Thanks for your comment on my blog and thanks for visiting it too. I hope you liked it. There’s a ton of articles I’ll be loading up soon now that I’ve got most of the reviews out of the way. I’m currently reviewing Karakal racquets so will be posting them over the next week or so. I’m also reviewing Zymax string.

You may or may not be aware, before a comment is posted I have to approve it. Your comments are well balanced and I will publish them on my blog.

It’s been very interesting watching both the Chinese teams and Koreans doing so well since March/April when their contracts with Yonex changed hands. Li Ning has had to invest considerable sums to get their product right – they eventually bought Kason racquets to solve these issues. None of their players have suffered a drop in form as a result and I wouldn’t expect it neither. After all, a good performer is a good performer whatever the tool they are using. I for one did not expect to see the demise of the Chinese players as a result of switching brands, that would be absurd. The same could be said for the Korean team.

As you probably know the Korean team are now sponsored by Victor, another good brand and their team are still performing very well.

Your opinion about me being slightly biased is noted. I will say that I have been playing with Yonex racquets for over 25 years and have only been sponsored for this year and 1997-1999.

I have tested many racquets for a small sports business which has helped them sell many different brands including Prince, Pro Kennex, and Karakal. I initially began playing badminton using Carlton and used their racquets for approximately 9 years. So I think I have enough experience to test without being biased. Most of my comments about Yonex have been about the consistency in quality and their pushing the boundaries of technology where most of the other racquet brands appear over the years to have been copiers.

They are also the biggest sponsor in our game and without them I wonder how many tournaments would still exist? If it wasn’t for Yonex I’m not sure the All Englands would still exist. Sponsors have been very sparse for this event and badminton in England. How many other sports can you name that has a sponsor for this length of time?

I still have praise for Victor (an emerging brand in UK), and many of the other brands too. I also agree that Yonex has tremendous budgets to market their goods. They are also the most knocked-off brand in the business which is one of the reasons why they change the range so much. Obviously there are the commercial aspects to that too.

So, I’ll stand by my comments that I believe Yonex are still that good. That doesn’t mean to say that there aren’t equally good racquets on the market (I don’t believe I ever said that). You will notice in my blog when I’ve reviewed racquets that I’ve commented on numerous occasions about the price of Yonex goods. My concern is that they will alienate players on price alone if they are not careful, because like it or not, players like to play with what they perceive are the best racquets (it’s an ego thing) rather than what actually suits them best and gives them the best results. I always advise players to test racquets because it’s the only way they know for sure. Swishing a racquet in a store does not really answer the question whether it will play well for them.

There’s been a noticeable increase in the price of shuttles again and yes, Yonex are the most expensive. They are also one of the few, if not the only manufacturer who use proper cork bases rather than this composite mix – I know I’ve tested loads of shuttles and dissected them to see what’s inside. A number of them are exactly the same. The only shuttle I’ve played and used that has been consistent quality and speed is Yonex. The Aerosensa 30, 40, and 50 are superb and in my opinion outshine other brands. But, they are more expensive.

In summary, I still consider Yonex has the best overall package for a player in all aspects of the game – racquets, shoes, clothing, bags etc. Who else has so much choice? The closest I can see on the market at the moment is Victor. It’s going to be interesting to see how the big brands Wilson and Head develop or will they do what Prince did years ago? Whether you like it or not, Yonex is the only brand so far that has a real pedigree in badminton, the rest have some catching up to do.

The truth is that there is hardly any difference between the top racket manufacturers these days, only the marketing makes a difference, and yonex has cornered that part over the years. I have played with numerous yonex rackets over the years, and they are fine, but no better than other brands in my opinion. The only difference is the price you pay. What matters most is having good technique and skills, because no racket on this earth will ever make up for that. I guess that is why Lin Dan is able to play with any racket he wants and still be the best, regardless of who makes it.