I’ve started playing badminton again after a short break of about 22years and (unsurprisingly) I can’t find my racket (think I might have sold it 2 house moves ago 😳 ).

Would like an OK one that will do me for a fair while but nothing too flashy, don’t want to be an ATGNI if possible so…

What should I look for in a replacement?

How much should I pay for a reasonable one (will £20 get me something that’s only good for straining weed out of a pond or will it actually be some use for its intended purpose)?

Any makes to go for/avoid?

You can get a pretty good Calton graphite one for around £30, my one is now my spare because i got a Prince TT Carbon one for £35 (reduced from £80!) in a sale in my local sports shop.
My Calton one came from Decathlon. Try also Amazon, or Sports Direct and always look in your local shop they may just have a sale at this time if year!
Avoid the temptation to buy a ‘bargain’ steel one for a tenner as your arms will fall off when playing- save up and aim for £40, you might get some change for a pint!

Prince TT @ Amazon

Bloody hell- you cant say no to that!

I have been playing for around 8 years now owned a fair few rackets now but my current 1 is my favourite of all time. Its made by babolat ( rafeal nidal’s tennis sponsor ) there french made but they are truly brilliant. Its has made the biggest change to my game.

The whip in the shaft has allowed me to clear shots easier but also increased my smash power. also recommend the babolat hyper braid string

heres a link they start at £30 then go up but there worth every penny in my eye’s on my 3rd restring to which shows they last in terms of the frame being strong.

http://www.tennisnuts.com/shop/badminton/badminton-rackets/babolat-badminton-rackets.html

I tend to stick with Yonex. Tried one of those cheap Brownings that are very prevalent on eBay. It gave me a lot of power in the smash, but the frame isn’t that strong. One particularly hard smash resulted in the frame crumpling – won the point though! I can’t get on at all with Carlton or Wilson racquets at all

One tip, when you find one you like, get another as a spare

Just bought a couple of new ones from Decathlon in Wednesfield

for the missus an Ashaway reduced from £99 to £39, an a Yonex for me reduced from £89 to &29.

We play for a few hours every week having started last year, our coach said that both were cracking value, but the Ashaway was a really nice racquet.

Always had a Yonex myself, but wouldn’t have a clue what’s good and what’s not at the moment.

Try Central sports in Brum, they have some great bargains. I like a stiff shaft (easy boys) currently using a pair of Carlton Titaniums, best bat I have ever owned was Yonex muscle power 99 brilliant piece of kit.

Sorry should have said the tip I found improved my game the most was to double grip the bat handle, makes you use your wrist more than your shoulder. Well it worked for me.

If you’ve got a Decathlon near you, they’ll have a good range, and often have loads of great bargains. Space to swing a few about, too.

Thanks for the replies, unfortunately my nearest Decathlon is about 100 miles away (Stockport). Think I’ll have a look in my local independent sports shop in the week.

Think there was a thread on this a while back, so worth checking for additional recommendations.

Most people I know have Yonex rackets. The Armortec (which I have) or Nanospeed range are good and have some for around £20-£30.

Shoes ‘n shuttles make the biggest difference for me mind 🙂

Yonex is where its at. Nice weight and balance on quite a few of the models, and they seem to last forever.

Knew a guy in a club who’d go through rackets like two a month, whacking them against the floor in anger and such. I recommended one of the yonex ones I was using and it took him at least 3 months to kill it.

I too double the grips up – helps me no end and reduces tension on the elbow. My current bats of choice are Yonex Muscle Power 99’s (although my bejolloxed ankle has meant I haven’t ben able to play for 2 months 😥 )

Does anyone actually sell badminton rackets for the recommended price? I use a Head Ti10000 supposedly reduced from £80 to just over £20 from the local Sports Direct, which I’m told by better players than me is quite a good racket.

Piedi, when you start easing back into it, I can recommend the McDavid ankle straps (lace up ones). I wore mine for a few months after badly spraining my ankle, and it did a good job 🙂