S$33??? Hehe.. That would be same price for Yonex AS40. Provide some comment on this No.1 shuttlecock compare to Yonex AS40. Thanks.
Exactly! That's what I meant. I may have to look to venture into other brands that I have yet to try for this week's session.
Today managed to used 5pcs of RCL Platinium Gold(RM57) and 4 pcs of Fleet 2002(RM54) for a solid 3 hours games with mainly intermediate players and 1 advance player. Plenty of hard smashing and back to back played. To my surprise, RCL Platinium Gold last 2 set of games but none can be reused for next session warm up. The speed for the 2nd set slowed down but still acceptable for my team. Where as for Fleet 2002, it last 2 games as well and 1 out the 4 pcs can be used for warm up next session. IMO, RCL shuttlecock quality has dropped as compare to RCL millennium a year ago. I would not recommend RCL Platinium Gold for pple that looking for shuttle that can last 2 games and yet can use for warmup next session.
BTW, I just found that out of the 5pcs of RCL Platinium Gold shuttle, 2pcs used 2 layers cork (PU + soft compress wood) and the remaining 3pcs used 3 layers cork ( cork + PU + cork). CHEAP & CHEAT...
Don't really understand this but I assume the 2 layers cork is better? What should a top notch cork comprises of?
That depend on the materials used for different layers. If the 2 layers used are natural cork(like AS40 & AS50) then it is a better cork. A cheaper way of 2 layer corks is using made man artificial cork(PU) and soft compress wood. The top grade cork is a full piece nautural Portugal cork.
Yes. The Mach 02 was 3 layer corks (cork + PU + cork) same as Protech -PT10. BTW, when I mean CHEAP mean the 2 layers corks.
Can you feel the difference when you play? I have used RCL Platinium Gold before (now using RCL other models), I don't feel much difference from 1 shuttle to another shuttle when I play, so to me they are still some good shuttles. Other than like what you said...cheaper cork....when you play, can you feel the difference or the difference is very minimal?
If you don't mind anything as long as it is RCL shuttlecock, then I guess you won't be particular about the materials used and the amount you paid for. The cheaper cork is slightly lighter than the other 3 layers corks and both flight speed slow down for 2nd games. My highlight is if the supplier feel they are no different in both cork performance why don't they standardize the cork used for all 12pcs in a tube rather than mixing different corks in a tube. As far as weight is concerned, 0.1 gram is 1 speed different. This is the first time I encounter a supplier that do cost down by mixing with different corks.
The S/D of feather shuttlecocks is going through some fundamental changes. The two main reasons are the increasing domestic demand in China for feather shuttlecocks and a dietary change of the Chinese from goose to duck. This has implication for assured quality of the very top goose feather shuttlecocks. There is simply not enough top grade goose feathers to go around, so manufacturers resort to mixing or mislabelling which is becoming an increasing trend. To fill this shortage duck feathers are beginning to come into the market. Other than poorer durability, duck feathers have the same playability as goose feathers. But this disadvantage is offset by lower costs of duck feathers. Now, you know why Yonex AS-40 and AS-50 cost so much-that is a price you pay to guarantee that you don't get mix grades of shuttles in a tube. Another thing, it is not true that cork bases are heavier than compound bases. There are certain fundamental rules re weight and speed of shuttlecocks and at different altitude. At sea level the ideal weight is 5g to 5.1g but even Yonex AS-50 goes up to a rather heavy 5.3g which is a bit too heavy. As you go up in elevation the weight should be less. This is different from speed, which are mainly set by the base to feathers weight ratio, the diameters of the base and feathers at the widest circle, and also by weight. As a general rule the base, including the feather shafts that are sunk into the base and the glue on the base, should be heavier than the rest of the shuttle. This determines the base weight to feathers ratio. If the base is lighter some manufacturers insert a small weight in the form of lead or steel shots into the base, i.e. Victor Gold. Also, the very best shuttles spin or rotate on its axis at a fast rate. However, when a single shaft is broken or even dented the spin slows down because the 16 shafts are now not evenly loaded. This makes the shuttle wobble, sometimes mistaken to be spin which it is not.
Tenggk, I have tried RCL Perfect Speed 77 myself, I believe what you have tried was Speed 76. If you don't mind, take 2-3 RCL Perfect Spd77 from me and give it a try. Flight: More consistent compared to PT-10, RSL Tourney No.1, Sosan Black, Victor Green & Ashaway Gold Speed: My group felt its quite similar to PT-10 and slowness after 1 game almost unnoticeable (much better than RCL Titanium Spd76), my group accepted it almost instantaneously without any teething problem Durability: Better than PT-10, Ashaway Gold, RSL Tourney No.1, etc Price: Below PT-10 and slightly higher than RSL Tourney No.1 No chance to try out RCL No.1 yet, if anyone interested, can let me know.
You got your RCL shuttles from a local lady seller or Malaysia? If it's from the local lady seller, the price she offered me is the same price I paid for Sintec Special. Thus I didn't want to make any changes to the brand used at the moment. Given a chance, you can compare Perfect and No. 1. Apparently, No. 1 is the top rated model in the RCL shuttlecock series. It would be interesting to see the difference between these two.
RCL No.1 is better To me, RCL No.1 is not necessary more durable than RCL Perfect, durability almost the same. However, flightwise (the feel), it is better.
Thanks for the info. Is there a RCL website or blog that list out all RCL model? It's very confusing.....if you get what I mean...
You see the website you are more confusing.. Got 81 different model... http://www.rcl.com.my/index.php?cPath=21_34&sort=2a&page=9