I tried searching the forum, I didn't find anything Ahem. I never bought a badminton raquet before, so I have no idea what to buy. I haven't played badminton in a long time, nor did I ever have lessons, however I plan to start learning soon. I was wondering which raquet is good for starters. Price isn't a problem, but availability might be, so plz be kind enough to suggest more than 1 or 2 of each brand you prefer. Thanks in advance.
Hey prince are great racket's. try them out, also Test some Carlton Airblade's out, very speedy racket's, and then there is Yonex, it seems that's all people here on this forum buy, Big Name, Good quality racket's, Big Hype, and most of all the price tag follows suite.
If you don't really care about "popularity", I will suggest you try for YangYang Tactic 8500, 9000. Both of these 2 are good for overall player, who prefer both offense and defense in his/her game. Both I believe are $89 (USD) in www.badmintonalley.com If you want to go for a cheaper, Winex 888 / 999, or Victor Dominator are within the ranger of $55 - $65. All three are very good rackets with good price. Here are two sites I always go to purchase my "weapon", but both are in US, not sure they will ship to Canada or not: www.badmintonalley.com www.badmintonwarehouse.com I know in Canada, there should be a lot of dealors, with good price, so, good luck.
I would suggest Yonex since price isn't a problem for you. I would also recommand you to choose Iso head with more flexable shaft like MP 80, Ti 6, Ti 7 and ISO TiS SR.
Yea I was thinking of buying a Yonex one after asking a few friends. I think buying directly from a Lee's badminton store would be my best bet: http://www.leesbadminton.com/shop.htm Thats a link of it online. MP 80, Ti 60, 70 I can find on the site. But whats ISO TiS SR, I have no idea Anyways my friends also advised me to buy the most expensive ones. So would it be better to buy the most expensive raquet, whether it be MP, Ti, or ISO? And I honestly have no idea what the difference between MP, Ti, ISO are. So which raquet from http://www.leesbadminton.com/shop.htm should I buy (Its probably the best bet that I'd be able to get the certain raquet, but if theres ONE raquet that isn't there, I'll try to find it, else one similar to it thats available) Thanks for all the replies.
If you're going to choose Yonex you'd do better to go to Yo's Sports it's very near Lee's. It's in First Markham place. The racquets are cheaper and the owner strings them for you. Also, since you're not sure what to buy, he can help you out. He doesn't just suggest the most expensive one. If you decide to buy from Lee's make sure you ask them about the warranty, as they import some of the non-Yonex racquets themselves and the racquet company might not accept warranty claims. If money is no problem Yonex Isometric Ti Swing Power SS is good or Cab23. Maybe try Forza Ti Tech 1400.
Since you live in Canada check out Prizm Sport who sell Forza https://pacific.smartt.com/prizmsports/n_index.html
1. I don't know weather you should buy it from Lee's or else where, but these guys from BC won't con you, go where they suggested 2. Iso TiSP SR = Isometric Ti Swing Power, 4 models: SX, SS, SR, SA. (named after stiffness, SX is the stiffest, SA most flexable) 3. Don't be the BIG HEAD and buy the most expensive one, they are too stiff for you. 4. I would recommand you to go to the shop and take a look those rackets I recommanded you to choose from and maybe hit a few shots see which one you got the most feel or borrow it from your friends and have the little nice test round along with it. 5. They are all GOOD rackets, its based on your personal preferences to command on which one is better then the other. But, I am 100 % sure you won't go wrong with either one of them. Good luck on the racket hunting. Ivan
Being a beginner, a good rule of thumb is to get something that you can afford to break. That automatically rules out most of what people here have suggested. I don't think recommending the MP80 or a Ti SP to a beginner is very helpful. Neither is recommending the Forza 1400: a fantastic racquet for the advanced player, but very hard to come to terms with for a beginner. Look for something that is: * reasonably cheap * weighs about 89-95 grams * 100% graphite (frame and shaft) * fairly flexible (that is, the shaft should not feel too stiff when you flex it, you can do relative comparisons in a shop) The lower end Carlton Airblades with the above characteristics are a good starting point. The cheaper versions of the Yonex Carbonex series are also OK, althogh in that paricular segment I believe that Carlton gives better value for money. Forza also has very good entry-level models. One of the Forza "Legend" models should suit you. Hope this helps, and happy playing!
What??? Why buy the most expensive racquet when you haven't even got a clue what you want? That would be equivalent to somebody saying "buy a Porsche if you want to learn how to drive" - doesn't make sense to me. Best thing for any beginner to do is get a low to medium price racquet, play and practice with it, change the strings when it wears out. If you really enjoy the game and want to continue, then start to consider the other models. When you got more skill, you can test out friend's racquets to see which model you preferr.
I can't believe some of the reccomendations on here. TI SP for a beginner? (not meant offensively, but seriously why would a beginner want to use a TI SP?) Read what Cheung and Mag say. Don't waste your money.
hmm.... I don't see the theory here. First of all, money is not subject for Crazy here as he claims, hence expensive rackets fall into my consideration. Second, I understand what mag is talking about, as a beginner, you need something to dump with, graphite sure is a good choice since its fairly strong and flexiable, Yonex cab certainly is a good choice. Third, as Mag mentioned, flexible shaft is what a beginner really needs, Ti SP SR surely has a flexible shaft. In another words, the rackets I recommanded all has fairly flexible shaft. Therefore, I am just wondering why is it bad for him to use Ti SP and other rackets I recommanded?
Ivan, Sorry, really didn't mean to snub you, but in my opinion the Ti SP is (apart from being expensive) way too light for a beginner. Especially so the more flexible versions, the SS and SR, which weigh only 81 g. The light weight will certainly not benefit a beginner that is seeking to improve basic technique. The light weight in combination with the isometric head shape also makes the frames very fragile. Ergo, the Ti SP is not a good choice for a beginner -- even if it was cheap! Same reasoning applies to MP80.
Wow... Seems this topic getting really popular now. I think I agree with Mag and several others. I really don't see the point of getting "the most expensive" racket. Like I have metioned in some other posts, I strongly encourage ppl to pick racket base on his/her needs. I mean, such as strenght, strategy (smash, drop, etc), style of play (offensive / defensive, etc). Surely, expensive rackets generally have a lot of nice features. The problem is, if the feature is 180' opposite of what u are suitable for, then, it will become ur worst nightmare. This happened to one guy in my club. He's a pretty good player (very good defensive player, and used to do some good drop shots), but once he got a Yonex Ti-10, he's nightmare starts. He has a lot of trouble control it, once he smashes, always out of bounds instead of scoring... After several months of struggling, he had to go back with his original model, which still works perfect for him. For me, as a defensive player, who don't want to (and CAN NOT ) smash, I really don't think I can ever go for good rackets such as Yonex MP series. Lucky I got this suggestion before cleaning out my bank. Therefore, I think you'd better borrow the models u like (or, some model with similar features) from ur friends to try it out before u spend $$$. Yeah, $$$ is not a problem is good, but why waste it on something not fit for u? Just a suggestion...
go to: www.badmintonwarehouse.com click on racquets and you can select which racquets you want based on brands, price range, and also playing level. They have a nice triangle setup where the three points are power, control, and value. It's a nice way of figuring out what kind of racquet is good for you. -Victor Dominator Ti is a decent racquet w/ enlarged sweet-spot, good pricing at $54 (USD) Maybe it's just because I'm not as affluent as some of the ppl here but I think if you are just starting out, don't spend over $60 (USD) on a racquet. Get a cheaper racquet that can take a beating with first and then once you got techniques and a better understanding of your own capabilities and style of playing, then go out and spend the big bucks on a racquet suited for your specific needs. Good luck on the search, as I am searching for a racquet myself right now too.
Totally agree with u, jwu. Nice choice for Victor Dominator VI. Cheap and good. One of my friends bought one about 4, 5 month ago. He's doing amazing stuff with that racket and he's just a beginer (or, a very good beginer with hell of a smash with that racket).
Ivan are you suggesting I'm trying to con Crazy? I saw he was from Toronto and that pretty much means he either goes to Yo's or Lee's. He does Mail-order he can't try the racquet first. Both these places are pretty honest in suggesting racquets. Cheung, Mag I apologise for my suggestions. I guess I wasn't thinking clearly and got hung up on "Price isn't a problem" and thought of what I would want. I really think that Yo's could help Crazy pick a good racquet, since he steered me away form getting the TiSP eventhough it was more expensive. However I would suggest getting an oval head for the smaller sweet spot to get a better start. Personally my first 2 racquets had Aluminum heads. The Yonex didn't even have a name. Deformed versions of it are what is used in schools now.
Ivan, expensive racquets may not fall into your consideration but in my logic, it does. An expensive racquet has to show clear qualities that would put it as a favourable choice. In being able to use those advantages, the user has to be able to demonstarte certain skills. Crazyboy did mention he/she was a starter so I doubt those skills are in place (at this moment ) Note that the price of one racquet is not a problem but the price of replacing that racquet (should it get broken) might be a problem that some people don't consider.
I'd go with Reynar's suggestion. Check out Yo's. He gives good advice on racquets, strings, etc and you might be able to work out an arrangement with him to demo some models before you decide which one you're most comfortable with. Good luck.
