Different Coloured Yonex Strings

Why Yonex don't sell all of their strings all around the world can sometimes be a mystery to me. There is quite clearly the same market for coloured badminton strings in the UK, so Yonex could be losing a lot of revenue just from not stocking a product that they already sell elsewhere. I know that many people are put off by the fact that Bg80 only comes in yellow, which makes people go for a usually slightly cheaper white string. However, if you look on the Yonex USA website, Bg80 is only available in white over there! This is something that baffles me beyond belief.

I also have many different people (usually girls) ask me if I have a variety of different coloured strings, and I can usually get a string from a different manufacturer that is of the colour they would like, but that is still a sale that Yonex has lost here in the UK. If you look on www.mybadmintonstore.com for example, then they have some Yonex strings in as many as about 7 different colours, so if ever I have a specific request for a particular Yonex string in a colour that is not available in the UK then that is the place I got to first.

Here is the problem though, I should not have to order strings from abroad just because Yonex do not think there is a big enough market here in the UK, there clearly is and after speaking to one of the biggest UK retailers of badminton string, who said that if Yonex did have coloured string in the UK they would happily buy at least a box of reels of each one, it shows that Yonex are potentially losing a huge amount of profit every year by not selling all of their colours of strings everwhere!

Choosing the Right Badminton String Tension

Now this is a question I get asked on a very frequent basis; "What tension should I have my racket strung at?" or another question I get asked is, "I have ........ string, what is the best tension for that string in this racket?" And I'm sorry to disappoint you, but there is no real answer to that question. As with almost every part of stringing and racket management it is completely subjective to the individual, however, there are a few rays of light that I may be able to shed on the situation.

It all depends on what you want out of a set of strings, less tension = more power, whereas a higher tension = more control, this is due to the trampoline affect, but I may go on to talk about that in another post. If someone just came to me and they didn't know what string or tension they wanted then I would always string the racket with Bg65ti at 24lbs. This is a standard set up for many club level players who don't really care what string they have in their racket as long as it lasts a reasonable amount of time.

24lbs is also the tension that I would recommend starting at if you are unsure of what tension to use in the first place. I would then increase or decrease by 1-2lbs depending on if it is too tight or too loose. Also changing string will affect what tension you will want your rackets strung at. For a thinner gauge of string I would recommend a slightly higher tension due to the extra power that the string is likely to generate by itself, that is why I used to have my rackets strung in Bg80 at 26lbs, but when I changed to Bg66U I upped my tension to 28lbs to compensate for the extra power that comes with Bg66U. However, a while ago I went through a stage of using Bg65ti, and I had to have that strung right down at 24lbs as I needed to be able to generate a bit more power as it is a less powerful string.

So in my opinion try most strings at 24lbs first, then increase or decrease from there and the type of racket it is very rare affects what string to use, unless it is a Carlton Razor or something like that with an extremely weird stringing pattern.

Quick Side Note

Please note that all of my reviews are subjective to my own opinion, I try to be impartial and give the best advice I can to help you make an informed decision. I am in no way sponsored by Yonex to write these reviews, the only sponsorship I have is a player sponsorship with Tactic and Cramp Sports but I will not review any of their equipment as I would be bias! Thank you for your continued support.

Funny Stringing Stories

The other day I got asked a very weird question about racket stringing, and that got me thinking about any other funny stories regarding racket stringing I could remember over the last year and a half that I have been stringing.

The first thing that immediately sprang to mind was when I got asked if I had any coated steel badminton strings! For anyone who doesn't know, they come with rackets that you buy in gardens sets and never break, but cannot hold any tension and feel like you are hitting the shuttle with a cricket bat! I told the woman that I didn't have any of those and could order some 0.80mm Toalson Superline 80 string, which I just finished stringing up for her, and actually it feels very nice, with a slight texture to it, equivalent to that of Yonex Bg80, however, I'm 99% sure it wouldn't play like the much more expensive Yonex string!

The only other story I can think of at the moment is when my Dad went to re-string a racket and the dog ran off with the reel of string, getting it caught on many different things around the house and managed to unravel around 100m. It took Dad over an hour to unhook the string and another 10 minutes to wrap it back up in the reel again, needless to say he wasn't too happy!

If you have any funny stringing stories then feel free to share them in the comments section below!