long as I can afford it. I know how fragile the feathers are. I was going to try the "dip the feathers in water" method to try and prolong their useful life. I'm also seeing a very real business opportunity in creating a more feather like nylon shuttle. I think current technology should be capable of doing so.
Well, try to find the best balance between durability, price, and flight quality. For me this is the A300, but I'm still trying other lines to see if I can find something cheaper. This time I ordered 2 tubes of A300, one of TNA, one RSL 4, one A60, and 2 tubes of Chinese shuttles. Don't be afraid to experiment a little As for nylon, it's harder than it sounds. The closest nylon shuttle I've used is the bird2.
