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Tag: badminton

  • What You Get for Your Money

    Players often ask: “Why do basement stringers charge less than store stringers?”

    The simple answer is options.

    Basement stringing customers save money because basement racquet stringers offer fewer options. Basement stringers can stack up a bunch of discount stringing racquets for five or six days and then bang them all out at the same time without having to stop and reset custom machine tension and custom string options like custom racquet stringers do.

    Custom racquet stringers, by contrast, offer many options. They typically carry a large inventory of string and can offer many more precision tension options than basement stringers with budget machines.

    Every racquet they string takes more time. It is a more careful and deliberate process. Professional racquet technicians don’t just bang out custom string jobs. They are required to stop and check the custom spec sheet before starting every racquet.

    Then…

    They strip the racquet of all string and head tape. They clean the frame, remove all tape residue and inspect it. They check to see if any grommets are missing and formulate a repair plan. Often, at this point, they have to stop and call the customer to consult with them about how they want their grommets repaired.

    Once they have mapped out the road ahead, including repairs, they set up the string and the tension on the machine and start weaving. When they are done weaving and repairing, they have another stringer verify the weave and the repairs to ensure that everything is perfect. If any flaws are found in the weave or the repairs, they back up and correct everything before tying off.

    Once the racquet is done, they enter the notes in the customer file and notify the customer by email. All of this takes time and expertise, but it guarantees that they meet customer specifications exactly.

    Finally, convenience is a major factor in stringing costs. Basement stringers often have very limited hours. Customers have very narrow windows during which they can pick up or drop off their racquets while store stringers are open long hours. As a result, pick up and drop off are generally more convenient with store stringers than with basement stringers.

    In short, store stringing is a professional stringing service with a premium price while basement stringing offers fewer options at a lower price. Here in Calgary, Racquet Network offers both stringing options to their customers.

    Racquet Network’s Custom Stringing vs Discount Stringing Table

    CUSTOM DISCOUNT
    String options Choose from all strings None
    Colour options Choose from all colours None
    Tension options Choose from full range None
    Grommet repairs Minor repairs included free None
    Head tape removal Included free None
    Frame cleaning Included free None
    Service Options
    • online option
    • in store option
    Turnaround options
    • one hour
    • one day
    • one week
    • one week
    Notifications By email None
    Early pickup options Permitted Not permitted
    Warranty options Two weeks (labour only) None
    Sponsorship credits Automatic with online orders None

  • 3 Ways to Extend String Life

    BROKEN HAMMEREven hammers break. Strong as the they are, they will all break eventually. So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that racquet strings break too.

    Like hammers, they can break when they are old and worn out after lots and lots of pounding or they can break when they are new, fresh out of the package. They probably shouldn’t. But if you hit a hammer hard enough the first time you use it, a hammer might break too.

    So what can you do to prolong the life of your strings and get the most out of your investment?

    Step One is to learn to play rather than pound the ball. Contrary to the way some players think, hitting every shot as hard as you can is not the right way to play any racquet sport. Hard shots have their place but rarely will they make up more than 10% of your total shots in a game or match.

    Even serves should not generally be pounded. In tennis, a first serve might be hit hard, but the second serve should not be. The second serve should be a spin serve which is rarely hit with 100% of your full force. Even the first serve, which is often flatter and harder than the second serve, rarely sees top players hitting the ball as hard at they can.

    BROKEN GROMMETSStep Two in preserving the life of your strings is to take care of your frame. Split or broken grommets are string eaters. When they are whole, they work to prevent the string from touching the sharp edges of the graphite. When they split or break, the graphite cuts through the string like a hot knife through butter.

    Step Three in preserving the life of your strings is to string at lower tension. While it is true that constant friction at the crosses may cause the strings to saw through each other, modern materials and engineering minimize this. Strings today are designed to glide easily over each other. As a result, they are much more likely to break when exposed to extreme force under high tension.

    Players today have more choices than at any point in history. They can play with natural guts, synthetic guts, polyamides, polyesters, co-polys and more. In our store alone we carry more than 150 types of string. But all of these myriad choices have one thing in common; like hammers, if you hit them hard enough, they will break.

    So as carpenters take care of their tools, players must take care of their strings. No self-respecting carpenter swings as hard as he can at every nail. And no self-respecting tennis player should swing as hard as he can at every serve. The key is to apply force skillfully in order to maximize the effectiveness of the tool.

    TEST PREPARATION

    The following questions may appear on tests related to this article. Use them to test your reading comprehension and prepare for the CERTIFIED EXPERTS TEST – RACQUET SERVICE.

  • How Long Should Badminton Strings Last?

    Badminton Strings Break
    Badminton Strings Break
    One of the frustrating truths about badminton string is that it breaks. Even the best string in the best racquet strung by the best stringer on the best machine in the world can break the first time you use it.

    It sucks, but it’s true. Strings are strings. They are not steel beams. They are not indestructible. Strings are made of string and strings break.

    The other unfortunate truth about string is that when it breaks customers usually want to blame somebody. If a string breaks the first time they use it, most will blame the stringer.

    It doesn’t matter that the string was installed correctly. It doesn’t matter that the stringer was not even present when the string broke, many customers will assume that the stringer must have done something wrong.

    As stringers, we can tell you that this is enormously frustrating for everyone involved.

    There are many reasons that string will break. Very few of these reasons have anything to do with the guy (or gal) who strings your racquet.

    Nicks Caused by Smashes

    With badminton string, one of the leading culprits of breakage comes from nicks caused by hitting the skirt of the shuttle on smashes. It only takes one smash to put a near fatal nick in your string. A few shots later, the nick becomes a break. As a result, the string will appear to break on a clear, a lift or even a drop shot, when in fact most of the damage was done on an earlier smash.

    Nicks During Storage

    Another common cause of string damage occurs when players store their racquets in their racquet bags. While players should keep their racquets separate from everything else in their bags, some players have bags that are too small. So their racquet strings end up being accidentally damaged by keys, phones, shoes and other items crammed into in their racquet bags.

    Choosing the Wrong String

    Another culprit often responsible for early string breakage has to do with poor consumer choices. Contrary to popular belief, not all strings are designed to work with nylon shuttles. In fact, most high end strings are too thin to use with nylon shuttles. They are designed for use with feather shuttles and customers who choose to use them with nylon shuttles do so at their own risk.

    Power vs. Durability

    Far and away the biggest cause of early badminton string breakage, however, is greed. Some players can never have enough power. They might be six feet tall and have incredibly powerful smashes, but they still want more. So while they should be choosing strings that are thick and durable enough to withstand their power, they instead opt for thinner strings that offer even more power. The result, not surprisingly, is broken string and disappointed customers.

    Stinger Errors

    Before you blame the stringer and question his/her professionalism, please consider everything we have said above. Stringers can and do make mistakes. Equipment sometimes fails. However, a well-trained stringer knows what to watch for and rarely does anything that will decrease string life. Indeed, our policy when these uncommon mistakes are made is to stop, cut the strings out and start again. We would rather do a racquet twice than risk being blamed for causing early breakage.


    TEST PREPARATION


    The following questions may appear on tests related to this article. Use them to test your reading comprehension and prepare for the CERTIFIED EXPERTS TEST – RACQUET SERVICE.

  • Badminton Racquet Tension Trade-Offs

    tensionChoosing the best string tension for your badminton frame is often a case of choosing between trade offs.

    For example, stringing at a racquet’s maximum tension will increase your ability to control the power of the string bed, but it will also decrease string life. On the other hand, stringing the same racquet at minimum recommended tension will increase its power and extend the life of the string, but it will reduce your ability to control drop shots.

    Printed somewhere on the frame of every badminton racquet is a recommended tension range. For example, a typical range for a Yonex badminton racquet is 17-24 lbs. So the lowest recommended tension on this racquet is 17 lbs while the maximum recommended range is 24 lbs. Stringing below 17 lbs will result in a string bed that is so loose that it will loose its effectiveness. Stringing above 24 lbs will put the frame under enormous pressure and may may result in frame collapse.

    Benefits and Trade-Offs of High Tension

    Here is a list of the benefits and trade offs of stinging at high tension.

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    BENEFITS TRADE OFFS
    – more control on drop shots – less power on drives
    – more control on net shots – less power on clears and smashes
    – makes a cool sound on hard contact – increased chances of frame breakage
    – strings do not move around – increased chances of string breakage

    Benefits and Trade-Offs of Low Tension

    Here is a list of the benefits and trade offs of stinging at low tension.

    BENEFITS TRADE OFFS
    – more power on drives – less control on drop shots
    – more power on clears and smashes – less control on net shots
    – decreased chances of frame breakage – does not make a cool sound on hard contact
    – decreased chances of string breakage – strings move around

    Choosing Factory Tension

    In general, staff at Racquet Network advise customers to string their racquets at factory recommended tension unless they have a good reason do otherwise. For example, a customer who is having trouble getting the shuttle to the back of the court on clears, may be advised to string at a lower tension to increase power. Meanwhile, another customer who is regularly hitting the shuttle out the back of the court on clearing attempts may be advised to decrease the power of their racquet by stringing at a higher tension.

    TEST PREPARATION


    The following questions may appear on tests related to this article. Use them to test your reading comprehension and prepare for the CERTIFIED EXPERTS TEST – RACQUET SERVICE.