Basic Badminton equipment needed to play

if you are just starting out in badminton then one of the questions which you might be having, what equipment is needed to play badminton? this guide has the list of some basic equipment which you will be needing to play badminton with your family, friends, children, also for you i have provided some extra information regarding these essential equipment and accessories so that you can decide which one is best for you

A little overview on what is badminton.

Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams

the most common forms of the game are “singles” (with one player per side) and “doubles” (with two players per side).

Badminton is often played as a casual outdoor activity in a yard or on a beach; formal games are played on a rectangular indoor court.

Points are scored by striking the shuttlecock with the racquet and landing it within the opposing side’s half of the court.

Each side may only strike the shuttlecock once before it passes over the net.

Play ends once the shuttlecock has struck the floor or if a fault has been called by the umpire, service judge, or (in their absence) the opposing side.

list of equipment needed in badminton

• Badminton Racket
• Grip
• Shoes
• Shuttlecock
• Badminton Net
• Badminton attire
• Wrist Band
• Socks
• Badminton court

To know more in detail about the standard of these equipment keep reading this article

Basic Badminton equipment

Badminton Racket

A Badminton racket can be divided into 3 sections,  Head , shaft and handle (as shown above).

They come in all sizes and shape, each having its own use case.

For people who have not played badminton all racket may look same but racket for every style and discipline is available.

For Singles, doubles, smashes, defenses etc.

General measurements of badminton racket.

• Handle width:- 1 inch / 25.4 mm.
• T joint to handle:- 26.18-26.77 inch / 665-680 mm.
• Head width:- 8.66-9.06 inch / 220-230 mm.

Classification of racket

Material used to make racket

• High grade Aluminum
• Graphite(best)
• Iron

Shape of head

• Oval shape
• Isometric
• Round

They also gets classified based on flexibility, weight etc.

If you getting intimidating by all this intricacies you can follow my guide on rackets so read this article.

This is my personal favorite racket

Shuttlecock or Birdie

As a badminton player I can say that you will be spending more of your money on shuttle than any other equipment especially if you are playing with feather shuttles.

Shuttle is divided into different sections

• Cork (white base on which you hit the racket).
• Skirt (part attached to cork , it can made of feather or nylon).
• Tape around cork to distinguish shuttle based on there flight speed.

Measurement of shuttlecock

• Width of cork:- .98-1.1 inch / 25-28 mm.
• Height of cork:- .9-.98 inch / 23- 25 mm.
• Total shuttle height:- 3.35-3.75 inch / 85- 95 mm.
• Diameter of shuttle feather :- 2.28-2.68 inch / 58-68 mm.
• Height of skirt of shuttle:- 2.44-2.76 inch / 62-70 mm.

There are two types of shuttles available in market

• Plastic/nylon shuttlecock(for beginner or recreational player)
• Feather shuttlecock(for experienced player)

Feather shuttle can also be divided into two types

• Goose feather
• Duck feather

Goose feather, these are the most expensive because of the quality and flight consistency they provide in shots.

All International matches are played with these shuttles.

So if you are looking for top quality feather shuttles then go for the one which is made up of Goose feather, the one which I like is AS 30 by Yonex because of its cost to quality ratio.

Another one is AS 10 but the reason I personally do not recommend this because its speed gets slower after some use but if you live in a region where humidity is high then this can be best for you.

Duck feather, these are the cheaper variant of feather shuttles but I would only recommend it if you are really short on budget because of their lesser durability and inconsistent flight.

One pro tip to increase durability of feather shuttle

Before playing with the shuttle dip its feather area in water for 2 second and then let it dry in the open, this will improve your shutter durability exponentially especially if you are from region where humidity is low.

Feather shuttles are used in international matches they are expensive and not very durable(comparing to nylon) but it provides  much better experience then nylon shuttles

These are shuttles which i recommend

Nylon Shuttles

Nylon birdie are used by beginners and recreational player these are less expensive and are very much durable.

But the reason why these shuttle are not used in international circuit is because after some rally with these birdie their speed will change.

There used to be a time where nylon shuttle came in different speed variant like red shuttle having fastest speed, green with medium speed and so on. But now all branded shuttle come in single colour which is green.

But this does not mean that all shuttles are same so if you are buying for the first time then go for Yonex nylon shuttle they are the best,

Most people usually buy in-between these two models mavis 300 and mavis 350

Flight of both shuttles are same but they become exactly opposite to each other after some use, for example, mavis 300 flight gets more fast with usage whereas mavis 350 flight speed decreases with usasge.

Reason for this is that is a sign of their feathers which I think as beginner is no use of knowing.

Grip to wrap on your racket handle

A badminton racket do comes with a grip on racket handle but it is so thin that your hand will start hurting after some use so it is wise to buy a grip for your racket.

Types of grips available

• Rubber grip
• Towel grip

Rubber grip:- So as the name suggest it is a grip made of rubber and much popular.

I will suggest you to go for this grip because of the durability and fricition it provide while holding a racket.

One more reason is that it is much cheaper than towel grip.

In rubber grip there are different pattern made by companies each available at different price range but if you are a beginner just go for a simple one.

Towel grip:- The only time i will suggest you this grip is when you are playing an important match which is offcourse in a tournament,

The reason for it is that even though it provide premium feel to your hand, life of these grips are much short if you sweat too much they will become slippery.

Also you will be needing to carry powder in your kit bag to maintain friction on the handle.

Price of towel grips are generally more than that of rubber grip so choice of the grip is going to depend on your situation and personal preference.

Badminton net

Definition

A Badminton Net divides the badminton court into 2 equal halves.

Opponents playing the badminton game take their places on either side of this badminton net, and the objective is to hit the badminton shuttle over this net to the opponents side of the court in such a way that the opponent cannot return it, and it falls to the ground.

The Badminton net is supposed to be 5 feet & 1 inch high on the edges (from the ground) & should have 5 feet height in the center of the badminton court.

Badminton shoes

If you play badminton in a garden or any outdoor area then any sports shoes will do the work for you but if you are playing badminton in a indoor court then the type of shoes you need to buy is non marking  shoes.

These types of rubber sole shoes provide extra grip to the court and make  lesser chances of getting slipped on the court while playing.

Check out the shoe which i recommend

Badminton attire

Badminton is a very physical sport and you will be sweating a lot, so wearing a casual t-shirt and shorts while playing badminton is not a good decision because normal t-shirt do not have breathable fabric which means all that sweat is getting observed by your t-shirt making it heavier and same thing applies to your shorts as well.

So invest in a good t-shirt and shorts which is specially made for badminton

I learnt it the Hard Way, when I was playing my state tournament due to Intense rallies my t-shirt became so much wet that all those sweat started dripping on the court which almost made me slip during a rally.

That’s why investing in good quality attrie is necessary

Every single physical action request your dress to be adaptable and breathable.

Socks

Although it might seem like an obvious one but quality of your socks can also affect your game and if not can cause you injuries.

Good quality provide you shock absorption during lunges and also due to breathable fabric your feet always feel fresh.

Wrist band for badminton

Sports like Badminton, Tennis. demand plenty of energy, speed and stamina.

Wrist bands provide quick solution for wiping off their sweat during match.

They don’t have much time to come out of ground/court and use towel.

Also, wrist bands prevents sweat on the upper arms from sliding down to the forearm and hands, making the grip of badminton/tennis racquet wet.

So if you are a person who sweats a lot during matches then buying a wrist band is you best bet.

Badminton court

There are mainly two types of indoor badminton court

Synthetic badminton court:- In my opinion this the best way to play badminton because it provide more friction with shoes and eventually minimizing the risk of injury, another reason is that it provides shock absorption when it is used on a wooden court.

Wooden Badminton Court:- Less academy have these court because it is more expensive to make these and more importanly it is expensive to maintain there quality overtime. but the reason they are good is it provides amazing shock absorption because to make a wooden court you have to dig into the ground at a certain level.

It is not compulsory to play badminton in an indoor court but as the shuttle is light in weight so a breeze can disturb the flight of shuttle.

Here is the dimension of a badminton court

Important

As you are searching this information i am assuming that you might also not knowing about rules and regulations of badminton so check out this article to know rules to play badminton:- Click here

Thank you for reading……