String tension question

Discussion in 'Badminton String' started by Jon, May 25, 2001.

  1. Jon

    Jon Guest

    I went to my usual stringer and told him to string my MP100 at 24 lbs. His eyes grew big and in a shocked voice replied, "24 lbs!?" and all the surrounding customers were looking at me with the same shocked expression as well. What's wrong with stringing my racket at 24 lbs? I usually string it at 22, but wanted to try a higher tension, because I think MP100 works better with high tension. The stringer told me that stringing at 24 lbs is very dangerous for the racket, if I mishit the bird, I could potentially damage or break it. He also said that lower tension gives more power so if I wanted more power, I should string it at lower tension. I finally ended up stringing it at 21 lbs. Haven't tried it out yet tho. I just wanted to know if it is true that stringing at 24 lbs is dangerous to the racket and if 24 lbs gives more power or 21 lbs. I heard somewhere that power only increases when you string at some insane tension like 30-35 lbs.
     
  2. shaun

    shaun Regular Member

    Joined:
    Apr 30, 2002
    Messages:
    1,078
    Likes Received:
    0
    Occupation:
    Theatre boy!!
    Location:
    North York, Ont
    Thats obsurd Jon!!!!! I think that stringer just made that excuse up about the 24LB....stringing badminton racquets are a pain and quite difficult, an inexperienced stringer might damage/break a racquet during high tension stringing...that may be the case with this stringer of yours. And even if he is experienced, maybe he just made that up as an excuse for not stringing it so high because he did not want to risk damaging the racquet during stringing. The MP100 can take 24lb EASILY! The yonex recommended max tension according to the Canadian Catalogue is 25lb! Peter Gade has the slim10(keep in mind that its SLIM 10! SLIM!!!) at 32+ lb!!!!
    the mp is stronger, thicker and has those bumps-WHY CANT IT TAKE 24? no way in hell that it cant take it.
    As for a lower tension equating to more power, it depends on how hard you hit it: if you just hold the racquet stationary and not move it when a bird comes, the bird will bounce further on a lower tension racquet than a high tension one. BUT if you hit hard, you will have the strings on a low tension racquet flex too much and therefore absorb your power. This is where high tension plays a part, the high tension wont flex inwards as much and wont absorb as much power.
    You need to experiment, it is different for everyone
     
  3. Jon

    Jon Guest

    Thanks Shaun
    Next time, I will ask for 24 lbs again and I won't take no for an answer >:)

    But will the high tension shorten the strings lifespan? and by how much? I usually get the bg-68ti
     
  4. Jeff

    Jeff Guest

    like shaun said, he may be scared because he might break the racuet. i suggest you try and find another
     
  5. Byro-Nenium

    Byro-Nenium Regular Member

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2002
    Messages:
    2,177
    Likes Received:
    0
    Occupation:
    Undergrad
    Location:
    Singapore
    WAIT!!

    This i know from my personal experience. I'm sure people who have been lucky enough to visit several different stringers know what i'm talking about.......

    I used to like stringing my racket at 22lbs at (A), thats considered moderate tension. Then i asked for 24lbs, i liked that better......... one day when my racket string broke i had to restring my racket but stringer (A) was closed. SO i went to stringer (B) and asked for a 22lbs pound tension, she said i was nuts....... ok fine then, 20lbs.

    Collected it a half hour later and found that the tension felt like a 26lbs tension that (A) would have strung.......

    meaning, 22lbs at 1 shop may be tighter than 22lbs at another....... trust me, now that i no longer visit stringer (A) nor (B), i have stringer (C) string it at 21lbs that feels like 24lbs from (A) and about 19lbs from (B)
     
  6. kwun

    kwun Administrator

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2002
    Messages:
    41,041
    Likes Received:
    2,065
    Occupation:
    BC Janitor
    Location:
    Santa Clara, CA, USA
    Jon,

    wait.

    if i were you, i will go find another stringer instead. a badminton racket is a delicate piece of material and stringing it at higher tension like 24lb isn't a mechanized process, but instead, it takes skills and patience. so if your stringer is so ignorant about string tension, likely is that he won't even do a good job at it if you were to insist on it. or even worse, he may ruin your racket.

    i noticed you have a pacbell email address, is this a stringer in the Bay Area?
     
  7. Jon

    Jon Guest

    yes, asby sports to be exact. That's the only place I know where I can get my racket strung at. Everyone at my school goes there. I know for a fact that one of the players at my school goes to asby's and strings it at 24 lbs each time.
     
  8. kwun

    kwun Administrator

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2002
    Messages:
    41,041
    Likes Received:
    2,065
    Occupation:
    BC Janitor
    Location:
    Santa Clara, CA, USA
    ASBY? wow. i am surprised ASBY is so clueless. honestly, i have never been there and never done business with them, but i had the impression that they are quite knowledgeable. but now i think i may be wrong.

    i can recommend to you another place in Sunnyvale call Badminton Alley, check out their address in the "Equipment Retailers" page in this website. the owner David is a nice and honest guy. he strings all my rackets these days. check them out.
     
  9. Ken

    Ken Regular Member

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2002
    Messages:
    61
    Likes Received:
    0
    Occupation:
    Student
    Location:
    UK
    http://hcs.harvard.edu/~badmintn/ioi/Tension.html

    Hope this can help.
     

Share This Page