Victor No:5

Found the following sample in one of the local halls. Not use before.

Adding for documentation purposes.

Protech Tournament

Have not played with this model before. Adding for documentation purposes.

APACS AP70 and Aero-Tech75

Have not used the following shuttles before and are adding them for record purposes.

Both shuttles have the same 3-layer cork structure.

RCL Black Gold

One of the groups I regularly join bought this high-end RCL shuttle to try out.

Pix from the web

Good news is the shuttle is tough and it is very rare for any feathers to break, even during a smashing game.

Bad news is that it is fast initially before slowing down towards the end of the flight path - after being smashed 5-6 times. Although the shuttle may still look like it is in good condition, it has to be replace. Therefore atleast 2 shuttles would still be required for a heavy smashing game - reminds me of the RSL Supreme and Protech WorldClass.

Victor Service

Including the following shuttlecock for documentation purposes, as have not played with it before.

Starting new sub-blog - Badminton Stringers

Hi everyone,

Have just started a new sub-blog, badmintonstringer  for players who maybe interested in stringing their own racquets.

Will add information from my own experiences to the blog on monthly basis.

You are welcome to contribute to the blog as well.

Thanks for visiting!

Steaming shuttlecocks

Steaming is the process to introduce a tiny amount of moisture to the feathers.

I do so to either soften brittle feathers, or, help slow down extra fast shuttles.

The process is more useful for players in countries which have lower humidity levels eg North America, New Zealand, Australia etc.

Steaming seem to affect different brands, models and batches in various ways.

Best advise is to tryout a new tube and then examine the shuttle fatalities after the session, before deciding on steaming.

The opposite of steaming is to dry the shuttles. Had to do so on a batch which seem to have a softer cork head eg more shuttles with lob-sided rib-cage structure at the end of a session, with the same regulars.

One internet source which delves into moisturising shuttlecocks is http://www.shuttlecock.com/Resources/Shuttlecock/hydrate.php

I am in the process of purchasing a purpose built humidifier for shuttlecocks. Will post once I obtain and had a chance to use the device!

RCL Gold No1

RCL Gold No1 cames in a tube Gold in colour - reminds me of RSL's tube colouring.

Pix from internet

The organiser bought a few tubes for try-out and my impression was like that of a soft drink motto regarding caffeine ... never had it, never will. In my case (and the players present that day) ... never again!

Why? 

Though initial inspection of the build quality were above average, a feather would be broken on each shuttle (fresh from the tube) upon an average smash??? This reoccur-ed many times over the hour ... so much so the organiser is now deploying the remaining new tubes of RCL Gold No1 as warm-up shuttles only!!!