Hi everyone, I am completely new to the world of badminton as far as taking it seriously goes. I have in all honesty only played badminton about 20 times in my life, but I have a natural talent for racquet sports (I play a lot of tennis and table tennis and I'm very good at them), therefore I'm pretty good for a newbie. I now want to start taking up the sport seriously. So I thought I'd start with equipment first. Here are a few pointers on what my preferences are, bear in mind I don't really know which is best! - I like a hard, smooth grip - I care about durability if the racquet costs a lot, other than that it's all about performance for me - I don't sweat profusely, more just a normal amount as I'm quite fit - I would be playing quite often so I would want to take it seriously - I'd say I like to be an all round player, I prefer singles in badminton, so lots of smashing and net play - I think I'd prefer if the strings were relatively hard, I do tend to be a bit heavy handed when playing normal shots/smashing, but my strokes feel more confident with a heavier strong contact - I have played mostly with plastic shuttlecocks and have thus got used to them, I tend to play much worse with feather for some reason... - I am willing to pay for my first proper racquet no more than �50 (I live in the UK) If I was to explain my type of play in a few sentences it would be: very enthusiastic, I will try to go for even the most impossible looking shots, even if it means falling over lol. I don't tend to go much for placement, left or right, I concentrate more on getting it high and far or low and close to the net in order to not give the player an easy middle shot. I think that should be enough info for now, if you have any other questions please ask, and if you could recommend some equipment for me (mainly a decent racquet) then I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks
What's ur budget again? �50 is what? if low budget, then i guess u can look into apacs, rsl or pro ace. i am not sure what you have in london but get something which is durable as u say, u don't mind falling over, and i guess, the racket u use, will make lots of contact to the floor as well.
Do you have a racquet already? If you already have one you like, then it might be good to get one that is similar. I would vote for setting a good budget for shoes too; for me proper badminton shoes help keep my legs and feet from tiring or getting sore quickly, which means I can maintain correct footwork for longer. (I am a beginner too and need to consciously do my footwork correctly). The more experienced BCers (or those who have tried lots of racquets) will have lots of good recommendations, I'm sure. I have been learning over the last year with a Karakal MTEC-85, which is light and quite durable too (and cheap! I bought it for £30!). For hard strings, you need to find a seller/shop which will do custom restring for you.
I have a racquet, it's a Yonex, but its a very old one and I didn't as such choose it, it was my brother's from about 10 years ago. Thanks for the tips I guess I'll have to just research myself then and use trial & error... I don't seem to be getting many recommendations
it is a little bit hard to give advice especially below £50.. how about wilson k brave http://www.directsportseshop.co.uk/...rackets/Wilson_K_Brave_Badminton_Racket_.html or try armortec 50 http://www.directsportseshop.co.uk/...ortec_50_(Black-Silver)_Badminton_Racket.html
I bought my Karakal MTEC-85 for £30, even though I also have a Yonex in my bag I still find myself reaching for the Karakal, their frames are a bit thick but very light. You might want to look at their racquets. Also, someone recommended me a SOTX recently, they have some models at less than £50, you could look at that make too.
you say you like to smash and net play for an offensive racket i recommend : amortech900 power arcsaber z slash /10( i prefer z slash) muscle power 99 Krypton,xenon, radon ( BK vortex series) you said u like singles, which usually involves more control i recommend nanospeed 9900 armortech900 technique photon xl pcv ( also a good offensive racket) isometric series by yonex
Is there a shop near you that sells badminton kit? If there is see if you can at least dry swing a few, best is to get some demo ones A good sports shop with helpful people is worth giving your business to, if the saving you can make from buying online is not that big.
i dont know the conversion rate of pounds to american dollars so thats why I did those recommendations lower cost rackets i would recommend AT 700 isometric (any thing from the series) they all give a good feel to your shots impulse series from Black knight ns 6000 carlton Airblade ( cheapest of the above rackets)
Join a club. Ask for used rackets, since most beginners will have some clashes with their rackets. Borrow some rackets from other players for single play or some testing and be carefull with them! I think you at least should have two rackets in case one has to be strunged and have a choice if you have a day off with your preferred racket. If you don't like the sport, you can sell the racket or keep it as a memory.
