Do you want your feather badminton shuttlecocks to last longer? Unless you are the Elon Musk or Bill Gates of badminton, you probably do. Quality feather shuttles are expensive and they might become scarce in the future. So most players want to do what they can to make them last.
The good news is that there is a method using a practical humidor, which may help you cut as much as 50% of the amount you spend on new shuttlecocks. The tips below will help you make shuttles last longer!
Scroll down to see how you can win a smart humidifier for your own personal use
Table of Contents
- Factors affecting the durability of shuttles
- How humidifying shuttlecocks help
- Humidome solution for badminton players
- Humidity shuttlecock cabinets for clubs and tournament organizers
- Win your shuttlecock humidifier
In this badminton tip, you’ll learn about the factors affecting the quality of shuttles. And you will learn why using a humidifier is a solid method to increase the lifespan of feather badminton shuttles. Read on.
Factors affecting the durability of shuttles
Buying new shuttles from one of the many shuttlecock brands such as Yonex, Victor, Lining, or RSL, can be a costly experience. In some countries, a dozen (12) new feather shuttles can easily set you back some USD 40.
So when you are investing around USD 3 per shuttle, it can be very disappointing when a shuttle breaks after a mere 3-4 hits. Oftentimes, players feel it is because they hit the shuttle poorly. And sometimes that is the case. But not always.
There are several factors that affect the durability of shuttles.
Let’s start with the most obvious: shuttlecocks come in many different qualities. Some of these are so poorly made that it seems the feathers break by merely looking at them. Poorly made shuttles simply don’t last very long.
On the other hand, high-quality shuttles might still break sooner than you’d like, but they may very well still be playable for a substantial amount of training matches or training drills.
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A factor most people don’t think about has to do with temperature changes and the natural ambient humidity in your location. For example, if the environment your shuttles have been in is very dry, the shuttles will also dry out. If your shuttles are stored in the wrong temperature, it will affect their quality and shorten the lifetime of your shuttles.
How humidifying shuttlecocks help
If shuttlecocks do not contain the right humidity, the shuttles will lose their flexibility, elasticity – and especially speed.
When shuttle feathers dry out, they become brittle and break easily.
Therefore, when you store your shuttlecocks in a humid environment – which is the optimal storage for shuttles – you will maximize the durability of your shuttles irrespective of the ambient conditions.
This is the exact reason why humidifiers help.
> Also: see which shuttlecock speed to choose
Humidome solution for badminton players
Humidome is designed and manufactured in Finland. This video explains how to use Humidome. It is a cost-effective method to make your shuttles last longer. There are many manufacturers of similar solutions. Be sure to check reviews and specific product details before you purchase a humidor for your badminton shuttles.
Stein P. also promotes a similar solution for humidifying your shuttles. It is known as Stein P Shuttle Moisture End Cap.
Humidity shuttlecock cabinets for clubs and tournament organizers
Badminton clubs that are interested in humidifying many shuttlecocks at a time should consider a cabinet. These are also known as hygro-boxes. Hygro-boxes should be equipped with an electronic moisture control system with a digital reading of the desired and actual relative humidity, and operating status.
The claim (from manufacturers) is that humidified shuttles last 50-80% longer. It is estimated that Badminton clubs can reduce the purchasing of feather shuttlecocks by 25-40% per year.
There are many different options and sizes to choose from. Some can store and effectively humidify as many as 4.000 shuttles at a time. This translates into significant savings for clubs and tournament organizers.
Use this smart calculation to see how much your club can save (this is not an endorsement of the manufacturer)
Win your shuttlecock humidifier
Subscribe to the Badmintonspeak.com newsletter. Every quarter we draw one winner of a shuttlecock humidifier. This will help you make shuttles last longer. The humidifier will be sent directly to an address of your choosing.
Subscribe today to be part of this month’s draw
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