Morning everyone. I have just started geting back into Badminton after a break for about 8 years. It is time for me to fork out some of my hard earned on a new raquet. Back in the days you just walked into a shop, had a flick around then settled on it... Now the internet has given me far to many to choose from and its becomming a headache. I am not particuly offensive in my play and not that powerfull, but do enjoy a good smash and being able to clear from baseline to baseline when needed.. Doubles mostly. I have just got my head around shaft stiffness and I think I would benefit from something in the middle.? Not a fan of head heavy raquets, just too slow on the defence of quick smashes.. I am looking to pay around £60-£70 for the new raquet. I love the look of the Prince O3's. I am always one to stray away from the norm and try something different. So...... Hopefully you friendly people may be able to point me in the right direction.? £60-70 A good allrounder (if there is such a raquet?) Something a bit different (but still recommend the common winners if you can) Thanks everyone, much appreciated.. MED.
Karakal MTec 80 tattoo limited edition? Very striking looks and great to play with. It's a racket that can be used by anyone whether they're just starting out or a badminton God. The balance is even to a little bit head heavy so it's an allrounder - defence is good but it's not a weak racket to smash with either. The shaft is medium stiff and should be fine for you.
you may want to check out the Head Metallix line. Price should be right, and they are not that head heavy. however, you may want to test the stiffness to find out. for Wilson, chekc out the K-Factor line. not sure about the price in UK, but you should be able to find a good one there too. here is the link, http://www.wilson.com/wilson/racque...8673996699&FOLDER<>folder_id=2534374302758905. stay away from the OLD style Wilson nCode, like 1 to 5 etc, since they are not very durable.
have recently also come back into the game and opted for the arcsaber 10. Absolutely love this piece. what skill level were you at, before you stopped playing?
Thanks for the ideas chaps... So far; Head Metallix line Wilson K-Factor line Karakal MTec 80 Victor superwaves 32 Arcsaber 10 I was at a casual advanced level with a few matches thrown in every month when I stopped playing before.. I think it will take me a good few hours to get back in the saddle.. I have been miss hitting and my timimg is all over the shop at the moment, I need a good racket to help me get back on track to what I used to be. The 2 piece steel rackets with the 'T' join at my new club are sending me mad. Also, how can you try a racket before buying? No shop that I know of locally would allow me to do this.. I guess it would have to be through the club I now belong to, but they are only very small so I doubt they have the contacts to arrange Yonex etc to turn up with some bats? Keep em coming! MED.
I don't blame you, I forgot my racket one day when going to my local club and I had to use one of those crappy 2 piece steel rackets.... Long story short I played terribly. And I threw the damn thing at the nearest solid, non-living object after we had our fun and were going to go home.
Dan you really should become a Karakal dealer. It seems you love trying to sell the MTec 80 Tattoo edition to people
Since you are a advance level before, it is a good idea to invest in a good racquet upfront as you will definitely be able to make full use of it in time to come. The racquets in your list are good, you should also consider Yonex AT900T and Victor SW33C/P or Victor Brave Sword if you can find those. SOTX is also a worthy consideration.
You left me out ! I also love recommending MTEC 80/Tattoo when people ask for recommendations. I guess this shows that the MTEC 80 has a good reputation and is a worthy racquet to be added into any collection
I've never used it but i've heard great things about it. I hope to try it out... *day dreams* one day...
i play singles personally, despite that, i believe that you love the yonex arc 10. being advanced in the older days means that you'll be able to get back to high standards quickly. good luck on whatever you decide.
for Head, please check their website to find out which dealer is close to you, so that you can try them. web is www.head.com. once you find the dealer for Head, they normally carry Wilson as well. PS: Zhou Mi of Hong Kong is using Head Metallix 4000, and she won WS of the Super Series 08 with it.
What do players think of the Ashaway Electro rackets? The Electro VR seems it could be a contender... MED.
I've used the Electro VR Blue and tbh i don't think much of it. It seems to be intened for the front man in MD. Saying that it's not too expensive and seems quite good value for money
Babolat FTW!!! I've been using Babolat racquets for some time now. They look and play amazing. I've got the Satelite Star.! Dunno if it's too late to reccomend now though. lol
I would recommend Going for a SOTX Woven 7i,... or Have a look at some of the mid range Yonex Armourtec's
Probably too late now, but just in case... My understanding is that any authorised Yonex dealer should let you try racquets before buying. This was certainly the case for me and it was the only reason that I ended up buying Yonex. I don't know if other manufacturers have similar arrangements. The problem might be that for your budget Yonex may not offer the best value for money.
Last time I heard, Arc10 should've been around 100. You might want to take a peek of ES10 (Apacs Edge Saber 10). I believe taking a peek on apacs and Astec (Indonesian, not sure UK is available) products (since another brands are already in your list ) might be a good idea. For Yonex in this price range, I'd say you could get better performance from another brands. Apacs
Yeah I love mine too and its gorgeous!!!! The Arc9 is still £120+ I believe. I have just bought an Arc9 and that was £117 which was about as cheap as I could find.
