Babolat Hybrid "3-in-1"

Just a FYI as friend purchased the model and there does not seem to be many pix of the feathers when looking from the bottom. He has not tried playing with them yet.

Now I know why - looking more like training shuttle feathers

From the side-profile pix, the plastic ribcage structure design looks sturdy enough. And with a large well to hold the feathers I believe there is potential to deploy better quality feathers for the product as well as to enable replacement of broken feathers to deliver a more eco friendly product eg the space shuttle after every trip back - replace broken heat shielding tiles on its fuselage.

So what say Babolat ... will you take the initiative to lead the pack?

Felet No:1 Red

Was playing in a friend's group and they bought a tube to test & compare against their normal shuttle. Unfortunately I forgot to get a pix of the used shuttle.

Another friend informed Felet is Fleet re-branded. 

Here's my personal take on it.

Price: RM128 per tube on their website, so it's not a cheap shuttle.

Durability: Reasonable but once it starts "dying", it really goes fast eg start growing air-brakes exponently

Performance: Flight is like 75% of the way ok before it starts slowing down towards the end of the flight path. Does not behave like the Yonex AS30/40/50 which is my standard reference.

Feel: Like hitting a squash ball type feel

Honestly I am praying my friend does not start using this shuttle for this games...😖

HEAD Practise

Discovered in one of the halls I frequent.

Adding for the record, as the name suggests it is for practise only. Hence no further follow-up.

Qualicious Q-2

Found in a hall, never used before. Has all the hallmarks of a budget product.

Any one tried these Mizuno shuttlecocks?

Was browsing the net and came across these shuttlecocks - has anyone tried them before? And if so, any feedback, especially for the MS-70 and MS-90?

Sun Power

Found this old shuttlecock in a hall I frequent.

Not used before and has all the hallmarks of a budget product.

Chao Pai Red

Just realised I did not add the review of the Chao Pai Red shuttlecocks to the blog - always thought I had😕

From distributor

When we used the shuttlecock in the past, we found the flight characteristic(s) to be superb and provides very nice feedback upon contact.

Unfortunately, the Chao Pai Red is not durable enough for a heavy smashing game (otherwise ok) - we used up a tube in less than 30mins vs 1hr for our defecto standard. I bought 5-tubes for our initial test and ended up selling the remaining 4-tubes to the group in the next court - they loved it.

The Chao Pai Red is not cheap as it is one of their better products. 

Hence the Chao Pai Red is more suitable for games with non-heavy smashers as it provides much better value than the more establish brands eg RSL Classic Tourney.which has a durability issue as well.

Kansa KS7718

Came across this budget looking product in a hall I frequent.

Not used before. Added to the library for future update.

Protech Platinum

Found the following in the hall I was playing at, not tried before and it is suppose to be one of their primo item.

Label on back of shuttlecork, Protech Platinum

Protech Platinum with 3-layer cork

Victor AirShuttle (aka BWF Air Badminton) shuttlecock (***UPDATE***)

During the Covid lockdown period, known as "Circuit Breaker" (aka CB) period in Singapore, one of my regulars advised he bought a tube to try with his kids.

The feedback is that it's more viable for playing in the outdoors and whatever you do - DO NOT USE YOUR BETTER racquets as the AirShuttle is build sturdier and thus heavier than your normal shuttle. Therefore there is much potential for racquet frame damage and for sure will put a smile on your regular stringer's face eg broken strings!

Thus do use your most un-wanted racquets when playing with these AirShuttles - the feedback received was fun for the kids outdoor.

BWF presentation - Biomechanics study of the Smash

A interesting video presentation for the COVID19 break.

This video is a BWF 2017  presentation on the bio-mechanics of the badminton smash - why and how some players smash harder than others.

Enjoy!

Easy way to determine the sweet spot of a badminton racquet

Since the country is on stay home situation, I will not be able to review any shuttlecock(s) for a while.

Thus am taking this opportunity to inform on other methods which can assist with shuttle flight.

The follow vid presents a quick and easy way to determine the sweet spot of your badminton racquet.

Hitting the shuttle at the sweet spot enables the optimum transfer of energy from your racquet to the shuttle with a nice sound - it's like comparing the sound from a rifle shot vs a pistol, it's very distinctive.

Another tip is to use a darker coloured string. You can then see the residue white marking(s) on the darker string after hitting the white head of the shuttlecock.

Found the following on the net when Googling for a detail explaination of why you try to hit the shuttlecock at the sweetspot.

How to watch Blocked BWF games - live streaming or recent recordings

Enjoy!!!

or 

Youtube instructions with sample

In the news .... BWF announcement for new tournament approved synthetic shuttles

Finally ...

https://corporate.bwfbadminton.com/news-single/2020/01/20/bwf-begins-adoption-of-synthetic-feather-shuttlecock-for-long-term-sustainability

Orafone 70 shuttlecock

Bought this to try as there was good feedback from one of my regulars.

Could not find much information for this brand of shuttles online. Stated as product from PRC, with the agent in Hong Kong. The cork has a 2-layer structure.

Tube and sample of the shuttle

Logo on back of shuttle

Condition of the tube after usage

How does it fare? Overall:-

Cost: RM60 or approximately SGD20 (compared to the SGD24 for the Indocock on Carousell)

Performance: Good flight characteristics. Nice feedback upon contact with shuttle. You will definitely see the degradation prompting the need for replacement. QA is good as flight characteristics for the entire tube is atleast consistent.

Durability: Single shuttle can last about 50% of a casual game with moderate smashing (not hard smashes). Thus reasonable durability for the price vs it's competitors.

In summary, atleast 2 shuttles will be required for a casual game with moderate smashing. For the price it has acceptable characteristics with a good balance of the 3 requirements but NOT suitable for any intensive game.

If compared to the Indocock model reviewed last month, the Orafone 70 is much better deal!

Indocock shuttlecock with Purple-ish tube

Join a group using the following Indocock shuttles (Indonesian brand) recently.

The company seem to rank their shuttle models by colour, with the Black model at the high end. The model reviewed is the purple-ish tube.

Here's the overall impression(s).

Cost: Checking the local Craig's List, found a few sellers for this particular Indocock model at SGD24. Googling the internet, you can see the cost in the country of origin.

Performance: It's fast as the shuttle is light. Has tendency to nose-dive towards the end of the flight path after the first few points.

When I was gathering feedback from other player(s), the consensus was that this Indocock is a shuttle with unbalanced properties and that it's not spinnable (aka not very controllable).

In addition, QA of the shuttles in the tube could be better as the shuttles do not "perform in a similar manner",  with some new shuttles "twitching" during flight while others more aerodynamic (speedwise).

Durability: Single new shuttle can only last about 2-3points with average smashes before deforming with shattered feather ends. Hence NOT suitable for any intensive games.

In summary, I would consider this Indocock shuttlecock model as suited for beginners or training purposes only. For the cost of SGD24 or roughly RM72 (or if you just pay a SGD1 more), there are other much better products out there.

If in-doubt of the above review, please purchase a tube to try out for yourself

Keepro brand shuttles

Was informed of this newish shuttlecock brand and had written an email to the distributor in Malaysia, requesting for samples (email from their website).

No receive any reply(s) yet.

Ling-Mei Green

Found this sample in one of the halls I frequent.

Not tried before but have been told this shuttle is quite lasting.

Ling-Mei Green found in one of the halls I frequent

Ling-Mei Green with 3-layer cork structure

Shuttlecock without cork attached

Found this in one of the badminton halls I frequent, am now wondering how often this occurs eg cork cames-off during play?

Personally I have only came across (not caused by myself) such a phenomenon on only a few occasions over many years of playing badminton. 

Usually caused by a extremely hard mis-hit when the edge of the racquet just happens to hit the corner end of the shuttlecock - from during a smash. 

Anyone else seen this resultant from a different stroke??

Cork came off during game

RCL E280

One of the groups I frequent started using the RCL E280 shuttlecocks for their session.

RCL E280 tube from the internet

Pix of shuttle from session

Initial impressions was good with good flight characteristics and nice feedback upon hitting the shuttle. Shuttle weight is about average - not light but not heavy either. We did notice that 3 in a tube of 12 were brittle and was easily damaged with a single broken feather. The rest were good for a casual game, only necessary to change the shuttle around 75-80% of a set of 21-points.

In summary;-

Cost: Unknown, as the shuttles were purchased on behalf of the organiser by a committee member when in Malaysia. Will update once I have the information

Performance: Good flight characteristics which lasts for a reasonable time. You will definitely see the degradation prompting the need for replacement

Durability: Single shuttle can last about 75-80% of a casual game with moderate smashing (not hard smashes). Hence reasonable durability.


In summary, the shuttle is more than adequate for any casual games. Durability and performance wise, I personally prefer the E280 to the likes of many of the popular shuttles available in Singapore. It may not be super durable or the best performer, but it's definitely a good balance of all the required characteristics vs what's available in the SG market.