Badminton Racket Grip Size

For a long time, I was a little unsure as to what grip size I should use for badminton. I've seen a lot of top players use pretty thick grips. Initially I thought these players were much more taller/bigger than I am, and hence, required their grips to be bigger as well. However, as I went in and researched it a bit more, I've realized that wasn't really the reason.

After many years, I finally realized what a lot of people have tried telling me along the way before. The best grip size really REALLY depends on what is most comfortable to you. I never believed that. I always thought there's a best way to doing everything, and it is I who have to adjust to it.

So in short, it comes down to what your style of play is, and what is more comfortable to you. Here is what I think what difference it makes when you go larger/smaller on badminton grip sizes:

Having a Larger Grip:
To me, the larger I go from the default grip size, the more comfortable it is with me. And I tend to have more power. This is generally true. You can hold on more tightly to the racket grip as you smash/clear. However, this is only true if you tend to use a lot of your biceps/shoulders to generate your power. Unless your wrists are miraculously strong, you will be using the biceps/shoulders to some extent. If all your power's generated from your wrists, then the grip size doesn't really matter, since your racket swing is not affected by the grip size as you rotate your wrists. So having a larger grip allows you to:
- generate more power
- provide a feeling of 'balance' in your shots, and add some control (a racket with a larger grip will move less in your hands than a racket with a smaller grip)

The main disadvantage is that you can't change grips as easily as you can if the grips were smaller. This doesn't affect you that much in singles, but can make a big difference in doubles play.


Having a Smaller Grip:
The advantage of a smaller grip is that the racket becomes more maneuverable, meaning that it is easier to change the grip of your racket(which is essential in the doubles form of the game). You can change grips a lot faster in between shots, and this gives you a huge advantage in doubles, especially if you tend to be aggressive.

The downside is that of course, you tend to generate less power than with a larger grip, but if your technique is proper, power usually isn't too much of a concern for you. I think a more annoying problem with smaller grips is the development of callous on your palms. To see why this is so, lets say, while using a thinner grip, you just smashed/cleared when you were a little out of position(or the racket grip is a little wet due to sweat), the racket may move slightly in your hand as you hit the shuttlecock, and over time, it rubs against the points of contact of your palms and racket. This is why callouses form on your palms, and sometimes, it can be quite painful. If you keep doing it continuously, the callouses become hard and you get used to it, and it will not bother you again. However, if you take a small break from badminton(maybe a week), the callous tends to heal, and it will form again if you start playing again.

My Badminton Racquet History

The First One: Yonex Carbonex 8
The first racquet I ever used was a Yonex -- more specifically, a Yonex Carbonex 8. It was a hand-me-down, after my dad decided to get a new(better?) one in the form of a Yonex Carbonex 15. He later switched to the popular Carbonex 21. Me, on the other hand, spent a lot of time familiarizing myself with my Carbonex 8 -- something I'd thought would last forever. I don't remember too much of it right now, except that it was dark brown in colour, and I always made sure they were strung using black strings to add to the cool factor. It was a two-piece racquet -- meaning the shaft and head were attached through a T-Joint. It had the classic oval shape. Here's a picture from the Yonex website:

The Venerable Yonex Carbonex 8

I've used this racquet probably from Grades 8-12. I was on the Junior Varsity Badminton team during Grade 9 back in my old high school, and then again on the high school badminton team in Grades 11/12. This racquet lasted midway through Grade 12. I ended up cracking the frame sometime, but it was still intact -- until of course till the next time I tore the strings, and the racquet buckled under the stringing machine!!! The new Carbonex 8's are mostly 2U, so I'm guessing that's what mine was, but I have no clue as to what tension it was strung at. Just in case you don't know what the U's mean: the number preceding the U denotes the weight of the racquet. For example, 2U means that the racquet ranges from 90-94 grams. The two other common weights are 3U and 4U:
2U: 90-94 grams
3U: 85-89 grams
4U: 80-84 grams

My Second Racquet: ProKennex
My brother had this really REALLY lightweight Kennex Racquet, and I have no clue as to what its specs were. Apparently, Nafees still has the racquet, and it was loaned to our very Turjo Bhaiya, and has suffered the ol' DVD fate -- Its basically been borrowed indefinitely :)!

My Third Racquet: Yang Yang Dream 10

Yang Yang Dream 10 Racket

The moment I broke my racquet, I did what every other mature kid would do -- I went crying to my dad to buy me a new racquet from good ol' Abu Dhabi. It would arrive a month later, and soon enough, it arrived!! I was so excited, and I showed it off to everyone else in the badminton team. It was very light -- much much lighter than the free Carlton's the school's gym supplies had. I promised to treat it very carefully, so that it doesn't meet the same gruesome end as my first one, and I'm proud to say that I still have this racquet!! I finished off my Grade 12 year with this racquet, and then it went into hibernation for the next 6 years - thats partially the reason its still alive - other than the occasional badminton rush which occurred once every two or three years back then. Currently, its my third-choice backup racquet -- just in case my two other racquets miraculously become un-usable, which sounds totally plausible given my luck sometimes. I keep it strung at around 21 lbs of tension. I'll take a picture of it, and post it up sometime.

My Fourth Racquet: Yonex Carbonex 30 MS

Yonex Carbonex 30 MS Racket

Finally, after a horrendous injury-plagued 2007, I decided to get back into sports with style. After finding some places to play badminton in Arizona, I decided to invest in a new racquet. Actually, 'invest' isn't the right word! I believe 'splurge' does it more justice. In the back of my head, I've always trusted the Carbonex Series due to its popularity in Abu Dhabi, and decided to get the top-o-the-line one. And boy oh boy, am I sure glad I got it. Its an amazing racquet -- a little head heavy -- but still, it fit my play very nicely. Here are the specs:
Weight: 2U (Decided to get a heavier racquet, since its easier to transition from heavy to light than the other way round)
Flex: Stiff
Tension: 22lbs
String: BG-65 (Heck -- its cheap and durable :) )

My Fifth Racquet: Apacs Nano 9600 Tour

Apacs Nano 9600 Tour Racket

Compared the CAB30, the Yang Yang racquet wasn't really that great. So the first time I tore the strings on my CAB30, I had to use the Yang Yang one, and I wasn't too pleased. I decided to 'invest' (and yes, this time, I was able to control the splurging urge) in a good, durable backup racquet. After looking around a little on the web, I came across the Apacs line of racquets. There's a canadian dealership in that line, and its based in Toronto -- Markham to be exact. Their website is www.apacscanada.com. Basically, they make racquets which have the same specs as the expensive Yonex racquets (these are known as one of the many 'Yonex' clones), and sell them for much cheaper. Yonex racquets are darn expensive, mostly because they're....well...Yonex!!! With these other 'clones', not only do you get more or less the same racquet, but you get it a lot cheaper. BUT, to be fair to Apacs, they do make originals too which are specific just to Apacs, but I can't comment on them since I've never tried them. They have cool innovations though, such as a hard casing for the badminton racquet. I think that's absolutely brilliant :) in terms of trying to protecting a piece of equipment that can sometimes cost 200+ bucks! Anyways, so yeah, I got one of the Apacs racquets from Toronto, and after using it, I think its just as good as the Yonex ones, but at like a quarter of the price (50 bucks as opposed to 200 bucks!!). However, I think Apacs realized that they're doing well, and obviously jacked up the prices by 15-20% sometime last November, but they're still cheap though. I'm happy with this racquet, and in fact, it has now become my first choice racquet. More so because its a little lighter, and its not as stiff as the CAB30, and so helps my doubles play. I'd still probably use the CAB30 during tournaments though and singles play. The specs for this racquet are:
Weight: 3U
Flex: Medium
Tension: Main 26lbs, Cross 24lbs