I noticed this question being brought up across the message board, and in the product reviews, so I thought I might help to clear up some of the confusion by asking the qualified few, to answer. Cooler, you probably can help me the most with this question. Is it imperative that there be a 2lbs difference between the cross and main strings? The main being the lesser of the two, of course. Does this help to prolong the life of your racquet by not prematurely warping the frame? If not necessary, then why the difference at all??? I'm asking these questions, because to my understanding it is better for the racquet head, to keep it's shape, and also because of this recommendation from the manufacturer (mainly Yonex)... it will help the racquet perform the way it was designed to play. I know some of you string your racquets with the same tension all around the head, I believe this personally to be incorrect, as I've seen a Carlton Graphite Powerflo; head warped to the point, that it turned out to be a perfectly round circle as opposed to the oval shape. After seeing that I came to the conclusion after playing with the racquet, that the stringing had damaged the frame, and the racquet honestly did not perform the way it was intended to, however due to the stubborness of this friend of mine... he just shrugged it off, and bought a new one. I think he understood my point of view, and just didn't want to admit he understood. anyways... I hope this question can be answered, to help clarify this mess. Also these were supposedly 'qualified' at a local club, that I didn't join, because my parents were not shareholders in it. Food for thought for those of you having racquets break every 6 months, as opposed to years. PS: the people who warped my Boron 200 frame were Tennis racquet people, and I honestly do not consider them to be qualified badminton racquet stringers... I saw the one owner of the shop at a near by club, I didn't confront him on it, however, I did totally embarrass him and his partner, as my partner and I skated to 15-0, 15-0 victories! take that you lousy professional stringer!!!
"Is it imperative that there be a 2lbs difference between the cross and main strings?" Not that I would imagine. Is it imperative that racquets be strung at not more than 18lbs (Yonex) Does this help to prolong the life of your racquet by not prematurely warping the frame? I used to string my own Kennex 787 the same mains and cross at 24lbs. The racquets never warped or broke. "If not necessary, then why the difference at all???" I wonder if the answer has a historical basis. There used to be wooden racquets and aluminium head racquets. The shapes of the heads were sometimes not the classical oval head shapes as well. Perhaps there are some physics involved. Any engineers like to offer a clue? "I know some of you string your racquets with the same tension all around the head, I believe this personally to be incorrect, as I've seen a Carlton Graphite Powerflo; head warped to the point, that it turned out to be a perfectly round circle as opposed to the oval shape." Now I use 24mains25cross on my cab 20 and 25mains26cross on my cab 22. The frames are still OK. Presumably any warping would be apparent by now (but my racquets are OK). Was it a problem with the Powerflo design or just a bad racquet. One cannot tell.
kelvin, you can get my answer from my #1, #2, #12, #13 historical posts. Use kwun's handy dandy search tool by author.
Thanks guys. Just wanted to say thanks for the help. Even after all these years, I can still learn new stuff. There really is no 100% right, or wrong.
I just finished reading this really good article.. while the examples use tennis ball as a reference, I believe it would be a similar case for badminton. I'm sure you two have read it already. but for others I would like them to read this. http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~badmintn/ioi/Tension.html