Before, I was using a low end Yonex racket I got at Costco, so it was pre-stringed. The racket had a sticker that said 16-20 on it. I just bought a Apacs 900 with 23 lb string tension after hearing several positive reviews on this site. Is that too big of a jump? Also, what differences will I be noticing with this racket compared to my low end one?
omg 23lb! the string is so going to break! na im kidding, 23 lb is a good inbetween tension for a well controlled and balenced power type. itll take a bit for you to get used to the timing of the new racket, once thats done go on and take out the would champ ps. if you feel 23lb is no good for you, u can always -/+ an lb on stringing once it breaks or u can just cut it off
23 lbs should be fine for you. No one should be playing with anything under 20 lbs anyway.. You'll notice that your shots sound a lot better, and you might find that your shots have more power (again just speculation since I've never seen you play).
I keep reading that low tension = more power. I'm getting so many different answers from different people, I don't know what to think anymore
If we're going to use very crude physics then yes, lower tensions have more power because there is more "trampoline effect" and the strings bend more. In the real world though, this is too simplistic to be 100% true. Higher tension stringbeds snap back faster so if you can bend a stiff strinngbed the same or a similar amount to a lower tension one you should get more power. To summarise, lower tensions are generally more powerful for beginners who can't generate enough racket speed to effectively use higher tensions. High tensions are more powerful in the hands of players who generate a lot of racket head speed because they can make the stiffer stringbeds flex and so reap the energy return rewards of the strings returning to position faster.
I think lower tension = more power. But pro players don't need the help of the racquet, but need absolute control, for half smash, drop shot that look a smash. This kind of shot are not «available» for most peolpe. Then use much more tension, for pin point acuracy of the shots. The error is to try to copy the pros, if you are a intermediate player. The best to do is not to supercharge the racquet with higher tension, if you can't use the best of that.
Lower tension = slow shuttle speed. Imagine you hit the shuttle with a pillow compared to a wood stick.
Not entirely true. A pro will still generate less power with a say 22lbs compare to 32lbs, the reason is the speed of racket swing by a pro is faster than the string movement (streching and snapping) of 22lbs. Whereas at 32lbs, the string will move a lot faster and more consistent with the racket speed. So Danstevens is right. In my case, my smash is best at 28lbs and it will reduce in speed if i adjust the tension either way. For example, at 30lbs i feel that i must put extra power to hit the bird right, whereas at 25lbs i feel like no matter how hard i hit the bird it will fly the same.
This has come up so many times... Another shameless plug. Simple contradiction like ck1981 said... a butterfly net will not make me the perfect smasher.