Choosing+your+racket

Back to Equipment Page

Finding a suitable racket is really individual. You need to feel it is the right racket for your style, e.g. your physical build and your way of swinging the racket. My personal preference is even balanced Apacs Edgesabre 10 (Yonex ArcSaber 10 equivalent - which is being used by Taufik and Pete Gade).

Nothing will help you select a racket more than trying it out first ,which is why we've teamed up with the Apacs brand and arranged the Promotional event on 15th May, 2011. If you prefer to nuy online, here are a few things to consdier:


 * FLEX** - Stiffer rackets give more control/stability and flevible rackets give more power!


 * BALANCE** - It is easier to control the face of a head-light racket and they are therefroe more suited to touch shots. Head-heavy can generate more racket head-speed and therefore more power.

Here is a rough guide. Balance point from handle without string or overgrip:
 * Head-light <280m, Even-balance 280 – 295m, Head-heavy >295m.

Players can be categorized into 3 categories: - the **beginner**, the **intermediate** and the **advanced** group. To cater the needs and wants of each player in these groups, we have prepared some information on how to choose a racket to maximize performance on each category of players. While choosing a racket, you must be sure of your current physical condition and you better know what you are actually looking for in a racket. Was it a power performance racket or was it a control racket with comfort feel that you are looking for?

__Yonex head-light rackets__: //NanoSpeed and NanoRay series//. __Yonex Head-heavy rackets__: //Armortec and Voltric Series//. __Yonex Even-balance rackets__: //ArcSaber series//.
 * If you want a racket for __CONTROL__, look for the following features:**
 * Lighter weight** – A racket, unstrung, which is weight between 85 grams to 90 grams is possibly a good control racket provided the balance point are not too high.

The weight and balance of a racket will be affected once the racket is strung and a replacement grip is added. The following are the changes in weight and balance of the racket once the racket is ready to go for the shot. - This will yield a headlight feeling for better comfort feeling and control. For those who prefer to wrap an extra PU grip without removing the original grip to make the handle larger would be adding 12 grams to the handle. For this type of player, to look for a control racket, they need to look for a higher balance point racket. __280mm – 290mm__ is suggested and the racket weight should be around 85 grams – 88 grams.
 * Recommended balance point**: __275mm – 280mm__
 * After strung**, which mean 3 grams added on the head, the racket would weight around 88 grams to 93 grams. If the original grip (Weight around 7 grams that comes with the racket) is taken off and replaced by a replacement PU grip (approximately 12 grams), and additional of 5 more grams is added on the handle to make the racket weight around 93grams to 98 grams. **The balance point** would then decreased slightly to about __270mm-275mm__. (//with weight moved towards the handle//.)

If your racket has a **high balance point** then you will feel your racket is heavier towards the racket head If your racket has a **lower balance point** then you will have this **head light feeling** on your racket.
 * Lower balance point** – The balance point affected a lot on the feel of your racket.

__(Adjusted the weight and balance of your racket)__
 * The balance point is measured** from the handle towards the shaft on the point where the racket stayed in balance on your finger. The balance point of a good control racket should be around 275mm – 280mm. This will yield a headlight feeling and best for control and comfort feeling. You can actually adjust your racket weight and racket balance.
 * If you want a racket for control and power, adjust it yourself.**
 * __FLEXIBILITY/STIFFNESS__**
 * Less stiffness** - The flexibility of the racket does have an impact on the feel of your racket. In theory, the **flexible shafts** designed for beginner and amateur players are good for **control** and easier to **maneuver** but I have seen champions winning games after games, delivering smashes after smashes using a Prospeed mid-flex shaft racket. Thus, the term stiffness and flexible really differs a lot on each individual.

In theory, a stiffer shaft is more suitable for powerful player. Again, not only professional are powerful, some beginners and amateur players do have the strength to handle a stiff shaft and yield powerful smashes. So, to get the right stiffness, you should test play with different stiffness racket in order to get the right choice of stiffness on your racket.

In badminton, the weight and balance of a racket can be adjusted but not the stiffness. Thus, you will have to pay special attention on the stiffness of racket, the next time you purchase a new racket, though all rackets will tend to lose a certain percentage of stiffness over a period of time.


 * If you want a racket for power, look for these features:**
 * Heavier weight** - A racket, unstrung, which is weight between 88 grams to 92 grams is possibly a good power racket provided the balance point are not too low.

A **heavier weight racket** would transmit less shock and less vibration when sending off shuttle, and has a larger sweet spot than lighter weight rackets. Recommended balance point: 285mm – 295mm.

The weight and balance of a racket will be affected once the racket is strung and a replacement grip is added. The following are the changes in weight and balances of the racket once the racket is strung and are all ready to go for the shot. After strung, which mean 3 grams added on the head, the racket would weight around 91 grams to 95 grams. If the original grip (Weight around 7 grams that comes with the racket) is taken off and replaced by a replacement PU grip (approximately 12 grams), and additional of 5 more grams is added on the handle to make the racket weight around 96grams to 100 grams. The balance point would then decrease slightly to about 280mm-290mm. (with weight moved towards the handle.) This weight and balance together with the heavier weight is good for power play.

For those who prefer to wrap an extra PU grip without removing the original grip to make the handle larger would be adding 12 grams to the handle. For this type of player, to look for a powerful racket, they need to look for a higher balance point racket. 290mm – 300mm is suggested and the racket weight should be around 88 grams – 92 grams.

Yonex has a very good system in indicating the weights of rackets they manufactured. 2U <90g, 3U 85-90g, 4U<85g. 3U rackets are the most popular ones as they could generate optimum level of power. 2Us are heavier with less racket head speed and 4Us are lighter faster but with less mass.

If your racket has a **high balance point** then you will feel your racket is **heavier towards the racket** **head,** which will be able to yield **more power** on your smashes and if your racket has a lower balance point then you will have this head light feeling on your racket. Bear in mind and be honest to yourself as not everybody could handle a racket with a high balance point.
 * Higher balance point** - The balance point affected a lot on the feel of your racket.

The balance point is measured from the handle towards the shaft on the point where the racket stayed in balance on your finger. The balance point of a good power racket should be around 285mm – 295mm. This will yield a heavy feeling towards the head and would be able to deliver powerful smashes.

__(Adjusted the weight and balance of your racket)__
 * More stiffness** - The flexibility of the racket does have an impact on the feel of your racket. In theory, the flexible shafts designed for beginner and amateur players are good for control and easier to **maneuver** but I have seen champions winning games after games, delivering smashes after smashes using a Prospeed mid-flex shaft racket. Thus, the term stiffness and flexible really differs a lot on each individual.

In theory, a **stiffer shaft** is more suitable for **powerful player**. Again, not only professional are powerful players; some beginners and amateur players do have the strength to handle a stiff shaft and yield powerful smashes. So, to get the right stiffness, you should test play with different stiffness racket in order to get the right choice of stiffness for your racket. In badminton, the weight and balance of a racket can be adjusted but not the stiffness. Thus, you will have to pay special attention on the stiffness of racket, the next time you purchased a new racket though all rackets will tends to lose a certain percentage of stiffness over a period of time. You would sometime experience certain frame shock and frame vibration if you were playing with a racket that had a very stiff frame. What is frame shock? Frame shock is the unnecessary force felt at the moment of impact when you delivered a stroke and frame vibration is the vibrated feeling when the shuttle speed away from your string (Occurred more frequently on racket that had a larger sweet spot due to the length of main strings). The most effective way to reduce these shock and vibration is to add the 5 grams grommet stripe (provided free when you purchase a Prospeed racket) to a frame.

There are several frame shapes of rackets in the market and you would have to know what is the best shape that suits your playing style. Do you prefer an Isometric, the Wide-bodied or the conventional frame?

The Isometric construction racket has a larger sweet spot deal to its flat top and are able to transmits less shock but are more prone to vibration due to the length of the string. It is believed to be more powerful and many had shifted from the conventional frame to the Isometric lately. You can add extra tension on Isometric due to its larger sweet spot, especially the main string, where the length of string is longer than conventional racket.
 * The Isometric construction frame.**

Yonex Rackets (April 2012)

Back to Equipment Page