I rarely test nylon or plastic shuttles as I always use feather shuttles. However, I am aware that many players either socially or in badminton clubs use plastic shuttles. There are so few reviews about these shuttles. I had the opportunity to test the Mark 1 and Mark 2 versions of these shuttles over the years with the latest batch ‘Bird 2’ arriving recently.

Bird 2 is a cork-based plastic shuttle that is described as being the closest in flight to a feather shuttle. I would certainly agree with this summary. I felt that the shuttle flew very well, with a high degree of consistency. Additionally, the flight characteristics in respect of spin were far superior to other plastic shuttles I tested and a lot closer to that of a feather shuttle. With the improved Mark 2 version proving to be more robust I can confirm that Bird 2 shuttle is a large step in the right direction and much closer to the flight of a feather shuttle compared to any other I have tested.

Here is my video summary:

Around the time Bird 2 was launched in the UK last year, Founder & Designer Gordon Willis met with Nick Goode from Goode Sport to answer some questions on the design and technical aspects. You can watch the video below:

Have you given the Bird2 a try? What are your thoughts?