Which type of shuttlecock for practice?

**Chire** · 12-17-2005, 02:12 PM

Come on, plastic?

How will you ever learn to play with feather if you train with plastic ones. Not recommended especially if you're training for a tournament. Besides, plastic shuttlecocks feel like rocks, they're heavier - they loosen your string tension and reduce the rackets durability. The way they fly is so different as well.Using worn out shuttlecocks is a good option, as suggested earlier on this thread.
The line between plastic and feathers is pretty much the line between playing for fun and training to achieve some goal.

My 2 cents.

**kmodak** · 12-20-2005, 07:02 PM

Originally Posted by brandonwong

defenitely go for feather... normally using sea lion for practice

The club in India where I use to pls each feather shuttle cost 10 Rs ie ~ 25 cents. So the choice was very clear. Feather all the time.

**GunBlade008** · 01-30-2006, 07:30 PM

There's no 'both' option

**DinkAlot** · 02-01-2006, 12:10 PM

Update: I have been using the King FS-707 shuttle (http://www.ibuysports.com/KingShuttle707.html) for the last 2 months and for $9.50/tube, it's great. It flies true and is relatively durable. If you mist/humidify them, they are quite durable.

There's really nothing bad about the shuttle except maybe they don't visually look as consistent as some of the other shuttles. Don't be fooled, they fly well and are now the benchmark for me, for under $15/tube.

**mabuhay** · 02-01-2006, 01:22 PM

From my experiences, plastic is okay for practice since I'm on a budget, but the feel of feather can't be matched. Yonex Mavis 350 is a good plastic to use. I used Wilson WS-400 club feathers, but I would not recommend them. The flight is nice at first, but these birds are not very durable, even after humidifying them. I prefer plastic over used feathers for practice. The flight of the used feathers I played with were wobbly.

**BaddGolfer** · 02-01-2006, 03:41 PM

Originally Posted by DinkAlot

This is good dialogue because the Aeroplane here was a bit lighter, relatively speaking. The shuttle was probably a bit dry. Very interesting stuff huh?

As the shuttles are presumably sorted by weight for different speed categories, does a shuttle getting a bit dry affect its weight and there by its speed? If the answer is Yes, then I have a follow up question on that...

Thanks!

**DinkAlot** · 02-01-2006, 03:46 PM

Originally Posted by BaddGolfer

As the shuttles are presumably sorted by weight for different speed categories, does a shuttle getting a bit dry affect its weight and there by its speed? If the answer is Yes, then I have a follow up question on that...

Thanks!

Yes, Sir.

**chessymonkey** · 02-01-2006, 03:58 PM

Originally Posted by BaddGolfer

As the shuttles are presumably sorted by weight for different speed categories, does a shuttle getting a bit dry affect its weight and there by its speed? If the answer is Yes, then I have a follow up question on that...

Thanks!

Well a shuttle that is dry does break a LOT a LOT quicker
u'll notice it affects your pocket more so then the speed and weight.

**BaddGolfer** · 02-01-2006, 04:07 PM

Originally Posted by DinkAlot

Yes, Sir.

Ok, So, if we have shuttles that got dry, then can we restore them close to their original weight and speed by hydrating them periodically over a 2-4 week period? Or are they a lost cause once they became dry? Thanks!

**DinkAlot** · 02-01-2006, 04:16 PM

Originally Posted by BaddGolfer

Ok, So, if we have shuttles that got dry, then can we restore them close to their original weight and speed by hydrating them periodically over a 2-4 week period? Or are they a lost cause once they became dry? Thanks!

I'm not an expert on this but I will say yes, to a certain extent...

...I saved/rehydrated about 10 tubes that were very dry, sitting in a person's trunk for about a week. I did my normal routine and let it sit for two days, inspected the feathers, they still seemed a bit dry so did my routine again, waited a day, played them and they were very close to original spec.

However, YMMV. Different circumstances will yield different results. Maybe I was lucky.

**chessymonkey** · 02-01-2006, 04:19 PM

Originally Posted by BaddGolfer

Ok, So, if we have shuttles that got dry, then can we restore them close to their original weight and speed by hydrating them periodically over a 2-4 week period? Or are they a lost cause once they became dry? Thanks!

Yap ,back when i was playing 100% feather, i used to steam the entire
cone of birdies the night before.

And refering to the original topic.. when ppl talk about the
tempeture/dry/humidity affecting the bird's performance.. its more refering to the weather condition, bird travel the air at a differencet speed depends on the temperature and hummidity of the air. So differnt weight/speed of birds are there in order to adjust to where you live.

**BaddGolfer** · 02-01-2006, 04:34 PM

Originally Posted by DinkAlot

I'm not an expert on this but I will say yes, to a certain extent...

...I saved/rehydrated about 10 tubes that were very dry, sitting in a person's trunk for about a week. I did my normal routine and let it sit for two days, inspected the feathers, they still seemed a bit dry so did my routine again, waited a day, played them and they were very close to original spec.

However, YMMV. Different circumstances will yield different results. Maybe I was lucky.

Thanks for the info. I have some that I feel are dry and will try and see if it makes a difference. They feel light and are slow compared to other shuttles I have of the same speed from the same manufacturer but a different model. What does one look for when inspecting a shuttle visually to figure out if they are dry or not? Also, I have 3 or 4 different tubes open at the same time and I steam them about once a week till I run out of all the shuttles in the tube and I noticed a couple of times that the last few shuttles were a little faster than the earlier ones. Maybe its possible their weight changed or it could be a conincidence...

**chessymonkey** · 02-01-2006, 04:48 PM

like how you would smooth the feather after a long rally
if the bird is dry u can really tell the feather is stiff and crunchy (ran out of vocab here as eng isn't my native)

**DinkAlot** · 02-01-2006, 04:50 PM

Originally Posted by BaddGolfer

What does one look for when inspecting a shuttle visually to figure out if they are dry or not?

Inspect the feathers on the shuttle. If they are dry then they need to be hydrated. To tell the difference, look at a hydrated shuttle. The feathers will be thicker, stronger, more robust.

Regardless, I make it a habit to always mist (I use a humidifier) the shuttles I'm going to use a day in advance. Since I've been doing this, I've seen a 10%-40% increase in durability.

**feralee** · 02-02-2006, 11:30 PM

Plastic during my primary school time..
now using feather. Sea lion.
but found that RSL is not bad

**BaddGolfer** · 02-04-2006, 05:59 PM

Originally Posted by DinkAlot

Inspect the feathers on the shuttle. If they are dry then they need to be hydrated. To tell the difference, look at a hydrated shuttle. The feathers will be thicker, stronger, more robust.

Regardless, I make it a habit to always mist (I use a humidifier) the shuttles I'm going to use a day in advance. Since I've been doing this, I've seen a 10%-40% increase in durability.

Thanks for the info. I noticed if the tube is not full (with the dozen shuttles), the hydration seems to work better for me. Maybe more steam gets locked in the tube that way. Also, did you notice "dry" shuttles feel any different when you just hit them. I felt they didn't feel as solid compared to the good ones and it kinda felt like hitting something made of paper or somesuch.. Maybe there's more vibration in the hit...

**DinkAlot** · 02-05-2006, 04:18 AM

Originally Posted by BaddGolfer

Thanks for the info. I noticed if the tube is not full (with the dozen shuttles), the hydration seems to work better for me. Maybe more steam gets locked in the tube that way. Also, did you notice "dry" shuttles feel any different when you just hit them. I felt they didn't feel as solid compared to the good ones and it kinda felt like hitting something made of paper or somesuch.. Maybe there's more vibration in the hit...

Yep, not as solid when they dry. When hydrated the shuttles feel a bit more substantial. The key is the feathers are shiny and feel thick.