Ashaway Viper XT 1600 Badminton Racket - Black Orange

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Badminton Rackets Buying Guide

The key question to ask firstly is what style of player are you, or what type of player do you want to become?

1. Power Attacking
2. All Round
3. Fast Reactions to Rallies
4. Control and Touch, by moving players around the court to create space

As a general guide for your playing style below is the kind of racket you'll want to look at purchasing:

In simple terms is means this:
Player with Explosive Backswing Hitting = Stiffer Shaft needed as it'll unload faster for more power.
Player with Slower Backswing Hitting = More Flexible Shaft needed so that it'll unload fully at impact.

If you're still unsure what to choose for yourself, we'd recommend going for a medium flex badminton racket to minimise the chances of choosing incorrectly what's right for you.

Weight:

Weight can make a real difference to reaction speeds, and power behind the hit of a shuttle. Too light a racket and it won't go far or powerful enough. However too heavy a racket and you'll find you'll be reacting too slow in fast flat rallies, where reaction speed is everything.:

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 and also be able to react fast too.:

Typically singles players will use heavier rackets 3U (85-89g), this provides the player with more stability and accuracy, with a little more weight for power behind it, without compromising on racket speed too much, as 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 and quicker reactions in around the net and for defence against smashes.:

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.: