Sports Equipment

• Rackets

There are many different types of materials used in the manufacturing of badminton rackets. There are many different materials ranging from carbon fiber composite (graphite reinforced plastic) to solid steel. Carbon fiber has an excellent strength to weight ratio, is stiff, and gives excellent energy transfer. Before carbon fiber rackets were made of light metals such as aluminum. Earlier rackets were made out of wood but are no longer manufactured because of the weight. The badminton racket is made to be very light. The rackets should weigh between 79 and 91 grams. The design of the rackets are limited to the rules of badminton. The oval head shape is still available but the new isometric head shape is now available.

• Strings

Babminton strings are high performance strings that range between 0.65 to 0.73 millimeters thickness. The tension on the strings is normally between 18 to 36 lbs. Recreational players like to string at a lower tension. It is often said that higher tension improves control where lower tension provides more power. This is not true. The higher tension causes the shuttle to slip off the racket which makes it harder to control and hit the shot accurately. The best way to select the right tension is to experiment.

•  Shuttlecocks

Shuttlecocks or shuttles is a high projectile with an open shape: the cone is formed from 16 overlapping goose feathers embeded into a rounded cork base. the cork is covered with thin leather or synthetic material. Shuttles with plastic or nylon skirts are normally uesed by recreational players not only because of the cost but also because the feather type break more easily. The nylon shuttle corks are made of a hard sponge instead of cork. Shuttles also come in different types, shuttles with a green stripe(slow speed), blue (medium speed), and red ( fast speed).  In colder wheather a slower one is used and in hotter a faster one is used.

• Shoes

Badminton shoes are lightweight and made of a high grip- non marking material. The shoes have very little laderial support. A high level of laderial support are used for activities where laderial movement is not expected. High laderial support will not be able to support the foot in badminton and could cause collapse at the point where the supports fail because the ankles are not ready for the sudden side movement which could cause sprained ankles and other injuries. For this reason a person should choose badminton shoes rather than general training shoes or running shoes. Badminton shoes have a very slim sole, lowering the centre of gravity, therefore causing less injuries. A person should also learn the proper footwork with the knee and foot in alignment on all lunges.