The stringing of badminton rackets is somewhat of a speciality within the guild of racket stringing and racket stringers. You might wonder why of course, as you may find that a ‘racket is a racket’, right? Truth is that the majority of professional racket stringers prefer to only string tennis rackets, maybe some squash rackets but rather skip badminton rackets. Why is this? In this article I’ll explain you a bit a about the background of stringing badminton rackets and how this applies to you.
In short: yes, it is worth restringing your badminton racket (except for rackets made out of alloy). This is calculated quite simply. Let’s say you bought a badminton racket around the price of 50 euro’s. Assuming you are an average player and you want to restring at least once per season. With current prices at the most competitive stringing services you can actually get your racket restrung at 10 euro’s with the most basic string setup. This would then result in 5 seasons of playing. Buying a new racket when you brake a string just doesn’t add up.
Tweaking and testing
In addition, there is the argument for tweaking your racket and string setup but I can imagine this only applies to intermediate and advanced level players, because they are more interested in getting the most of their gear to become a better player. But this could nevertheless be a valid argument for any beginner to start getting to know more about gear and racket strings (by reading more of my blogs for example…)
O boy, it is made out of alloy
Now, to be honest, there is actually one exception to the general rule described above and that concerns rackets made of alloy. You’ll recognise these ones by the special clinging sound they make when you tap the frame a few times. Sometimes you’ll even see some silver coming through the scratches of the frame on top or the side. Composite rackets tend to be blacked out or have a combination of black and white underneath their paint coatings. Generally speaking, alloy badminton rackets also tend to be the cheapest on the market, priced at around 10 or 15 euro’s. If you go on holidays or just having a laugh in the park with some friends, go ahead and buy an alloy frame. Just don’t expect them to last long or getting them restrung properly. The downside of producing rackets of alloy is, except from being quite cheap to work with, that they can definitely bend during the stringing proces, because they are under relatively high pressures by the string and stringing machine.
This means that you can maybe get a restring for a few times (let’s say 4 or 5 times before you’ll definitely start to see the frame bending) but in terms of economics, you’d be better of switching to a cheap, composite frame because you can have as many restrings as you’d want. Also, the problem of getting an alloy badminton racket restrung, is that there are not much stringers willing to work with alloy frames as they want to prevent possible warranty discussion with the client about the bending of the frame.
Getting a competitive advantage
To expand a bit on why you’d want to restring any racket for yourself, you’ll find that this has much to do with how much you want to test and experiment with yourself, rather than the pure economics of the game. I tend to find that players who enjoy playing badminton and start with experimenting with different strings and setups (think rackets, tension settings, gripping et cetera), generally start to test more and more and then settle with their best option. Truth be told, while this is good for business, it is also a crucial part of getting to know your gear and then have some options to work with. The key takeaway here is that you are not looking for perfection, but getting the gear that might win you your next point, game or match.
Conclusion
To conclude and in my experience, it is always recommended and worth it to restring your badminton racket, even if you are unsure about your gear or setup. You’ll only be told not to get a restring for your racket if it is made out of alloy, but even then, going to the shop and talking to a professional stringer might benefit you because you can definitely discuss what to look for in buying your next racket. Just make sure you leave the silver on the table this time.
What about your experiences with restringing your badminton racket? Did you have positive or negative experiences? And why would you string your racket or prefer not to? Share your thoughts by letting us know in the comment section down below.