Plastic and Feather

Yeah, one gets tripped up in transition between each types of shuttles. I was a full-time plastic shuttler until I moved to a new place where most people in the club plays with feathers. Transition is harder one way than the other. Feathers requires more stroking than plastic, thus more focus on racquet control and timing in basic shots such as the clear. For me, plastic is easier to play with but much less fun than feathers. My advice is to keep playing with both and get used to the different feel. Also, take more time during warmup to adjust your swings.

 

Definetly, I always have to adjust. In school we play with plastic neon yellow shuttles, so it is always easy to drop very tight, clear high and long, and smash quite easily. However, when I went to the club a few weeks ago, I missed every other serve and my clears were high and mid court, not high and long I guess you just have to practice all your shots again when you switch from feather to plastic, there is no way anyone can change what school league deems is appropriate for badminton (although I did wish we played with feathers, it has a more professional and realistic feeling). Plus the sound is more "authentic" when playing with feathers anyhow. Anyone know why they invented plastic feathers in the FIRST place? I'd like to know hehe.

 

well there is a big difference at 1st when you switch back and forth between feather and plastic and i agree that schools should use feathers but feather gets wrecked alot faster than plastic. when just rallying for fun it is better to use plastic and i do that but when its time for a game by that i mean an interesting game not just on some beginners but on like intermediate and up then its time to bring out the feather. i agree that it was weird to switch back and forth between the two and thats why i started to just juggle a feather shuttle around at home because then i get the feel for it i mean clearing and smashing with a feather are not that much different from a plastic but the difference is at the net. with a feather my accuracy is so much better than with plastic i can get it upclose to the net but with plastic it either goes to high or to far. the best way to get use to the transation between the 2 is just to practice and it will come as second nature in time until play only with feather. well thats just what i have to say.

 

James, when does pre-season for high school badminton begin?

My suggestion is to start using nylon shuttles exclusively 2 months or more before pre-season begins. Stay away from feather shuttles until your HS season has concluded. this way you will be able to develop muscle memory for the flight & timing characteristics of nylon shuttles. Since the aerodynamics of nylon & feather shuttles are quite different, it would be best not to confuse yourself (your muscles) during & before your HS season.

Does you school & league use Yonex Mavis 350 shuttles? Whatever shuttle your HS uses, stick with it exclusively since one nylon model can differ considerably from another (Mavis 300 behaves differently from Mavis 350; other brands could differ even more).

If you are not very close to your season yet, then go ahead & try to adjust to transitioning betwixt nylon & feather. It can take quite a while (definitely something NOT to do during & before your HS season). Once your season is over, then go ahead & hit primarily with feather shuttles again. Go back to using nylon every once in a while during this period so that your muscles learn to make the adjustment.

Note that feather shuttles, when hit solidly (hard), usually comes off the racket much faster & cleaner than the average nylon shuttle. However, the feather shuttle will experience more of a braking action in flight & will actually slow down more than most nylon shuttles (some nylon shuttles slow down very little when smashed). This will often mean that clears, smashes & fast (cut) drops will behave differently with feather vs. nylon.

Some ppl find the ability to adjust on clears (high, deep serves) & smashes easier than trying to adjust on net shots with various shuttle types. If you have gotten to the point where you can make the adjustment easily on hard-hit shots, then practice a lot of overhead drops & net shots with the type of shuttle that you are using for play or practice session.

Just as it takes ppl some time to adjust between tennis & badminton... adjusting between feather & shuttle can also take some time & effort. It can be done!

 

This is not the answer you want to hear, but it's true:

The best way to solve the problem of adjusting is to play with feather shuttles always.

Don't get me wrong - with practice, it is possible to adjust quite easily between the two. But if you want maximum precision, you need to give up playing with plastics. Or at least, try to play with feathers as often as possible. Use feathers for your practice sessions if you can.

Unfortunately this advice is probably not practical for you to follow right now However, once you're out of high school, seek clubs and practice partners etc. who will play with feathers.

 

Both!!!

I've learned how to use both. And it's very hard switching. Just warm up with it for a while, and u'll get the hang of it. Just don't switch and go into game play right away. Leave time to adjust.

 

I play for high school as well using plastic birds, but I normally play with feather outside of school. The transition is hard if you keep switching back and forth, but if you develop technique using the feather bird, it will become very easy to use the plastic afterwards, and the transition will no longer be a problem.

 

using plastic birdies doesn't break easily but feather breaks most of the time. i dunno y but i guess cuz i hit too hard. is there a big difference besides the speed of the birdies? cuz it's kidna strange that plastic cost more than feather birdies.

 

Here's a psychological game you can play on yourself. Get 2 identical racquets strung the same. Use one (ex/ with red grip tape) exclusively for feather & the other (with different coloured tape) for plastic.

If you break the string on one of them, you're going to have to play with the other racquet anyways!

In fact, on some days when you're playing really bad with one racquet, just try switching to the other, you may actually play better!

Cheers!