spec me a badminton racket

utajoker

utajoker

utajoker

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Joined
13 Jan 2006
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Wigan
ive recently started playing badminton with a mate and rather than keep renting the rackets from the place for £1 thought it would be better to get my own.

so can anyone wh plays reccomend any makes to go for? just looking for a cheap one to start with maybe a max of about £15-£20.

thx
 
At this level I think they are all much of a muchness but Carlton or Yonex will offer models in this price range, I personally just bought something from Sportdirect (used to be Sports Soccer) as it was a price that I found acceptable. I couldn't tell you specific models you should be looking for, just that the above are brands which will give suitable options.
 
utajoker,

If you are starting out, then i would go for a racket with a fairly even balance. Some rackets are head-heavy and although they are good for smashing as they will give extra momentum, they don't tend to be the best rackets for beginners as they are less manoeuvrable, especially in defence. If you go for a very light-head racket, you may find that smashes have little power unless you have very good technique. You can get rackets whose overall weight is lighter, but feel more head-heavy. This is to do with the way the weight is distributed.

Also, look at the shaft flex. Go for a racket with a medium flex as you'll get more distance on your shots. With stiffer rackets, you'll be needing a better technique to get more distance especially when clearing from your rear court to your opponent's rear court.

Whatever you do, don't buy a racket from ebay thinking you'll get a bargain as more likely than not, it will be a chinese fake. This is especially the case with Yonex rackets as fakes are rife. Ebay adverts often say they are OEM or made in the same factory but that's all BS.

All that said, it would be good to increase your budget as you will have a much wider selection of rackets to choose from. If your budget is strict, i would probably go for something like:

Head Nano Power 500 (around £15)
Yonex NanoSpeed 100 (around £20)

These are both slightly on the light-headed side but are good value. I've had a play with the Head racket above and i was quite surprised at how good it was for the price.

Good luck!!
JM
 
Musclepowers are slightly head heavy but you'll get a better smash!! If you've already bought it then don't worry too much as your strength will develop but personally i wouldn't be starting off with that racket. Having said that, Musclepowers are decent rackets. I use a Musclepower 99 myself.
 
Yep, have fun! Starting off with badminton is all about technique - at a lower level the racket really doesn't make a massive difference, especially as rackets at that price range are for the most part reasonably similar, in quality and weight if not in balance. I started off with a Yonex Isometric 75, which set me back £15 and was great while I was learning.

As I say though, badminton is as much about technique as anything else; probably more than the vast majority of other sports.
 
JoeMama said:
Musclepowers are slightly head heavy but you'll get a better smash!! If you've already bought it then don't worry too much as your strength will develop but personally i wouldn't be starting off with that racket. Having said that, Musclepowers are decent rackets. I use a Musclepower 99 myself.
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You're not going to get a better smash if he's starting out as he won't have the technique :p.

Get a balanced, even length racket.
 
platypus said:
You're not going to get a better smash if he's starting out as he won't have the technique :p.
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Yes you're correct if he's a complete beginner but i was trying to give a redeeming feature given that he was not really following advice by choosing a head-heavy racket!! Having said that, for myself, gaining a powerful smash was easier than learning other shots which involve the need for better technique. There is the school of thought that starting off with head-heavy strengthens the wrist quicker but i'm not sure if i would really subscribe to that; i'd much prefer slightly head-light/even balance to start. Even now i still feel that i'm not as nimble with the MP99 as i'd like, hence i'm looking at the Arcsaber 10 or Nanospeed 9900 for my next racket but they're so damn expensive!!
 
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Handy thread, mine's seen better days so I'll have a look about for a Musclepower. Got my aerial smashes down the other day :D Cheers all.
 
Sorry to hi jack but might as well use this thread :p
Am also looking for a new racket.
Currently using a MP 45 but i think i'll prefer a lighter racket. I prefer Yonex as well so what's a lighter range of rackets from the MP? From reading the specs and handling my dads Armortec 800 they look like a good choice. Was thinking maybe the 900? What's the difference between power and technique? I heard technique has slightly more 'hold' to it?

What about the ArcSaber or Nanospeed? How do they fare?
 
I can't tell you much about the new armortecs but Nanospeed rackets are head-light and the Arcsaber are more of an even balance.

I'm going to be trying out the NS9900 and Arcsaber10 in a few weeks. Although i don't know anyone who owns either of these rackets, PWP in Reigate (don't know if you drive, but its in Surrey) will lend you a demo racket if you put down a deposit. If you're considering spending big on a racket then there's nothing better than trying the racket yourself as opposed to reading reviews. Reviews on rackets are always mixed and depend on the user's style of play and personal preference. A demo is as close as you're going to get to owning a racket and stringing it with your favourite strings at your preferred tension (unless of course you know someone with the same racket/strings/tension etc).
 
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^ Where about do you live mate? Seems like you live pretty close to me lol.

When i last went in PWP (maybe around April time?) they didn't have much stock on Yonex rackets or trainers.
Getting cheap new trainers from Pro Sports in Caterham sometime this week. Maybe 57's or 72's if they're comfortable enough. Cba to spend more on trainers atm unless the more expensive ones are much better.

But i'll def check PWP again.
 
I'm near Hayes in Middlesex. If you want a demo racket from PWP, you'll need to ring them up and arrange it with them first. They used to usually have more than one demo racket of the same make/model and when i called them a few days ago, they had both the NS9900 and Arc10 for demo. I've not been to Reigate in a while as i get most of my stuff from tennisnuts but i remember their shop is quite small!! I guess they do most of their business over the net.

I'm with you on the trainers. I bought a pair of Adidas shoes a while back which were reduced from £45 to £13.99. I liked them so i bought another 2 pairs. I think they'll keep me going for a while!
 
^ And you travel all the way down to go to PWP?? And yeah their shop is small.
Oh fair play, i might give them a ring or pop down to have a look. Thanks for that.

Haha. But hey, good idea :p

And thanks for the tennisnuts site, some good prices there!
 
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My mate's got an Armortec 900 which is a really nicely balanced racket. I have a Nanospeed 6000 which is a shade lighter, but is also head light. It suits me really well as a really defensive player, but I know that a lot of people prefer something with a heavier head.
 
My MP45 says it's even balanced but i'd prefer it a touch lighter head side. Armortec's are apparently more head heavy but my dad's 800 feels less head heavy than my MP. Weird :confused:
I'll check out the Armortec 900, NS9900 and ArcSaber10 :)
 
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