Friday, October 9, 2009

Feather vs Nylon

A sport with a court exactly the same as badminton court, very similar rules to badminton, but not badminton. What is it? It is a badminton with nylon shuttles ;)

Okay, I may be exaggerating. However, I believe many people will agree with me, especially those with vast badminton experience, that a badminton game with feather (shuttle)s is very different compared to those with nylon (shuttle)s. Heck, in Indonesian badminton is called "bulutangkis" where "bulu" actually means "feather". So I might not be completely wrong in the first place... hehehe...

Anyway, let me start with my story. Back then when I live in Indonesia, I was not a serious player. I never played in any club nor had any kind of training. Simply said, I played badminton just for a social activity. Despite that, I never once played with anything other than feather shuttles. When I came to Holland to study, to my surprise, everyone in my campus badminton court was playing with nylon shuttles, including those in the club. Since feather shuttles are expensive, I was also forced to play with nylons. At that moment I didn't realize much, but when I started to take badminton more seriously, I realized that there are huge differences between nylons and feathers. My opinions are:

  • With feathers, the shuttle will have a high initial speed compared to nylons, but with higher deceleration as well.
  • It is more difficult to lift nylons. This cause the shuttle path much more flatter compared to those with feathers.
  • Thus, there is less chance to jump smashes in badminton game with nylons. The shuttle will not "float" as much as feathers.
  • Nylons don't give enough feedback on the impact. I often wonder if I hit the shuttles correctly.
  • The strokes are different. If you are used to feathers or nylons, expect to have some effort in adapting when using the other type of shuttle.
  • Those with technical finesse have more advantages when playing with feathers, nylons encourage power play more. Smashes with nylons are very difficult to retrieve since their speed is ridiculous.
Since I grew up with feathers, I prefer them more. Hence my bias in writing this article :) I will not tell people to pick feathers over nylons since everyone is entitled to their own preference. My only advice is to stick with one type of shuttle only. Mastering badminton is difficult enough without having to think about different types of shuttle. The only exception is, if you are willing to be pro then you have to stick with feathers since all high level competition that I know is played with feathers.

3 comments:

  1. Thanks.

    Concise, informative and useful.

    Think I'll try the feathers :)

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  2. My only advice is to stick with one type of shuttle only.

    I think that a skilled player will adjust to the circumstances- I find it challenging to switch between feather and nylon but enjoy the challenge. If I had to play with a stick instead of a racket I'd adjust to the best of my abilities. the basics are the same regardless of the shuttle. Footwork won't change, accuracy and timing are paramount, same as in feather play. Control of the shuttle is what one need to adjust to [net play is more difficult for instance]

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