How to Choose an Ideal Badminton Racket?

A racket is one of the most important gears required to play badminton, and choosing the perfect racket for yourself is an important task in your game.

Many players (especially beginners) face a lot of difficulties while selecting a racket, and due to this, they cannot learn their basics and fails to play effectively on the court.

Also, sometimes players who lack knowledge make silly mistakes, like buying useless expensive rackets and indulging in the wrong string tension and grip.

So, to avoid such mistakes, go through this buyer’s guide, which will clear all your doubts.

Rather than this, I will always suggest you choose a racket according to your game level and skills.

So, let’s dive and start with:

1. Material composition of a badminton racket

A badminton racket is divided into five parts: shaft, frame (head), handle, throat, and stringed area. These parts are made of materials like carbon fibre, graphite, carbon, steel, aluminium, and wood.

The racket strings are made of synthetic materials, whereas the handle is wrapped using different grips made of rubber, nylon, or cotton. These grips help the player to hold the racket correctly and effectively.

So, while buying a racket for yourself or your loved ones, you must always check the racket’s material composition, strings, and grip.

2. Weight of a badminton racket

The weight of a normal badminton racket lies between 80-100 grams, U usually denotes the weight, and a player must always select a racket according to his game level.

If you are a professional badminton player, you must choose a heavy racket weighing between 95 and 100 grams. An intermediate badminton player must opt for a racket that weighs between 90-94 grams. And in case you are a beginner, you must choose a lightweight racket that weighs between 80-89 grams.

To help you understand better, I have mentioned a list below, which denotes the different weights of a badminton racket:

· F: 70-74.9 grams

· 5U: 75-79.9 grams

· 4U: 80-84 grams

· 3U: 85-89 grams

· 2U: 90-94 grams

· 1U: 95-100 grams

3. Balance point of a badminton racket

Not only weight, but a racket also has different balance points, which makes it easy for the players to choose a racket according to their skills and handling.

The balance point of a racket is categorized into three different categories, that includes:

· Head- Heavy Rackets

The balance point of head-heavy rackets is over 300 mm. These badminton rackets have more weight indulged in their head and are mostly preferred by professional players, who love to play powerful and lengthy shots.

· Head- Light Rackets

The balance point of head-light rackets is between 280- 300mm. These badminton rackets have more weight indulged in their handle and are mostly preferred by intermediate players, who love to play in the front court and are looking for more speed.

· Even-Balanced Rackets

The balance point of even-balanced rackets is less than 288 mm. These badminton rackets have equally distributed weight in the head and handle. Such rackets are mostly preferred by beginners and those players who are learning advanced skills.

4. String tension

Badminton strings are usually made of synthetic fibres like nylon, plastic, and polymer. These strings are indulged in the racket’s frame, which helps to hit the shuttlecock from one side of the court to another.

The rackets are strung with different string tension, and a badminton player must know which level of string tension he needs to indulge in his racket as sometimes the new players indulge high string tension to their racket, which affects their game negatively.

So, to solve this problem here below I have mentioned a list through which you can choose the ideal string tension for your racket according to your game level:

· For beginners: 18-21 lbs

· For intermediates: 22-24 lbs

· For advanced: 25-28 lbs

· For professionals: 29-35 lbs

5. Racket shaft flexibility

First of all, let me inform you that shaft is the area between the racket’s head and the racket’s handle. It comprises strong materials like graphite, carbon fibre, aluminium, and steel.

There are different types of shafts which help the players to perform powerful shots and swings.

So, let’s discuss more about these different types of shafts, starting with:

· Flex Shaft

The flex shaft helps to generate more power and speed while performing a shot and is best for beginners and new players.

· Medium Shaft

The medium shaft provides amazing controlling power while performing a shot and is best for intermediate players.

· Stiff Shaft

A stiff shaft allows you to perform fast swings and powerful shots. Also, it is best for professional badminton players.

6. Head shape of the racket

A badminton racket holds two different head shapes, which includes:

· Oval head shape

Oval head-shaped rackets provide a small sweet spot but provide amazing power, stability, and control while performing a shot.

Rather than this, it makes the best sound and least vibration when the shuttlecock touches the string bed.

· Isometric head shape

The isometric head-shaped rackets have a squarish frame and provide a large sweet spot, which helps players handle the shuttlecock easily.

Rather than this, it helps the players to perform a powerful and lengthy shot without expending too much energy.

Final Words

If you are a beginner or don’t know much about badminton rackets, these features can help you choose and buy a racket for yourself or your loved ones.

All you need to do is check these features in your racket, and remember you must always choose a racket according to your game level and skills.