Since many members are asking about tournament-grade shuttles, here's some detailed information The BWF (Badminton World Federation) maintains an official list of BWF Approved Equipment. This list has four equipment categories - Shuttlecocks, Flooring, Nets, Net Posts. In the case of shuttles, the manufacturers apply for approval which is granted (or not granted) after a series of tests. These tests cover trajectory, flight deviation, tumbling stability, hooking capability and base surface roughness. The intention, says the BWF, is to "maintain a satisfactory standard for feather shuttles used in international badminton events". The shuttles are also tested by international players. If a manufacturer's shuttles meet the BWF's standards, the Approval Period runs for two years (from either January 1 or July 1). The manufacturer may include the wording 'Approved by the BWF for International Play' and may also use the BWF logo in its packaging and advertising (but only for those grades that have been approved). This is the current list of approved grades: MMOA Super Select MS-950 Manufacturer: Ai Sheng, Taiwan Approved Until: 30 Jun 2009 Aero-flight 700 Manufacturer: APACS Sport, Malaysia Approved Until: 30 Jun 2009 Snowpeak Superior C1101 Manufacturer: China ShaoXing Snow Peak Group, China Approved Until: 31 Dec 2009 DHS 101 Manufacturer: Shanghai Double Happiness Co, China Approved Until: 30 Jun 2010 Carlton GT1 Manufacturer: Dunlop Slazenger, UK Approved Until: 30 Jun 2010 Victor Champion Manufacturer: Far East Victor Sports, Malaysia Approved Until: 30 Jun 2009 Gosen GFIO, Gold Manufacturer: Gosen, Japan Approved Until: 30 Jun 2010 Jinque AAA Manufacturer: Guangzhou Double Fish Sports Goods Group, China Approved Until: 31 Dec 2010 Air Power 70 AA Manufacturer: Head Sport, Austria Approved Until: 30 Jun 2009 Xumax X1 Manufacturer: Koha Products, New Zealand Approved Until: 30 Jun 2009 Kason KS99 TSF Glory Manufacturer: Kason Sports International, China Approved Until: 31 Dec 2010 Youhe S100 Manufacturer: Ningbo Youhe, China Approved Until: 30 Jun 2009 Ashaway Intl Grade Super A Manufacturer: Pacific Sports, Singapore Approved Until: 31 Dec 2009 Indo-cock Green Manufacturer: PT Indocock, Indonesia Approved Until: 31 Dec 2009 Yang Yang Tactic 300B Manufacturer: Ruby Glamour, Malaysia Approved Until: 31 Dec 2009 RSL Tourney 1 Manufacturer: DH Shuttlecocks, China Approved Until: 31 Dec 2009 Aeroplane G1130 Manufacturer: Shanghai Badminton Factory, China Approved Until: 30 Jun 2010 S Arrow No. 1 Manufacturer: Shantou Hongsheng Sports Goods, China Approved Until: 31 Dec 2010 Tronex Green Manufacturer: Tronex Sporting Goods, China Approved Until: 31 Dec 2009 Trump T101 Manufacturer: Trump Sports, Taiwan Approved Until: 30 Jun 2010 Wilson Top Line 100 Wilson Top Line 90 Manufacturer: Wilson Sporting Goods, USA Approved Until: 31 Dec 2009 Aerosensa 40 AS-40 Aerosensa 50 AS-50 Tournament F-90 Manufacturer: Yonex, Japan Approved Until: 31 Dec 2010
Thanks for that, Oldhand. Perhaps this should be stickied and updated when necessary as this information is going to be really useful to a lot of people.
what happen to those proved shuttles after their expired approved dates, would they turn into pumpkins?
now, if someone would be kind enough to post pictures of the tubes of these shuttles, that would be grand.
"protection monies" - i like this, and very true too!! there are plenty of brands that produce shuttles of better quality than those on the list... then again, judgment on shuttle quality is subjective.
So Yonex shuttles (not even one) is not on the approved list? Maybe Yonex refused to pay application fee .
Yeap, go through the list again and saw it right at the bottom. Pity, otherwise we will have a great time figuring out why they are not there .
hi,"oldhand", what you said is true in a sense also. i am in badminton business and production and have some comments on these so called "BWF" certified shuttles. what i observed that RSL Tourney no.1 is made of grade A or B chiguya(ya means duck in mandarin) with taiwanese 14mm fiber. Normally 3 to 4 pcs for a set 21point double by professional players. I have seen 2 state players (malaysia) used one whole tube for a 21pt hard single games. conclusion: shuttles is good but is not good enough for international games And the apacs flight 700, initially it was good when launched in march 2008 which used the top grade goose feathers to show it was value for money to attract more customers,but now feb 2009, what i found is that all are grade B or C goose feather and mix with grade B chiguya duck feathers shuttles and the speed of flight is not consistent with the range from 76 to 81 which have bad QC on the shuttles. some are fast and some are damn slow. With a pc of top grade goose feather shuttle sure you can finish 1 hard double 21pt game (without chopping on feathers seriously). But the apacs-flight700's grade has been downgraded to Grade C , 2 to 3 pcs are needed but with mixing of duck feather shuttles 3 to 5 pcs are needed for sure. Then please tell me, are these branded shuttles good? The samples they sent to BWF associations for observation sure are those best grade shuttles and what end users buy's is totally different.
I have tested the Apacs -flight 700 lately and i felt it is lousy bro,any good recommandation of good shuttlecock available in Msia?thks!
Hi Shuttleoem, Your insight is a total proof of the difficult time we are in regarding use of feather shuttles. Either you pay more for better quality shuttles (Yonex, Aeroplane, MMOA and Victor is questionable now) or cheaper brand (some time not cheaper in total cost) and kill more shuttles. I feel the shuttle manufacture should specify what kind of feather on the tube so user can make a better selection base on their budget and level. Everyone has their accaptable standard of price vs performance ratio. I have to say, in your example, Apac shuttles are not good shuttle IMHO. Thank you.
These stories also vindicated me on the many debates i had regarding nylon versus feather shuttles. I always had said that nylon shuttle is more consistent in (speed, flight and durability quality) than feathers.
You may be surprised that a small family-size outfit can make better feather shuttlecocks that some of the branded names, and they cost much less. Their advantage is their small size and their made-to-order mode of manufacture, which assures you get the freshest feathers and not something you buy from a feathers trading house. One of the important factors that affects shuttle quality is the freshness of the shuttles. Shuttles that are stored, whether in a warehouse, in transit, in a dealer's or distributor's warehouse, or even in a player's own home, for an extended period of time will play poorly even if they are the top grade.
Shuttles'OEM. Can you tell how many Yonex shuttlecocks(AS40) will be used for a set of 21 points double by professional players?
Pls note that the Yonex AS-50 feather shuttles used in major BWF tournaments are the freshest AS-50 shuttles and not your run-of-the-mill AS-50 you get from the shops which may have been in storage for an extended period of time. If you need to dip your feathers in water to play well (especially in cold and dry conditions) then your shuttles are just too old. Do you see Super Series tournaments resort to dipping shuttles in water before play, even in Europe and N. America?