Hello, First, let me introduce myself. I'm a sixteen year old from New York. Unfortunatly, not only living in a state with limited badminton facilities, I live in a county that only has female's badminton divisions in school.. bummer. Anyway, I know you're saying to yourself "Find a new sport man, give up." Well.. I should, but I'm shopping not for a competitive racquet, but something to enjoy with my family. You see, I've been playing for as long as I could hold a racquet at every barbeque my family has ever had.. well, almost every one. We're all pretty good and things can get competitive.. except for the racquets we're using. They're your typical sporting supplies store 5 dollar specials.. fishline, no tention, and after a while the shaft starts spinning loose fromt he grip/handle. I've had just about enough of it... I figure I may as well spend a bit more money and get something that's going to last me. So, after all that, I come to my questions: 1) What kind and/or specific model of racquet would you recommend? 2) As the quality of the racquet, and of course the price goes up, will the durablity of the racquet increase as well? Even though I'm very careful, of course I may hit the ground trying to recieve the shuttlecock.. I don't want to have to replace the racquet every time I do that, I just can't afford it. 3) What would be a good price range to have? I'd like it to be easily replaceable, but cost enough to buy myself some quality. Thank you very much for your time taken, it's very much appreciated. -Bob
1. (included in 3.) 2. The durability goes down actually because comparing to low end (AL, Steel, and Iron) to high end (graphite), I am sure the graphite will break easier than steel, but better performance. 3. A good price range for a starter would be around $50~80, you might want to try something that is not so expensive and durable, some models like Cab-8200 series would be good to try. You can get something better than that later on if you decided on you want to play more.
Bob, you didn't say what you will be using the rackets for. are you planning to play more seriously in local gym and get training, or do you plan to use the racket in family BBQs? if the former, i agree with bluejeff. however, if you plan to play in backyard BBQ, likely you will need a few of them for the family members and for that, i say get something cheaper in the $30 range. Yonex and Wilson both have racket at that price range and they will certain do much better than the $5 ones you have been using
If for backyard usage, consider beginner series from reputable brands, such as yonex (ISO 20, ISO23, B450, etc) or Wilson (Ti Smash?) or lower end HQ. I used to be able to find such ones in sports chain stores, and sale for price around $15-$30. If you need to purchase quite a few, look on line, they have cheaper price, but might need to pay for S+H.
Welcome to the forums! I recommend getting a low end Yonex's Carbonex or Isometric series, as they're available at reasonable prices($40 - $60 Cdn) and they perform very well. Preferably non-aluminum, as they weigh quite a bit more and will definitely slow you down as you progress. I've also tried Black Knight Carbo-knight, which was $45 on sale, and it is a very light and powerful racket. As you progress, you may find that the lightness be required, as the play at intermediate level or higher tend to be very fast and you don't want the racket to be holding you back. The next step up from these rackets will be in the $100 - $130 range, and includes the low end MP series(MP30 comes to mind), as well at Black Knight's Power Channel series (it is used by one of the players that BK sponsors, even though it isn't top of the line). Also I tested out Pointfore's 5500 ti, and it actually helped me win a game at the Pointfore tournement . Generally, the $40-$60 range racket is good enough (I am using a Cab 7 Long that costed $40). They are quite suitable for club level and local tourneys. But even if you intended to train hard, and strive to be a top player, you should really only consider investing in $100+ racket later on when you have better knowledge of the game.
Personally I suggest the Muscle Power 28, it's a racquet that's right in the middle in Yonex's chart, so I'm guessing you can use it for Double/Single, Smash based/ Defence-play decently, until you figure out your style and "upgrade to a more suitable racquet". The flex is medium and shouldn't be too hard to handle even for a beginner. 3U is also a good weight for beginners, not too light or heavy. Also it has Titanium Mesh so control should be there. Lastly, it looks pretty attractive =) I personally think this is one of the better racquets to start with. Hope I helped! P.S. I do not work for Yonex and I'm not part of it's advertising crew!
Go take a whole day and find a shop which sells baddy equipment. Then tell the shopowner your price range and ask him to take racquets down for you to get a feel. Demo them and then decide. My .5 cents ~Cheers