Introduction to the Badminton Birdie

A badminton birdie (or shuttlecock) is used in playing badminton. It is also commonly referred as the badminton bird or shuttle.

In badminton, a shuttlecock can fly extremely fast, especially when a player does a badminton smash. The fastest smash in the world (to date) was by Tan Boon Heong of Malaysia in 2009, with the shuttlecock flying at 421km/h.

When playing badminton, you have the choice to either use a feather or nylon/plastic shuttlecock. However, international tournaments require the use of goose feather shuttlecocks of the highest grade (manufactured by Yonex).

If you play badminton just for fun and some exercise, consider using nylon/plastic birdies. They are cheaper and extremely durable. However, they do not perform as well as feather birdies in terms of flight stability, speed, and sound.

How to Choose Good Shuttles

I highly recommend feather shuttles over plastic ones if you want to truly enjoy the game.

If you’re interested in purchasing shuttles, read this page on how to choose good badminton shuttle. On that page I’ll provide details on how to choose the best shuttles, and how you can increase the durability of your shuttles.