How do some racquets have better control then others? (Rant)

Discussion in 'Badminton Rackets / Equipment' started by Inconsistent, Feb 9, 2011.

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  1. Inconsistent

    Inconsistent Regular Member

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    I've been wondering how people are able to make statements pertaining to racquets having better control then others.... I can sort of understand how racquets can "slightly" affect your power and defence, but how does a racquet affect "your" control of the bird. In my opinion this is complete BS, how can you blame a racquet for not being able to hit the bird into a certain spot when you are the one who is hitting the bird with the racquet.

    Sorry for the rant, but in the past I've been suckered into purchasing top end racquets and how it will improve my game but in reality only my wallet suffered in the end. I'm not saying that one of those outdoor badminton racquets will outperform a top end YY racquet but one doesn't need to spend all that money to get a solid racquet.

    I hope people who read this can take away that a racquet will not make you any better but there are other things that can such as hard work, which money can't buy :cool:.
     
  2. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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  3. druss

    druss Regular Member

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    The one thing to keep in mind is that skill must work together with equipment. You're right in that the average beginner won't be able to tell much difference between rackets besides maybe weight. flex/stiffness, head heavy/light... etc. don't make much difference at that level of play.

    Of course, as you get better skill you tend to be able to play with anything well but... we're talking about small percent differences when you get to higher end rackets and players.

    As with anything you can get 90% of the functionality for about 60% of the cost of the most expensive item in the class. That final 10% (which most people can't notice) is the other 40% in cost.

    Quick example, I have a decent 7.1 speaker set up in my house by paradigm, not their best system by any means but I spent about $10K on just the speakers. A real audiophile does not use surround speakers for listening to music however, you need a set of high end stereo speakers for that which I can't be bothered with but... a buddy of mine spent $40K on just 2 speakers purely to listen to music with.... to each their own.
     
  4. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    you're right... you don't need to be suckered by the evil empire to think that their expensive top-end rackets are the best

    control by definition means that your shot goes exactly where you want it to, taking the exact trajectory that you intended

    there are a few pre-requisites for control. first is your skill level. if you're a beginner/intermediate who's still struggling with getting the shots back over the net, then you're obviously not thinking about control. the advanced player who is tactically aware of how to play the game will know what control is. he is constantly assessing the play, anticipating shots and thinking of where to place shots next. this is especially important in doubles where shot placement is more important. at this higher level of play, power alone will not win rallies. you need also tactics.


    this brings us to the second point: equipment, mainly racket and string. both should perform consistently, accurately, with feedback (ie. feel on the hand) and with and with stability. When you have such a racket/string combo, you will be able to "feel" the bird and be able to measure your power exactly to put the bird exactly just over the net to exactly where you want it to land. usually, such a string is thin at high tensions, eg. bg80 or zm62 at 27lbs ecp, and such a racket is stiff, heavy 4u or light 3u, balanced head, solid and stable frame material and construction.
     
  5. drifit

    drifit newbie

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    this is kind of subjective.
    without good skill/technique, any racket that you are using, you unable to control. thus, point the finger to yourself.
    you have the skill/technique, using flex shaft and string bed at 14lbs, how good control can you get then?
    pro players have been training hard. they have control and power. they need more control. thus, they use stiffer shaft and high tension stringbed.
    average badminton enthusiast who follow what pro using will suffer from power and control.
     
  6. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    pointing back to the thread that i referred:

    http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php/7746-what-is-quot-control-quot

    one of the important property i think is stability.

    if the racket is a noodle soft, and gets deflected on the slightest hit, then it will be difficult to control. imagine playing badminton with a soft bamboo whip.

    feel is another important characteristic. if the racket is made to be so damped, you cannot feel the vibration at impact, it will be like walking around with your leg fallen asleep. while with so much vibration, it will be like walking during an earthquake. the appropriate amount of feedback is essential to the feel.
     
  7. drifit

    drifit newbie

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    one must have good or very good fundamental in badminton's skill/technique other than racket itself only.
    if one cant get to the returned-shot in a proper footwork, hand has reach out to max, i am sure even pro is not able to return that shot in good control.
    back to equipment, racket. as one has master the footwork and hitting techniques, good racket will enhance the play. he/she may have better control. as mentioned above, soft shaft or soft string tension will not help but decrease the ability to control.
     
  8. todjo

    todjo Regular Member

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    If we're comparing 2 rackets, 1 low end & 1 high end. Both with the same shaft stiffness, string, string's tension & grip. Both rackets are used by the same person (meanings: has the same skill, power etc..etc..). Time will tell the difference of these rackets. A low end racket will wear off faster than the high end, which resulting a change in stability. A low end racket, which is stable at first time, will become unstable. The more powerful the user, the shorter time taken by the racket to change. Higher end rackets (w/ better materials) will last longer. This "high" is not referring "price". I prefer high end rackets with low price :)
     
  9. drifit

    drifit newbie

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    different material and different construction will result different characteristic for both rackets. thus, different feeling.
    dont forget the handle. different material too. hard, medium, soft wood. some made of fibre or even plastic.
     
  10. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    eh, kwun and drifit, you repeated what i already mentioned in post #4 above ;)
     
  11. todjo

    todjo Regular Member

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    I agree w/ you 100%. You reminded me of my yonex isometric (forgot the series) a few years back. A crack at the wood inside the cone happened after about 1 year of usage.
     
  12. Sketchy

    Sketchy Regular Member

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    I had this exact same conversation with Dinkalot a while ago...

    I personally look for three qualities in a racket:
    * Max Power (how hard can I hit in ideal circumstances?)
    * Efficiency (how easy is it to hit hard? ie. power under pressure, with a short swing)
    * Defense (how quickly can I move the racket to return smashes etc? NOT the same as swing speed)

    As far as I'm concerned, stuff like "touch" and "feel" isn't better/worse for one racket than another - just different, and something you can get used to.

    However, Dinkalot talks a lot about "frame stability" and "solid feel", which are related to control. He had this to say:
    At lower tension instability is not significant. It begins at around 28lbs.* and is very significant at 31* or higher.
    Solid Feel for me is also about feedback. When you block, drive, or smash a shuttle, does the frame push back, stay neutral or actually "help you" repulse the shuttle. Of course the person smashing and all other conditions are pertinent. For instance if you get a soft smasher, you may not be able to tell a difference as opposed to a heavy hitter...

    * 28lbs is way too high for most people - much of the time, it's just macho posturing.

    The other thing to be aware of though, is that I'm pretty sure some manufacturers just use the term "control" as the opposite of "power" - so any racket that sucks in terms of power, must automatically have great control. Like how super light rackets are always marketed as "suitable for a control type player". In those cases, it is just marketing BS imo.

    Basically, you should know what's most important to you when choosing a racket. If you don't think control is a big deal, then don't buy an expensive racket just because it supposedly has great control. It's that simple.
     
  13. ucantseeme

    ucantseeme Regular Member

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    These are characteristics which can give a better control

    - a stiff shaft
    - the string pattern with more holes
    - low/less torsion of the head
    - a low balancepoint which increase the ability to move the head quicker under pressure to get the right angle
    - a small but not to small grip which fit your handsize to effect changing the grips quicker and better through the bevels because you mustn't wrap 10 overgrips.
    - higher tension
    - bigger sweepspot
     

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