There's a lot of choice when it comes to shuttles but what should you be using? Well in this video
we're going to help you with that decision as it's not as simple as you might think so we're
going to break down the different types of feather shuttles look at the features you need to consider
before buying do a comparison test of over 10 types of shuttles at different prices and we'll
also share what we use so let's get straight into it so there are three different types of shuttles
feathers plastic and a newer hybrid but 68% of you use feather shuttles so that's what we're
going to focus on in this video and that's also where our expertise lies as we've used feather
shuttles from a lot of different brands over the last 20 years in training clubs coaching
and professional tournaments! Now there are two big disadvantages of feather shuttles compared to
Plastics and even hybrids one is the durability and the second is the cost but we'll come back
to both of those later in the video but there are some big advantages which in our opinion outweigh
the disadvantages these are the control you can get the feel of your strings and the amazing sound
and with the right shuttle if you can avoid Miss hitting it we found that it can easily last a one
hour session but that's a key phrase the right shuttle so let's move on to the features you need
to consider when deciding what feather shuttles you should buy because there's a lot of choice
out there so we've got four main features you need to consider and first is the shuttle speed there
are actually five different categories of shuttle speed going from 75 which is the slowest up to 79
which is the fastest and to make it slightly more confusing Brands like Yonex use their own system
where speed 1 is the slowest going up to speed 5 which is the fastest so which speed is best? Well
it depends on a few things but most importantly the altitude you're playing at and the temperature
so if you're playing in really hot temperatures or high altitudes these playing conditions tend
to speed up the shuttle so you would opt for a slower 76 or 77 speed or in extreme
circumstances the 75. If you don't do this then you might be one wondering why your smash feels
10 times more powerful or why all of your shots are flying out the back! On the other end of the spectrum
you'd opt for speed 78 or 79 if you're playing in colder or more air-conditioned calls
or you're below sea level but generally the most common speeds are 77 and 78. okay moving on the
second factor to consider is the price one tube of 12 shuttles can cost up to 35 pounds but you can
get tubes for less than 15 pounds and stay tuned to the next section of this video to see how much
better these expensive shuttles actually are! The third feature to consider is the durability how
long does each shuttle typically last for? Well this can depend on a few things the level you
play at as beginners tend to mishit the shot or more meaning they break more feathers the style
of play as if you hit lots of powerful drives and smashes the shuttles won't last as long and the
storage conditions for example if we're leaving shuttles in a really dry space then the feathers
can dry out and become brittle which again again reduces how long they last the fourth feature to
consider is the feel and control of the shuttle what we mean by this is how does it feel when you
play with it does this shuttle wobble and bobble? Some new shuttles might feel like they're coming
off your racket really weirdly and it's hard to play accurate shots so keeping these four
features in mind with over 50 different types of shuttles on the market what should you actually
buy and how much better are the 35 pound tubes compared to the cheaper ones? Well we're now
going to compare 10 types of shuttles at various price points ranging from just five pounds per
tube all the way up to 35 pounds for each shuttle we're going to do two tests a durability test if
we hit each shuttle 500 times in a variety of drills how long will they last? And an accuracy
test are the expensive shuttles going to help you play better and more accurate shots? And a couple
of quick disclaimers before we get started these aren't scientific tests because we're not robots
but we'll do our best to test all of the shuttles both fairly and consistently also we're obviously
not going to test all of the shuttles you can buy worldwide but we've tried to choose a selection
from different well-known brands that we could get at different price points here in the UK and
they're all speed 78. okay disclaimers out of the way let's get started with a five pound tube from
Drafon all right this tube is kind of a joke we actually bought this from a supermarket in Kuala
Lumpur as we couldn't believe a tube of feather shuttles was this cheap but we opened them and
it gave us a good laugh but we're not going to bother testing them they've already failed both tests!
Now let's go into the testing!
okay first up we have the yelex tournament
shuttles at 16 pounds per tube so to test the durability of each shuttle we're doing
150 shots of rear mid 100 shots of net t's 150 shots of defence and 100 shots of drop push
after hitting the shuttle 500 times you can see it's no longer circular and the feathers
are a bit fluffed up okay next up is the Li Ning g800 which was 17 pounds for the tube
okay the leading g800 didn't break and it held its shape quite well but it went so
fluffy this one's fluffed up a lot and we've still got 150 shots to go when
it gets this fluffy it means the shuttle massively slows down and it feels really
different to how a brand new one would which can be quite hard to deal with in a match
okay tube number three is the Babolat number twos at 19 pounds per tube
okay we've got a bit of a Feather breakage there right at the end of
the 500 shots next we have the Yonex as30 at 22 pounds per tube
our first change after only 150 shots it's not broken like a feather's not
broken but it's completely misshapen [Applause] [Music]
the second as30 held its shape much better for the remaining 350 shots but that might be because we'd
finished all of the Smashing and it's worth noting that neither of us have mishit any shuttles so far
which is often what causes the feathers to break! Next up Forza VIP at 24 pounds per tube
another shuttle that's squashed and it's not flying properly at all so we're gonna have to change it
one thing we're noticing with all of the shuttles we've tested so far is that
they're losing their shape quite easily and fluffing up a lot we wonder if this is going
to continue happening with the more expensive shuttles and by the way for those wondering yes
we have paid for all of the shuttles used in this video so if you're enjoying it and want to help
support the channel then check out our Patreon where you can also access lots of benefits we'll
leave a link in the description below! Our next tube is the Yonex as40 at 26 pounds a tube
after 150 shots this is definitely the least fluffy we've had so far and here's the shuttle
at the end of the 500 shots next we have Victor gold champion at 30 pounds per tube
after hitting this shuttle500 times it's
held it shape very well and just had one small break to this feather here next tube is a Yonex
as50 at 32 pounds a tube that's double the price of the first tube we tested ah
so as you can see the Yonex as50 has kept its shape and all the feathers are intact next is
the Victor Master Ace at 35 pounds per tube
after hitting this shuttle 500 times the master
Ace hasn't really fluffed up and has held its shape really well so are the shuttles that are
two times more expensive than others two times as durable? Well we found they were half as fluffy and
the two most expensive were definitely in the best condition after 500 shots whilst we didn't
completely break any feathers as we didn't miss hit many shots we did notice that the cheapest
shuttles lost their shape a lot easier but what about the accuracy? Will the expensive shuttles
help us play better and more accurate shots? To test this we're going to hit 20 lifts 20 net
shots 20 serves and 20 smashes with each shuttle
Okay so we've just finished the accuracy test and
generally we noticed that the shuttles at the cheaper end bobbled more and we felt like we
had less control especially with our net shots and serves with the more expensive shuttles like the
master Ace and as50s we both felt we could play higher quality and more consistent shots we also
noticed that even though they were all speed 78's the Babolat twos and the forza VIPs
were quite a bit quicker as we mentioned at the start of this video we've used a lot of different
shuttles from a lot of different brands and for our own training we used the Victor Master Ace
full disclosure we are sponsored by Victor but for us we found these last over three times as long as
various other cheaper ones and of course aren't three times the price it's also worth mentioning
that if you can it's better to practice with shuttles that you compete with to get used
to the feel of the shuttle a lot of international tournaments use the Master Ace so this works well
for us but if you choose what shuttles you play your matches with then we'd recommend trying these
tests out yourself maybe try a more expensive tube and see how much longer this lasts for you because
as we've said the durability depends on your level and playing style. If the shuttle lasts double as
9 hours for this video then please give it a like and also we're keeping a close eye on the adoption
of the new synthetic shuttles which we'll of course keep you updated on so make sure you SMASH the
Subscribe button so you don't miss out on that and we'll see you on another video very soon :-)