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To play badminton, you mostly just think of rackets, shuttlecocks, and a court with a net right? As a player, there is certainly more equipment that you will need to realize your full potential or have the best badminton playing experience! In this post, I’ll share with you a list of badminton equipment that every badminton player needs to get the best experience that badminton has to offer.
On another note, whenever I go to play badminton, I always make sure to bring certain pieces of equipment with me as they are either necessary to play or they make my life easier. In fact, I tape a piece of paper on my door that has a list of badminton equipment that I should bring. It comes in handy since I always question if I’m forgetting anything if I don’t look at it.
I wrote down some items that are supplemental and useful for badminton players at the bottom of the post that you might find useful. Hope you enjoy!
1. Badminton Shoes
Power Cushion Eclipsion Z
Yes, the number one item on my list is badminton shoes. Not a racket, but shoes. Why is that you may ask? Well, when you play badminton, even if you forget to bring your racket, you can always borrow someone else’s. If you forget your badminton shoes, it’s going to be a lot more difficult to play as people normally don’t bring extra shoes! Not to mention that they probably won’t be the right size or fit for you.
Keep in mind that for indoor badminton, your badminton shoes must be non-marking! This is why I emphasize the importance of making sure to bring your badminton shoes. Your regular or even tennis shoes won’t cut it – you might even get kicked out of the gym! Or worse, get injured.
If you don’t have any badminton shoes yet, I highly recommend one of Yonex’s badminton shoes. I’ve used them ever since I started playing badminton over 15 years ago. They have the latest technology and are designed specifically for badminton. I already have a post about everything you would want to know about them in The Complete Guide to Yonex Badminton Shoes.
I also recommend getting a shoe bag to help hold your shoes so that it doesn’t get your other equipment or bag dirty.
2. Racket
Every badminton player needs a racket in order to actually play badminton – otherwise what would you use to hit the shuttlecock?! As I mentioned above though, you can usually borrow one from someone else even if you forget yours. However, you probably won’t be used to it and won’t play as well. Also, people don’t really like lending out their expensive badminton rackets because, well, they can break easily if you clash with another player. I’ve seen it happen plenty of times.
In any case, a badminton racket is your weapon and best friend in badminton. Remember to bring it to your badminton sessions!
If you don’t have a racket or are looking for a new one, definitely see the badminton equipment page – there’s tons of good information that I collected about rackets compiled over there. You’ll find exactly what you’re looking for no matter your play style or skill level.
| Post Title | Link |
| 4 Best Badminton Rackets for Beginners | Link |
| 5 Best Badminton Rackets for Intermediate Players | Link |
| 4 Best Badminton Rackets for Control | Link |
| 4 Best Badminton Rackets for Smashing | Link |
3. Shuttlecocks
Besides rackets, players must have a shuttlecock to hit around to play badminton! In addition to new shuttlecocks, you should probably collect and bring some used shuttlecocks as well for warm up. You can certainly use a new shuttlecock to warm up but you’ll be spending money faster as shuttlecocks are not particularly cheap.
Moreover, having more than a single warm up shuttlecock can help you be more efficient since you don’t have to stop and pick up the shuttlecock every time a mistake is made. Rather, you pick up the shuttlecocks in bulk after using all of them, allowing you to save time.
There are plenty of different types and brands of shuttlecocks. If you’re a beginner, I recommend starting off with some synthetic shuttlecocks like the Mavis 350 since they’re incredibly durable, cheap, and provide good value. You can also explore some other ones in The Complete Guide to Yonex Badminton Shuttlecocks (Synthetic).
If you’re getting more serious about badminton, I recommend some feathered shuttlecocks like the Aerosensa 30. Do note though that feathered shuttlecocks are significantly less durable than synthetic ones and you’ll have to buy them more frequently. They can end up getting fairly pricey but the flight and sound feels much better. Once I started playing with feathered shuttlecocks, I couldn’t go back. There are plenty of feathered shuttlecocks available as well, I recommend looking into Yonex ones – such as the ones in The Complete Guide to Yonex Badminton Shuttlecocks (Feathered).
While I personally like feathered shuttlecocks – there are certainly pros and cons to both. The details are all written out in Which Shuttlecock is Better: Feathered or Synthetic (Plastic)? – take a look if you’re still unsure about which one is best for you.
Also, while I personally like Yonex shuttlecocks, I understand that others have different preferences. There are tons of choices to choose from. I recently published a post about the ones I could find and there were OVER 300…and I’m pretty sure that I’m still missing a lot! So choose your pick!
4. Badminton Bag
In order to carry everything around, you will need a badminton bag. Badminton bags aren’t just regular backpacks that you bring to school but are rather designed to hold your rackets as well as other sporting equipment.
Badminton bags come in various sizes and have dedicated pockets for your rackets. Some of them are designed to have the racket handle stick out of the bag. Those are usually for people who want lightweight and compact bags.
Some of these bags also have a dedicated shoe pocket or even special coating in the pockets like the Yonex Pro Racquet (9 PCS) to protect against the heat or cold. It’s a pretty cool feature and it’s one of the many reasons why I actually bought one for myself. I wrote an Honest Review of the Yonex Pro Racquet (9 PCS) in case you’re looking for a bag as well.
5. Strings
As you know, badminton rackets must be strung in order to actually hit the shuttlecock. Beginners may not know it, but there are plenty of types of strings to choose from and they are not all created equal! Some are geared more towards power, some towards control, and others for durability.
Each player has their own preferences but I recommend the BG65 for beginners and even some intermediate players. It has amazing durability and is usually one of the cheapest strings available. Its other attributes are lower than other strings, but beginners should be focusing on getting their form and footwork correct. Using thinner strings would be more costly as your strings would break more easily and frequently.
There are plenty of other badminton strings available too, which I recommend to take a look at once you’re comfortable with the badminton fundamentals. My go to brand is Yonex, which produces plenty of strings to choose from and I’ve written about them in The Complete Guide to Yonex Badminton Strings. There’s also other options which you can see on our Badminton Equipment page.
6. Racket Grips
A racket grip is the material wrapped around your racket handle that makes it easier to hold your racket. Badminton rackets usually come with a default grip but are usually not the best fit for players. Players may want a larger racket base to hold onto or something that is more comfortable. This is where overgrips come into play.
Overgrips are grips that are wrapped on top of the default grip. It increases the thickness of the handle and gives you extra properties like tackiness, absorbency, and hardness depending on the type of overgrip you use.
There are plenty of racket grips to choose from so every player will be able to find a good fit for their play style. Yonex, a leading badminton brand, has a wide variety of choices to choose from itself – you can take a look at all they have to offer in The Complete Guide to Yonex Badminton Grips.
7. Grip Powder
As you play longer into a badminton session, you might start feeling that it gets more difficult for you to grip your racket handle. This is often the case if you get sweat into your hands or on your grip. Once that happens, it feels like your racket will fling out of your hands when you make a shot – not good!
This is where grip powder comes into play. Grip powder is used to reduce the moisture on your hands and thus helps you grip and control your racket better. If you ever see badminton players putting powder onto their hands or racket handle, it’s grip powder!
8. Towels
If you’re like me, you sweat a lot – especially when training or playing intense badminton games. For this reason, it’s super important to bring towels every time you play badminton in order to keep your face and hands dry. I tend to bring 2 or 3 small towels like these exercise towels but you can also bring a big bath sized towels instead.
Once you start getting sweaty, take some time in-between games or even between rallies to wipe yourself down. Some people even use towels to wipe the ground if sweat gets onto it. You can also consider getting headbands and wristbands too to absorb sweat even faster.
What Else Do I Need for a Badminton Session?
While the above equipment is used when you’re playing badminton, you’ll still need to bring some other stuff with you when you go play. Here’s a quick list just to help you out. If you bring some other useful stuff to your badminton sessions too, please feel free to tell me in the comments!
- A change of clothes
- Water bottle
- Plastic bags for dirty clothes
- Shoe bag
- Shoe deodorizers – read about how to keep your badminton shoes fresh.
- Extra socks
- Scissors – to cut your badminton strings when they break
- Racket sleeves/protectors
- Energy bars
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