I've read that the durability of BG80 and BG85 is pretty bad compared to other strings but the power and feel are excellent. I usually play with Yonex Mavis 350 nylon shuttlecocks and I was wondering if it would be stupid to use BG80 or BG85 due to durability issues? Would you recommend a 'better' alternative with great repulsion power and more suitable for nylon shuttlecocks? I play like 4 hours per week and I don't want to restring every month.
BG80 has better durability than BG85. Depend on the tension you plan to go for, BG80 durability might still be acceptable for you. Unless you have a very powerful smash and/or a lot of mishits, then, I think if you go with 21 or 22lbs of tension, it should last you more than 1 month.
YMMV. In our usual group we have BG80 and 85 as our most common strings. Tension is usually at 26-29lbs. We use Mavis 300 and play 7-8 hours a week. Sometimes my strings break in 3 or 4 weeks. Sometimes, like my current BG80, it lasts over 4 months (but tension is now down to 25lbs). Some of us break them once a week (cough,cough... 2-yota...) Nobody has called our hard shots lacking in power. So, I wouldn't necessarily call it string suicide.
ill call it near suicide. i was using bg65 in highschool and we used mavis 300, and i was breaking them every month or faster! One time it wasnt even a week! I was playing a iso 75 mf lite i think and had it strung at 20 or 19 (so soft too). I'd say work your way up the bg scale trying something ilke bg65, 70, 80 and if 80 is too expensive/performance based then go back down a step. That way you know what you gain with each gradient. Also theres a lot of good ashaway string and gosen is getting bigger on the market now. Try something like micro legend xl if you want durability.
4 hours of badminton playing per week is not a lot. BG 85 is what i have right now and it's pretty durable. I play with Feather so that's more of a hard impact than nylon birds. if you're a hard hitter, then string with 22 or 23 lbs. you'll get a good feel.
very true, i was playing 2-3 hours a day for 5 days a week, so breaking strings once a week or every other seemed like a lot, but i was puttin in a lot of court time. My advice, is try the bg80s out. If you dont like the performce for the cost, then go back. Stringing will seem cheaper afterwards
I string my racket with BG80 @ 23 I try to play more of a control game but I have some few smashes here and there. I've had the strings for about 2-3 months I'm not too sure about it. The strings have no nicks or frays as of yet unless I just over looked that area. I play 2-4 hours 2-3 times a week
Feather shuttles maybe harder on the string but plastic shuttle players hit hard shots more often. No offense to the general plastic shuttlers, but I have yet to come across alot of finesse shot makers who play mainly plastics. Feather shuttles by virtue of their slower speed and weight force players to outmaneuver their opponents rather than blast repeat retrievable smash. Anybody can blast hard smash with plastic, but only the skilled can hit hard with feather shuttles. I won't recommend BG85s for regular plastic users, thinner strings are a waste of time and money for them. BG80 at lower tension (21lb ~ 24lb) is probably the best for a plastic shuttlers. Durability wise, plastic users should stick to BG65s and BG70PROs (22lb ~ 25lb). Playing with plastic shuttles at higher tension and you'll risk tendonitis and other joint problems.
I recently strung my racket with BG80 at 23x25lbs.....i play between 10 and 20 hours a week, and it's lasted three weeks now..... no problems yet! But then again, i don't hit terribly hard either...
ph_leung plays at 29 pounds on a plastic!?!! Only kids and beginners use plastics over here, and that is defiantly not a tension beginners use. What gives?
Nothing unusual. We can play just as well with both plastic or feather. I believe most non-beginners can adapt to both if given some warmup rallies. We're cheap so we use Mavis 300.
i run junior practice and work with some of our senior members and all we use during these time (approx 3 times a week for 3 hours each), is yonex 300 plastics and my 2 blackknight ghosts are strung with bg80. i have no problem with this combo and find i have great results,both in terms of control and power, strung at 22lbs lasts the above time plus one weekend tourney, i like fresh strings so i usually restring once a month(have yet to break on their own), but one of my kids has had 80 in for 3 months and still going. again this string plays great on plastics for me, second favourite string for plastic.
For Mavis 350 shuttlecock, how will the durability of Ashway zymax 0.65 or apacs virtuoso pro 66/68/70 be?? Presently I use bg65 strung at 26 lbs
Apacs 66 will be fine for about 10 hours of playing time before it starts to feel poor. Initial feel is promising but fades quickly then continues to plummet when other strings reach a limit. This is based on experience with feathers only.