does anyone have any information on how SOTX measures and rate their rackets? i first learned of the SOTX stiffness scale from the Panda website ( www.dcbadminton.net ) and am curious how it is actually performed. Panda??
SOTX Badminton Stiffness - measured in degrees of movement of the shaft when a 20kg weight is placed on the T-joint of the racket : 8.0 extra stiff 8.5 stiff 9.0 medium stiff 9.5 flexible http://anonym.to/?http://www.ibuysports.com/badmintoninfosheet.html Pretty sure there should be a thread around here as well ...
20kg!! that's 44lbs. that's a lot of weight. i don't expect a lot of cheaper rackets to survive that. or does it mean 2kg?
Must be typo O__O I don't ever believe ANY of my SOTX rackets can stand 44lbs of pull...I've had a couple of them break on me not having anything close to that...
its not tension, its a weight they apply to the shaft or something so it bends. saw a picture once, its literally as good as a thousand words.
I didn't mean tension...I meant I pulled my racket to test the stiffness and it broke..don't think I pulled close to 44lbs...xD...if you happen to find that picture...again, would be worth 1000 words xD...
Just a note of interest...stiffness is measured differently by some mfg....I am checking with sotx to find out for sure how they do it.. Some use a machine that applies pressure to the middle of the shaft which is supported on both ends and gives a digital read out of the stiffness.... This is done before shaft is attached to the head... The composition of the shaft is different (sometimes) from the frame head... This different comp makes for different amount of stiffness....difficult to get high flex from 50 Tonne carbon....
From what i know SOTX and Apacs apply a 20kg weight on the shaft/head joint and measure the angle of shaft bend. The larger the angle the higher the flex rating.
http://www.apacscanada.com/-i-7.html Shaft Flexibility ( Flex ) Apacs measuring FLEX of a racket by 2 supports at the handle and T-joint. Applying a 20Kg weight at the middle of the shaft. The bent lenght of the shaft will be the index of FLEX. Therefore, the bigger the number, more flexible will be the shaft. In general, number will between 6.5.0mm - 9.5mm.
My one and only WOVEN 16 (now sold) was strung at 34/35 and it did held with no problem as the claim says. I think it is in the stiffness category of an ArcZS imo.