I came across this Y-frame badminton racket in a catalogue from a few years back and I was thinking about how there aren't really any in the online stores anymore. What happened to them? Were they just a failure in innovation? Also, have you ever owned one and if so, what differences did you notice between the y-frame and the conventional rackets?
I've only ever seen Prince Rackets like this so i would guess so. Either that or other manufacturers don't see any potential in it.
Not surprised lol. Why would you want to keep a patent on something as hideous as that It looks structurally weaker as well.
Actually, I think the Y-shape is a much better technology than the O-ports Actually I am a bit puzzled why they dropped the Y-shape, I think it was a nice differentiator for them marketing, sales wise.. /Twobeer
I must agree with you there. As much as the Y-shape is fairly ugly, I would think that the sweetspot would be massive. The O-ports though, I just don't know what they do other than possibly make the frame weaker.
Guy that I've played with a couple of times has one of them.. I don't like the look of it. I can't see the point of a greater hitting area from expansion of the racquet head's surface towards the grip.
Good point, I guess that it's not needed if you can consistently hit the sweetspot. The only thing I can think of is that by lengthening some of the main strings, they've made it more forgiving.
If you can make 100% of all shots hit the sweetspot, any tech. increasing sweetspot size is meaningless .. The idea is basically the same with ISO-frames versus oval.. It you hit the sweetspot each time an oval shape racket will be more powerful (given all things else being equal ).. Take a look at current squash rackets and compare with the ones of the 70s... Y-shape is dominating squash racket design today... /Twobeer
Yes, but squash is a different sort of game in terms of space to manoeuvre. You are more likely to get shots close in to your body off a fast paced rebound, in which case the Y-frame would be beneficial. In badminton I think reach for shots you're stretching for is more important than shots closer to your grip.
i've still got 3 of the prince Y shaped racquets and use them fairly regularly. no idea if the technology is helpful, i'm of the mind that technology is just mumbo jumbo nonsense anyway, but i have been using these racquets for a while now and guess have just gotten used to them. also, they are indestructable, so i'm not sure about the structurally weaker statement.
What are the preposed advantages of the Y-frame, stated by Prince? I just made an uneducated observation, which was my first impression. In my opinion, I thought it looked weaker.
From Prince website: "The Prince® Y-joint design provides superior torsional stiffness, because the head portion connect to the shaft at an angle, allowing bending and torsional stresses to be balanced. In addition the Y-joint design provides longer strings resulting in an expanded power zone." I have one, and it's an amazing defensive racket. Never saw too many other users though, so I'd guess they never sold all that well. Prince still make Y-joint rackets, but unfortunately it's only their low-end models now. O-Ports work really well in tennis-rackets, so it's no great surprise that Prince wanted to put the same technology into their badminton rackets (plus they've spent all that money on R&D so they're damn well going to use it every way they can). Supposedly, they improve aerodynamics and allow you to swing 24% faster, which if true, is very impressive. I'd love to try one out, but they're just too expensive Perhaps what they should have done, is put O-Ports into a Y-joint racket. Out of interest, anyone remember a badminton racket shaped like a squash racket, without a shaft as such? Would have been from about 2002-2003 I think, and I have no idea of the brand. And no, it definitely wasn't just a squash racket
haha, i wasn't having a go at you, i'm just stating a fact based on my personal experience. i've had those racquets for 15 years, and nothing seems to break up. they're well battered, but are the ultimate survivors.
