What is the best badminton racket? many players ask this question all the time, that’s why we wrote this complete list of the best badminton rackets, we reviewed each one and here’s the final result.
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The Voltric Z Force 2
We previously did a full review of this racket before. This beauty is one of the most popular rackets in the world of badminton, and it is considered to be the best badminton racket money can buy by many experts and professional players.
This popularity is a result of many advanced features included in it and also the fact that it is used by the best badminton players in the world like Lee Chong Wei.
It comes with a flashy black and blue color scheme that looks cool and very premium.
Yonex made this racket powerful without losing control. This balance is a must for any serious badminton player, the head is a little bit heavy to increase power, but the shaft is thin and lightweight at the same time.
The design of the frame and the shaft increases the aerodynamic performance of this racket and minimizes the air resistance and repulsion.
Using the grommet strips made by Tungsten adds more durability to this racket.
Difference between this racket and other premium ones might be less obvious while reading about it online, but when you use a Voltric Z Force 2 during a game, you will surely have an edge over your opponent.
Performance during badminton games is exceptional thanks to the large sweet spot of the optometric head design while the grip is very comfortable and non-slippery.
A “free” racket cover is included with this racket if you buy it from Amazon, this cover gives some protection to the racket and its strings during transport and against wind and dust.
In our full review of the Yonex Voltric Z Force 2, we praised its thin design and its durable shaft and the Tri-voltage system that increases the energy of the racket without losing control.
You can check the price of this racket and its available colors using the button below.
Yonex Duora 10 is a multiple technology racket that gives players a huge advantage in every badminton game it is used in.
Designing a racket that combines power and speed was the main target of Yonex while developing the Duora 10, the final result was a racket with superior performance in a lot of areas.
The frame is a combination of both “Aero” and “box” designs, this frame is somehow balanced between durability and strength while being less air resistant.
Yonex Duora 10 is a wide combination of many features including the new two-face technology that allows the player to have either more power (if you hit the shuttle with the forehand) or more speed (if you hit the shuttle with the backhand) depending on what face of the racket is hitting the shuttlecock, we that said we found that is a little bit annoying to check what side we are holding the racket while the game is on and the attention should be with the opponent and not the racket, this option can be helpful is you like to change your playing style between the offense and the defense.
Many advanced badminton players consider the Duora 10 to be the best badminton racket at that price range right now.
It uses a similar grommet pattern with the one on the Nanoray 900, more holes for stringing means more repulsion and power.
And finally, if you like to have a solid feel core racket, with a strong sound with each hit, don’t do any more research because the Yonex Duora 10 is what all you need.
Victor Brave Sword 12 Badminton Racket
For advanced players, only a handful of rackets that are sold right are considered to be good, Victor Brave sword 12 is one of these rackets.
We tried this racket and our expert performed rigorous tests and the results were really promising.
It can go through the air without any noticeable resistance, this smooth movement produces extreme power without taking control from the hand of the player while reviewing this racket, the accuracy level is similar to the best Yonex racket.
Monopoly is bad, and this is also true for badminton, and that’s a strong reason why we love Victor and Carlton rackets. As badminton players, we always like to have the best racket at low prices.
Brave sword 12 has a good head balance that can be used in swings and to perform powerful shots and precise clears.
The string bed tension is so high, it will easily transfer a huge amount of power to the shuttlecock (It is better to use a Yonex AS-40 shuttlecock to get the most out of this racket).
The frame is optometric and it is built to withstand high stringing tension while giving a good resistance against dust and wind.
The design of the grip is the best thing in this racket, palm muscles won’t get tired while holding the racket.
Yonex Nanoray 900
Yonex Nanoray 900 is, by far, the best badminton racket for doubles, it focuses on giving the player control more than anything.
Its design looks beautiful, just like the Yonex Voltric z force 2 but with different colors, and it comes with various features that can meet the requirements of most badminton players.
Let’s start with the cost of the Nanoray 900, it is classified as an average class racket, not so expensive and not too cheap, It lacks some features that we can find in a premium racket but it is great for most average or casual players, very advanced players often need a racket that is focused solely on power and some of them can choose some balanced racket like the Voltric Z force 2.
Nanoray 900 is a light head badminton racket, which means that it’s optimized primarily for control, which can be useful when a player needs to perform a tricky shot with good precision and often surprise his opponent and exploit his weaknesses.
During our research, we found that some players like to play offensively with this racket, even with its light head, most of them (we did research on 30 badminton players with mixed badminton experience).said that if you have a good physical level, you can play without the need for a heavy-head.
The increased control of the Nanoray 900 allows if to be the best badminton racket for doubles, as you may know, coordination during doubles games is crucial, that is why a high degree of precision is needed to avoid putting your teammate in a difficult position when you miss a good drop shot for example.
Like many Yonex rackets, Nanoray 900 is built using the HT graphite.
The flexibility of the shaft is stiff for more control but with some loss in terms of repulsion power.
Its weight class is 3U (3U weight is between 35 and 89.9g) and it uses a G4 grip that doesn’t need any further modification to it.
The length of the Nanoray 900 is 67.4 cm and it must be strung using 23 pounds of tension.
Casual players with no training at all might find it too difficult to do any strong shot using Nanoray 900, but once they play using this racket for an hour or two they will often learn how to handle it.
Victor Jetspeed S 12 Badminton Racket
Victor is not famous like Yonex, but it is a known fact that it is one of the best badminton brands in the world, and Victor Jetspeed S 12 is one of their best products.
It uses technology from its predecessor (the famous JS 10), to create one of the best badminton rackets that exist today (but with a high price).
Victor made this racket to work for both single and doubles, its head design is based on the Aero-Sword technology to lower the air resistance and allow the player to perform accurate shots and powerful smashes and faster net plays.
The head is also stable and got a solid hit to feel when you hit the shuttlecock with it.
Jetspeed S12 is a multirole racket, which means that it allows the player to have the freedom to change his playing style from the offense to the defense depending on the situation.
Overall, if you are looking for the best Victor badminton racket, the s12 should be your top priority.
Yonex Duora Z Strike
Another super popular badminton racket, Yonex Duora Z strike is used by many many badminton top players like Viktor Axelsen and Chou Tien and Carolina Marin.
It is available in two sizes 2U and 3U.
A combination of black and white with some gold strips are used in the color scheme of this racket, this sleek design looks expensive and high class.
Frame
A combination of aero and box frame is used, the box frame of the Duora Z strike is one one the best designs on the market, you can perform high quality clears with good feedback and little vibrations.
And the aero part of the frame got a weaker feedback level but it added more repulsion for faster hits.
You will have the same clear performance between the boxed and the aero frame, you will only notice the difference with swing, aero frames are faster, the increased repulsion is the result of the increased time of contact between the shuttlecock and the string bed.
Control or power
You will have the best of both worlds, a balanced center of gravity gives superb control and enhanced accuracy during the game.
Duora Z strike is also great for doubles when control is often more needed than raw power.
Grip
We liked the griped due to its smooth and advanced design, we could perform a multitude of hits with high accuracy, some players like to wrap this grip to increase its weight and change the center of gravity of the racket to get more control.
Yonex Nanoray Z Speed Badminton Racket
One of the newest and most advanced badminton rackets on the market today, Yonex Nanoray Z speed is perfect for solo players and doubles, and also for players with different playing styles.
The offensive player will love the power of the optometric head and the powerful smashes that can be delivered at any time.
While defensive players who put more emphasis on control and precision and lightweight can use from the Nanoray Z speed and control to put more pressure on their opponents and get more wins.
This is a high-end racket that includes many features and technology advancements that allows for improved control and high repulsive power.
In the current year, a huge percentage of advanced and professional players choose the Yonex Nanoray Z speed as their racket of choice, Due to its increased performance and soft grip that adds more comfort without hurting their arms during high-intensity games.
Coach also advises players to use the Yonex Nanoray Z speed during double matches, mainly because of the improved control/power balance, while most of the other high-end rackets are more geared towards power.
You can enjoy the accuracy and the power of Nanoray Z speed and its increased maneuverability without worrying about its weight, you can sometimes forget that you are holding a full-fledged racket in your hands because of the lightweight during long matches.
But the high price of this racket doesn’t make it the best choice as a badminton racket for kids.
Yonex Astrox 88
This 2018 badminton racket is designed for back-court players in mind, it comes in two versions.
The “S“ version is designed for more control with a stiff shaft, and this is why we listed it as one of the best badminton rackets.
A “D” version with a flexible shaft and a heavier head with a longer (10mm more) length.
The heavy head and the flexible shaft transfer more power from the player to the shuttlecock, you can surprise your opponent with faster and more energetic shots with a very small to no time for an opposite reaction.
Graphite is used in the Yonex Astrox 88, this strong and lightweight material increases control and prevents the shaft from twisting when the player hits the shuttlecock outside of the sweet spot.
Even with the heavy-head, controlling this racket is not too difficult, mostly due to the G5 grip design.
The weight of the Yonex Astox 88 is 4U (weighs between 80 and 84g) without counting the weight of the strings.
It is used by some of the best badminton players in the world like Kevin Sanjana Sukamulji and Gideon Marcus Fernaldi, and they had a positive reaction about its performance.
Yonex Nanoray 20
Designed in Japan, and manufactured in Taiwan, The Yonex Nanoray 20 is the perfect badminton racket for beginners and casual players, it hits really hard with a lot of repulsion power that is very helpful for quick attacks, it combines many features from its predecessor and the other Yonex rackets.
It can be used in both back and the front of the court due to its lightweight and dynamic design.
The Nanoray 20 frame is graphite-based and an emphasis on the aerodynamic optometric design for a large sweet spot.
But why a large sweet spot? Larger sweet spots are perfect for new and casual badminton players, because of the lack of precision when they hit the shuttlecock, an ordinary oval frame will be extremely hard to use.
The shaft is built using a combination of nanomesh and carbon nanotubes in addition to the Graphite.
Nanoray 20 weighs around 88g on average and the optimum stringing tension is 24lbs, string the racket more than 24lbs and you will risque deforming it and ruining the graphite frame permanently.
This high tension gives an extremely high repulsion, performing fast smashes is easy and the precision is acceptable.
Good power and high speed are the best things when using Nanoray 20.
Being a beginner optimized racket, Nanoray 20 is not advisable for advanced players.
BSN Badminton Racket
BSN is not a known name in the badminton community, but we believe that it should be included here.
It’s very cheap, the one pack of these contains many rackets, it is the perfect choice for any group of people willing to play badminton without spending a fortune on some expensive alternatives.
It is the cheapest badminton racket for a price of less than 50 dollars.
The grip design is extremely good for the price, it uses vinyl polyurethane. And it is extremely useful for badminton clubs and classes.
This might be obvious but we should note that this is a training racket, casual players and beginners can use it to learn badminton and to get a rough idea on how to properly use a badminton racket.
It doesn’t need too much care due to the cheap price, and it is fairly durable.
The head of the BSN racket is made of steel that allows it to have more strength, and also the shaft, but this one comes with a very different twin design to increase the durability, and that is why it is used in many badminton clubs around the world.
This steel frame is lightweight, BSN is the best badminton racket for children.
The vinyl polyurethane doesn’t easily slip with sweat, you can hold it firmly in your hand while you perform different actions during a high tension game.
BSN racket is available in six different colors, currently, you can choose between Blue, Green, Orange, Purple, Red, and Yellow but you will not find a more advanced color scheme like the ones on Yonex rackets.
You can get 6 rackets with a cost that is less than one premium Yonex racket if you just bought a proper badminton racket you can have this one for training without messing your precious Yonex or Voltric frame or colors.