Announcing new air shuttles in the middle of a pandemic? Yeah, sounds like a great idea. Just imagine how the discussion went (probably over video conference) CEO: Are the factories operating? CEO: Are sufficient numbers of customers queuing up? CEO: Is the supply chain able to cope? Head of Operations: No...but has that ever stopped us before? CEO: Nope, sounds good. What shall we do marketing team? Marketing: Stunned silence... Secretary: It's ok, my nephew has done a course on digital art, he can make some great animations and photos.
On the other hand: CEO: Are people playing at clubs right now? Marketing: No, everything's closed. CEO: So, where are people playing? Marketing: Outside, in gardens etc. CEO: If only we had a product that we could sell into this expanding market.... Marketing: I got nothing. Players: You could sell the Air Shuttle...IF YOU HADN'T SPENT SO BLOODY LONG FAFFING ABOUT MAKING PROMOS FOR SOMETHING NOBODY COULD BUY AND HAD ACTUALLY GOT IT INTO PRODUCTION ALREADY!
Tried them yesterday. They shuttle feels heavy and very fast. I misshit once on my frame and feels like my racket was gonna break LOL. The "feather" is also very hard, so you can't do many variations of shots. For example, it is impossible to do shots like drop shots where you have to brush against the shuttle. It feels overall like a different sport where you play in bigger court and mainly do drives and clears. I got to say that the shuttle is pretty well-made and can withstand windy conditions. But when there is less wind, I still prefer playing with normal nylon shuttles since it has a closer feeling to a typical badminton game.
They made the cork heavy and the plastic hard. This affects the flight path and every time you hit it, you hit the cork. I've only tried for a few hours so can't so much but as you can't really hit the plastic "feather", it seems pretty durable to me. One important point is you will probably need a racket with lower tension (like 18-20 lbs) since the weight of the shuttle (8g compared to 5g of a normal plastic and feather shuttle) plus the plastic bumpy material of the cork could easily break a higher tension string.
What strings do you use? Does using a hard string + high tension might feel like its gonna broke everything from racket to arm? Really want to try it tho but as of now not really sure where to buy the shuttle
Just looking at the design suggests that using BG80 at 32lbs would be pretty unwise! If this were to actually take off properly I would expect you would get rackets designed especially for it, probably heavier and maybe a larger head design possibly. This won't be a lot like the badminton we all know that we play indoors. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk
Here's what happened after 3-4 sessions with several mishits. Be careful guys, perhaps using a more solid racket would be a good idea. My 5U Arcsaber FB was probably not made for this...
Ok, DinB, now you're scaring us. Yikes! I still may want a tube around for light hitting outdoors. Just need something the wind doesn't affect. Regular plastic shuttles are still to light for outdoor use, IMO.
OMG! I joked that I was gonna break my boyfriends racket when playing with the Air Shuttle, but I thought it was just a joke! Didn't realize it could happen so easily. I think also because it doesn't fly consistent, you can't anticipate it like you can a normal shuttle, so mishits are a guarantee. I think even top players would have a lot more mishits then really good hits, just because if the erratic nature of playing outdoors. So using a cheap racket strung low is probably your best bet.
sorry for the loss DinB. but to be fair, ArcFB would break even mishitting on regular shuttle. I have seen it before from a friend of mine, on the first day of use. So definitely don't use your delicate rackets for AirShuttle.
I guest playing with strong racket that are capable to hold high tension would be better for it & with low tension unfortunetly. So maybe VT DG series would be good idea.
First impressions: Noticeably heavier than plastic shuttles Drives and flat shots feel too fast and don't slow down like normal shuttles Clears were surprisingly similar to normal shuttles The shuttle is very hard and stiff so lots of vibration when I smash, didn't try anymore since it felt like it was going to snap my racket. Might try again with a lower tension and cheaper racket. Off-centre shots are very dull Hard to control
was your trial indoors or outdoors? Any feedback on outdoor wind issues? Were you Able to execute drops?
The Airshuttle has a life span about 2 hrs. It is vary weak on the top cage. While the head and the ribs are durable, the cage splits in the middle of 2 ribs 1st, and than the adjacent 2nd one start braking. Cannot play with over 20lbs tension with Yonex BG 65, more then an 1 hour before the string breaks. Air badminton is a new sport, needs different equipment than indoor badminton. It requires 0.75 mm string, and tougher racket frame, and outdoor badminton shoes, and when all these are in production, let's call it GOODMINTON, , because it is not badminton, as snowboarding, is not surfing either!!!