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10:20 am
February 18, 2011
Offline
Hello everyone.
Last night I played my first game of badminton in 20 years. I'm 41 now.
My old raquet is past it's best, the grip disintegrated in my hand as iI was playing. It's an old Wilson Defender that cost £15 20 odd years ago.
So I'm looking for a new one. I've got a budget of around £30.
Looking online i found a nanospeed 300 for that price. But I know nothing about rackets so I don't know if it's too good for me.
I'm a fit guy, play lots of sports including Martial arts, football, golf weight training etc. So I'm strong. but I feel I don't get enough power in my smashes (I'm blaming the raquet).
I'm interested in the raquet flex. This is something I know zero about.
I'm looking for as much advice as poss.
Thanks in advance.
10:34 pm
February 15, 2011
Offline There's a lot more people more qualified to comment than me but I only came back to badminton a couple of years ago after a 20 year lay off so thought i'd say what I found.
I looked all over the web for a racket cus I wasn't sure I'd keep playing so my budget was similar to yours, the Browning raqcets are really good value for money and a fabulous buy.
They don't have all the amazing technology that you'll read about in the new stuff but for £30-40 I can't find anything better.
I use a Nanotech Cti 75 and absolutely love it for every shot.
I'm playing league stuff now and have been lucky enough to try every new racket available, rather than spend the cash I've bought 2 more cti75's and had them restrung how I like them.
I wouldn't take much notice of the rrp everyone quotes cus Browning stopped making rackets (2006 ?) and noone seems to know what their original price was, mine are supposed to have an rrp of £250 but they cost me £35 each.
Hope this helps.
Oh, and the stiffer the flex of the shaft, the better they are supposed to be for hitting hard
5:42 pm
April 15, 2010
Offline Hi,
I would say that if you are physically strong and yet not getting enough power then your technique is probably the key factor. If you've had 20 years out of the game it may take a little time to come back.
I'd go for a Yonex raquet in your price range. I seem to remember Paul being pretty positive about the NS300 in a review a while back.
I would personally stay well away from Browning raquets. I bought one in the £30 price range, (reduced from something ridiculous) and it was by far the worst raquet I've ever picked up. There was a huge amount of 'twist' in the raquet so it was impossible to hit the shuttle accurately. I don't want to start an argument here, it may just have been the specific model I had, but a few people I play with have had similar experiences.
See if you can have a go with other peoples raquets as well, you might be able to narrow down what you want from testing a few out.
10:38 pm
February 18, 2011
Offline thanks. the ns300 looks good.
ive seen some other racquets around the £50 mark.
but im not sure if im wasting my money, i might not get the best out of them.
carlton vapour trail pro, carlton airblade tour, wilson k rival and brave, ns300 (£30) armortec 30 £41
visiting the wilson site says the two ive mentioned are good for doubles players. thats not me. could i still use them though?
2:02 pm
October 25, 2010
Offline Sports direct actually have some very good deals,
this for example, is a very good racket, I'd say medium flex, but feels almost head heavy allowing for increased power. I am not a power player but really can clear effortlessly with this.
http://www.sportsdirect.com/ca…..ket-729000
Its £25 from RRP of £79.99, and if you looks online, even now, most prices are £45-50 + for this racket
for example :-
6:50 pm
February 18, 2011
Offline i almost bought that one. i ended up going for the power trail viper or something like that for£30.
the one you suggested is flexable, the other one is medium.
12:14 pm
February 15, 2011
Offline Hi Rob, could you explain what you mean by “twist” in the racket please ?
It would be good if I could blame one of my many problems on the racket and not my poor technique. 
9:10 pm
February 15, 2011
Offline
Simon
The usual term is torque. Hold your racquet in a forehand grip. With your other hand, hold the head at 10 and 2 positions probably between your thumb and middle finger. Try to turn the head anti clockwise pushing with your thumb and almost pulling with your middle finger.
If you get more than 2 inch twist in the head then it's a bad racquet. Test a Yonex and you'll see the racquet hardly moves. That's what you're looking for.
Why is this important? What it means is that if you hit the shuttle slighly off centre, towards one side of the racquet, the head will twist and could send the shuttle out of the court, especially at the side.
Hope this is clear enough.
Paul
12:02 pm
February 15, 2011
Offline Thanks for that Paul.
Mine seems ok but I'll try other rackets when I get the chance
5:01 pm
April 15, 2010
Offline Paul has beaten me to the explanation!
I didn't want to use the word 'torque' and confuse matters further, I can't add anything to Paul's explanation. If you can get your hands on a good Yonex racquet that will act as a good point of reference for you.
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