Yonex Bg80 Badminton String Review
This is the first of hopefully many string reviews that I will be posting to this blog, if you have any feedback it would be greatly appreciated in order to make these reviews better in the future.
Well, where to begin with good old Bg80, the faithful flagship model of the Yonex string ranges. Although, by no where near their most expensive string, Bg80 is certainly Yonex's most popular string choice for professionals and club players alike. I was talking to a pro stringer at the All England 2012 earlier this year and he said that a whopping 80% of the professional players on the tour use Bg80. Anyway, what is it like to play with and use...
Playability
I string my rackets at 27lbs, which is almost in the middle of the different extremes of string tensions that professionals and ordinary club players use. At this tension I feel that Bg80 is by far the best all round string on the market.
It offers great repulsion, meaning that clearing and smashing is effortless, with very little energy required to clear from back to back. The 'hard feeling' the string is advertised as really makes sense when you hit with it, the strings always feel solid and you get very little in the way of a spongy feeling. It does not offer quite the same explosive repulsion as Yonex's high end strings, such as Bg80 Power and Bg66 Ultimax, however there are major problems with both of these strings which I will go on to explain when I review them.
Overall I will give the repulsion factor of Bg80 - 4/5.
The control aspect is one of Bg80's selling points. The outer layer of the string is actually notched, to allow the string to feel and bite into the shuttle a lot more, meaning that adding slice to a drop and spin to a net shot is extremely easy. Along with its all round playability, the control is probably the best part of the Bg80 string. I have not yet been able to try the new Nanogy 99 from Yonex, which is designed to be a very control oriented string, however, from the strings I have used and tested, Bg80 is by far the best at controlling the shuttle.
I give the control factor of Bg80 - 5/5.
Durability
This can be a very hit and miss affair with Bg80. I hardly ever break a string through wearing through the middle, where you can see it fraying and then breaking it. I usually break my strings with miss hits on the edge of the string bed. This is because I have my rackets strung quite tight, and any excess pressure on the out side where the strings are less densly packed means they break a lot quicker.
However, after switching back to Bg80 from Bg80 power a few weeks ago, the first racket I strung up started to fray within 5 hours. I train at a performance centre, so that means 4 hours a week of training, and after 2 1/2 sessions the strings were fraying in the middle. They then broke after 6 hours, which for me is an extremely short space of time. I stuck with it however and the next two rackets I did have lasted me a lot longer and show no signs of fraying at the moment. I'm not sure if it was a dodgy reel of string or if I nicked it while stringing without noticing, however, on the whole, Bg80 being one of Yonex's thinner gauge of string is not going to last as long as some of the other strings that they sell, such as Bg65ti, however, for a top of the range string it is usually very good durability wise.
I give the durability factor of Bg80 - 4/5.
Overall then I think that Bg80 is a very good string, that can be used by professional players as well club level players. It will add a good 20% to your all round game. There are different strings that do separate jobs slightly better, however, the blend of power and control is unmatched in any string that I have used or heard about, that is why 80% of the super series players use Yonex Bg80.
Overall I will give Bg80 - 5/5.
This is the first of hopefully many string reviews that I will be posting to this blog, if you have any feedback it would be greatly appreciated in order to make these reviews better in the future.
Well, where to begin with good old Bg80, the faithful flagship model of the Yonex string ranges. Although, by no where near their most expensive string, Bg80 is certainly Yonex's most popular string choice for professionals and club players alike. I was talking to a pro stringer at the All England 2012 earlier this year and he said that a whopping 80% of the professional players on the tour use Bg80. Anyway, what is it like to play with and use...
Playability
I string my rackets at 27lbs, which is almost in the middle of the different extremes of string tensions that professionals and ordinary club players use. At this tension I feel that Bg80 is by far the best all round string on the market.
It offers great repulsion, meaning that clearing and smashing is effortless, with very little energy required to clear from back to back. The 'hard feeling' the string is advertised as really makes sense when you hit with it, the strings always feel solid and you get very little in the way of a spongy feeling. It does not offer quite the same explosive repulsion as Yonex's high end strings, such as Bg80 Power and Bg66 Ultimax, however there are major problems with both of these strings which I will go on to explain when I review them.
Overall I will give the repulsion factor of Bg80 - 4/5.
The control aspect is one of Bg80's selling points. The outer layer of the string is actually notched, to allow the string to feel and bite into the shuttle a lot more, meaning that adding slice to a drop and spin to a net shot is extremely easy. Along with its all round playability, the control is probably the best part of the Bg80 string. I have not yet been able to try the new Nanogy 99 from Yonex, which is designed to be a very control oriented string, however, from the strings I have used and tested, Bg80 is by far the best at controlling the shuttle.
I give the control factor of Bg80 - 5/5.
Durability
This can be a very hit and miss affair with Bg80. I hardly ever break a string through wearing through the middle, where you can see it fraying and then breaking it. I usually break my strings with miss hits on the edge of the string bed. This is because I have my rackets strung quite tight, and any excess pressure on the out side where the strings are less densly packed means they break a lot quicker.
However, after switching back to Bg80 from Bg80 power a few weeks ago, the first racket I strung up started to fray within 5 hours. I train at a performance centre, so that means 4 hours a week of training, and after 2 1/2 sessions the strings were fraying in the middle. They then broke after 6 hours, which for me is an extremely short space of time. I stuck with it however and the next two rackets I did have lasted me a lot longer and show no signs of fraying at the moment. I'm not sure if it was a dodgy reel of string or if I nicked it while stringing without noticing, however, on the whole, Bg80 being one of Yonex's thinner gauge of string is not going to last as long as some of the other strings that they sell, such as Bg65ti, however, for a top of the range string it is usually very good durability wise.
I give the durability factor of Bg80 - 4/5.
Overall then I think that Bg80 is a very good string, that can be used by professional players as well club level players. It will add a good 20% to your all round game. There are different strings that do separate jobs slightly better, however, the blend of power and control is unmatched in any string that I have used or heard about, that is why 80% of the super series players use Yonex Bg80.
Overall I will give Bg80 - 5/5.
does it hold tension well
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