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!!!

Carlton AG PWR

Found the single used sample in a badminton hall and had a short play with it.

Surprisingly durable and solid for a used shuttlecock! 

When I checked the shops ... certainly not low cost!!! Guess the price per tube reflects the reason for the good initial impressions

Wilson Topline 20 (Yellow)

In the past I have played with this shuttle with a different group and found the SPEED77 model to be surprisingly good value for money (if you can get the correct SPEED eg 77 for Singapore and Malaysia).

Shuttle weight and quality of feathers were pretty decent for a training/practise quality item.

When I mention if you get the correct speed , I meant exactly that. Previously I was hood-winked by the sales person as they said they only import Speed76 and that this was their equivalent of the correct speed. WRONG!!! 

When we tested the Speed76 shuttle it was performing as if it was in slow motion eg serve the shuttle high and you could reach the landing area with quite a bit of time to spare before it reaches you!!!

Speed77 for these shuttles are available once in a while in Malaysia but not Singapore (wonder why???).

I was impressed by the quality for the price paid and how usable the shuttle was. Having said that I do not mean you are getting the quality and build of a Mercedes for the price of a Hyundai. You would still require atleast 3 shuttles for a smashing game, but at that price - you can't really complain.

Flymax 40

Have not played with the following and found the sample in one of the badminton halls I frequent.

Enclosure for documentation purposes.

Victor No:1

Found the sample in another of the smaller badminton halls I frequent.

Victor No:1 has a 2-layer cork structure.

I remember using the shuttle with another group a couple years ago and the durability was not very good. There was a tendency for a feather to break on a shuttle when you perform an above average smash (not hard smash though). Otherwise the shuttle was acceptable.

Cock

Have not use the following before and adding for documentation purposes.

Another sample with a full rubber in-place of a cork head.

Protech PT-10

The PT-10 is exclusive to Protech Singapore.

Have played with it on several occasions and  (whenever possible) is not my preferred choice of shuttles. 

Main reason is because I find the shuttle tend to go faster and faster once you start smashing with it. The other reason is because there are other brands/models which offer better value for money.

Li-Ning A-100

Not played any games with this model before.

Adding for documentation purposes.

Dunlop MF-08

Adding for documentation purposes as not played using this shuttle before.

While removing the cork jacket, discovered it was well glued onto a large portion of soft cork - see below

Myton Blue

Have not played with the following and found the sample in one of the badminton halls I frequent.

Enclosure for documentation purposes.

Yonex AS-20

Have not used the model before and adding for documentation purposes.

Li-Ning Classic

Used the Li-Ning Classic when playing with a different group for a couple of weeks.

Find the shuttle light-ish with average durability. Flight characteristics was acceptable until the feathers got ruffled - goes down hill from there ...

Champion

Always wondered regarding the cork structure of such "el-cheapo" shuttles.

Finally found a sample.

Pressing the head reveals a soft object? Ribcage structure did not feel solid at all.

For the curious . ...

Soft rubber head instead of cork

Sintec 818 (light blue tube)

Joined a group using the Sintec 818 recently.

Pix from internet

Feedback from the visitors (another and myself) are that the shuttle tend to slow down after a few hits. Feather does not break easily but tend to be ruffled easily. Usually require atleast 2 shuttles if anyone smashes during the set.

APAC 800

My group tried the APAC 800 shuttle (black tube with silver lettering) recently.

Shuttle weight is above average e.g felt in-between the Protech Worldclass and Fleet Gold. Rib-cage structure and feather durability was decent. 

Cork structure consists of 4-layers!

Unfortunately quite a number of the players (regulars and visitors alike) fedback the APAC 800 was extremely fast eg like the modified cars from The Fast&Furious after NOS has been fed into the engines!!!

King

Have not played with the following and found the sample in one of the badminton halls I frequent.

Not seen the brand in the local shops in my area.

Enclosure for documentation purposes.

FlyMax 50 (multiple logo)

Found the following in the hall. Was curious to discover the same model had multiple logo(s) for the brand?

Have not used the brand or shuttle before.

Multiple logos -#1, #2 and #3 (LHS->RHS)

#3, #2 and #1 (LHS->RHS)

Possible workaround for shuttles which seem slower than before or with "softer" (cork) head

Recently came across an unexpected issue with our defacto standard shuttles - some members advised they tend to slow down after crossing the net during a smash. Another symptom was the ribcage structure of the shuttles tend to deform (aka start wobbling) after a few above average smashes. I previously had my suspicions as shots coming towards myself which I reckon to be out, lands within the court (but received no other feedback then).

I suspect the cork used was softer than it should have been as there has been an increase in the number of  ribcage structure disformity in the past couple months or so.

Hence I experimented with leaving the shuttles in an aircond room overnight, as oppose to humidifying them. After several attempts, the process seem to have resolved the issue (so far ... touch wood)

The steps are as per below. I would do so, say a few days before the game.

1. Empty out the shuttles from the tube(s) in a air-cond room
2. Stack the shuttles on the side of the room where the aircond is blowing towards
3. Next morning, collect and reinsert the shuttles back into the tube and reseal the tube
4. Repeat steps 1-3 again another time before you intend to use these shuttles.

Wonder if above would resolve recent issues for a different brand of shuttles in North America???? After all, most of the available shuttlecocks in the market are from China.

Yonex AS-2

Another Yonex shuttle which I have not played with before.

Adding for documentation purposes.

Protech Championship

Used the Championship when I was playing with a another group over the weekend.

In my opinion, the Championship is an OK shuttlecock which provides good value for money if you do not require tournament grade shuttlecocks. It is more than adequate (reasonable weight, reasonable flight characteristics) for most games unless you are playing a smashing game ( more than 50% of the time). If so, will need atleast 2 for the game.

ProAce AT-75

Previously we purchased 4 tubes to try out the shuttles, as some of my regulars had used the birdie elsewhere and were happy with it.

We discovered quality of the shuttles were extremely dependant on the batch. The good were Superb whilst the bad was TRULY BAD!

On the bad night, we ended up using both tubes - a record for us! We normally use 14-16 shuttles for 16 players playing on 2 courts, each court for 2 hrs.

Hence we will not be purchasing any more of these shuttles in the future.

Fleet Gold

A few years ago, I 1st came across the Fleet Gold shuttle when the group playing next to us were using them.

Since then we have adopted it as one of our backup choices if stocks of our de facto standard are not available at the shops.

The Fleet Gold is quite durable with predictable flight characteristics. It provides a nice feel when hit. The shuttle is a bit heavier than norm. For instance when I placed 8 shuttles on a non-digital weighting scale, it was heavier than the same number of our de facto standard by an estimated 5-6g.