Friday, April 1, 2016

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.

7 comments:

  1. Personally I have decided to replace my existing sessions which are using the ST 818, once I locate alternative sessions.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Reason for the decision is because the timing of your stroke will be impacted eg hit shuttle on frame or mis-hits, when you change from a normal to slower shuttle and the alike.

      It is very hard and time consuming to get the timing of a stroke to an acceptable level. Using those substandard products only benefit the profiteering organisers and not your game.

      Some organisers using Sintec shuttles wonder why they are losing the better players who used to join ... especially those who are trained or playing for their JC, etc

      Delete
  2. Hi,did u have any review about rsl brand? And i want some suggestion which brand have better performance not including Yonex. Thank u

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Please search on the blog for RSL.

      I only review the shuttles I have tried myself, or, I have played with when I join other badminton groups, as (so date) only 1 company (or agent) provided any samples for review.

      Basically shuttles are a balance of durability, performance and cost. You can never get all three unless you pay heaps.

      If you want performance, it is like you are looking for a Ferrari or Lambo - you can't and don't buy a Hyundai or Toyota and expect performance from it, right? Yonex shuttles has long been the mainstay for international competition.

      Delete
  3. Saw new pricing of $30 per tube when passing by a Sintec shop few days ago

    ReplyDelete
  4. After hearing from a regular regarding how much worst the Sintec has gotten, I joined a group using the shuttle to determine if so. I must say he is right. It was atleast consistently slow (before going slower) last year. This round, the same tube has shuttles of varied quality. For $30 per tube, you would be better buying other brands.

    ReplyDelete
  5. We had a new visitor player joining us for the 1st time earlier this week. His regular group uses the Sintec and after using our Defacto Standard, he's commented there is a big difference and did not realise how crappy the Sintec was - they always assumed coz it's quite expensive that it must be good!!!

    ReplyDelete