I have managed to get my hands on some Apacs badminton rackets to test. Readers of my other blog will have seen some Apacs reviews in the past. I have a good relationship with the guys at Apacs UK, and they regularly send me some of their latest offerings. This past week has been no exception, and i now have 4 racquets on test. They are the Fusion Hotshots 7777 and 7778, the Tantrum Power 160, and the Nano 7007 Power.

All have been strung at 28lbs tension with Apacs string. In the next few weeks i will be posting my reviews of these rackets. I think i have tested about 7 or 8 Apacs rackets in the past including the Edgesaber 7 and 10. The latest batch are not on sale yet, so i have a bit of an inside scoop of things to come.

The new ranges which are on sale in the UK at the moment are a move away from the Yonex clones that people associate with Apacs. They are moving up in the badminton scene with a strong product range this coming season. There are going to be many more rackets to choose from, and they will cater for all types of players. The one’s i have received are a case in point, they are all different, with different balance points, weight and flexibility.

Apacs are already strong in the far east, particularly in Malaysia where they are sponsoring some of the national players. It is only a matter of time before they get some good players from the UK and Europe to help strengthen their brand name awareness. These are changing times, especially with Yonex losing some of their sponsorship deals. The market is becoming a little bit more of a level playing field again, and so called smaller companies are making the most out of it.

The key to all of this is the product. It has to do it’s job. It has to offer quality and be affordable. Customer service is also very important. Apacs sell their own rackets from their own website, so you get to deal directly with them. When they start to attract more customers then no doubt some online retailers will want to sell their stuff. This is for the future so we will see what happens.

On a completely different note, the Li Ning badminton racket revolution is well under way. I am seeing hundreds of daily searches for these rackets on google. People want to get their hands on them and nobody really knows what the hell they are like. It is all down to their sponsorship of the Chinese national team. One thing is for sure, retailers in the western world are just waiting to be able to sell them. Whoever gets in first will make a whole load of money no doubt. I imagine they will not be cheap either, they will have to be expensive to get some of the money back that they invested in their sponsorship deal.

On my other blog i have an arrangement with Apacs UK, and they send me any new rackets and let me test them and write reviews for them. This helps to give Apacs a bit more exposure and also helps me to have something to write about on that blog!

I think i have tested around 6 or 7 racquets so far and have been impressed with them. Not only are they pretty cheap, but they offer good quality and playability. For the price they are very difficult to find fault with, and the range is growing now in the UK.

A big bonus for Apacs in the far east is that they have managed to sponsor a few top players from Malaysia, and this will no doubt help to grow the brand. Apacs sports in the UK are also growing steadily now and attracting more customers. This will continue to happen as the product ranges grow and begin to offer more rackets aimed at intermediate and beginner players.

The key to selling badminton equipment is variety, becuase you need to cater for all different standards of player, and this needs to be reflected in the rackets you sell. Apacs are realising this, and i have a feeling that in a few years time they will have just about every racket for every type of player.

These so called smaller brands will grow a whole lot in the future because they offer something different to the over priced Yonex racquets. The difference between these companies is only in reputation at the moment, but if you offer a great playing experience at a fraction of the price then your reputation will grow and grow and lead to more success. Racket technology is now offering a more level playing field, and the same technology is in most badminton ranges now, meaning the only difference between choosing one brand over the next comes down to who can market their product the best. At the moment there is a massive shift in power going on between the badminton manufacturers, and Yonex is beginning to get more sustained competition from the likes of Victor and the new kid on the block, Li Ning rackets, who have just pulled off the biggest shock in world badminton by sponsoring the Chinese national team.

There has already been much interest in the Li Ning brand, and i have seen this myself on my other blog. There are hundreds of searches every day for Li Ning badminton rackets since the Surdiman cup final a few days ago. Players from all the world are wondering who the they are, and more importantly for Li Ning, where can i buy one from? In the west i hav not seen a single retailer selling any Li Ning equipment, but i bet they are licking their lips for when they do get the chance to sell their stuff. Whoever gets in first will make a huge killing in the west because of the interest already. Only time will tell who that will be.

However, as you progress, the strings begin to play a more important role because they affect how you play and how the badminton rackets feels. Factory fitted strings have a low tension, mainly because the manufacturers do not want you breaking them, and they certainly do not want you breaking the racket. The low tension is to protect the racket frame. At low tension the frame is not under much stress and so is less likely to break.

Low tension strings can help you generate a bit more power because they produce a kind of slingshot effect. The shuttle will flex the strings more on impact, and then push back to release the shuttle. The problem with this is that there is less control, mainly because the strings will move on impact and so you do not have a solid hitting base.

As you progress you are going to get to the point where you need more control over your shots. When this happens you are going to think about re-stringing your badminton racket, and no doubt think about tension. It is very important to take things slowly at first. There is a misconception among badminton players to increase the tension because that’s what the professionals play with. There are a few things to consider before you start upping the string tension.

The first is the fact that at higher tension the strings are more likely to break because they are under more strain. The second is that the frame is more likely to break because it is also under more strain. The third point is that to generate power you need to be capable of making these strings flex, this means you need a sound technique and a fast swing speed. If you are a beginner or even an intermediate player your technique may not be good enough to get the most out of higher tensions. Another factor is that the sweet spot is smaller at high tension, so if you do not hit the shuttlecock in the middle of the racket, it will not travel very far, and you may even break the strings as well.

Only if your technique is good enough should you think about increasing the string tension in your badminton racquet. I would suggest increasing by 2lb at first. So if your original tension was 20lbs, which most factory fitted strings are, then go to 22lbs to begin with, and see how this affects how the racket feels for you. You you find the shuttle is more difficult to hit to the back from baseline to baseline due to the decreased sweet spot, but you should soon be able to adjust. What you should find is that you have a little more control over your shots, and power is nothing without control.

There is trade off here between power and control. There is no set rule at all becuase it all comes down to you. Some players can generate a lot of power at very high tensions because they have the fast swing speed, others will find it virtually impossible to get the same power because their swing speed is not fast enough. You have to experiment and find the right tension for your own game, and find the balance between power and control. Ignore what anybody else does, just concentrate on your own game and make sure you give yourself the best possible advantage to get the most out of your badminton racket.

I have used Carlton racquets in the past, and one of my all time favourite models is the Airblade Tour, i still use even now. I have a few of them and they seem to suit my style of play, and the huge bonus is that i can pick one up for around £30. This is a cheap price for a quality racket in my eyes. Yes there have been problems with them along the way, and the most common problem with Carlton is that the support cap always seems to come away from the top of the handle where it meets the shaft.

The solution is to just glue it back on with some heavy duty glue, and then add some tape over that to keep it in place. Of course this should not happen in the first place, but every manufacturer has their own little weaknesses and you only find these out when you use them.

There are many different ranges in the Carlton line up, and they do tend to change these quite often, and so there are literally hundreds of Carlton rackets on the market at any given time. Different marketing in various countries means that the same racket is sometimes called by a different name, but is still basically the same racket underneath, just different paint on the frame.

Carlton’s success is based on their reputation and the fact that they have been around on the badminton scene for a long time. The competition is fierce now, and they have to raise the bar every time they launch a new range to ablt to compete with the likes of Yonex. What i like about Carlton is that they have their own unique technology and they don’t try to copy anybody else. They also sponsor some top level players which helps to bring awareness to the brand.

The prices for the new ranges are quite high, and you can expect to pay around £100 for the very latest rackets. The bonus for us players is that they seem to lose their price fairly quickly, so within the space of 12 months you will typically find big discounts on the very same racket that cost £100 before.

The extra stiff badminton rackets require even more skill to make them flex, so you really need a fast swing to get the most out of these types of rackets. Flexible versions are the best bet for beginners because they flex much easier, and so give a bit more power for the same effort.

You will find that the top end rackets have stiff or extra stiff ratings. The reason is that more stiffness gives more control. This works because the racket does not bend as much and so there is less movement of the racket head on impact with the shuttlecock. This gives you more control than a more flexible racket does. The most expensive rackets are geared towards offering this control, and they are aimed at advanced players.

The manufacturers assume that if you buy one of these stiff versions, then you already have the ability to swing fast enough to get the power, you just need extra control over your shots, hence the extra stiffness. You have to make sure that you are capable of using these kinds of rackets before you spend your money on them. Again, it will all come down to you and your skill level.

Another problem with the very stiff designs is that they can cause injuries. Vibration is a major disadvantage with stiff rackets because you feel every impact just a little bit more compared to a more flexible racket. The disadvantage of the flexible rackets is that they are harder to control, although this is all down to personal preference. Many players are totally comfortable with flexible rackets and have no need to move up to the stiff models.

If you look at the product descriptions of some of the most popular racket makers like Yonex you can often find little clues as to the stiffness rating. For example the Nanospeed series have the 9000S and the 9000X. In this case the “S” refers to stiff, and the “X” refers to extra stiff. You will also find this information, hopefully, fom the actual description of the badminton racket. There are many manufacturers on the market these days, all trying to make you buy their products over the next one, and each one has their own strengths and weaknesses, and their own way of making rackets. The next post will take a look at some of the more popular badminton brands.

The weight of a badminton racket refers to exactly that- how heavy it is.Over the years the weight of racquets has reduced considerably, and you can now find certain models that weigh as little as 70grams. Most rackets weigh between 80-90g. Different manufacturers have their own systems for telling you how heavy a racket is. For example, Yonex have the “U” system, where “U”= 95-100g, and “4U”= 80-84g.

There are 3 kinds of racquet balance, head heavy, head light and even balance. A head heavy racket will be more difficult to move around and feel more sluggish than a head light racket. An even balance is a compromise betweeen the two, and is aimed at all round badminton players.

The stiffness relates to how much flexibility the racket has. There are different grades of stiffness, from extra stiff to stiff, and then there are flexible rated rackets. The stiff versions are usually aimed at more experienced players, whilst the flexible one’s are aimed at beginners and intermediate players.

The grip size refers to how large the diameter of the handle is. Which grip size you use depends on how big your hands are, and your own personal preference. Different manufacturers have their own systems to tell you the grip size. Yonex have their own “G” system, which goes from “G5″ which is the smallest grip size, to “G2″ which is the largest size.

There are also different head shapes, and the two most common are classic and isometric. The classic head shape has an oval shape, and the isometric head shape is squared off at the top of the head. An isometric design helps to increase the sweet spot and aids off centre shots, so it offers a bit more forgiveness than the classic shape.

If you look at the online shops that sell badminton rackets you will usually see some or all of these terms being used in the description. Once you know what they are on about you can make a more informed choice before you part with your cash, but you will also be able to tell if the racket will be suitable for your standard of play.

One important point is that if you are a beginner you do not need to go out and buy the most expensive badminton racket available, in fact this may even have a negative effect on your game. The expensive models are geared towards advanced players who can the most out of these rackets. The less expensive one’s are aimed at beginners because they are more forgiving and will help you a little bit. By far the most vital part in all of this is you. A badminton racket cannot make up for bad technique and skills.