Intermediate vs advanced racket

**Hullabaloo** · 03-15-2006, 12:29 AM

What characteristics define a beginners racket compared to advanced?

I assume that usually more flexible rackets with bigger sweet spots are usually considered easier to use for people with less skill. Head heavier rackets aid in power for overhead shots compared to head light rackets.

So, in the case of AT800 Def vs MP99 many people say that they are very similar rackets. I read that at800 def is more flexible and head heavier and possibly has a bigger sweet spot. Would this make it more of an intermediate user racket and easier to use compared to the MP99 which might be considered more of an advanced racket due to it's stiffness.

Would people agree with me that due to the above, for most average/intermediate players, the AT800 DEF is a better option?

**Linus** · 03-15-2006, 01:45 AM

Hi, Hullabaloo, an interesting question. My personal definition is:

Begainner Racket: any racket that can fulfill the basic requirement of hitting the shuttle and bringing it to a fair distance to the oponent's side of the court. In other words, any racket that allows you to play the game of badminton. In Singapore, I can walk into many neibourhood stationery shop and get a racket that cost around SGD10 - or USD7 - that is made of stainless steel, external t-joint, thick rubbery string, which is good enough for any person who is totally new to badminton to start with.

"Advanced" Racket: to me, there is no "advanced" racket but what I term as "high-end" racket, which represents the latest technology in terms of material and design available in the market. By this nature - they also are the most expensive available in that particular brand. Actually any decent racket that is used by a world-class professional player could easily be called an "advanced racket" if it helps the player to win many matches.

"Intermediate" Racket: again to me this is misnomer. Because any rackets that go beyond the basic type and do not fall into the "latest technology and material" could all be classified under this category. I would personal call this group of rackets as the "affordable range", which is most appealing to the general players in the badminton world.

Personally I donot think the racket stiffness, static balance point or other characteristics actually determine where the rackers sit in "advance" or "intermediate" category, if we ever wanted to catergorise them that way. They are designed that way simply to suit different players with different taste.

Call them what we like - I believe it is the player that makes the distinction, not so much of the racket itself.

Cheers.

**hydrocyanic** · 03-15-2006, 02:28 AM

marco vs. micro view of racket? heh

if looking at individuals, yes, its all come down to preferences and style of individuals, but in a general sense, beginners are not physically(str and skill) tuned as advance players, hence they will be weaker, in this case, a flexier racket is more benefitted to them because it is easier to generate power and even give them a comparable control as a stiff racket

but other attributes of a racket i would also agree on personal preferences and style of play(you can play with a head heavy racket to defense, but it IS harder to move across the field and more tiring than a headlight racket, it is still up to you though)

i think if we consider a sample size of a thousand beginners(given that they tried all the types of rackets) i believe the trend is that their performance would be better w/ a soft racket than a stiff one

ps. no such test is done, just a wild guess

**F-Man** · 03-15-2006, 07:02 AM

Originally Posted by Linus

Hi, Hullabaloo, an interesting question. My personal definition is:

Begainner Racket: any racket that can fulfill the basic requirement of hitting the shuttle and bringing it to a fair distance to the oponent's side of the court. In other words, any racket that allows you to play the game of badminton. In Singapore, I can walk into many neibourhood stationery shop and get a racket that cost around SGD10 - or USD7 - that is made of stainless steel, external t-joint, thick rubbery string, which is good enough for any person who is totally new to badminton to start with.

"Advanced" Racket: to me, there is no "advanced" racket but what I term as "high-end" racket, which represents the latest technology in terms of material and design available in the market. By this nature - they also are the most expensive available in that particular brand. Actually any decent racket that is used by a world-class professional player could easily be called an "advanced racket" if it helps the player to win many matches.

"Intermediate" Racket: again to me this is misnomer. Because any rackets that go beyond the basic type and do not fall into the "latest technology and material" could all be classified under this category. I would personal call this group of rackets as the "affordable range", which is most appealing to the general players in the badminton world.

Personally I donot think the racket stiffness, static balance point or other characteristics actually determine where the rackers sit in "advance" or "intermediate" category, if we ever wanted to catergorise them that way. They are designed that way simply to suit different players with different taste.

Call them what we like - I believe it is the player that makes the distinction, not so much of the racket itself.

Cheers.

Yeah, that is about right. It's kind of hard to say whether a racket is rated "intermediate" or "advanced." However, I would say that the biggest difference is in string tension. When I first started, I just played with the normal factory tension of no more than 22lbs. Now my rackets are strung to 30lbs.

**LazyBuddy** · 03-15-2006, 11:51 AM

Originally Posted by Hullabaloo

Would people agree with me that due to the above, for most average/intermediate players, the AT800 DEF is a better option?

Personally, once a racket costs more than US$50 (i.e. usual standard for well made all graphite rackets), it really depends on each individual to rate the racket. The more expensive / newer / stiffer / longer / lighter / whatever head shape etc do NOT guarantee a better performance for everyone. It's down to each individual to select the best performance vs. price ratio combo for him/herself.

Again, how you rate if a player is a beginner, intermediate or advanced? It's all relative again. I can be an advanced player if play in a club filled with all newbies. Could be intermediate in most local clubs. As well as a beginner to the local/regional champions. And don't even know how to rate myself when face ex-international levels...