More details of the shuttlecock assembly process

Here's a video with more details than the mere glimpses from the RSL equivalent

Li-Ning SG-Gold

Not used before. Found in one of the halls I frequent.

Shuttle was practically new but had 3 consecutive broken feathers on one side of the shuttlecock.

Li-Ning logo on shuttle

Cork structure of the Li-Ning

Revisit - Protech WorldClass

Been playing with a different group on Saturdays and they were using the Protech WorldClass.

The tube looks pretty much as before, only the colour scheme of the sticker inside the shuttlecock has been aligned to the new design.

Shuttle feels is a little lighter than before. Performance is still acceptable.

Unfortunately durability is still an issue once the smashing starts - the rib-cage structure seem to soften after a few hard smashes.

No other feedback.

Yonex AS-50

Finally had the time to revisit a group I used to join on and off. My previous visit was over about 2years ago.

Boy did I receive a SURPRISE ... they were using genuine Yonex AS50 (Speed-2) shuttles and charge only $6 per player!!!

Hats off to the organiser*for pulling off this feat!

The Yonex AS50 is what you would expect from a top notch quality shuttle aka defacto standard for other shuttles to aspire to.

My only comment is that Speed-2 AS50 was a bit faster on the clears (aka flat flight paths). Otherwise everything is as one would expect from the defacto standard.


*Reason I say so is because many groups in MEETUP.COM charge $6-16 per player for a 2hr session and provide mediocre shuttles or very small number of new shuttles only. Hence if he can provide real Yonex AS50 and charge $6 per player, these other organisers are really raking it in. Sure MEETUP charge for using their facility but it's a puny USD$2.99 for 6-months if you try registering a dummy group to find out the cost ... whats the next excuse for raking it in?

Revisit - Li-Ning A300

Joined a friend's friend group and they were using Li-Ning A300 shuttles.

From memory, the tube colour scheme looks unchange. However, the shuttle feels much lighter than before. When I first used the A300 around 2007/8, it had good weight and hence provided very nice feedback upon contact with the racquet. This A300 felt nothing like the original eg as if Gozilla was transformed into Pee-Wee Herman!!!

Honestly if it was a blind test, I would feedback it was a budget shuttle. 

Flight wise, performance was acceptable until a few hard smashes later. The shuttle would sudden slow down in mid-air ... time for replacement! Even so, the shuttle speed consistency is much preferable when compared to the Efeel and/or Sintec - atleast the speed consistency remains acceptable till it gives.

Durability, is acceptable for non-power smashing games. The shuttle rib-cage structure gives way more often than any feather breaking. However these feathers do ruffle easily and need to be coerce back into place after every point.

Cost, is always an issue with Li-Ning products as they are priced above the norm.


In summary, if cost is not an issue then go for it. Otherwise best look for alternatives.

RCL Platinum Gold

Not used before. Found in one of the halls I frequent.

Has a 3-layer cork structure

Efeel shuttlecocks

Join a friend for a game and he bought a tube of EFeel shuttles to try out. He informs EFeel is a Malaysian brand of shuttles and cost about SGD$28 (around RM81-83) a tube in Malaysia ... hence not cheap as well.

Tube of Efeel shuttles

Apologies as no shot the birdie itself - build quality and flight characteristics was acceptable. Weight was average. The shuttle was just a tad slower than other Speed 77. Very evident when we mixed with the group on the next court and they were using my group's previous defacto standard.

Durability wise, the feathers does not break easy but has the tendency to slow down quite a bit after the 1st few hits. The speed remains consistent for a quite number of shots before it has to be replaced.

Performance wise, I personally think the eFeel is better than the Sintec ST 818 as it does not keep growing air-brakes shot after shot.

Downside is the pricing. Personally I find the EFeel shuttlecock to be a bit costly. 

Jinque AAA

Found the following sample in the hall. Not used before.

Victor Gold

Joined a friend's group for a game and they were using Victor Gold shuttles.

Just above average build quality with acceptable durability. Speed consistency was acceptable as well. Will require atleast 2 for a smashing game though. 

Revisit - Sintec ST 818

Initially had difficulty locating the pix of the product on the net as I could not even find a pix of the ST 818 on the brand owner's site???

However they are promoting their competitors products - see the screen capture below. Are they then ashame of their own products?

Pix from internet

Sintec website promoting all other brands of shuttles but their own???

Not sure what's going on at the Sintec website since the ST 818 is not a new product. You can search on the net as well as my blog to see the review more than 2 years ago.

Anyway ... I have tried both the ST 818 models in Speed 76 and Speed 77 on&off during the past few years when playing with different groups in Singapore.

Both the Sintec ST 818 speed 76 & 77 have the same annoying characteristic- the ST 818 tends to slow down tremendously at the final stages of it's flight?


Durability wise, Speed 77 is terrible during smashing games whilst Speed 76 fares better. On one occassion, some younger ex-Secondary School players were playing 2 sets of 21-points using Speed 77 - they decided to take the whole tube with them, after going to where the organiser kept the shuttles atleast 3x during the game!

Performance wise, both versions of the ST 818 also slows down atleast a notch or two after a few hard smashes! You then have to keep adjust your strength since the shuttles kept "adding more and even more air brakes" as time went by. Thus the players have to hit the shuttle harder and higher to compensate for the induced drag!!! If you are playing against above average players, you are then limited to certain shots only ... it's a real enjoyment factor killer!

Price wise, the ST-818 normally sells for about $29 per tube; approximately SGD$26 per tube if you buy 5 or more at a go. Hence these are not exactly cheap shuttles either.


Since the ST 818 keep induces drag upon usage vs proper tournament quality shuttles, you really need to remind yourself how this shuttle behaves as the game progresses. 


Don't only take my word for it - you should try it atleast once and came to your own conclusion about the ST 818.

Ashaway Silver

Was playing with a group which recently bought couple of tubes of Ashaway Silver (#7 in pix below) to replace their previous defacto standard.

Pix from 3rd party seller on internet

According to the internet advert, Ashaway Silver is made using duck feathers and priced at $20 per tube. Has the Ashaway logo in white against a light grey (?) background at the rear of the cork of the shuttle.

Initial impressions are good weight and solid feel. Good speed and flight characteristics ... till the 1st few hard hits. The shuttle then tends to slow down quite a bit. Good news is that it stays at that slower speed consistently for quite a while. Bad news is that it is not durable once the smashing begins. Another con is the feathers are easily ruffle. You will know when to replace the shuttle as the speed drops quite a bit later. I verified my observations with another of the players in that game and he agrees with my observations.

Overall a better than average value for money product, at an average price.

If only Ashaway could fix the slowdown issue ...

Revisit - Protech Masterpiece

Found sample in hall of the Masterpiece with new logo. We stop using it quite a number of years ago.

One of my regular's playing with a group using the Masterpiece tells me they typically use 3 shuttles for a moderate game eg 30-40% of the shots were smashes

Apacs AF 700

Adding the APACS Aero-Flight 700 to the library for future review.

Found following sample in hall. Never use before but has budget cork structure.