ok so i guess anyone looking for consistancy would either have to use feathers in good condition or nylon(which is was i mostly use to no big deal at all)
Well generally, you would practice with decent quality shuttles if they were feather. My concern with nylon birds is their natural inconsistantsy.
why do you say nylons have natural inconsistency? as far as i was concerened, nylons have the best consistency. they are mass produced by the millions. every shuttle is identical to the previous, in weight, cut, balance. every facet of the shuttle is identical to the last with slight variations only in the cork and sticker placement. they may not fly exactly the same as feathers, but they're as consistent as you can get. plus they are more consistent over time with flight due to durability!
Hi everybody. First Post here. For any UK based users: We're now importing these into the UK. We've got some more info on them here: http://www.blackknightuk.co.uk/content/badminton_trainer There's also a load of YouTube Video of this machine: http://www.youtube.com/user/BKBADMINTON The UK price is £3250 + VAT at the moment. Hope this helps!
Hi, Might as well jump in, since I am working for Black Knight and might shed some light in regards to certain points about this discussion that are not very clear. The price of the Knight Trainer is $5900 CAD plus taxes and shipping, not 3500$. It comes with a one year warranty (with a possibility to add 2 more years). 3 clear tubes holding 50 shuttles each. A Pro Tour bag with wheels to carry the Knigh Trainer, a bag to carry the tripod and another bag to carry the 3 clear tubes that holds the shuttle, 2 remote controls (one extra) a Knight Trainer detailed instructions binder, 3 pair of eyeguards for safety purpose. There is a possibility also to get a tube extension that goes inside the clear tube so that it can hold as much as 80 shuttles. A smaller tripod will be available soon to help replicate shots that the taller one can't. With the combination of these 2 tripods and the Knight Trainer, you will be able to replicate ANY shots. No limitations, everything will be possible. With the standard tripod that comes with the KT it is still possible to replicate 90% of the shots that you can do in badminton. First of all, the Knight Trainer is for teaching and coaching purpose. That is the main goal of the Knight Trainer. It is not machine that is designed to beat a human in badminton play or to outplay him. It is design to produce consistant shots for routine and training. It can achieve shots consitancy at such different and high frequencies that it would be almost impossible for a human to achieve the same results. Try to find a human that can do 80 drives in a row at 2.5 drives per second, half an inch above the net without having a single shuttle hitting the net and that all the shuttles fall on the same spot within a square foot. It is an invaluable tool for coaches, they can set the Knight Trainer and observe the player's technique and really focus on the player instead of having their attention diverted by the feeding of shuttles. The coach also can leave the player with the Knight trainer so that he keeps on practicing the shot that he has problem with, while in the meantime he takes care of the other players. He can teach them other things and he is not slowed down by the player who needs to practice and perfect a specific shot. The learning curve improve drastically with a Knight Trainer. It can also be a partner when there is nobody to practice and you want to practice a specific shot (and yes there is a few individuals who bough a KT for themselve for personal training). 2 Knight Trainers can be linked together and can provide a full routine to a player. (Example: Back court clear followed by a net shot.) It is good for everyone who's playing or coaching badminton and it is good for all caliber of players. A new website entirely dedicated to the Knight trainer is coming this fall, with a Knight Trainer forum where coaches and players can share drills and routines that they have invented or discovered with the Knight Trainer together. Always keep an eye on our website: www.playbk.com for additional informations about the Knight Trainer website. For any more informations of if you would like to buy a Knight Trainer, please contact us at: infoeast@blackknight.ca
I hear they are about $6000 Canadian. Because they are £3250. Sorry i didnt see the 2nd page for some reason. The price has already been clarified
Hi, Does anyone have an idea of how is really working this machine? Perhaps someone has the construction details (construction drawings)? I would be interested in getting this information - possibility to build one for a small club? We can't buy one at this price... Thanks and best regards from Belgium.
i doubt you'd get those details, first, because its a companies, aand second, not many people know. i am sure there is legal issues, too.
I can see why. It looks awesome and if people ripped it off, BK wouldn't get the credit or profit for their efforts and the market would be swamped with cheap reproductions like fake Yonex rackets.
have these things gone down in price yet? they look so cool, its annoying that badminton isn't more popular because you can get really decent tennis machines for £600 compared to this which is £3500.
Hi everyone, I saw your discussion and I wanted to show you something else that the Knight Trainer. We are a new french brand (2012) in badminton and we are the manufacturer of "BKL", our machine for badminton training ! You can find it in France, United Kingdom, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, Norway, ... You can see the product on http://www.badenko.com/en/badminton-shuttlecock-launcher/. You can follow us on https://www.facebook.com/badenko or https://www.youtube.com/user/BadenkoBadminton. Bye
Why does nobody make a simple shuttle feeder? One that simply feeds shuttles at a single (manually adjustable) speed and trajectory? All of the units on the market seem to be computer controlled and cost many thousands of dollars. If someone came up with a simple launcher for under $500, that you could practice specific shots, it would sell a million units. The launcher doesn't need to randomly move you all over the court to be an effective training tool. Giving you a hundred clears in a row, then repositioning, and giving you a hundred low serves in a row, etc... would make it an excellent tool for improving technique. You can get baseball feeders for under a hundred dollars! The only fundamental difference between baseball feeders and the currently available badminton feeders, is the fact that badminton feeders have computer controlled motors, that change speed and trajectory.
In fact, the price of these machines is more expensive because it is difficult to eject a shuttlecock. Electronic doesn't cost a lot today but the mechanism to eject a shuttle is expensive. So to eject one shuttle with or without computer is not really a problem for the price. Furthermore, the shuttlecock feeder represents a little market that is why the price is expensive. Sorry for my english
It might be a little more tricky to eject a shuttlecock than a baseball. But not $5,000 more tricky! As for the size of the market... it would be a heck of a lot bigger if the cost was reasonable. I'm willing to bet there are more badminton players worldwide, than baseball players.
