The instructions on this page are provided as a courtesy to independent racquet stringers in our network. For more information, please consult our YouTube Channel which features hundreds of full movies and time lapse videos illustrating how to string a large variety of racquets of all kinds.
How to String This Racquet
Length Mains
18.5′
Length Crosses
14.5′
Tension
Printed on frame
Pattern
20×21
Start Mains
Head
Mains Skip
8H, 10H, 11T
Tie Off Mains
8T
Start Crosses
9T
Tie Off Crosses
6T
Last Cross
7H
Tie Off Crosses
5H
The outside two mains on either side of this racquet should be finished using a standard Yonex double-back method. For this racquet, the double path is 9T to 12T to 15H to 13H to 10T before tying off at 8T.
Racquet Network is a member of the prestigious Yonex Stringing Team. We are invited to string at elite tennis and badminton events. While we cannot attend every event we are invited to, we do our best to help out when such events are in Alberta.
Dato Method and Advanced Dato Method are stringing methods that allow badminton racquets to be strung at extremely high tensions. Both methods were developed in Calgary by stringers at Racquet Network over a period of years between 2004 and 2018.
The word “dato” means “beloved”. The term “Dato Method” reflects the love and attention to detail that the racquet stringer puts into his/her work when using this method to string badminton racquets.
Dato Method racquet stringing is a center-out stringing technique for badminton racquets that utilizes one piece of string and two Parnell knots. It can use used at any tension, but it was created as a way to string at high tension while minimized the chances of breakage during stringing.
Dato Method represents a major advance over traditional high tension stringing methods in which stringers over-tension some areas of the string bed and under-tension other areas while hoping to achieve an estimated overall tension.
Dato Method stringing ensures that every string in a badminton racquet is pulled to a very specific tension. There are no estimates in Dato Method. The pattern followed allows stringers to string racquets at extremely high and extremely precise tensions without breaking the frames.
Advanced Dato Method stringing allows the customer to specify different tensions on different strings. For example, a customer may want the center mains or crosses to be at 0.2 lbs higher tension than outside mains or crosses. Or they may want to increase tension by 0.1 lbs on every main string outside of the sweet spot.
At Racquet Network, all Dato Method stringing occurs after hours when there are no distractions and the stringer cannot be rushed. Pull speeds are reduced to absolute minimums and several pauses are built into the stringing process in order to allow the frame to absorb all of the additional tension.
Dato Method Badminton Racquet Stringing
When performing the Dato Method, stringers double back on the outside mains and then string the middle crosses first. This prevents the loop from becoming deformed at either the top or the bottom.
Once the loop is stabilized by installation of the middle crosses, they complete the bottom crosses This ensures that loop is fully stabilized before starting the weakest part of the frame, which is the top of the loop furthest from the handle.
When stringing at tensions over 32 lbs., Dato Method stringers take additional steps to stabilize both the top and bottom of the loop order to prevent it from changing shape while they are stringing the mains.
In addition to the steps above, the stringing machine must be precisely re-calibrated immediately prior to all high tension stringing jobs.
All of these extra steps and precautions increase the stringing time from about 20 minutes (standard stringing) to well over an hour. The higher the tension, the longer it takes. Hence, the relevance of the term “Dato”.
The tendency for most parents is to string their child’s badminton racquet with the cheapest, most durable string possible.
Bad idea!!
If the parent’s goal is to increase their child’s enjoyment of badminton, then the string should help them succeed.
Very few children are frequent string breakers. Once they become teenagers that may change for some — especially for some boys — but very few children ever break badminton strings. So there is no need to go for maximum durability.
Instead, children’s racquets should be strung for maximum enjoyment.
Stringing children’s badminton racquets for maximum enjoyment means stringing their racquets with the thinnest, most powerful string you can get your hands on.
All of the strings in the table below have been chosen by our coaches as suitable for children up to 10 years old. It does not matter if they are boys or girls or what kinds of shuttles they are using. Children at this age rarely smash, so these strings will work with both nylon and feather shuttlecocks.
Best Badminton String for Children
The badminton strings in this table are recommended by our coaches are the best options for most children. The reasons why they are recommended are discussed in this post.
The reason for stringing children’s racquets this way is simple. Thinner strings increase power. Increasing power allows them to hit the shuttle further. Hitting the shuttle further means longer rallies. Longer rallies equal more fun.
On the other hand …
When parents string children’s badminton racquets with durable string they end up generating less power. Less power means fewer shots make it over the net which leads to shorter rallies and less fun.
In fact, if this happens in a game situation, the result equals less success and more failure, which for many kids is no fun at all.
Stringing kids racquets with thinner more powerful strings means — in a game situation — that they will be able to hit the shuttle deeper.
If Child A strings for power and Child B strings for durability, then Child A has an advantage. Assuming they are equal, Child A will probably have more fun than Child B.
If Child A starts playing well enough that he or she is hitting the shuttle out the back of the court or if Child A starts to break strings more often than his or her parents can afford, then it’s time to choose something more durable.
But switching to a thicker string before that happens is not necessary and may be counterproductive to the whole point of enrolling a child in an athletic program.
In other words, if you want your child to have fun playing badminton, string their racquets with string that will offer them the most amount of fun.
Nylon shuttles (sometimes called “plastic” shuttles) are much harder on badminton strings than feather shuttles. Therefore string breakage can be an issue for frequent players or hard hitters.
Each of the strings below have been selected by our experts as generally best for nylon shuttles. In this context, “best” means most durable.
For more information about each string, please click on the product and go to “Our Description” on the individual product page. The product page for each string gives you an idea of the type of player the string is most suitable for.
If you are the kind of player who thinks about the impact of plastics on the environment, then you should know what your options are in the category of organic strings. Unlike plastic strings which can take hundreds of years to break down, organic strings are animal byproducts and break down quickly and completely.
Babolat ™ leads the way in natural strings, of course. They started in France (1871) as a string company making strings for musical instruments. Now they are the world’s leading producer of natural gut racquet strings for tennis, squash and badminton.
Once alone in this field, Babolat has recently been joined by Wilson ™ and Luxilon ™, both of whom offer their own versions of natural gut string for tennis racquets.
The vast majority of recreational tennis players can play with fully organic sets. In other words, they can play with natural gut on both the mains and the crosses of their tennis racquets. So they will will want to consider these options:
Advanced intermediate players and extremely hard servers may find they are breaking their strings too often after switching to natural gut. These players may want to switch to hybrid sets in the category below.
Hybrid string sets feature plastic strings on the mains and natural gut on the crosses. This provides durability where durability is needed (on the mains) but opts for organic string on the crosses, which are least likely to break.
While nobody makes an actual set of natural gut strings for squash racquets, there is no difference between tennis and squash string other than the gauge. Typically, squash string is 17 gauge while tennis string is 16 gauge.
However, there are lots of tennis players who string their tennis racquets with 17 gauge and many squash players who string their racquets with 16 gauge string. So don’t worry about the label “tennis string”. Squash players should simply look at the gauge. And if they find they are breaking 17 gauge too often, then they should switch to 16 gauge.
Squash players who switch to 16 gauge string and find they are still breaking strings too often should come into the store and talk to us. While there are no hybrid sets for squash, we can put together hybrid options off the reel that use half sets of natural gut on the crosses and plastic strings on the mains.
Badminton players who want to kick plastics to the curb don’t need to worry about gauges because Babolat makes several grades of badminton string in a few different gauges.
As with squash players, badminton players may have to experiment with different options in order to find a combination that holds up to steady use. And again, as with squash players, badminton players who are breaking strings too often should talk to our racquet techs in store. We can put together some hybrid options off the reel for anybody that is serious about reducing their use of plastic strings.
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