What is the single most important equipment for badminton

**Aspire** · 07-13-2010, 03:36 AM

As we all know, badminton is a game that required a few gears in order to play it properly namely racket, string, shuttlecock... and so on.

Some would say racket of certain spec and brand while others might opt for certain string at certain specific tension.

So what is the single most important equipment to you that you cannot live without and wouldn't mind investing in?

**keith.roche** · 07-13-2010, 04:00 AM

A pair of Shoes.... and that too of the best quality one can afford....

**visor** · 07-13-2010, 04:22 AM

You're like asking a race car driver to pick what is more important:
engine, chassis, tires, suspension, fuel, or downforce.

You do know that all of the above is equally important. Any one weak component will prove to be the weak link in the chain.

**Smithy88** · 07-13-2010, 04:42 AM

Originally Posted by visor

You're like asking a race car driver to pick what is more important:
engine, chassis, tires, suspension, fuel, or downforce.

You do know that all of the above is equally important. Any one weak component will prove to be the weak link in the chain.

Yer but in essence that is a car

This is even more daft than that. You can't play with just a shuttle and you can't play with just a racket so there is no one most important thing, at the least you need 2 things to do anything at all.

**Andy05** · 07-13-2010, 04:51 AM

I think I get the question.
Is it - Which piece of equipment would be key if all others were basic?
Like Feather or Plastic shuttle, Quality string, Tension, Racquet, Shoes.

So I would say I would choose a great pair of shoes, and live with a bad racquet and use plastic shuttles.

In the car example this question seems to be, would you prefer a Ferrari with a 0.8L engine or a Reliant Robin with a 6L Turbo, you still get all the parts of the car, but would you trade speed for looks? and probably safety...

**ryim_** · 07-13-2010, 04:55 AM

I vote for shoes!

**Smithy88** · 07-13-2010, 05:08 AM

If that is the case then i would say having somewhere indoors to play, you can't really just play anywhere. Outside is too windy and your livingroom is too small. Unless your playing garden badminton.

Other than that it would be the shuttle, its the most likely thing to break so if you were just going to go out and play with the bare bones you don't want to stop because the shuttle died.

**Sketchy** · 07-13-2010, 05:55 AM

Shuttles.
I could play with a cheap racket and strings, and it wouldn't really spoil my enjoyment of the game that much - I just wouldn't win as often.
Shoes are obviously really important too, but they're not exactly something you need to "invest in" - 90% of shoe performance is down to how well they fit your specific foot shape, and paying more doesn't guarantee a better fit.

**Aspire** · 07-13-2010, 06:08 AM

I asked this question to 3 different groups that I played with week in week out. Those who played baddy for more than 5 years would opt for a good pair of shoes out of the rest. The majority would go for racket and string out of the rest and a few placed their votes on attire and shuttle out of the rest. Personally I would go for a quality pair of shoes out of the rest.

Originally Posted by visor

You're like asking a race car driver to pick what is more important:
engine, chassis, tires, suspension, fuel, or downforce.

You do know that all of the above is equally important. Any one weak component will prove to be the weak link in the chain.

Let say my priority is on the engine.

Originally Posted by Smithy88

Yer but in essence that is a car

This is even more daft than that. You can't play with just a shuttle and you can't play with just a racket so there is no one most important thing, at the least you need 2 things to do anything at all.

Exactly.

Originally Posted by Smithy88

If that is the case then i would say having somewhere indoors to play, you can't really just play anywhere. Outside is too windy and your livingroom is too small. Unless your playing garden badminton.

Other than that it would be the shuttle, its the most likely thing to break so if you were just going to go out and play with the bare bones you don't want to stop because the shuttle died.

So I guess your answer is a hall!

**Smithy88** · 07-13-2010, 06:10 AM

Originally Posted by Aspire

So I guess your answer is a hall!

Pretty much, no point in having the stuff if there is nowhere to play. That and i used to play garden badminton outside my house right next to a film studios fence, many a shuttle got blown over.

**Aspire** · 07-13-2010, 06:13 AM

Originally Posted by Andy05

I think I get the question.
Is it - Which piece of equipment would be key if all others were basic?
Like Feather or Plastic shuttle, Quality string, Tension, Racquet, Shoes.

So I would say I would choose a great pair of shoes, and live with a bad racquet and use plastic shuttles.

In the car example this question seems to be, would you prefer a Ferrari with a 0.8L engine or a Reliant Robin with a 6L Turbo, you still get all the parts of the car, but would you trade speed for looks? and probably safety...

Thank you so much for helping.

**weeyeh** · 07-13-2010, 11:01 AM

Me... rubber flooring.

**justinwyyau** · 07-13-2010, 11:10 AM

Shoes

Most expensive item in my bag right now. Having rolled my ankle before (badminton related and other sports), I do know and appreciate what a really good pair of shoes can do to your feet, ankle, knee, lower back and spine.

Justin.

**Aspire** · 07-13-2010, 12:06 PM

After my Tuesday night session today, I would like to add a tube of good shuttles that have a consistent flight speed, could last a game at least and also accurate.

We used to play with Protech Masterpiece but it was out of stock lately and we played with RCL Titanium today which was so much faster in speed which we couldn't control the birdie at all. Baseline clearance was 3 feet over the line!

None of us enjoyed our game.

**GEEGEEGEE** · 07-13-2010, 12:19 PM

This is too obvious and easy. The racket itself of course! lol

You can't play jack without a racket. You can play without shoes, court or net. Shuttle cock comes in a close second to the racket.

**druss** · 07-13-2010, 12:56 PM

As already stated, I think the question should have been which piece of equipment do you place the most importance in and are willing to spend a little bit extra on, not just what is important to actually play.

I'm also going to go with shoes. Crappy racket, shuttles, net, floor... etc. I can live with, bad shoes though have a lot to do with safety and health.

**thejym** · 07-13-2010, 06:01 PM

For me, it would depend on how "bad" all of the pieces of equipment are. If I was using the cheapest Yonex gear ($15-20 racket, SHB-41 shoes, BG-65 string, Aeroclub shuttles), I would go with a better racket, but that's because the shoes are not bad and string and shuttles are okay. I think it's very important to have a pair of badminton shoes that fit, but the difference between the cheapest Yonex shoes and their most expensive is a slightly better undersole (hexagrip) and more lateral support. The difference between a $20 racket and a $200 racket is great. However, Yonex rackets are very pricey so I spent my money on a good pair of Yonex shoes and used a different brand of racket.

In the end, it's all about whatever will benefit my playing the most. My footwork doesn't change from a better pair of shoes, though perhaps with better lateral support I might move a tiny bit faster. However, a cheap racket with the wrong flex/weight/bp will throw off my shots and the power of my shots, which would probably have a bigger impact on MY game. I think the right string and string tension is more important than the racket but it doesn't cost too much to upgrade strings so let's take that out of the equation.