Head gear in badminton

I recently noticed many professional badminton players are wearing sweatbands.

As an indoor sports, badminton tournament are air-conditioned and players rarely sweat into their eyes.

However owing to the intensity of the games and genetic predisposition to sweat profusely on the forehead, many people wears sweatbands in badminton.

Figure 1. Most commonly are sweatbands as sported by Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan.




Figure 2. Anders Antonsen.

And Anders Antonsen of Denmark.

As a person who wears headbands, I can appreciate its uses to prevent sweat from getting into the eyes.

There are 4 types of head gear to prevent sweat from getting into your eyes.

1. Headband
2. Head tie
3. Hair tie
4. Bandana

1. Headband
A cotton version of the wristband that wicks sweats away from your forehead.
Pros: ample absorption
Cons: a bit uncomfortable owing to the tightness of the elastic band's pressure on your skull.

Figure 3. The Adidas Head tie vs the Nike Hair tie.

2. Head tie
Basically a long rectangular piece of cotton or polyester cloth with a triangle tip.
Pros: The cool factor. Think tennis pros like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Cons: Less absorbent than the headband.

3. Hair tie
It's essentially a longer version of the head tie
Pros: The cool factor, especially for ladies. Think Serena Williams.
Cons: Less absorbent than the headband.

4. Bandana

Figure 4. Picture of a tube bandana, a versatile piece of headgear.

Figure 5. Picture of the traditional Square cloth tennis style Bandana from Nike (100% cotton).

(There are two types, one is the 'Buff' type head tubular gear and two is the traditional long piece of square cloth that are folded into place.)

Pros: The cool factor and super-absorbent. The perfect sports head gear. Tennis pros are using it for a practical reason, so should you, the badminton player.
Cons: None, except for haters.

Gosen Inferno Ex Review

My first impression of this racquet is it is unique.

The frame shape is in a form of sinusoidal shape like a wave.

Racquet is brilliant red.

The racquet is aesthetically pleasing.

The shaft is made from pyrofil.

The racquet is made in Taiwan.

The specs can be seen here.

Had it strung with Yonex BG66 at 26lbs.

The recommended string by Gosen is the G-Tone 5 strings.

                                         Figure 1. The T-joint

                                         Figure 2. The unique frame shape

Figure 3. The shaft

The meat and potatoes of the racquet...

THE factors: Balance & Flex

1.  Head heavy balance
2. Stiff flex.
3. Aerodynamic shape frame.
4. Weight of racquet: 86g

Conclusion: I have been playing with this racquet for 2 months now.

I would rate it as an excellent racquet for power and handling. In terms of control, it is surprisingly good even though the frame is kinda funny, the 86 g weight of the racquet makes it stable. Suitable for singles and doubles. Favours the attacking player.

Numerical ratings:

Power: 9.5/10

Control: 9/10

Defense: 9/10

Maneuverability: 9/10

Feel: 8.5/10