My family and I are new to badminton, although we are good racquetball players and have good fitness and strong wrists and forearms. Each of us (myself, wife, and two teenage boys) will have to experiment and figure out what rackets are best for each of us. But I can tell you that we all love how fun it is to smash the shuttle as hard we can. Right now, it almost seems like heavy, full power rackets would be good for us all, but that's because we are all just using the super light, cheap rackets from a rec set. But I am sure that each of us will have our own favorites as we start experimenting with various rackets. As we do that, it occurred to me that I will need rackets for visitors and relatives to use when playing in our backyard court. Right now, I have only the four cheap rackets that came with the backyard recreational badminton set we have now. As I review rackets, I have been amazed with how many fake rackets there are on ebay. A local intermediate player told me that he had a real Yonex and several fake Yonex rackets of the same model and that he couldn't really tell any difference when playing with them. No doubt, there are real functional differences, but it made me wonder whether these fake Yonex AT 900 (Power and Technique) rackets might be worth buying for $30 USD to have just as trainer rackets and rackets for visitors to use. Of course, each fake racket is its own unique case. But I am wondering if in general, these fakes are so close in function to the real model that they are still worth buying for the use I described above?
For the $30 US get lower end brand name rackets. I used cheap all graphite rackets from Wilson and Head they are pretty good. Some fakes can be good quality but most are garbage that breaks on first hit.
Iori, thanks for the advice. Sounds like the one guy I talked to with some decent quality fake Yonex rackets was just lucky. I am not a lucky guy so I am probably better off doing what you suggest, buy some low cost name brand graphite rackets. No doubt, a fake racket will never be as good as the real thing, but it would still be interesting to hear if others who bought fake rackets at least got something that didn't break right away.
i have compared a real and a fake ARC10. they are no where near close in quality. however, if what you mean by "function" is that it can hit the birdie, then by all means...
My friend has a fake Amortec, it's lasted for many years now and he is the best in my school. I believe it depends on the quality, some fakes are really good, but probably 90% of fake rackets are really low quality and could injure you if it breaks. My dad accidentally bought me a fake arcsaber racket from Taiwan and the frame cracked as I smashed with it and the whole frame literally collapsed!
I guess what I really meant to say is that if a fake could "perform" at 90% of the effectiveness of the real thing while costing only a third of the regular price then it could be a good value. Apparently Deathblader has a friend who was lucky in that regard, but he was not so lucky with the fake racket his own dad accidentally bought. I appreciate everyone's feedback on this as it shows how this fake racket business manages to continue on. Some people actually obtain a fake racket that plays ok, while other fake rackets break immediately. The odds look too bad to me to ever consider knowingly buying a fake racket.
The real problem with fakes is that it makes us all want to compare them with the authentic versions when we should be comparing them with what we can purchase ‘authentically’ for the same $30. So forget about trying to quantify whether a fake is 30% or 90% as good as the original because they are completely different. Fakes in general should be avoided because you have no idea of the quality. Purchase a similarly priced authentic instead and you’ll be much happier with more realistic expectations. HOWEVER, if you do end up purchasing one, it should perform fine for your intended purpose which is as a extra racket for visitors in a backyard casual setting. This is not a demanding setting and one which most rackets (including fakes) should easily survive.
The issue with fakes are that they are counterfeits making them illegal. Is the brand "Yonex" really that important that you must use a racket that is labelled with it. I don't like the idea of counterfeiting and would rather buy a cheaper brand that I can afford.
i agree. most people buy handbags because for handbag the look and brand is more important than the actual quality of the bag. for badminton rackets, the quality of the racket is more important than the YY symbol. unfortunately, most people thinks that as long as they look the same, they will perform the same. this belief really baffles me, but every few days we get questions like this. i guess the fake manufacturers are winning in that respect.
As I continue to peruse the internet, this forum is "hands down" (American expression for absolutely) the best place for information on badminton. And one thing I just learned from this thread http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?55907-APACS-review is that Apacs rackets seem to offer the lowest prices on quality high end rackets. This also offers the advantage that Apacs does not seem to have as many companies making fakes, thus making it easier to buy the genuine product. I think I may just order a package of four different models of Apacs rackets for my family to try out. And because they are not that expensive, I can let those rackets become guest rackets as each family member evolves toward their own preferred racket, whatever brands and models they might be. I belong to scores of forums and I must say this is one of the best I have ever seen.
Oh and about Apacs rackets, are they knock offs copying yonex? I say a few pictures of the edgesabers and i thought, "Hey! That looks exactly like the ArcSaber 10!" Just wondering :/
@Deathblader: Apacs makes both clones and their own line of rackets. From my experience and collective opinions from a lot of fellow players and BadmintonCentral frequenters, their own line of rackets seem to be of decent quality. Gan & Tan from Malaysia, for example, are competing on the world stage with Apacs sponsorships! Sometimes I use my Apacs Powerconcept 700 as a back-up racket or for leisurely games. It's a copy of the Yonex Armortec 700, which I have also used before. The Apacs clone is similar but it's pretty much a weaker version. In my opinion, as long as you have the technique, you can take any stable carbon fiber racket, put good strings on it, and it'll play well. I wouldn't advocate Apacs clones in general, however, since I still opt for the original feel.
Thanks c1427x, that was a great help! Here in White Rock, BC I have not seen anyone at the rec center with a apacs racket, its usually, Yonex, Victor, Flypower, Wilson, and Head. I only recently heard about Apacs rackets from a friend of mine who was very ticked off that the edgesabers looked the same as the Yonex Arcsaber series.
Good for looks, but not good for quality also be careful when you buy from shops, paying full amount for fake stuff gotta suck http://www.badmintoncentral.com/for...itated-LI-NING-Gears-2-Badminton-Shops-RAIDED
My friend has a fake armortec racquet as well and it's one of the best racquets I've played with so far... And i've been playing for many many years with all sorts of gear. But I have to agree that most fakes probably don't perform that well.
An expensive (most people associating with better) racket doesn't make you a better player. There are good clones which suite better, but also very cheap clones made from inferior material. You get what you pay for. A good clone doesn't make it a bad racket, but if they are full clones including the brand and name, you're really buying a counterfeit. I just don't want to buy a counterfeit racket. No problems with rackets with the same specifications as long as they have their own brand and type. The problem also with counterfeits is that the quality is not guaranteed, so you cannot compare them, hence cannot buy the same racket that's exactly the same.
Apacs seems to be rather popular on this side of the coast...I've tested out one and it wasn't the greatest of things. It's stiff, somewhat heavy but not a bad racquet to get started with. Plus, the price is quite right for someone looking to make a strong move into the badminton community
