FAQs

1. How to choosing the correct string tension for your rackets?

20-23 pounds for beginners
24-27 pounds for intermediate and high performance players
28-34 pounds for world class badminton players

2. How to select a good badminton racket?

You can choose POWER or CONTROL and you can have both at the same time;

Weight

2U: 90-94g ; 3U: 85-89g ; 4U: 80-84g ; 5U: 75-79g

Balance Point

If your finger is closer to the racket head, it has a HIGHER balance point. Therefore it's more of a POWER racket.
If your finger is closer to the racket handle, it has a LOWER balance point. Therefore it's more of a CONTROL racket.

Stiffness of Shaft

A flexible shaft can bend easily, whereas a stiff shaft can hardly bend.

Shape of the Frame

Isometric frames has a larger sweet spot. Therefore there's a much higher chance that you'll perform more quality shots.

Conventional Frames has a smaller sweet spot. However if the shuttle lands on the sweet spot, it would be a very high quality shot.

3. What is the shuttlecock speed?

In an IBF tournament, most of the Chief Referee will test up to 3 different speed of shuttlecocks to ensure that particular speed is right for that particular place at that particular time.

Fast or slow do not represent the quality of the shuttlecock. But, of course, the consumer has the right to choose.

Table below is the 3 most common system using right now:

International-metric wt.-grain – speed
1 - 48 - 75 – slow, for use in highland
2 - 49 - 76 – medium slow, for use in hotter area
3 - 50 - 77 – medium, most sea level area
4 - 51 - 78 – medium fast, cold area
5 - 52 -79 – fast, cold area, below sea level

4. Can we do the steaming extend the shuttlecock durability?

Yes. Steaming / Humidifying is one of the fastest and effective way of preparing shuttlecock for tournament. It’s recommended that this process is performed 2-3 days before being used and stored in a cool and humid area. There are multiple ways to create the steam needed for humidifying the shuttlecock. One way is to boil a water and use the steam. A much better approach is to purchase a humidification system that produce warm/cool steam.

6 Steps of Steaming / Humidifying

Remove both ends of the shuttlecock tube’s caps.
Place each tube over the humidifier exhaust or a pan full of steaming water so that the steam can pass through from one end, the entrance, of the tube to the other end, the exit.
When the steam comes out of the exit end of the tube, wait for 2 seconds and turn the ends around.
Repeat from steps 2 with the change.
Caps both ends of the shuttlecock tube to keep the moisture inside the tube.
Store the tube in a cool and humid room, e.g. your bathroom / shower. Never store or leave shuttlecocks in your car during dry Hot OR Cold weather!

5. Shuttlecock

A Shuttlecock shall have 16 feathers fixed in a cork base covered in kid leather. Interestingly, the best Badminton Shuttlecocks are made from feathers from the left wing of a goose.

The feathers shall be measured from the tip to the top of the base and each shuttle shall be of the same length. This length can be between 62mm and 70mm. The shuttle shall weigh between 4.74 to 5.50 grams.

Shuttles are usually graded according to speed. If you have reached a certain level and can hit from baseline to baseline, use standard speed shuttlecocks. If your strength is not there yet, you can use shuttlecocks of a slightly faster speed.

You will enjoy the game more if you can send the shuttles to the baseline.

The speed at which the shuttle travels is also affected by the weather, altitude and temperature. When it's hot, the shuttle will fly faster. When it's cold, the shuttle will move slower. If you are playing in an air-conditioned hall, use a slightly faster shuttle. If you're playing at high altitude, use a slower speed shuttle.

To test the speed of a shuttle, use a full underhand stroke which makes contact with the shuttle over the back boundary line. You shall hit the shuttle at an upward angle and in a direction parallel to the side lines.

A shuttle of correct speed will land not less than 530 mm and not more than 990mm short of the Badminton Court back boundary line as in the diagram below.

If you find the shuttle is too fast or too slow but you don't have shuttles of different speed, you can try tipping the shuttlecock. Tipping the feathers of the shuttles outward will slow it down. Tipping the feathers of the shuttles inward will speed it up.