Hi all, I'm after buying a new badminton racquet for my girlfriend and am a little confused with the amount of choice. She's mainly played with Yonex before, her current racquet being an Isometric Long (few years old). Her play is intermediate, but needs to put more power down into smashes etc but also maintain control for shorter drop shots. What would you recommend as an overall racquet for less than £50. I've seen an Armortec 250 for £29.99 reduced from £70, so ideally a racquet with higher cost but discounted would be beneficial! She's pretty persistent about staying with Yonex, unless there is something more suitable for her skill level and requirements. Thanks! Andy
That's a decent price for an AT250. I was gonna recommend the Arc9 but that's well out of your price range. If you looked around, you could get a Muscle power 45 for about £50. The Nanospeed 500 is well within you price range and the 800 is just out.
also, try to ease her out of just looking for yonex. its a very reputable brand, but prices can be high. look for other rackets, and if needed, do a blind test on her to see which one she truly likes.
Thanks for the advice. How does the Nanospeed 500 compare to the AT250? What other brands are similar in quality?
The AT250 is considered to be quite an attacking racket (the Armortec range is designed for doubles and most doubles players like to smash) whereas Nanospeeds are generally more geared towards control play. They are often headlight and very manoeuvrable, saying that, with balance adjustments, most Nanospeed rackets can be smashing beasts as well. The NS500 is a medium flexibility racket, meaning it should be fairly forgiving to mis-timed, mishit shuttles and be more comfortable to dish out some smashing with. Female players tend to prefer this forgiveness in the shaft. Weaker players tend to get more from slightly more flexible rackets also, due to them being able to get more repulsion. Advanced players get more power from stiff rackets due to them having the power to flex the racket and strings and get quicker repulsion. The AT250 is a stiff shafted racket, meaning vibrations from striking the shuttle will be ironed out less than with the NS500. For this reason, the AT250 could possibly be considered as a slightly more advanced racket. As she is an intermediate, this shouldn't be a problem and her arms should be up to high tensions/stiff rackets. Before sticking my neck out and recommending one over the other, perhaps you could give more information about her playing style? Also, look at other brands. Karakal make some good rackets, the MTec 70 is incredibly light, the MTec 80 is my personal favourite racket. The limited edition version looks great, also. The MTec 85 is the heaviest racket they make but is still light compared to everyone else's standards. It is considered a very good attacking racket. However I feel that the added swing speed offered by the MTec 80 benefits my game more as I can produce plenty of power by myself. Plus, the MTec 80 tattoo limited edition, is easily the best looking racket on the planet. Apacs make Yonex clones (not fakes, just "borrow" Yonex technology and paint jobs). They offer 80% of the performance of Yonex, at (usually) around half the price. They have a range designed to be as close to the Arcsaber range as possible, it's called the Edgesaber range and the Edge10 and Edge7 (not sure if there's an Edge9) are great. If they made an Edge9, it would be perfect. I'm not sure whether the Edge9 is out yet or not. Hope I've helped, Daniel
Thanks for the info Daniel. I've had a look at the Edge Saber 10 and it looks promising. Would one of these be better than the Armortec or Nanospeed?
I would say yes. They're about 70-80% as good as the equivalent Yonex (you can guess which one, I'm sure). If an Edge10 is 70% as good as an Arc10, then it should still be better than an AT250 or NS500. However, if it plays anything like the Arc10 (and I'm guessing it will), then it will be very difficult to play with. The Arc10 isn't suitable for anything but advanced players. The Edge10 may be different, but shouldn't be. Perhaps an Apacs Edge10 user could share their experiences? Also, have a look at Karakal's MTec and SL ranges. They're really good and cheap for what you get.
I suggest you should look at other brands because at the same price they perform much better than what yonex offers at the same price.
I have seen and have a little trial on my friend's APACS Edgesaber 10... And wow... they're pretty much identical xD... with Arc10... Well I can't say Arc10 is so difficult to understand, since I hate Armortec... they make my shoulder hurt T_T (I have injury in my shoulder, after bad style of hit, I should say Arc10 is more shock absorbing compared to those Armortec, or is it my fault) Only tried one from AT900P and T though, can't say much .
The Arc10 has a special material for shock absorption, but is quite difficult to hit hard with - you need good timing. If a beginner or intermediate picks up an Arc10, they usually try and swing it as hard as they possibly can. This normally results in them wrecking their shoulders due to the added stress on them. A much better way to improve power is to improve timing. The Arc9 is meant to be a good racket for females. Perhaps Apacs do an Edge9
Erm....Yonex is expensive.... try to take a look on Apacs edgesaber 9 ... it good looking n feel great... !!!
I don't think they do an Edge Saber 9....yet... I'm very tempted by an Edge Saber 7 or 10 myself, just depends on whether they are too advanced for my current level of play! Are there any good reviews of these racquets? How do they compare to other brands such as SOTX and other Jap/Chinese brands?
The Edges compare pretty well with other rackets. They are amazingly similar to the equivalent Arc so are for advanced players only really, advanced players who can't afford/don't want to pay out for a high end Yonex. As the Arc10 is one of the best rackets on Earth, the Edge10 compares very well with other high end rackets, especially on price/performance basis.
Wrong. Girls can use AT as much as guys do. But AT is more popular among guys than girls, that's all.