3 even balance badminton rackets I bet you’ll love

I recently needed a new weapon of choice. I wanted a head-heavy racket again but I ended up getting interested in almost even balance badminton rackets instead as all the other options on my shortlist were sold out.

I was pleasantly surprised as I’ve noticed getting almost the same power in all my shots across the board, except raw smash power that I now have to work a little harder to produce.

Instead, my drives and net shots are easier and faster. It’s a great trade-off in doubles where smashing a winning point tends to be less game-defining and mid-court exchanges are more frequent.

If I had to put a number on it, I’d say I lost three attribute points in “easily accessible” raw smash power but gained five points in the rest of my game. The total sum feels higher and has made it easier to play a more powerful, diverse game to win points.

When I switched rackets, I mostly feared for my blocks as my previous racket could produce awesome power blocks with little effort that just “crawled” over the net to cause problems for the opponents. It’s hard not to lose a bit of that when you give up the sledgehammer but it’s not as bad as I feared.

On the other hand, I’ve been surprised at how good my drop shots feel. With my previous racket, it was almost as if I had too much power making drops difficult to control and land close to the net. Now I have to produce a bit of the power myself but the nuance allows for more control or precision.

That has made sequences such as smashing or half-smashing two-three times in a row followed by a drop shot more effective than before.

With the introduction out of the way, let’s dive into the best even balance rackets available right now followed by pointers on which playing style to use with these types of rackets.

The best even balance badminton rackets right now

I figure that since you’ve been looking for an even balanced racket, you already know what they are but just to be sure we are on the same page: 

Even balance badminton rackets are rackets with a balance point that isn’t towards the head or the handle but somewhere in the middle. 

It is measured in balance points (BP) and for rackets to fall within this category, the balance point needs to fall between 285-295mm when measured from the bottom of the handle.

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Here’s an overview of the best even balance badminton rackets right now:

1. The advanced player’s choice: Yonex Arcsaber 11 Pro (or Tour)

2. The intermediate court controller: Yonex Arcsaber 7 Pro (or Tour)

6. The almost-even-balanced-joker: Yonex Astrox 77 Pro

Let’s dive in!

1. The advanced player’s choice: Yonex Arcsaber 11 Pro

The Yonex Arcsaber 11 Pro is the newer version of the older Arcsaber 11 and appears to be intended exactly as a middle-of-the-road racket by Yonex.

I haven’t been able to play-test the pro version yet, as I expect that my technique isn’t good enough to handle its stiffness. I recently tested out the intermediate edition called Arcsaber 11 Play and it was awesome, so if that’s anything to go by, the Pro will be even better.

It’s reported to offer a great combination of speed, control, and power without leaning too much in one direction. Net shots and lifts are good but if you’re looking for power in your smash or particularly speedy moves, this isn’t the racket for you.

This racket comes in different editions at different price points and for different skill levels; Play, Tour, and Pro.

2. The intermediate court controller: Yonex Arcsaber 7 Pro

The Yonex Arcsaber 7 Pro is only available in the 4U weight class, meaning it’ll be more suitable as a doubles racket rather than for singles games. I haven’t had the pleasure of play-testing the Pro edition of this racket yet, but I’ve just tested the slightly more budget-friendly Arcsaber 7 Tour edition.

I understand that they are super similar and at about 30% lower price, I choose the Tour even if the Pro is made of slightly better material and in Japan instead of Taiwan or China.

I’ve enjoyed playing with the Tour and it feels like a nice upgrade from the Arcsaber 11 Play I’ve come to enjoy. The 7 Tour has a slightly stiffer shaft that feels crisper when connecting with the shuttle (but requires better technique as well).

Typically the Tour and Pro editions require better stroke skills than I have, but Yonex’s 7-series skips the Game edition (usually for intermediate players) and makes the Tour and Pro closer to medium flex than super stiff.

It has a touch less head weight and power than the 11-series, but it isn’t much. Check out my in-depth review of the Arcsaber 7 Tour here.

6. The almost-even-balanced-joker: Yonex Astrox 77 Pro

Finally, I thought it would be fun to end with a joker. As you’ve guessed, it’s the new edition of the Astrox 77-series which is technically head-heavy, but just a tad.

The Tour and Pro models were sold out in shops near me, so I’ve only had the pleasure of reviewing and play-testing the Play-edition, the most affordable of them intended for beginners.

The reason I’ve included it is that it feels somewhat similar to an even balanced racket and is pretty great across the board. I found it easy to play with as I barely needed to adjust my technique.

Lengthy forehand clears were easy, and I felt more in control with drop shots compared to my previous, very head-heavy racket. Mid-court duels with flat drives felt easy along with blocking smashes and net shots.

These are the six attractive weapons if you’re looking for an even balanced badminton racket to help your game. Next, let’s look at which type of player and playing style tend to best suit this racket type.

The hidden power of even balance rackets and all-around players

Middle-of-the-road rackets are often overlooked compared to head-heavy or head-light rackets as they appear to have no special attributes, just like the equivalent player type.

We tend to love the idea of 2D player types like movie characters who have their signature move and are amazing at that but little else. 

In contrast, being above average in all areas rather than amazing in one at the expense of another may sound boring on the surface but has a hidden benefit to it: you tend to make fewer mistakes and take fewer chances with your main attribute, such as a smash. That is surprisingly powerful in amateur games, where many points are lost on mistakes and off-days.

Since we amateurs don’t have the benefit of being able to train day in and day out, we have to maximize our energy and make do with whatever little time we have available. If we can play the game slightly safer than our opponents and push them to become tired or impatient, they will eventually make errors or take risky chances that we can capitalize on. That’ll make it easier for us to notice their weaker side and adapt, than for them to do it with us.

Most experienced players will be stronger than us in one area that they enjoy, so if we attempt to go head to head in that (i.e. smashing), we’ll run our head against a wall and they will come out on top.

Another benefit to all-around rackets (like the Yonex Arcsaber 11 Play) is that they tend to be forgiving with high playability. That means we won’t get punished as much on off days as we might by other types of rackets.

This is powerful because consistency is so important. Imagine playing well during a social or training session but when an important match comes along, you hit an off-day and play worse than you know you can. It almost doesn’t even seem fair. If we can get a little help on off-days when we feel inconsistent, it’ll go a long way to help pick up our mindset and get out on top.

Takeaways

• The best even balance badminton rackets tend to be great at everything except raw smash power, which you might not notice unless you’re switching from a sledgehammer or a very head-heavy racket
• These rackets tend to score above average in most categories, which is a skill in itself that is often overlooked
• An even balanced badminton racket is often highly playable and easy to use which is great on off-days to avoid inconsistent games