Plastic vs. feather birds

**[Trin]Kenshin** · 12-28-2004, 09:27 AM

Hi, I wanted to know what people feel is the difference between the average and plastic birds. Is a good plastic THAT much different than a decent feather?

I live where a continuous supply of good feather birds is too expensive as I am still in university. I personally think that feathers give slightly more control and they tend to fly farther when clearing but are slower during smashing.

I also wanted to know the wear and tear effects of the 2 types of shuttlecocks on different strings ie: 65/68Ti/70pro/80/85 etc... Do plastics wear strings out faster or something and that is why 70 pro is a string more suited for plastic use?

thanks.

I am currently using a Ti-10 (will switch to a LF-Ti500 soon!!!

) w/ 70pro strings. I find the pro to not be a very lively string and am considering switching to an 80 string but I am not sure if the plastics will eat it up in 2 hours or something like that.

**shawn30_k** · 12-28-2004, 10:03 AM

oh ti-10 is a good racket.oh but the feel of feather shuttles are much better.other than that i cant really tell u much because i am no expert in strings.but ive use 1 of the yonex mavis shuttle before too.not that great.the butt will come out too after lobbings only.

**dragon62** · 12-30-2004, 01:04 AM

agreed,

Nylon = slow but speeds up after use, still pretty durable, last you about 2-3 decent games

Feather = amazing feel and real control, however its either ridiculously fast or incredibly slow, you can try bending the tips back but you realize the birds dead after 7-12 points

I prefer nylon but feather is a nice switch everynow and then

**napee** · 12-30-2004, 08:39 AM

stopped using nylon since i was like 10. feather is the way to go.

**Qidong** · 12-30-2004, 01:03 PM

My experience with nylon is that the bird will last for a long time, but my racquet string won't last for 1 week. It ends up more expensive playing with nylon.

**charzord** · 12-30-2004, 01:07 PM

I string my racket with bg 65 and play 3 times a week.......so far, not a broken string in 4 months. I do not know how you people can afford feather birdies! There so expensive! Each 2 hour session you use up at least a tube of shuttles, but my nylon Mavis' can last a couple of sessions before the top falls off.

**Aleik** · 02-07-2005, 04:18 AM

Qidong, how is it that plastics are more likely to break the string that feathers? I've always thought that it was the other way round!

I just realised yesterday how awful it is to play with plastics if you are a touch player. I normally keep my big smash locked away until it's certain to be a winner, couldn't smash to save my life yesterday with a plastic! I felt like a school boy!

I'm starting to think that plastics are for those who just enjoy leathering the shuttle mindlessly back and forth, with little element of control in their game. Is there something I'm doing wrong?

Aleik.

**pandee720** · 02-07-2005, 04:46 AM

i like the feel of a feather birdie... and the sound... :-D
plastics are just wayyy too fast... especially when a powerful person smashes...

**napee** · 02-07-2005, 08:10 AM

[QUOTE=charzord]I do not know how you people can afford feather birdies! There so expensive! [QUOTE]

we share among ourselves.

**ViningWolff** · 02-07-2005, 09:21 AM

Plastic birds are way too fast. I can take brand new mavis 300 and turn them into bullets.

If you hunt around the internet, you can get some great deals on shuttles. Hi-Qua shuttles are reasonable priced and not too bad for durability. I'm going to be trying ou there team 24 training shuttle, which runs $14 US for 24 shuttles.

When I order in bulk I get their tourney shuttle for about $15 CDN/dozen ( shipping, GST and duty included)

**LazyBuddy** · 02-07-2005, 10:27 AM

Originally Posted by charzord

I do not know how you people can afford feather birdies! There so expensive! Each 2 hour session you use up at least a tube of shuttles, but my nylon Mavis' can last a couple of sessions before the top falls off.

1. Say a group of 4 ppl, everyone chip in shuttles alternatly. If a tube is used for 2 hrs session, then, each person should at most "donate" 3-4.

2. Use slightly used shuttles / plastic ones for warm up.

3. Find "connection" to get good shuttles with lower price.

**LazyBuddy** · 02-07-2005, 10:29 AM

Originally Posted by ViningWolff

If you hunt around the internet, you can get some great deals on shuttles. Hi-Qua shuttles are reasonable priced and not too bad for durability. I'm going to be trying ou there team 24 training shuttle, which runs $14 US for 24 shuttles.

The Hi-Qua team 24 is not a bad choice for drills. If u properly steam it, it can last for a while, for the price u paid. However, don't recommand it for the intensive games, or smashing drills. The feather breaks fairly easily.

**cooler** · 02-07-2005, 12:03 PM

Originally Posted by ViningWolff

Plastic birds are way too fast. I can take brand new mavis 300 and turn them into bullets.

If you hunt around the internet, you can get some great deals on shuttles. Hi-Qua shuttles are reasonable priced and not too bad for durability. I'm going to be trying ou there team 24 training shuttle, which runs $14 US for 24 shuttles.

When I order in bulk I get their tourney shuttle for about $15 CDN/dozen ( shipping, GST and duty included)

LOL, makes no difference to me, all types of shuttles are way too fast off your racquet

hiqua shuttles from internet, are they 76 speed or slower?

**ViningWolff** · 02-07-2005, 12:12 PM

Originally Posted by cooler

LOL, makes no difference to me, all types of shuttles are way too fast off your racquet

hiqua shuttles from internet, are they 76 speed or slower?

They use a different speed rating. 51 are for the coastal/high humidy/low temp. 50 work well in Kelowna and I tend to the speed 49 for here.

I got speed 48 (Denver rated) for this years tourney as with the blue-green dye they are the perfect speed.

The team 24 shuttles come in 50 speed only, but as a training feather, having to tip them all the time doesn't bother me.

The other shuttles I was looking at were Sosan as they seemed pretty durable when I played with them on the coast.

**TheGr8Two** · 03-15-2005, 01:17 PM

I've been using plastic for most of the time, except when playing against players who use feathers exclusively. I have a wide range of shots when using plastic, but my choice of shots for feather are rather limited..

First, I want to ask if smashes from rear court are less effective with feather? It seems that with plastic, the speed is a lot faster, compared to feather (that has been tested for proper speed). This affects my main strategy..typically, I win by just smashing hard. Also, I haven't been able to drop shots with feather, as I probably need more practice with that, whereas with plastic, I can do good drop shots to vary my attack.

Second, are off-center hits on feather much worst than plastic? I'm thinking that may be why I can backhand clear a lot better when using plastic compared to feather.

**604badder** · 03-15-2005, 01:30 PM

Originally Posted by TheGr8Two

........It seems that with plastic, the speed is a lot faster, compared to feather (that has been tested for proper speed). .......

But this sentence contradicted itself. If both were tested to the same speed, and landing in the right speed check zone, how can one be much faster than the other.

**TheGr8Two** · 03-15-2005, 02:00 PM

Both types are tested for landing in the right zone. The question is does the plastic shuttle reach a higher speed when you do an extremely hard smash; there seems to be more air resistance with feather.