Hi! After many years I found back to the great sport of badminton. I'm playing with my gf and since it's to expensive and also irritating to also pay for borrowing a racket we are buying. I have been reading around, haven't really found the info i've been looking for. Now, we are both a little over beginners. For me I have been looking at the Nanospeed 7000 and 7700. It's leaning for 7700 (found a pretty good deal, 164 dollars). Whats the biggest differnce between the Nanospeed series and Muscle power? As a beginner/inter will I feel a huge different? Am I right if i say that the Nanospeed is for allround players and Muscle power is a little more for offensive players? Will my offensive abilities be capped with NS comparing to MS (we only play for "fun" and the exercsise, not tournaments or anything). Also, it seems there is a new 7000, but the price difference is 30 dollars between it and the (old) 7700). They guy at the internet store said the difference between the 7000 and 7700 is very small (he recommended the 7700 because of the price differnce). For my girlfriend (and the money she wants to put on it) we have been looking at the MP 15, 19 and 22. The are aprox. a 20 dollar price difference. For her needs as casual player, what would the big difference be between the three models? Thnx in advance
Nanospeed 7000 - The Most Underated Racket Ever?? hi murre, i recently purchased a used ns7000 & all i can really tell u is that the racket is SUPER fast. my 1st game with the racket my opponent (my son) complained that i returned 2 many of his smashes, smashes that i would normally have missed. the ns7000 is supposed to be headlight and i've heard a lot of people claim that headlight rackets can be difficult to generate power unless you have very good wrist action, but i found it almost too powerful. it was/is fantastic for full court clearances and smashes and drop shots and everything!! the racket i have is strung with blue BG65 at 22lbs, apparently a good setup....it worked VERY well for me!! give it a try and see what happens......but try to get a good deal on the racket, in other words don't go buying it at full (or close to) retail price, just in case it doesn't work for you. the ns7000 seems to be seriously overshadowed by many other rackets, maybe for very good reason but i'm one player that is immensely happy with mine!! hope that helps your decision a bit to answer your other questions, i'd suggest you do a search. you'll find lots of talk about shaft flexibility, balance and headlight rackets being good for doubles but head heavy rackets being better for singles etc. there is a post asking if players prefer headlight or head heavy rackets and another asking if players prefer classic oval rackets to isometric. have a read of those, i think they may shed some light on the issues you raised. there are also a couple of racket comparison posts and also a graphic display of rackets and how they might be best suited depending on your style of play. its all very interesting. as well as that, there is a post by KWUN giving details of what he considers to be the most important pieces of equipment for badminton (in order of importance)..............you may be surprised by his ideas but they all makes perfect sense!!! regards bf
Don't really bother with expensive racquets....just get a cheap carbon graphite racquet from a reputable company, cut the factory strings, restring at bg65 at 20-22lbs, then go play.
@Blacfist Thnx for your answer, it's really helpful. I can get the 7700 for the price of around 160 dollars. For me in Sweden I think it's a decent price (since we have 25% VAT here). The 7000 would cost me 200 dollars, and it says it's new for august 2008, but the difference can't be THAT big, i mean there isn't this new REVOLUTIONARY material that makes a huge difference, right??? Also, any1 has any input about the MS-series??? Differences between 15, 19 and 22?
YA I agree. A racket like ns 7000 or 7700 is medium/sitff, which will NOT benefit beginner players. I'd say just get a carbon graphite racket above $50 and it will last you a long time. (I've been told rackets below $50 are prone to breaking). So unless you are aiming to become pro, I wouldn't suggest investing in such an expensive racket. Also, I've found that the mp series are pretty good for players converting from steel/aluminum rackets, so getting that is much better than buying nanospeed
yep, i think these guys make a good point. over here in sunny UK the NS7000 retails at £129.99 or so(you can search on google to get a currency conversion so you'd know how much that is in your own money) which i think is a huge amount of money. i managed to get my second hand model for £40 including post and packing. i would actually never spend more than that anyway. ebay seems to have 100's of apparently very good rackets for very small money. i've heard & read that APACS, Winex and even Browning make good examples which cost small change, not forgetting Carlton. again, i'd suggest you do a search and see what people think of any racket you're considering. the racket comparison tables i mentioned tend to have more expensive rackets and some which seem to be fairly difficult to find (well thats my opinion anyway) but it is VERY useful in getting an idea of a racket that may suit your style. there is also a very strong argument that suggests racket choice is NOT all that important anyway and just playing a good game is far more important but it seems that we all like to have the best racket we can possible find/afford to at least help us play to our full potential - me included!! bf
I can get it for £95. I think I will buy it new. I just want to know that it's not the wrong choice for me as beg/inter. It feels that a allround racket would be a good first choice, or am I wrong? That way i can test my strengths and weaknesses.
I would like to clarify one thing, I have played tennis in between the period I played badminton, so I kinda have a tennis smash. Would it be better to switch to the "wrist"-smash for saving my arm and going for a little stiffer racker like the Arcsaber 10? I don't have a problem dishing out some money if it's good quality but the problem is, as I don't have a style today I don't know of the racket is right for. Maybe it isn't a problem and I should go for a NS9000 or the AS10. Any1 have any more input for me? Any advice that would make my general choice of buying an expensive or inexpensive racket easier?
A badminton smash is a similar motion as a tennis overhand serve, with pronation and stuff. Seriously though, you should get better at badminton before you pick a high end racquet, it'll save you money and problems if you find the racquet too stiff.
Racquets to avoid as a beginner: ARC10 Ti-10 MP100 MP99 AT900P/T AT800OF/DE AT700 NS9000X/S NS8000 NS7000 Those are the definate "do not buy" because they are all stiff, either head heavy and stressful on the arm,or head light and stressful on the shoulder, and they're all expensive. And also as a beginner, you will not be able to appreciate the differences in each racquet because you do not have the ability to bring out the full potential of each racquet. I don't really know about the NS7700. But I know it's still not the best racquet for a beginner.
OK!!! Thnx for your input. It's actually what I wanted to hear, I just didn't know it. Maybe i will just go for the Yonex Muscle Power 22 for both me and my GF, would that be more suitable (100 dollars/racket, or should I go for 15, 19???)? It's new for august, and updated version. It comes pre-strung with BG65, is this a good string for beginners like us? Also, how big difference is there longlevity between a ~240$ and a ~100$ racket? Thnx again for all the help. It's great since now i have those ~130 dollars for a pair of new shoes and sweatband.
based on my reading of many, many posts and threads on this forum im inclined to fully agree with Athlete. however, i think it would be fair to say that spending larger sums of money on a 'decent/good' racket is not going to do you any harm either. the basic principles will still apply though. so as a beginner (despite the fact that you're not strictly speaking a 'beginner' as such due to your tennis and squash experience), the rackets which are excessively head heavy or headlight MAY worsen your game and may even put you back in terms of improvements,.............possibly. go for a good priced, decent racket. learn/understand the game and improve in your technical skills as a player..................and worry about racket selection later.......that would be my advice, regardless of how much money you have to spend!! of course, the flip side to all of the above is that as a player of squash/tennis, your wrist & shoulder are strong and your body movements are tuned to racket sports in general. that being the case, you may very well be able to 'get away' with a racket which is tailored to a player with more 'court-time' behind him/her!! dont forget to let us know which racket you go for and how it works out for you! regards
Did my post dissapear??? Anyways, what I wrote was: I'm taking your points and I have re-evaluated. I think I needed to hear (my problem is that im a little of gadget-nerd . Instead of putting ~240$ on racket that I don't know is great for me I think I will go for a MS-22 pre-strung with B65 (ok string for a "beginner"? for 100 dollars) and then spend the other money on a pair of new indoor-shoes for my badminton needs and then some on lessons (read somewhere here that the racket is only a small factor when it comes to playing well in badminton). Also, about me being a tennis-player, I have only played a few times each summer with a friend, so don't have muscles that a tennis player have.
Third try to post. I read what both of you have written 2 twice now (and tried to post an answer twice) and my conclussion is this. I always tend to look at the more expensive things for severals reasons. 1. I am kind of a Gadget-nerd 2. I want quality stuff (but how big difference is there in longitivty between a 100$ and a 240$ racket?). 3. I am kind of a gadget ner Anyways, instead of putting ~240$ I'm looking at the MS-22 pre-strung with a B65 (ok string for beginner) (200$ for 2 incl S&H (one for me and one for GF)). This way I can put those 140 on shoes and whatever is left joining a club and start training with them. The MS-22 that I'm looking at is supposed to ne new for august. Would this be a better buy considering I'm kind of an allrounder and my GF is relatively aggressive? Also, I haven't been playing tennis to the extent where I have gotten stronger from it
Looking at Yonex's own literature, the Muscle Powers are deemed to be more head-heavy than Nanospeeds (with which I most definitely agree). This being the case, a Nanospeed would be more suitable for a non-advanced. As you play more and more you might migrate to more head weight (like an Armortec, or something) or you might not, in which case you can keep your Nano. Having played with the Nano7000 I found it to be one of the best defensive rackets money can buy, especially when it comes to smash blocks. If you can truly afford one, it's the one I would choose.
Mark A's post is EXACTLY inline with my original post, that the NS7000 is super fast and just seems gets to the shuttle sometimes even before you or your opponent realise it has, making it wonderful for smash returns. as i also mentioned, it still generates huge power whilst being very accurate.............but then that could just be coz Mark & I are great players!! i would be happy to recommend the NS7000 to anyone with a reasonable level of skill as i believe it will help to improve those skills and add some additional excitement to most matches with long, long ralleys & vicious smashes & crazy drop shots!! like i said before, give it a try Murre and see what happens. if you find that the racket is the worst thing ever, simply sell it on ebay. make sure you keep ALL the tags and labels and original purchase invoice............... & of course, make sure you buy a REAL and GENUINE example. there are a few posts & threads with details of how to identify fakes. get familiar with those details to avoid being ripped off
This is so hard. List of rackets that have crossed my mind 1. NS-7700 (167$) 2. AS-10 (240$) 3. MS-22 (100$) It's a hard choice, any more input about the actual models before I make the buy?
Not a pointer to a particular racket, but something to look out for on the purchasing side: in UK we have an outfit call Tennisnuts who will loan rackets for trial purposes (with a full price deposit, which is fair enough). If you can find something like this in Sweden I would most definitely go for it. Rent every racket you are considering buying and then there will be NO doubt which is best for you. Just don't break any. Btw, - saved me having to say it.
