Thursday 3 July 2008

Browning Badminton Rackets

Browning badminton rackets are a relatively unknown quantity in the badminton world, but they have a solid reputation in my eyes. As far as i am aware, they have actually stopped making racquets now, but let me tell you, there are still hundreds of them available on the internet. I did own one many years ago, and it did the job for a few years, i have no idea what model it was or how much it cost back then. Browning actually make guns, and are more famous for this. How they began making badminton rackets i have no idea, but they did, and they are like an underground brand, you have to know where to look to find them.

One of my friends uses Browning rackets, and he is very pleased with them, the main reason is that you can pick them up for next to nothing, and, having played with some of them, i would certainly recommend giving them a go, at the low prices you can find, you really have nothing to lose. I can tell you that the best place to buy Browning bats is from my old friends at Racketworld, on ebay and with Amazon. Seriously, if you want to buy rackets, not just badminton, but squash and tennis, then try Racketworld. They offer exceptional deals, and low prices, period. There is one other place i would like to give a shout out to, and that is Snowygreen sports. These guys are another hidden little gem on the internet, and they focus mainly on squash rackets. I am giving them the thumbs up because i bought myself a Head i110 squash bat from them yesterday for the lowest price on the internet. I do enjoy playing squash, and of course, as with badminton, rackets break. My old bat bit the dust the other day, i played a shot and the handle snapped in two. This was hardly suprising, as i had previously glued it back together about 6 months ago, when i threw it on the floor. Frustration is a bitch ain't it. It wasn't the rackets fault, it was my inability to play the way my mind thinks i should play.

Back to Browning, and i can tell you that Racketworld are selling about 20 of them every single day on their online store in the UK. This may not sound like much but it shows that a good few people are spending their money wisely, and not being drawn in by the big players like Yonex, who spend much more money on advertising. In fact, i have never seen Browning marketing their badminton stuff. This tells me that these people are buying them via word of mouth, the best kind of publicity any manufacturer can get. I have no problem advertising them on this blog because i personally use them, so i know you will get a good deal.

Thousands of people have bought these bats, and i bet they are laughing at the Yonex slaves, as i call them, for spending over £100 on a racket, and believing all the marketing hype that is thrown around these days. For £100 you could arm yourself with at least 4 Browning badminton rackets, and if you have got the coaching behind you and can hit the shuttle consistently well, you will be made for months if not years. The only other important factor to consider are the strings, make sure you have all these bats strung at your favourite tension, which is probably the biggest expense, and you will hardly notice any difference, apart from the huge savings you will enjoy. This is why places like Racketworld are so successful, they operate in a completely different world to the mainstream online retailers, but are just as successful. The difference in actual playing experience between a Browning racket and the top end Yonex, Forza or whatever, is minimal, if you know how to move and have good technique. Those of you who have spent money on coaching and have reached a decent level will know what i mean, the racket is the least important factor in you game.

Here is an example. If you go to google and type in "browning badminton racket", you will see that the top listings are from Amazon. Racketworld just so happen to have a store with Amazon, you are just directed to the same store. How many people visit Amazon and Ebay every single day? Millions of us do. Now can you imagine just how many visitors Racketworld are getting every day. Not only are they getting custom from word of mouth, if you look at the customer feedback comments, there is virtually no one who has had a bad experience with them. All of the customers say things like- "great racket, great service, delivered on time, good racket at a great price", etc, etc. If Racketworld were selling crap products they would not exist, but they specialise in selling cheap rackets, last years models, but these racquets are vey good indeed, good quality products at low prices. This is the kind of niche that i look for when buying anything, but especially when buying rackets. I know a good deal when i see one, i have been playing badminton for 20 years, so i like to think i know a bit about what is good and what is not. The Head i110 i bought yesterday cost me £39.99, if i didn't know where to look i could have easily spent £100 on this bat somewhere else, the price differences are massive if you do some searching.

There is not much information about the different Browning ranges anywhere on the internet. Racketworld are notoriously bad at listing their products in any kind of logical way. In fact they list different prices for the same products, you just make sure you choose the cheapest. From what i can gather from the listings there are quite a few bats to choose from, so i will start with the cheapest first.

The Browning Firepower Titanium is just £8.99, and is a one piece titanium carbon composite construction, and it comes pre strung with the factory strings, which will be crap, but they always are. However, if you are a complete beginner this will matter in the slightest, and you can have a starter racket for less than a tenner. The only problem is that Racketworld charge £7.95 for delivery, no matter what you buy, so the delivery is almost as expensive as the actual racquet. This is the only drawback with the internet.

More cheap alternatives are the Browning Nanoblade Ti, the Browning Nanotech CTi 90 and the Browning Carbotech Ti. They are all £9.99, and have wide body designs with titanium mesh in the frames. If you are a beginner i seriously recommend you try any of these out, they are great starter rackets at supid prices.

Moving up in price we have the Browning Nanopower Titanium, at a hefty £14.99. It has nano carbon and titanium mesh in it, like the others. At £19.99 there are five models to choose from. First is the Browning Graphite Ti 75, which weighs 75g hence the name. Now the description states that this is new for 2008, so perhaps Browning are still making badminton rackets, or Racketworld have made a mistake. Either way it doesn't really matter. It has a one piece powerflow frame and comes with a full length carry case. I don't know about you, but i must have about 30 of these little carry cases buried away somewhere, i think i might start my own ebay shop selling them for a penny each.

There is also the Browning ESP Ti 75 Titanium, the Oxylite Ti 75 Titanium, the ESP Ti 80 Titanium and the Nanotech CTI 85, all for £19.99. You will notice that the two ESP rackets are the same price, this often happens at Racketworld. I would suggest the 75 is lighter than the 80. Next up at £29.99 is the Browning Nanotech CTi 80, and then at £39.99 we have the Platinum Nano 75. The most expensive rackets are the Browning Plasma Nano Ti 75 at £59.99 and the Plasma Platinum 75 at £69.99, which has plasma treated nano carbon and titanium which makes it stronger. It weighs 75g and has a stiff shaft. It is also coated in chrome which apparently makes it stiffer. There is also the isometric head shape. This is new for 2008. I reckon that this racket will come down in price in a few months, or maybe next year when something else takes it's place, that would be the best time to buy one in my opinion.

I don't recommend many badminton rackets within this blog, in fact i go out of my way to urge you not to spend big money on them, just go through some of the posts. They all do the same job in the end, and it's always down to you to get the most out of them. I have stuck up the browning ads because they are a great way to enjoy your badminton without spending a lot of money, and also because Racketworld are good to deal with, i personally use them to buy my rackets. The fact that they are probably the cheapest place on the internet to buy badminton rackets is the added bonus.

8 comments:

Mgcini T said...

I'm a beginner at Badminton and your Review has led me to purchase a Nanoblade Ti from Racketworld...
Very impressed with their service.

antony said...

Hi Mgcini

Glad you like the service they provide. They are very good at what they do.

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear the possitive feedback on our service. To order from us direct call 01384 562282 monday to friday 9-6pm regards Jo Racketworld

Anonymous said...

any reviews for the Browning Plasma Nano Ti75???

Anonymous said...

Hi I've played for a few year not too a particular high standard but now need a replacement racquet. Have been using a Wilson 85g with high flexibility. Happy now to move to try out one of the Brownings but I want to avoid any that are stiff. Any suggestions?

antony said...

Hi there

Have a look at the 3rd comment from racketworld, if you call them they will give you the best advice. Are you in the UK?

Anonymous said...

What is the height of the Browning Platinum Nano 85 Badminton Racket?

Anonymous said...

I have looked at these rackets,and wanted to get a real honest opinion which i seem to have got from this site,the only thing that bothers me is the blatent advert for Racketworld,that said it seems you can only buy these from the above named company either through amazon or ebay now,I have to make a decision, Browning or someone else