Summer is here! And in the parks you can see them flying again, the shuttlecocks, Hardly anyone thinks with which ball he plays as he is produced and what alternatives there are. Why not even think about it? Especially since a lot of interesting things can be found out.

The production of a natural feather ball

Everyone knows badminton. Be it on TV or in the park yourself. A badminton and two rackets bought and you can start the round. But what balls are they playing with, and what do they consist of? There are two types of balls. Some are made of plastic, and the others are made of real feathers. The natural feather balls have the better flight characteristics, and are therefore also suitable for competitive sports. The production is a little more expensive, and the balls are thus much more expensive than the plastic balls.

What types of balls are there?

The game machine in badminton is quickly described: The player is a racket and shuttlecock available. In the case of shuttlecocks, a distinction is made between plastic balls and natural feather balls. The latter have refined flight characteristics and are therefore used primarily in competition. They are more complex to manufacture and therefore much more expensive to buy.

The production of natural feather balls

The natural feather balls are usually made traditionally in Asia, and are handmade. The production of a natural feather ball is the production of a work of art. This work can only be done by someone who has learned this. It takes many attempts to get the first ball ready.
You have to pay attention to the international guidelines for tournament sports. That means in practice that a finished badminton may not weigh much more than 5 grams. But not much less. The head, as the base is called, is made of cork. The diameter must be 1.65 cm and must not exceed or fall below this limit. Now come the feathers that are glued to the base. These are duck or goose feathers glued to the cork at an angle of 12 degrees. Stable the shuttlecock is that the springs must be linked together above. At the same time, the spring wreath on top must not exceed a diameter of 6 cm. To one Feather shuttlecock It takes a great dexterity of the fingers. Because the feathers break very fast at the so-called keel, so the lower part, very happy. A broken spring may no longer be used. But the most difficult is the linking of the individual springs. It takes a lot of rest and practice.

The different speed classes

The natural feather balls used in tournaments also have different speed classes. It is quite easy to distinguish between these. The speed of a natural feather ball depends essentially on the length of the feathers and their nature. The classification of the speed classes is shown in color. That’s one Feather shuttlecock who has a red ring on the base, the one who can fly the fastest. A blue ring on the base indicates a medium-fast ball, and a green ring is the slowest ball. Of course, when playing natural feather balls, it’s important to have the speed you expect. Alternatively, there are the plastic feather balls, which are machined and have a speed. No matter what you play, the fun will not be neglected.