Which Badminton Racket Should I Choose? - Our Buying Guide

Badminton Rackets, there's so many?! .....so how do you possibly know which one to choose? There's a million options and like myself writing this article, I found the choice pretty daunting at first, so I'm going to try and break this down in the simplest possible way.

There's 3 main factors when deciding, the first 2 we'll address in this guide:

• Playing Level
• Style of Play
• Available Spending Budget

 

Playing Level

So often you hear the saying "all the gear, but no idea". In order to avoid being labelled a player like this you'll want a Badminton Racket that best suits you playing level.

Why is this? Well, most players blindly believe the more you spend, the better you'll play. However in truth some of the high end rackets are a lot more unforgiving with mishits because they're built and made for accuracy and power for the top players with outstanding timing and technique.

We stock 3 range levels of Badminton Rackets

• Beginner Badminton Rackets
• Intermediate Badminton Rackets
• Pro / Professional Badminton Rackets

Typically the difference between the level of the rackets in terms of how you play (without getting too technical about it) is you'll find 3 main differences:

• Sweet Spot - On lower level rackets usually string tensions are lower as well as the racket material designs, the result is a greater room for error when mistiming you shot, this is particularly helpful for lower level players.
• Increased Racket Swing Flexibility - You'll generally notice cheaper rackets will often have more flex on the racket swing, this additional whip will help players get greater power, but will also lead to poorer accuracy too. 
• Heavier or Lower Quality Materials Used - Simply put, in some things in life, you get what you pay for. With Badminton Rackets this is more true than ever, this part is unavoidable and as a player you'll notice you generally get less power/accuracy/reaction speed/touch because of this at times.

Style of Play

The second question you'll want to ask is what style of player are you, or what type of player do you want to become?

• Power Attacking
• All round
• Fast Reactions to Rallies
• Control and Touch, by moving players around the court to create space

Most players will say they want to play a fast, attacking game, but to win you need more than just a powerful smash.

To help you decide, consider the reasons you lose rallies sometimes: Is it because your reactions are too slow? Are your attacks effective? Is your all round game consistent enough?

Based upon the answers to the above questions you can then work out what type of badminton racket to choose.

Technically there's 3 important aspects you want to look for when choosing a racket:

• Balance
• Shaft Stiffness / Flexibility
• Weight

Lesser important aspects to consider when purchasing (as they can both be modified) are:

• Grip Size
• Strings Racket Tension & Strings Used

Each aspect makes a big difference to the style of play you have.

Balance:

There's general 3 categories – Head Heavy, Even Balance and Head Light. To make it simple this means, where the weight has been shifted on the racket.

You can simply find out what a racket balance is by balancing the racket shaft on your finger in the middle, depending upon how it falls will show you it's weighting.

See the chart below to help guide you as a player:

Balance	Weighted Area of Racket	Balance Point on Racket	Player Style
Head Heavy	Head of the Racket	Over 300mm	Power Attacking, back of the court style players, increased clear and smash power. Most suited to the singles or mixed doubles game.
Even Balance	Weight evenly distributed	280-300mm	All Round, versatile style for all types of game. Giving you power at the back and speed at the front of the court. Helps you to react to any style of game.
Head Light	Weigh in the handle	Less than 288mm	Fast Reactions to Rallies. Great for defensive shots requiring fast reactions or for the fast, flat style of game often seen in doubles.

 

Shaft Stiffness / Flexibility

There's general 3 categories – Stiff or Medium and Flexible. This relates to the flex in the racket shaft.

See the chart below to help guide you:

Racket Flexibility	How it affects shots	Player Style
Stiff	High level of accuracy and control, but power can be harder to access without good technique and timing	Physically strong attacking player who can generate very quick racket head speeds. A stiff shaft will provide stability on the shot allowing the power to be wielded in a controllable fashion.
Medium	Medium Accuracy, and some extra whip power from racket	All round style. More forgiving than a stiff racket, but there is enough rigidity to control power shots.
Flexible	Poor Accuracy, but extra flex allows extra whip action shot power	Perfect for players struggling for power in their shots, however due to the extra whip action this can affect accuracy of shots

 

Differences in personal technique can also be a factor in which flex is most suitable. Some players  will use more a slower arm motion, whilst others will use more a more explosive wrist action in their shots. This can make a difference in racket choice.

Why you ask?

This is based principally on the fact that when the shaft of a racket is bent in the middle of a shot and then released, the stiffer the shaft, the faster it unbends and unloads the power.

Therefore how fast you band the shaft and how fast your forward stroke is will affect what flexibility you need.
In simple terms:
Player with short, explosive swings = Stiffer shaft needed as it'll unload faster for more power
Player with slower, more fluid hitting = More flexible shaft needed so that it'll flex all the way until impact.

If you're still unsure what to choose for yourself, we'd recommend going for a medium flex badminton racket.

Weight:
Weight can make a real difference to reaction speeds and power: Too light and the racket may not be powerful enough; too heavy and quick movements needed for defensive or flat exchange can become difficult. 

The way the badminton brands list the racket weights can be confusing so we'll make it as simple as possible for you via the grid below:

Weight Grade	Other Brand Listings	Weight Range (grams)
1U		94g or above
2U		90-94g
3U	W3 (Li Ning)	85-89g
4U	W2 (Li Ning)	80-84g
5U	W1 (lLi Ning)	75-79g
6U	F (Yonex) W1 (Li Ning)	70-75g
7U		60g-69g
8U		59.9g and below

 

Most rackets are weighted around 3U (85-89g) or 4U (80-84g), this is because it's a good weight balance for players to hit hard without compromising on speed.

Typically singles players will use heavier rackets 3U (85-89g). This weight provides a little more power in instances when the shuttle has gone behind the player into the deep corners. Quick racket head speed isn't needed as much in the singles game.

Doubles players however will usually want lighter rackets, the most popular weight for this being 4U (80-84g). This is because the badminton racket will offer more speed for front court play and smash defence.

Training Rackets are always 1U as they're deliberately above 100g to force the players muscles to strengthen.

Other Less Important Aspects when Choosing a Badminton Racket:

Grip Size:
Firstly it's really important to remember the racket grip size can be adjusted up and down depending upon the amount and type of grip you may choose to fit the racket with.

Generally UK and European Badminton Players are preferring to go for smaller grip sizes these days.

Grip Sizes are measured by “G + Number”, the smaller the number, the larger the handle (I know very confusing!). For example almost all Yonex Rackets come in a G4 standard, whilst Victor Rackets are typically G5 in size.

 

Grip Size	Racket Grip Size	Size in mm
X-Small Grip	G5	83mm
Small Grip	G4	86mm
Medium Grip	G3	89mm
Large Grip	G2	92mm
X-Large Grip	G1	95mm

 

In order to know what the correct grip size is for you wrap your hand around the handle, and make sure there's a fingers width of space between you thumb and fingers once they've wrapped around the grip

Racket Strings Used & Tension

Again like the grip, this is customisable on any racket. However do look out for racket tension ranges on the product as this could potentially limit your ability to have the racket strung at a desired tension.

For a full breakdown on strings and tensions, see our buying guide specifically on this.

To put it simply however, if you're unsure what to choose when buying a racket you like, either go for the “Original Strings” option or “Stringers Professional Decision” for which we'll choose the string that best suits getting the maximum performance out of the racket for you.