1. The Importance of Badminton Racquet Grips
The grip is also known as the badminton handle. It's important to make sure that the grip material and size matches your personal playing style to help you play at peak performance. If you're less experienced, a larger grip is a better choice, since it'll make the racquet feel surer in your hand. If you're a more experienced player, you can get away with a smaller grip since you already know how the racquet performs. A smaller badminton racquet will make it easier for you to move around.
2. It's All About Balance
A racquet with good balance will help you play faster and more effectively. The balance is basically the way the racquet feels in your hands. A higher balanced or head-balanced racquet means that it's top heavy. These types of badminton racquets are usually around 300 to 310 mm and give you greater swing momentum, which allows you to put more power behind your smashes. A low balance racquet is usually around 180 to 185 mm in thickness and helps you shoot the birdie more accurately, but it doesn't let you put much power behind your swings. Low balance racquets are head light. A medium balance racquet is a balance between the 2 and is typically 190 to 195 mm.
3. Working the Strings
If you play for recreation, then you probably won't need to worry too much about strings. But if you are or would like to play competitively, then string tension on a badminton racquet is something you need to pay attention to. You can get the strings on your badminton racquet adjusted to the perfect tension for your playing needs. It's best to hire a knowledgeable racquet technician to do this. Usually a low string tensions will make the birdie fly further when you hit it, but you'll have limited control over where it goes. Low string tension is around 19 to 20 pounds. High string tensions provide more control over where the shuttle ends up, but it'll take more effort to make it fly. Typically, more experienced badminton players prefer high string tensions of 25 pounds or higher.
4. What They're Made Of
Badminton rackets are usually made out of carbon fiber or graphite shaped into an oval or isometric square. The grips, or handles, are synthetic or towel. The strings are made out of either synthetic materials or natural gut. Synthetic strings are made out of nylon formulas and gut strings are made out of thin pieces of chemically treated beef intestine that has been twisted together. Gut strings are more sensitive to touch, but they don't last as long because they absorb air moisture (which causes the strings to unpredictably lose their tension).
5. Buying a Badminton Racquet
Pick up as many racquets as you can and make phantom swings to so you can see how they feel. You may even be able to borrow a demonstration model to see how it performs.
Member Comments