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9:36 am
March 27, 2011
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Hi! your knowledgeable advice would be greatly appreciated. My 13 year old son has been palying badminton at school and club level for about a year. Initially, I wasn't sure which racket to get him and, on the advice of a friend, bought him the Yonex NS 500. He was going OK with this (not great though) until it was stolen a couple of weeks ago. To get him through the next few coaching sessions (and because I didn't know what to get him as a replacement) I gave him my old (and I mean really old) Carlton racket to play with. Surprisingly, his game suddenly picked up and he was thrashing everyone off court. Now, the problem is that the racket has become buckled (probably due to age and the fact that rackets were made of different stuff back then) and I now need to replace it with something new. The weight of the old Carlton racket is 98g – a lot heavier than the Yonex. Do you think the improvement in play was due to the difference in weight or the racket shape? As far as play goes, he is a very skinny and nifty player, equally as good at the front and back of the court, with surprisingly good arm power for a skinny kid – but still very much at the intermediate level and “learning the ropes”. I'm totally confused now, as I thought a lighter racket would have been better for him and I don't want any injuries from him using anything too heavy. Any advice you can give me on a suitable racket for him? Thank you.
12:59 pm
January 24, 2011
Offline Was the Carlton head heavy? That probably suits him better if you say he's got quite a lot of arm power. I'd recommend an Armortec for head heavy Yonex rackets, or even better a Voltric if you've got the budget.
<3 Badminton!
6:21 pm
April 15, 2010
Offline Hi,
It could be a combination of slacker strings and a heavier racket that has given your son more power. Paul has written quite extensively on string tensions and would be able to comment further, but my guess would be given that your son is starting out he doesn't yet have the technique to get a lot of power from a head light Nanospeed racket with relatively tight strings. This is based on the assumption that your son 'thrashing' his opposition means having more power at an U13's level. I would guess he is currently getting his power from his arm and through the swing, rather than his wrist, therefore more weight in the racket would increase the power.
Ultimately I wouldn't have thought your son would want to use an old heavy racket, so as Yves said, a Yonex Armortec may be a good choice as it would maintain some of that weight in the head giving a boost in power.
9:33 pm
VIP Coaching Program Members
August 12, 2010
Offline I would have thought that a little bit more weight in the head (either even balance or slightly head heavy) may mean it is slightly easier for your son (wo is learning) to really use the weight of the racket to his advantage – to draw his power from the racket, and learn good technique, rather than a head light racket. However, a head light racket is probably a bit easier to manouvre, and I would strongly suggest considering carefully how “heavy” is good, given he is still young, growing and developing.
I am by no means an expert in the matter, and I would see what paul says.
Be careful of overly tight strings – especially at that age, but at the same time very slack strings may make it harder for your son to learn good touch shots.
I personally doubt the head shape is contributing in terms of power – but an oval head shape does encourage people to more consistently find the correct sweet spot (because off centre hits ust don't go anywhere).
Also consider your budget – a new voltric racket for your son may be a mistake if it gets stolen again, as may be a top of the range armortec. However, armortec rackets seem to be going at very good prices at the moment, so maybe one of those would be good, if you decided you wanted a head heavy racket. Be careful of stiff shafted rackets unless your son has a very quick and compact swing – if the swing is a bit longer (which it tends to be earlier in a players development) then a more flexible racket (which you carlton racket may be?) may be beneficial, as this could halp to generate power.
Out of interest: does your son prefer having more weight in the head? Or having it a bit lighter? Has he tried a newer head heavy racket out? To compare with the nanospeed? Ask him and see what he says!
Please consider your choice carefully, but I would have thought a slightly head heavy and flexible racket would be beneficial if looking for a bit more power at a young age. However, everyone is different, and if possible, get your hands on some demo rackets for your son to try 🙂
I hope he continues to enjoy his badminton and win his games 🙂
Matt
10:36 pm
March 27, 2011
Offline Thank you so much for your valueable advice guys! I read some of Paul's reviews on the Armortec series and thought maybe the AT70MG might be suitable for my son – as this is head heavy but with a flexible shaft and has the isometric shape. The AT600 and the Voltric are, sadly, a bit beyond my budget. But maybe if he gets on well with this type of racket, he could progress to the higher end of the range later on. Matt: my son did like the lightness of the Nanospeed, but just wasn't getting a good game with it around the net (possibly because he lacks the technical skills to handle the head light racket??). Also, just another quick query – should the grip size be a factor to consider? He has quite small hands for a teen. I really appreciate all your help.
10:37 pm
March 2, 2010
Offline Ahaa, that's exactly the reason why I'm waiting for Paul to review the VT7. Coincidence, my son is 13 as well, looking for something new. He tested some nanospeeds, but doesn't like them (most probably for the reasons Matt mentioned). A VT70/80 is out of range (he hasn't got the discipline yet to care for an expensive racket).
Objective data was handled in a few threads already, that's why I'm such a fan of that Yonex graph. Don't buy your son an AT700, injuries guaranteed I guess (although I must say that Carlton of yours is about 15% more wheight than an AT700, not bad too for a kid). And the graph says this VT7 should be situated just right I guess, regarding head-heavyness. So I'm waiting he can have his hands arround a VT7.
Just a small tip regarding stolen rackets: my son plays a bit of kids-competition too, and on a tournament he got his racket stolen. Ever since, I write his name with a big black pencil on the strings (once restrung, else you have the YY in the way). His racket bag has his name in big letters on it, and a sticker of the club. Any other kind of personalisation might scare potential thieves off too.
Not the best protection I know, but if they steel it, they have to put other strings on (and the biggest restringer in the region knows me and my son very well). A racket of a reasonble price, restringing that's about 1/2-1/5 of the racket price. As for expencive rackets, restringing is peanuts. Not much, but at least something.
Share us your choice !
Cheers, ED
10:54 pm
March 2, 2010
Offline Yep, the AT70MG was given good comments by Paul, good price tag ! (but also not available over here).
Yes the gripsize matters, at least for my son. He's using my old MP33 now, which has an extra grip on. That's why I want to give him a racket of his own. The grip is a bit too thick for him.
All the best, ED
12:53 pm
February 15, 2011
Offline I'd ask his coach.
Rather than a specific racket, find out what sort of things suit his game/training and try to fit it to your budget.
Don't worry too much about the grip, he can change that to whatever feels most comfortable.
I wouldn't have thought the string tension would be an issue just yet either.
With all the Voltric reviews so far, it does sound like the VT7 would be ideal, although the issue about having his racket stolen would be my main concern.
10:25 pm
February 15, 2011
Offline
Thanks for all the comments and good advice.
I always advise players t. o test racquets to understand what suits their game best. Clearly, in this case, your son prefers a heavy headed racquet. It sounds like you have a Carlton 3.7 or some derivative.
Many of you have suggested Armortec range it would certainly be on my list of recommendations too. It’s a reasonable priced racquet, very good to play with and has that extra weight in the head that your son appears to prefer.
I kept hold of Voltric 5 and 7 from my residential weekend demo bag so I’ll be testing them this weekend. Hopefully I’ll write my reviews this week and publish one of them next week. Not sure whether I’m reviewing 5 or 7 next.
At the end of the day I think Armortec 70MG is probably the right racquet for your son at the moment meeting both head weight and budget factors. If he likes this racquet and continues to shine on court, then you know you’ve got it right.
Readers of my blog will know that whilst I like Nanospeed range of racquets, there is a tendency for players to like them initially. However, over time the light head actually reduces power in some players.
We all know that every player is different and that no two players choose a racquet for the same reasons. So, the only thing we can really do is test until we find the ultimate racquet. Thankfully, I’ve found mine. Now, all I have to do is talk very nicely to those lovely people at Yonex nad hopefully I’ll be playing with Voltric next season.
There’s one last point. There was also a question about string tension. You didn’t tell us whether your son was playing with feather or plastic shuttles and this makes a difference when discussing string tension.
Paul
6:28 am
March 27, 2011
Offline Paul and everyone – thank you so much. A new Armortec 70MG is on its way for my son (whose bottom lip is on the floor at the moment, at having to play with a “leper” racket in the meantime – his words not mine!!). He plays with feather suttles Paul, so what tension would you recommend the racket be strung at?
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