need head light racket

Discussion in 'Racket Recommendation / Comparison' started by madshi, Dec 31, 2009.

  1. madshi

    madshi New Member

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    Hey guys,

    about 20 years ago (ouch, I'm getting old!) I was playing Badminton about 2x a week. For a hobby (non-tournament) player I think I played fairly well. Now I'm just starting to play again, just for fun, maybe once a week or so.

    My old racket is really heavy. With strings, the middle weight point measures 34.2cm from the top head and 31.8cm from the grip end. So this qualifies as head light, is that correct?

    Now what I'm looking for is a new racket which plays somewhat similar to my old racket, but the new racket should be *much* lighter and have more power. My cardio isn't so well, so a light and powerful racket should help. What I'm totally unsure about is whether I need stiff or flexible.

    I'd describe my playing style as allround. I like to mix everything nicely, so that my opponent doesn't know what to expect. But I tend to favor drops.

    My budget is virtually unlimited (I'd say < 300 USD).

    Planning to try out a few different rackets, but I'd be thankful for some recommendations, so that I know into which direction to go.
     
  2. madshi

    madshi New Member

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    P.S: After some more reading, it seems my old racket is actually head heavy because it's 318mm from handle to balance point? I'm confused by this measurement logic. Do all rackets have exactly the same length? If not, shouldn't the balance point be measured in percentage of the racket length? I mean having a balance point of 318mm from a 660mm racket is something totally different than having a balance point of 318mm from a 700mm racket (if such a thing exists). Argh, I'm confused...
     
  3. CrimsonRain

    CrimsonRain Regular Member

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    The BP (balance point) measurements refer to the point of "perfect" balance if one were to hold the racket at a point (in your case it would be at 318mm of the racket). Most rackets SHOULD have the same length (otherwise you get disqualified from tournaments). At your level, I don't think you should worry too much about where the BP is, just as long as you know if it is either head heavy, even, or head light.

    If your budget is really "virtually unlimited" I'd recommend Yonex's NS9900. Otherwise, look for the lower end rackets in the NS series (Most of Yonex's head light rackets are the lower end NS series & NS9900).

    Check www.badmintonalley.com to see the rackets. (I'm not approving/disapproving the site, it's just the site that I tend to go for racket specs.)

    You might also want to consider non-Yonex rackets. However, I'm not very knowledgeable about them.
     
  4. madshi

    madshi New Member

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    Thank you for your suggestions.

    The Yonex NS9900 does look good to me, and it seems to be well liked on the forums. However, I'm not really sure anymore whether I really need head light. 318mm seems to be head heavy, but I've measured with strings, which again changes everything. Argh. BTW, while doing my google research I also ended up using badmintonalley to compare sepcs... :)

    I've received a PM with the suggestion to start with Apacs rackets, which seem to have a very good price to performance ratio. Since I'm totally unsure which is the right racket for me, currently I'm considering to buy 2-3 rather different Apacs rackets. That would still be cheaper than a top-of-the-line Yonex racket and give me plenty of room/time for finding the racket type that works best for me.
     
  5. Alom

    Alom Regular Member

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    If the BP is 318mm, then the racket is head heavy. Not all rackets have the same length (shall not exceed 680mm in overall length and 230 mm in overall width).

    If your interest in an Apacs, you should get the Apacs Lethal 60 or 70 (virtually the same racket). The BP of the racket is 290 ± 3mm (Head Heavy) and length is 675mm. And is a stiff racket. That racket weights between 86g-89g.

    The other Apac racket is the Armour Muscle Pro 95. The BP of the racket is 305 ± 3mm (more Head Heavy than the Lethal) and length is 675mm. And is a stiff racket. That racket is a 4U (weights between 81g-84g).

    And finally, the Apacs Tantrum 200. One of my favourites. The BP of the racket is 288 ± 3mm (moderate) and length is 675mm. And is a stiff racket. That racket is a 4U (weights between 81g-84g).

    Hope this helps. Look at Sir Dinks racket reviews (link), this have more information (on Dinks review, Lethal 60/70 is not listed, only Lethal 50 is, the Lethal 60/70 are the newer vesion of this).
     
  6. madshi

    madshi New Member

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    Thanks Alom,

    I've ordered 4 different Apacs rackets now. I've a brother and a sister who have outdated rackets, just like me. So I'll keep 2 rackets for myself and give the other 2 to my brother/sister. I've ordered two balanced rackets (Tantrum 200 + Nano Power 900 White) and two head heavy rackets (Tantrum Light Exclusive + Visible Hollow 1300). So I think I should be covered. I just hope that not all 3 of our family will prefer the same (type of) racket... :p
     

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