Frankly cooler, what you write does not make much sense. So a "plastic player" is better att predicting the unpredictabily of a plastic, and but can not predict the undpredictiability of a detorieted feather?? Use the Chaos-force.. Predict the unpredictable, become a world class champion at coin-tossing ?!?!? I think you exhaggerate the detoriation aspect of a feather shuttle. If the stems of the feather are intact, it usually retains its superior flight characteristics very close to a brand new ones.. Generally I would say plastics deteriorate, and feather shuttles break.. And when they break we replace the feather-shuttles. /T
Good Questions Hi Twobeer: Good Questions. With regard to switching birds ... it would be very difficult to get people to switch. Last season, a club switched from the Mavis 300 to the Mavis 350. The purpose of the switch was to get closer to the handling of a feather shuttle. I picked up 10 dozen Mavis 350's as a trial, for people who wanted to try them. I got virtually no support for the Mavis 350's, and I had a lot of complaints from people who did not like the physics of the Mavis 350s. So, we never switched from the Mavis 300's. Perhaps I will have the members try a few tubes of AS-30 birds as you suggest, and gather some feedback. We do not play age restrictions on players, but a "black" labelled player needs to start beating "red" labelled players before their status can be changed. It doesn't mean "red" and "black" do not play together, but the game can be balanced more fairly (black/red vs black/red). On place I play has a paid employee who knows all the players skills and makes balanced matches. He has been doing this for nearly 40 years. Some of the better players will have a tube of feather birds in their equipment. Since the nylon birds are supplied at many locations, not many people offer to play their feathers. Players are always welcome to play with feather ... although it's more of a novelty to see how different it is. For people who have played decades with nylon, they have control to hit the lines, the corners, time their smashes and drops just perfectly. The feather bird requires slightly different shots -- so nylon players can not approach their best games. The nylon shuttle makes things very economical. For $30 (same is $30 US), you get to play 40 nights, 3 hours a night, nylon shuttles included and juice is supplied! The school board gives us a good rate on the gym. This is extremely affordable. -- Emba33
Multiple Use Fascilities Since badminton is such a precision sport, small things can get us upset. Having multiple lines on the court is normal -- and sometimes it makes it difficult to call lines (when another line crosses in the same spot). Also, the nets can be 1/2 inch too high or too low, or not even. Sometimes the wall is too close to the edge of the court. A lot of people complain about wind currents from the air conditioning. The two guys asking questions were likely very impressed with your badminton skills. I would take it as a compliment. I like watching good players too ... Emab33
The Ultimate Shuttle Philosophically speaking ... do you feel the best shuttles should have the least variation? This would make sense to me. It also makes sense to me that a production line synthetic shuttle could potentially be the best for everyone? In a game which requires so much percision, the variation of the feather birds must drive people nuts. Emba33
i personal prefer mavis 300 over 350 when playing plastic. I can adjust the shuttle speed on 300 much better and easier than on the 350. During my 100% plastic days, i could achieve precision like u have said, mainly because nylon shuttle has better consistency or less variation as u coined it. Last 4 months i have played with feathers and still can not achieve the fine precision like i had with mavis 300. One reason (from many reasons) is that each player chipped in their feather shuttles with we might go thru 1 to 3 shuttles per game of doubles. Everybody seem to bring forward their own brands of feather shuttles and they are more diverse than the color of smarties. Hmm, a quick recall, i played,not in order, victor green speed 75 and 77, victor blue, AO AH KANG, AS20, AS50, kason, hiqua blue, and 2 other chinese brands i don't recall their mandarian names. (also tried tronex, proace, chao pai, trumps, snow peak, swallow)
Assuming you are using the correct speed good feathers will play quite similarly. In contrast, despite the claimed production quality and consistency of plastics, they all play inconsistently and unpredictably, even with the same plastic shuttle. The problem with plastic is not the production specification but its unpredictable nature in actual play. The collapse of the skirt of plastics makes it difficult to control a shot. The fine-tuning that players get from feathers cannot be reproduced with plastics, because of plastic's collapsing skirt. Even very small variations in the way the racquet and the plastic skirt make contact lead to huge and large differences in the way the skirt deforms, making control almost impossible. The main problem is a design flaw, not a production one, of today's plastics. Therefore, today's plastics may be a first class production wonder but it is not what a player wants, i.e. a flawed design.
Assuming you are using the correct speed good feathers will play quite similarly. Really? I find the different brands speed are not consistent with other brand. Also flight path are different due to the cork formulas are different too. In contrast, despite the claimed production quality and consistency of plastics, they all play inconsistently and unpredictably, even with the same plastic shuttle. The problem with plastic is not the production specification but its unpredictable nature in actual play. Really? When was the last time you play with plastic shuttle? Even in Yonex shuttle factory, every feather shuttle comes out differently. They are just very similar with very small variance. The shuttle land in a smaller target circle than other brand (just marketing and better QC). The collapse of the skirt of plastics makes it difficult to control a shot. The fine-tuning that players get from feathers cannot be reproduced with plastics, because of plastic's collapsing skirt. Even very small variations in the way the racquet and the plastic skirt make contact lead to huge and large differences in the way the skirt deforms, making control almost impossible. The main problem is a design flaw, not a production one, of today's plastics. WOW, I did not know that. In lab condition, under strobe light and high speed camera, a same stroke impact the plastic shuttle produce the same flight every time. Also the same for AS50. They just fly differently. Therefore, today's plastics may be a first class production wonder but it is not what a player wants, i.e. a flawed design. No, design is not flawed, it is just not a 100% reproduction of feather. Even Yonex show that plastic fly differently than feather. Yonex only claim the skirt recover faster than other brand. The trojectory of plastic is closer to feather than other brand. Plastic is just a close approximation of the feather. Even different brand feather fly differently due to different corks used, different feather cut shapes and other variability.
Check the Yonex Site There is a chart on the Yonex site. The actual length of the "collapse" phase that you described is down to a very small amount. I have difficulty understanding what you are describing, because the bird always behaves the way I expect --- if not, I blame myself. Emba33
I don't speak philosophically. I just do it! Another short summary, a stiff bird is always the preferred choice over a lame nylon. Until a synthetic bird that matches or better the characteristics of feather, feather is the meal of choice.
Guys, Can we just agree that there is a need for the plastic shuttles while real feather are proffered in majority of the world and end this debate? Dear Mod, Can we just close this thread so the other can open another thread to debate merits of feather vs plastic? I think there is thread on that subject already? Thank you...
