Tag: badminton racquet footer

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Save $200 Stringing Yonex Badminton Racquets

Great news for Yonex fans in Calgary. Our Yonex badminton racquet program just got even better.

There is no point in buying your Yonex racquets anywhere else because nobody can beat this deal.

Starting today, every customized Yonex ™ badminton racquet purchased in-store now comes with $200 in free stringing upgrades.

But wait! There’s more …

Customers who purchase these racquets from us will save time as well as money because they will be able to automatically upgrade from basic labour (one week turnaround) to guaranteed one-hour stringing at no extra charge.

Yonex Astrox Series

Racquet Network’s new badminton program saves you $20 every time you string your racquet. It also cuts down on the number of trips you have to make to our store.

Here is how things normally work.

  1. Break a string.
  2. Bring racquet to the store.
  3. Go home and wait for email notification.
  4. Come back to the store a few days later to pick your racquet up.

In other words, you make two trips to the store.

Here is how things work now.

  1. Break a string.
  2. Book an appointment.
  3. Bring your racquet to the store.
  4. Wait 30 minutes and then take your racquet home with you.

In order words, you only come to the store once.

Yonex Duora Series

The new system also saves you money. Guaranteed one-hour racquet service normally costs $40.00 plus the cost of string. Under the new program, it costs the same as one-week service: $20 plus the cost of string.

So players who are participating in our new program save $200 and 10 trips to the store, which more than pays for the cost of a new racquet.

This is because when you purchase a new Yonex badminton racquet from us, we automatically include $200 worth of stringing upgrades.

Yonex Nanoray Series

While this is awesome deal for anybody who lives in southwest Calgary, this is an even better deal for badminton players who live far from our store because it saves them even more time and more money on racquet stringing services.

Program Details

Our new badminton program, therefore, continues to be the best overall program in Calgary for badminton players who want to save time, save money and play with the best badminton racquets in the world. In addition to those three things, our program is also best for the environment because it reduces car trips and keeps racquets out of the landfills for longer.

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Humidome Badminton Shuttlecock Humidifier

Humidome Shuttlecock Humidifier

Humidome is an easy to use product that maximizes the durability of your feather shuttlecocks by increasing the humidity inside the shuttlecock tube.

How does it work?
When you purchase a tube of shuttlecocks, the humidity inside the tube is often extremely low, meaning that the dry shuttles are very brittle and break prematurely.

As humidity is the single most important factor in increasing a feather shuttlecock’s life span, Humidome works by creating and maintaining a high level of humidity inside your shuttlecock tube. The shuttles will then absorb this humidity, and last a lot longer.

By maximizing the durability of your shuttles, you will save money through decreased shuttlecock consumption.

Inside the product are non-toxic beads which can carry up to a hundred times their own weight in water.

The product is made of high quality materials specifically chosen to have a high level of impact resistance and durability, and the product is designed to fit shuttlecock tubes from all known manufacturers.

Humidome Badminton Shuttlecock Humidifier

Using Humidome
To use the product all you need to do is submerge the product under clean water for at least four hours, and the beads inside the product will absorb water and grow in size. Just plug the product into your shuttlecock tube, and you are all set.

The beads inside the product will maintain a high level of humidity for months which means your shuttlecocks are always optimally stored and always ready for use without effort.

Once every couple of months, when you see the beads have shrunk, submerge the product again to re-infuse it.

It’s as easy as that.

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Kicking Plastics: Options for Racquet Sports Players Who Care

Organic Racquet String for Tennis, Squash and Badminton

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:

Organic Tennis String Sets

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.

50% Organic Tennis String Sets

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.

Organic Squash String Sets

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.

Organic Badminton String Sets

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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How to Customize the Yonex Astrox 99

Yonex Astrox 88D Badminton Racquet Frame

About the Yonex Astrox 99

The Astrox 99 is a powerful badminton racquet created for advanced to elite level players who like to smash. The carbon fiber materials in this racquet are more advanced than in Yonex’ previous series of smashing racquets — the Voltric series.

With an extra stiff shaft, the Astrox 99 is not intended for recreational players. But many recreational players will buy one nonetheless. So when this happens, it will be important to string it correctly so that they can get the most out of this racquet.

The Steep Attack Challenge

Yonex’ initial marketing campaign for this frame was called the Steep Attack Challenge. It included a series of events at badminton clubs during which players tried to beat a standard set by Lee Chong Wei, the top player to endorse the Astrox 99. The event helped to cement the image of the putative benefits of the racquet’s technologies: steeper smash angle.

This campaign created expectations amongst players that they would be able to smash at a steeper angle with this racquet than with their old Yonex Voltric series racquets. As a result, stringers who want to meet these expectations are generally advised to string the Astrox 99 with thinner, more powerful strings and to avoid stringing strictly for maximum durability.

How to String the Astrox 99

If you are stringing for advanced to elite level men using feather shuttles, we recommend using one of these strings.

If you are stringing for rec level men using nylon shuttles, then we recommend selecting something from this group.

Nylon shuttles, of course, are much harder on strings than feather shuttles. So some men may break strings more often than they like using string from the group above. In that case, it may be advisable to switch to the following.

Of course, any racquet endorsed by Lee Chong Wei will be coveted by teens who are not strong enough to use it. So if your client is one of these players, you may want to go with Aerosensa or Aerobite strung at a low tension. This will help them counter the extra stiff shaft which may present a major challenge for these players.

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How to Test Drive the Yonex Astrox 99

How to Test Drive the Yonex Astrox 99

Test drive the Yonex ™ Astrox 99 badminton racquet before you buy it. This racquet is available as part of our Try Before You Buy racquet demo program offered in our southwest Calgary store.

Demo Program Details

This program is the best way to ensure that the racquet you purchase is the right racquet for you.

Pro shop customers demo more than 2000 racquets every year. The satisfaction rate for customers who participate in this program is nearly 100% six months after their purchase.

This program is offered only in-store. It is not available to online customers.

Customers who wish to enter the demo program or talk to staff about this program, must do so in person. The pro shop does not conduct demo program business over the phone, by email, or by text.

Book an EXPRESS SERVICE APPOINTMENT to discuss this further.

How much does it cost to test drive racquets?

Test driving costs nothing, but customers who enter the program are committing to buying a racquet from us at the end of the one-month trial period.

How does it work?

Test drivers put down a security deposit. This allows them to test drive any racquet we have in our demo program. They can then test each racquet for up to one week. At the end of the one-month trial period, they choose the racquet they want to purchase and their deposit is refunded against the purchase price.

How much is the deposit?

The size of the deposit depends on the number of racquets the customer wants to take out each each week. If they are testing one racquet at a time, the deposit is $50.00. If they are testing two at a time, the deposit is $100.00.

What if I change my mind and do not want to buy a racquet?

Our demo program is only offered to customers who are committed to purchasing a new racquet from us within 30 days. If you do not intend to buy a racquet from us, please do not enter our demo program.

Can I apply my demo deposit to an online racquet purchase?

Our racquet demo program is offered to in-store customers only. Demo deposits can only be applied to in-store purchases. They cannot be applied to online purchases.

How do I start?

Simply make an appointment to come into the store. Bring a valid credit card. One of our experts will set up a demo account and help you choose your first racquet to test drive. This process usually requires about 30 minutes on the first visit. Subsequent visits to drop off and pick up only required a couple of minutes each.