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Yonex BG65 is NOT for Everyone

Yonex BG65 Badminton String

Yonex BG65 is the top selling badminton string in the world. You can find it in virtually ever badminton pro shop and sporting goods store in the world. It is — almost literally — everywhere.

And because players can find it everywhere, they assume that it is meant for everyone.

This assumption, however, is incorrect. While everyone can use it, not everyone should. In fact, as I shall explain below, while BG65 works well for adult men using stiff, heavy men’s racquets, it is does not work as well for anyone else.

First, before I go any further, I should mention that BG65 is Yonex-brand badminton string. Its equivalency in Victor badminton string is VBS-70. These strings are both situated in the all-purpose badminton string category and are virtually identical in usage, if not in price. So everything I say about Yonex BG65 applies equally to Victor VBS-70.

Victor VBS-70 Badminton String
Victor VBS-70 is equivalent to Yonex BG65 but costs about 15% less.

Now that that’s out of the way …

To understand how BG65 became the top selling badminton string in the world, you must understand something about the sport of recreational badminton. Specifically, you must understand the basic demographics.

Regardless of where you are in the world, the majority of recreational badminton players will be men between the ages of 15 and 55. Yes, women, children and seniors all play badminton, but the vast majority of players in the rec-level badminton clubs are men.

Men as a group typically weigh more than women, children and/or seniors. They also tend to be stronger that women, children and/or seniors.

Yonex BG65 has become the top selling badminton string in the world because it looks after the needs of men between 15 and 55. It is thick enough to withstand their powerful off-center hits without breaking easily and powerful enough to allow them to hit the shuttle to all areas of the court.

Unfortunately, it does not serve most women, children and/or seniors equally well.

This group of players typically weighs less than men. They are also not typically as strong as men. So why would anybody imagine that they can use the same string as men?

The truth is, they can’t. Or rather, they shouldn’t. Women, children and seniors need more power to compensate for their relative lack of strength and lower body weights. So they need more powerful strings than men do.

And since they are not as strong as men and therefore don’t hit as hard, they don’t need the same durability from their string as men do. In fact, Yonex BG65 and Victor VBS-70 are both far more durable than most women, children and/or seniors will ever need.

So think about this the next time you bring your child’s racquet in for stringing service.

If your child was playing goal in hockey you wouldn’t equip him with adult men’s goalie pads because that would be ridiculous. A child wearing adult pads would have trouble moving around because his body is too small and his legs are too weak for such bulky equipment. So why would you put adult string in his badminton racquet?

Women, children and seniors are not men and they should not be playing with men’s badminton string.

Just as racquets for this group are softer and have shafts with more repulsion power, the stings in their racquets should be softer and have more repulsion power.

The truth is Yonex BG65 (or Victor VBS-70) is suitable for racquets with medium to extra stiff shafts, it is not the best string for high-flex or medium-stiff shafts. Similarly, while it is suitable for 3U frames and can be used at lower tensions in 4U frames, it is not the best choice for lighter frames, such as 5U or F.

In fact, if you are not a man in his physical prime, you probably don’t need to be using Yonex BG65 at all. It was never really designed for you so — beyond durability — it really isn’t adding anything to your game. In fact, if anything, it may be making the game harder for you to play.

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Common Questions: Yonex Badminton String Durability

Yonex Aerobite Badminton String Reel

Our expert stringers get a lot of questions about badminton string durability both in-store when they are stringing racquets for customers and at events where they are stringing racquets for top ranked players as part of the Yonex Stringing Team.

Many of the questions we get are based on confusion created by information players have read online.

For example, a common question is: “What is the most durable badminton string”? After which the person asking the question will often volunteer: “I’ve heard that it is Yonex BG65” or “I’ve read online that the most durable badminton string is BG65.”

So let’s look at Yonex BG65 first.

According to Yonex Canada’s annually published chart of badminton strings — currently entitled BADMINTON 2019 STRINGS — BG65 has a durability rating of 8. But what does 8 mean?

Most people assume that this means that it has a durability of 8 out of 10, or 80%. This is not correct.

Yonex durability ratings on this chart range from a low of 5 to a high of 8. In other words, their least durable strings are rated at 5 while their most durable strings are rated as 8.

To be completely honest, this is a misleading way to describe durability because most people assume that the ratings of 5, 6, 7, or 8 are out of 10. So they assume that 8 out of 10, which is 80% is significantly above an imaginary pass/fail line of 50%.

This is completely wrong. A much better way to look at Yonex’ badminton string durability rating system is as follows:

  • Durability rating of 5 = extra low durability
  • Durability rating of 6 = low durability
  • Durability rating of 7 = moderate durability
  • Durability rating of 8 = high durability

On the 2019 version of the chart, the only strings with a durability rating of 5 are Aerosonic and BG66, both of which are unusually thin and fragile strings. So I think we can safely label 5 as “exceptionally low” while the remaining strings can be sorted into the general categories of low, moderate and high durability.

Based on this hierarchy, which I will now call the Racquet Network Badminton String Rating System, Yonex strings are organized as a follows.

Racquet Network Badminton String Rating System

Extra Low Durability

Strings in this category are exceptionally thin and powerful, but may lack durability when used by strong, adult players. While strings in this category can be extremely beneficial for children, some ladies and some seniors — all of whom typically benefit from the increased power provided by thin strings — the materials in these strings can easily be overpowered by strong, athletic players (e.g. men) who frequently hit off center (e.g. recreational men).

  • Aerosonic
  • BG66

The typical player profile for these strings is ladies, seniors and children under 125 lbs using nylon shuttles who hit up more often than they hit down. Adult players using nylon shuttles who are frequently hitting down (smashing) with these strings should expect to break strings frequently. Strings in this category experience maximum durability when installed in racquets that are medium to high-flex.; they are typically not durable enough to be used in stiff or extra stiff racquets.

Low Durability

Strings in this category tend to provide a reasonable balance between power and durability when used by men with feather shuttles. They also offer good durability for weaker/lighter players (ladies, seniors, children) who are playing with nylon shuttles and need some power assistance from their string bed.

  • Aerobite
  • BG66 Force
  • BG66 Ultramax
  • BG68 Titanium
  • BG80
  • BG85

The typical player profile for these strings is men and/or competitive ladies/juniors/seniors who are using feather shuttles. Adult players using nylon shuttles who are frequently hitting down (smashing) with these strings should expect to break strings regularly. Strings in this category are sufficiently durable to be used in racquets with medium to stiff shafts in the 4U to 5U weight ranges.

Moderate Durability

Strings in this category tend to provide moderate durability when used by men who are playing with nylon shuttles. These strings should be avoided by weaker/lighter players (ladies, seniors, children) who are playing with nylon shuttles.

  • Aerobite Boost
  • BG65 Titanium
  • BG80 Power
  • BG70 Pro
  • Nanogy 98
  • Nanogy 99

The typical player profile for these strings is adult men who are using nylon and/or feather shuttles. Strings in this category are sufficiently durable to be used in racquets with medium to extra stiff shafts in the 3U and 4U weight ranges.

High Durability Strings

Strings in this category are exceptionally stiff and durable, but may lack power when used by ladies, seniors and children. While strings in the category can be extremely beneficial for adult men — who often hit so hard that they overpower the materials and break strings frequently — these strings lack power and can actually make the game harder to play for weaker players with lower body masses (under 150 lbs).

  • Nanogy 95
  • BG65

The typical player profile for these strings is athletic boys and adult men using nylon shuttles who hit down (smash) frequently. Strings in this category experience minimum playability when installed in racquets that are stiff and extra stiff. These strings should be reserved for stiff and extra stiff racquets that are in the 2U and 3U weight ranges.

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Understanding Babolat’s Pure Aero Series

Babolat Fueled By Fight Banner

Babolat’s Pure Aero series is a premium tennis racquet series created for competitive players with clean strokes who like to hit with top spin. The series consists of a number of models in different weights that correspond to increasing body weight, strength and athletic ability from the ages of 10 through adulthood. As a result, the tennis racquets in the Pure Aero series can grow with players through all stages from beginner through intermediate to advanced/elite.

The chart below organizes the series based on age, gender and skill level. Please remember these are guidelines, not rules. And please remember, too, that we can string everyone of these racquets to suit the age, gender and skill levels of the players.

Guidelines for Babolat Pure Aero Series

Age Female Male
Child 8-10 Pure Aero Jr 25 Pure Aero Jr 25
Child 10-11 Pure Aero Jr 26 Pure Aero Jr 26
Teen 11-13 Pure Aero Super Lite Pure Aero Super Lite
Teen 11-13 Pure Aero Super Lite Pure Aero Lite
Teen 14+ Pure Aero Lite Pure Aero Team
Adult Rec Pure Aero Lite Pure Aero Team
Adult Intermediate Pure Aero Team Pure Aero
Adult Advanced Pure Aero Pure Aero Tour
Senior Pure Aero Lite Pure Aero Team

Babolat Pure Aero Series

Banner: Babolat Pure Aero Series

Racquet Technologies


The Pure Aero series started out as the Aero Pro series way back in 2003. Designed from the outset to generate as much spin as possible, the Aero Pro Drive was an excellent fit for Rafael Nadal’s spin-based game style. Since then it has also been adopted by many champions including Genie Bouchard and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

The 2019 version of the Pure Aero continues this tradition by achieving maximum spin through two primary technologies. The first is by making the frame as aerodynamic as possible using a technology system they call Aeromodular 3. Essentially, everything that can cause drag is hidden within the contours of the frame. This helps players achieve maximum swing speed which, in turn, helps to generate maximum spin.

The other technology which contributes to spin in the Pure Aero series is something called I FSI SPIN. This is an open string pattern combined with oblong shaped grommets at the top and bottom of the loop. In theory, this creates longer dwell time for the ball on the strings, which also allows for maximum spin potential.

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Diagnosing Broken Squash Strings

Squash strings break for a variety of reasons. The purpose of this article is to help players understand the symptoms of different kinds of breaks so that they can make the appropriate changes.

Sheer Breaks

Sheer breaks occur along the frame line. Most commonly these are the result of players hitting so hard that they overpower the materials. (Yes, guys, it is possible to hit a ball so hard that you break perfectly good string.)

Image 2 - Top Sheer Break
Image 1 – Top sheer breaks are usually caused by overhand serves.

Players who serve overhand often break strings in the way seen in Image 1. Counting out from the top center of the racquet, sheer breaks caused by serves will often affect two of the first eight vertical strings. Whereas sheer breaks that occur on the side of the frame (Image 2 below) are usually the result of drives.

Squash Racquet with a Broken String
Image 2 – Side sheer breaks are usually caused by hitting drives off center.

Grommet Breaks

Grommet breaks look like sheer breaks because they also occur along the frame line. The difference is this: if the grommets where the break occurred are broken or split, then the cause of the break is assumed to be the defective grommet.

Squash Racquet Broken Grommets
Image 3 – Broken or missing grommets cause the frame to cut the strings.

In determining whether or not the grommet is the cause of the break, it is important to look closely at the grommet, because grommets can be split and still appear to be intact. If one or more grommets are missing, as in Image 3, the diagnosis is easy. But if they are split, it may not be so easy because they may not appear to be broken at first glance.

Wear Breaks

Wear breaks occur in the center for the string bed nowhere near the frame. They are called wear breaks because they are usually the result of long term wear and tear. Over time, the strings cut into each other at the crosses. Eventually, one cuts through the other and it breaks.

Squash Racquet Wear Break
Image 4 – Wear breaks occur in the middle of the string bed.

We treat wear breaks that occur in less than two weeks as a warranty issue. This is based on the assumption that some strings are defective and will break prematurely. The dividing line of two weeks is arbitrary because string that is defective should break the first time you use it. If you play two weeks or more without breakage, then it is likely not defective string. After two weeks, we consider it a wear break.

Pounders

Sheer breaks at the top of the frame are easy to diagnose. If you serve overhand and are breaking strings and/or racquets regularly, you are hitting everything — balls and walls — much harder than you need to and you may want to make some adjustments to your game. While you are welcome to play anyway you want to play, you must understand that playing this way is a choice. Most importantly, it is an expensive choice.

If you choose to play a power game in which you are pounding serves and smashing walls, then you are choosing to bear the financial burdens of replacing the strings and racquets you will be breaking. Do not — DO NOT — blame the string, the stringer or the racquet manufacturer. If you choose to play this way, man up and accept the fact that you are breaking strings and racquets that other players would not be breaking under normal usage.

Not-Pounders

If you are not serving overhand and are not breaking racquets regularly but are still suffering frequent sheer breaks, then it’s a different issue. If you are 100% certain that broken grommets are not to blame, then it is almost certainly a string durability issue. Like the pounder in the last example, you are overpowering the materials in your string bed. The question is why?

Are your strings too thin? Frequent string breakers should not be using anything thinner than 17 gauge.

Are your strings too soft? Frequent string breakers should not be using Tecnifibre squash strings.

Is your string bed density too low? Frequent string breakers should not be using a racquet with less than 14 mains and/or 19 crosses.

Whatever the issue, we will be able to help you figure it out. Whenever you bring a squash racquet into our store for stringing, we add a note to your account. We record the racquet, the string, the type of break and the location of the break. This allows us to diagnose patterns over time for our customers.

Tracking Wear Breaks

Logging details in customer accounts in this way even helps us diagnose and avoid wear breaks. For example, we have been able to save some customers lots of money by encouraging them to change to more durable strings even before they became aware of issues. As players increase in levels, for example, we sometimes notice that they are wearing strings out faster than they realize. In other words, the data helps us help our customers.

The Trouble with Grommet Breaks

The one area where data does not help anyone, unfortunately, is the notorious grommet break. Grommet breaks are completely unpredictable. They seem to happen at random and, once broken or split, lead directly to broken strings.

The best we can do is to advise players to maintain their racquets and replace grommets as soon as they break.

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How to Customize the Yonex Vcore 100

Yonex VCORE 100 Tennis Racquet - Black - 280g - Whole Racquet

How to Customize the Yonex Vcore 100

Yonex’ Vcore 100 is an all purpose tennis racquet that can be used for singles and doubles at a variety of levels from intermediate to professional. Everything about this racquet is designed for speed and power. So most of the players who are playing with this racquet are seeking to maximize power and spin on their serves, on their ground strokes, or on both.

In general, we do not advise using polyester strings in racquets that weigh less than 300 grams. We also do not recommend polyester strings for players below the 4.0 level. So the string you choose will depend in part on the frame weight of your Vcore 100 and the level at which you play.

For example, if you have the 300 gram version and you play at a 4.0+ level, then you may want to choose one of these strings:

If, however, you are not at the 4.0+ level, you may want to choose one of these strings

Or if you are stringing the 280 gram version of this racquet for lady or a junior, you may want to consider one of these lighter gauge strings.

Customers who need help selecting a string for their Vcore 100 should come into our store to talk to an expert. Those who cannot may want to use our online string selector.