I remember a few years ago somebody (RSL? Carlton?) in the UK released a plastic shuttle that flies almost like a feather bird, and more durable than the mavis 300. I recall a few UK BFers having tried it and liked it very much. It was supposed to have begun exporting to other countries sometime last year, but I have yet to hear about them since. Does anyone know what happened?
Are you refering to the Carlton "Quill"? I heard some stuff about it before, that it's supposed to be very similiar to feather shuttles.
The quill shuttle is made by Ashaway. Here's what Central Sports gushes: I tried it once. It's just a good plastic shuttle; don't hope for anything more. I might try it again, to compare against Mavis 300/370. In particular, it did seem pretty sturdy, so it may be a cheaper option with no drawbacks. But there's no way in hell that thing feels like a feather.
The Mavis 370 is supposed to recover after a smash within 0.005 seconds of the recovery time of a feather shuttle. Whether that classes as "flying like a feather bird" I don't know. These don't seem to be available in all parts of the world, but is the plastic shuttle of choice in our local leagues. Played in a league match where the opponents used Ashaway Quill shuttles. We normally use M370's and I think they felt a bit more like M300's from what I remember. A bit more solid when you hit them. Not sure about the durability though - we destroyed a couple (which doesn't usually happen with M370's) Slightly off topic (perhaps), has anyone tried the Mavis 500's shown on Yonex Japan's website?
I have and must say I didn't think it was any better than Mavis 370. My personal preference for nylon shuttles is Victor. /mats
nothing amazing, i thought they were kinda midway between 300 and 370. the 370 is like a ping pong ball sometimes, and the 300 is a lot more solid when hitting. 500 didnt feel too light or heavy, but it didnt exactly "feel" great either.