Kwun, you sure you are not an economist in your spare time?? Secondary education in the UK...your life is shrouded by mystery. I think you ought to fill us in with the other details of your life, and update your intro!
I would have to disagree, with this and agree that it is the skill level, and if a player is so used to his racket, against an opponent of the same level, he still has an even chance to win.. case in point, a player in our courts using a old model steel racket.. yup the one with the joint at the neck of the racket!!! And he beats opponents of the same level. shoes are probably the equipment affected the most...
Omfg... Seems like some people still don't get what I'm trying to say.... I'll say it one last time in the most detail version. IF there is TWO of ME (YES ME, NOT YOU).. And let say both of that me have only played with a carlton. Now imagine yonex is showing off their new products. They give an Isometric 23vf to one of the MEs and MP99 to the other. Both of these ME have not try either racquet. Now yonex give us their polo shirt, socks, shorts, and shoes. Both of these racquets have been strung to the same tension with same string. Now to a test. Since both of these people are the same person with the same skill and used to the same racquet. Now they get to try a high end racquet, and a low end racquet. To compare racquets, not skill.. Now who will win... If someone still talks about a racquet used to them, or getting use to the racquet... Then I give up in this thread.
that's a good scientific comparison method. if you put everything to be exactly the same. however, you have forgotten to mention: how good are you? whether a racket is good isn't just about the racket itself, you also have to factor in the suitability of the racket for the particular player in mind. a beginner will likely play better with a beginner racket, while an advanced player will play better with an advanced racket. let me give an analogy (not very close, but should illustrate the point). considering you are trying on t-shirt. you want to know what size t-shirt are the best. now, i can tell you, i will look like a dork wearing size XXS, but my niece will fit comfortably in a XXS. depending on whom the person is, that person will likely fit better on a size that is suitable for him/her. the same can be said for rackets, or many other badminton equipments for that matter.
Well we're most likely gonna be talking about the quality of that tshirt, not the size. A expensive t-shirt just might be more comfirtable than a $10 one....
Either way, whether they are beginners or advance players, one of them should play better than the other given the suitability of the racket to one of them... so equipment does matter after all...
Well, I think what Kwun is trying to say is the two t-shirts ARE different in size regardless of the quality of the material and one will fit better than the other, maybe the cheap one, maybe the expensive one, whichever fits better. A cheap medium will always fit me better than an expensive X-Large one.
I agree to the extent that a badminton player should play with equipment that suits them most to really maximise their true performance potential.. suitable pair of shoes for a player is vital as they could be injured paying with unsuitable shoes.. to find a suitable racket, a player should know their own strengths and weaknesses and their style of play and choose a racket that can maximise their strengths and/or minimise their weaknesses.. This suitable racket could be a cheap racket or a really expensive ones... I've tried a lot of rackets and found that not all expensive rackets suits my style of play and not all cheap rackets makes me play poorly (some of them really sucks though).. So a player that plays very well but doesn't care about the equipment he is using is not playing at his maximum potential.. that’s why u can see some of the pros use older and cheaper racket models when they can choose from the latest top of the line models..
But cheap racquets are made with different material as to higher end ones. In equipment, we're comparing the quality of it. Size of a tshirt will be a racquet having 2U, 3U, or 4U... and different grip sizes as well. But if you only have $10 on your hand, you can't possibly compare your equipment to someone who has a racquet that worth alot more. There is a big difference between a high end racquet and a low end racquet. Anyone can be suitable for any because I'm not comparing a specific racquet. If I'm comparing a specific racquet such as MP88 and Ti10... Of course if you're a singles player Ti10 will be more suitable and doubles player will choose MP88... That is the choice of the owner, whether he is suitable for TI10 or Mp88... But if we're comparing a high end racquet to a low end racquet, that's different. If I'm comparing a high end racquet made for singles, and a low end racquet made for singles.. Most people will probably choose the high end one. Why choose cheap aluminum racquet over graphite? Just to show equipment doesn't matter?
A higher end racket (say, more expensive and newer release???) does not gurantee with a better performance over a relatively lower end (cheaper, older model) racket. Personally, I tried a lot of new yonex higher end models, such as MP99, AT800, AT700, AT500, NS7k, etc, but somehow none of them give me the same good feeling as my cab30ms. Of course, cab30ms is not a cheap or low end racket, but with US market retail price, it's way cheaper than the other ones I listed. (US$100 vs US$150+). Therefore, if I use the above ones in ur "test", I can surely give u a totally opposite result, as the "me using cheaper cab30ms" will beat the "me with more expensive MP99" for example. Same result applies with my SOTX rackets comparision, as 8080+ (less than US$80) ranks higher for me, rather than some "higher" end Woven series models (generally US$100 above).
I want to distinguish between useability and suitability. My opinion is that a beginner will find the high end racket a lot more useable than a low end racket. Shots will be significantly better with the higher end racket, and it is easier to refine technique with the higher end racket. For those who say that higher end rackets are too stiff for beginners, there are flexible higher end rackets. And of course, it is possible to get head-heavy, even-balanced or head light rackets. As for the suitability, the key issues are durability and price. A beginner might realize that the high end rackets are not quite as durable, and that will lead to a waste of money if they do break one. Pricewise, I think it is better not to spend too much. The fact is, badminton is fairly expensive sport, especially for young players who are still in school. Compare to other sports like basketball, volleyball, baseball, soccer, the cost is quite high because shuttles are more prone to breakage, and court space also costs money. My point is that badminton is prohibitively expensive sport to get into, so beginners should not spend too much until they decide badminton is something they will enjoy in the long run.
By low-end I really meant a cheap racquet that cost less than $60US... Like the cheap racquets you find at walmart or the ones they use in schools.... Now compare those with AT800, MP99, and NS7000.... Or even compare it with the iso racquets...
i think that rackets in the $30-$70 range would be more suitable for beginners .... As they are more flexible that those high-end rackets but lighter than those low-end rackets , beginners are less prone to injuries which could end their interests in badminton.Also , as beginners tend to learn the correct strokes , they are more prone to have scratches on thier rackets .... In this way , they would not feel the pinch if they scratch their rackets... Their parents also would not feel the pinch as most of their money are from their parents ... low-end and high-end rackets also tend to break more easily than mid-end rackets..... *Just my thoughts
Just because higher end racquets are easier to break doesn't mean they're not suitable for beginners... BG66 is very easy to break, yet alot of people use it.
Equipment Really Matters Most people say that equipment doesn't really matter much, especially if one is a beginner. Well for my case, at last I found a racquet which makes a world of a difference. Racquets I had owned but with not much difference : Carbonex 8,9,10,21,8 tour sp MP 77 Titanium pro Racquet that is responsive and making a lot of difference : mp 25 Racquet that is making a world of difference : Armortec 300 4U g4. My game totally changed with this racquet. I'm winning lots of games now. My friends are surprised with my improvement. It can be said that at long last I have found a racquet which is suitable for me. Does anyone else have this experience. Or is it only happening to me?
All this will say, seems ISo head, light, relative stiff and even balanced racket(s) serve u better. Mostly, higher price does not boost up the performance, but from a totally no-fit to a totally fit might bring quite a bit impact.
I see ur point. However, if the nature of the 2 already means huge difference, why even bother to make a comparison??? For example, we can compare two NBA teams, say which one is the champion contender, which one can't even make playoff. We are compare similar lvl components. But if u give me a NBA team, the other with an elementry school team, why even bother to compare?
What you are proposing, first of all, is subject to a number of factors. But saying that all things equal and both of YOUs have to adjust to a new racquet, it could go either way. You have no emprical proof that YOU might adjust to a lower-end racquet nor do you have proof that YOU might adjust to a higher-end racquet. To say that equipment matter in general is just B.S. If you are comparing your department store racquet (2 for $10) to a high level, then you are not being fair as the cheapo racquet probably would not be strung at a suitable playable tension. This is pointless, you obviously think that equipment matter and the more expensive it is, the better. I and many others disagree and I don't think you agree so let close this thread and just agree to disagree.
