Anyone know of any decent Badminton Raquets?

dboundy · 22 Sep 2007 at 11:53

Signed up to play Badminton at uni the other day but need to get hold of a raquet. I've absolutely no idea though which ones are good or bad!!

Anyone recommend a raquet please thats around £15-20

I'll be using it for like 4 hours a week at least so it needs to be durable as I'll be using it for the whole year as well.

Ripper · 22 Sep 2007 at 12:12

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17778778

Docaroo · 22 Sep 2007 at 14:27

you might want to increase your budget a tad- maybe 30-40 since you'll be playing so much badminton!

megatron · 22 Sep 2007 at 19:54

Learn how to spell racket if you're at uni too!

semi-pro waster · 22 Sep 2007 at 20:05

megatron said:
Learn how to spell racket if your at uni too!

If you are going to correct someone you might want to make sure you are right.

Racquet for the hitting implement in sports such as badminton, tennis etc - Racket for noise or a dishonest scheme.

For the budget you are probably as well heading to your local Sports World (ex Sports Soccer) and having a try of a few, pick one that seems reasonably light but sturdy enough and there are some good bargains to be had. However for your first few goes I might suggest simply hiring a racquet from the sports centre/club if you are unsure if you like the sport.

big_white_dog84 · 22 Sep 2007 at 20:37

megatron said:
Learn how to spell racket if your at uni too!

Learn to spell you're if you're going to pick people up on their spelling.

I would just go for any £20 jobby. I played for my county when I was younger and a random £20 effort from JJB lasted me for about 5 years.

megatron · 22 Sep 2007 at 21:10

semi-pro waster said:
If you are going to correct someone you might want to make sure you are right. Racquet for the hitting implement in sports such as badminton, tennis etc - Racket for noise or a dishonest scheme.

For the budget you are probably as well heading to your local Sports World (ex Sports Soccer) and having a try of a few, pick one that seems reasonably light but sturdy enough and there are some good bargains to be had. However for your first few goes I might suggest simply hiring a racquet from the sports centre/club if you are unsure if you like the sport.

I dont know about you but Im living in Britain:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=racket+sports&btnG=Google+Search&meta=

semi-pro waster · 22 Sep 2007 at 21:34

megatron said:
I dont know about you but Im living in Britain:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=racket+sports&btnG=Google+Search&meta=

How amazing, I'm living in Britain too.

My apologies in part, you can indeed use either in the UK. However to eliminate the possibility of confusion and necessity of checking the context I would still use racquet because it has only one meaning rather than the several that racket has.

Docaroo · 23 Sep 2007 at 17:58

Both Racquet AND Racket are acceptable spellings here!! WHY are you ruining a thread with a stupid argument?

megatron · 23 Sep 2007 at 19:52

Docaroo said:
Both Racquet AND Racket are acceptable spellings here!! WHY are you ruining a thread with a stupid argument?

Dude no need to bring the subject up again with more flaming.

Ian · 25 Sep 2007 at 08:47

IF you have a Sports World near you, it might be worth having a look in there. The one near me usually has a decent selection of older rackets in your price range. I bought a Carlton Isoblade for 23.99 4/5 months ago (after smashing my old Yonex

) and its still going strong while playing as much badminton as you will be.

platypus · 25 Sep 2007 at 10:00

I mentioned this in the other thread and will re-iterate it here. A decent sports shop will let you borrow a racket (for a small deposit) for a short period of time. Badminton rackets are a personal thing, for a long time I had a Carlton Powerblade Lite, which was a ridiculously low weight and meant my drop shots, net play and all round control was superb. Despite having good technique I was never happy with my power shots, especially in singles. I really had to work the court.

I moved up to a heavier racket (Powerblade Tour), and since have been relearning my net play, drop shots etc, but have a hell of a lot more power in my smash/long shots now. Getting it restrung also gave me a feel of power in the smash I've never had.

It's a head heavy racket, so I suppose its aimed more at the back court player - exactly the reason I've been reworking my net play and drop shots, but since I've always been good at the net (fast reactions, good shuttlecock control etc) this is exactly what I needed to get my game to the next level.

Feathers + Powerblade Tour = Smash of sexness.

Tomsk · 27 Sep 2007 at 12:56

I agree with platypus on borrowing a racquet before you buy. If there is a local independant shop that sells racquets, have a look there. They will probably also be able to re-string racquets which is a service you will require.

I would also advise that you join a club. I'm sure some members will let you try a racquet for a game or two. You will be able to determine which type of racquet you prefer with respect to balance (eg head heavy or not), shaft stiffness and eventually preferred string tension and type. By the time you're able to tell how much string tension and type affects your game, you'll either have a good relationship with your local stringer or you'll be stringing racquets yourself.

I currently carry 5 racquets (was 7 but I broke 2 recently) to my club. I have my new Yonex NS7000 strung @ 22lb with BG80, a second older NS7000 strung @ 22lb with NG95 (which I'm about to cut and restring with BG80 as that's what I prefer) and three old/spares that I'll happily loan out to any club member.

I moved from a head heavy racquet to the NS7000 as I'm more of a control player than hard hitter.

I'm a member over at http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/index.php?. Go there if you want some more opinions on racquets.