If you’ve not heard of Temu, you should! It’s an online shopping platform that offers access to an incredible number of products that are shipped directly to you. Plus, it has an app! (There's some coupons waiting for you)
So when Temu got in touch to ask if I was happy to test out their badminton products and services, I was like, "Why not?". I was given a budget of £200 to pick and choose what I wanted. With that, I thought it would be good to purchase items as if I were a brand-new badminton player who was looking to get started.
The idea was to purchase like I had no clue about badminton instead of being an equipment expert who had already tried many of the best badminton equipment around, then test out the products for their performance and value for money.
I came up with a list of items which included:
A pair of badminton shoes
Shoe deodoriser
Clothing
A racket
A bunch of grips
Some accessories and keychains
A variety of shuttlecocks, including a tube of feather shuttles, some plastic shuttles and also what looked like Airshuttles
A racket backpack
A cute shuttlecock-shaped cushion
A tool to collect shuttles on the floor when you’re training - this was the most expensive thing on the list but if it worked well, I was going to donate it to a junior club so I thought it was a good idea!
In this instance, without seeing the actual products themselves, Temu’s pricing looks incredibly attractive. The pair of new shoes was only £16, with the dials. There’s no chance of this happening with most shoes in the UK, much less badminton-specific shoes, and delivered too!
I'm currently using and playing with some of the best products on the market such as the Yonex Nanoflare 700 Pro, which costs significantly more so it would be interesting to compare some of these entry-level products and see how they perform. I also want to note that whilst delivery was free with my order, the final purchase price during checkout also included any import taxes so there was no additional surprises there, which is definitely nice.
I’ve also noticed that because the import taxes were lower than what was calculated in the checkout previously, Temu has actually refunded some of the costs. So that’s good to know!
One massive bag has showed up so let's check out what’s inside! It looks like Temu has consolidated all the items in the order and packed them into a single massive bag with everything before the local courier on our end sent it to me.
Generally, you’d be quite concerned if everything was squashed together, especially a racket but it looked fine to me.
Badminton Racket
I quite liked the packaging material for the badminton racket although this is a very entry-level racket and it was just under £25. The racket was an ALPSport racket, Shen Long model or dragon god.
The good thing was it came gripped and strung so if you’re a beginner, you can start playing straight away. Of course, it doesn't feel anywhere close to a high-end racket in terms of performance, so if you’re used to any kind of mid-range to high-end rackets, you will probably feel this is too basic for you. But for the price, I guess it's actually alright. I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re a serious player but if you’re just wanting to try out badminton, this could be OK.
Remember to protect your precious badminton rackets from chips and scratches with the Premium Racket Protection Tape with free delivery worldwide on ckyew.com/shop. We also have some super limited edition player signed prints too!
Grips
I got a bunch of overgrips and also a cushion wrap. Packaging was fine on all the grips that came through, they looked good and well-made. The blue cushion wrap felt just like any other cushion wrap I’ve felt before. It was also naturally sticky to itself so that was a good sign. In terms of the overgrips’ feeling and tackiness, it felt OK but was just a touch oilier on the tackier side. But more than acceptable if you’re on a budget.
To shop for these, check out the links below:
Key Chains & Accessories
First up were these shuttlecock keychains and it was around £2.50 for 5 of these but unfortunately, their quality wasn't that good compared to some similar ones I’ve had over the years. There was a lot of plastic left around the punchout area on the stems so they don't look too clean. They also don't have a sticker on the other side too. Overall, I wouldn't recommend these white shuttlecock keychains.
The other keychain I got was a badminton court keychain with a removable net. It was £1.31 and I loved it. There’s a film on the plastic to protect it from scratches and once you remove the film, re-insert the net on the court and wow, it looked great! Everyone who has seen it since gave me compliments for it so 100% recommending this one if you’re looking for a small little keychain or a gift to give someone! Get one for yourself here!
Lastly, the shuttlecock cushion was super cute and my wife said she liked it lots so that’s a win. It was about £10 and additionally, on the product page, I saw a review from Stefani Stoeva. I do wonder if that’s a review from the professional badminton player from Bulgaria, Stefani Stoeva. You can check out the cushion here.
Badminton Shoes & Shoe Deodorant
To be honest, I’m quite impressed with the shoe. For £16, you get a shoe with a dial. Obviously not a Boa dial but something that works in a similar way. Even the shoe protective insert fits really well. The shoe was clean and yes, it doesn't feel like it had the same materials as the high-end Yonex Boa dial shoes but this was more than 10 times cheaper so it's not really fair to compare it directly.
This pair felt alright and even the soles had the hexagonal soles which was also featured on many Yonex shoes too. In terms of fit, it did feel very basic. Not a lot of cushioning I must say but the dials did tighten OK but you will feel some movement when you’re moving around the court. But for £16, it’s pretty hard to say no to these. They won't be my first choice of shoes personally but if you’re very stretched for budget, perhaps you can give these a try.
To get these shoes on Temu, click here!
Also, the shoe deodorants were just excellent and they were only 52p for a pack of 6. No problem recommending these, check them out here!
Shuttlecocks
We start with the Airshuttle, an outdoor shuttlecock. Unfortunately, they came deformed and the plastic materials also weren't as good as the original Airshuttle. I would hope they change how they package these as it’s quite wasteful if they’re already deformed before you can even play with them.
For the plastic shuttles, they were extremely cheap at £1.58 for a tube of 6 but the packaging just wasn’t adequate and the shuttles certainly did suffer during transit. The plastic shuttles themselves also weren’t the best but at £1.58 for 6 including 2 colours, they’re acceptable.
Finally, let’s take a look at the tube of feather shuttles from 361. 361 is a pretty major sports brand in China and when I was selecting the feather shuttles, I went with them because they were a known brand to me. But these are just downright awful and poor. Yes, I get that shipping a tube of shuttles is expensive, but these shuttles aren’t even worth the price tag of £12.75. It’s just really poor and probably some of the worst shuttles I’ve ever come across in a very very long time!
They looked handmade and not in a good way. Many of the stems were bent and the feathers were split already. The cork doesn't feel like a cork and it felt like someone just decided to stick a solid plastic head onto the shuttle.
You can see the comparison with one of the best shuttles, the Yonex Tournament shuttle and you can see just how bad these 361 branded ones are. During testing, these shuttles were super unpredictable. They will veer off their flight path and it’s just weird seeing that happening. It’s also the first time I’ve come across shuttles that don't spin when they’re hit. They’re designed to spin for flight stability but these don't spin at all, hence why they move around. These were really really poor so avoid them at all costs!
Sports Clothing
The sports clothing came in a nice Temu bag and this pack was for 4 clothing items - a shirt, a pair of shorts, compression tights and a long-sleeve body compression. Technically, I’m not sure the compression wear was for compression or for keeping warm during the colder weather but the shorts and top were nice. Thin but comfortable for badminton so pretty acceptable there.
The bag was an all-purpose bag and I was able to put in a pair of shoes, the tubes of shuttles as well as the racket in there whilst still having enough space for additional clothing, water and any accessories you like. The bag was £22 so whilst it wasn't the best thing, it wasn't too bad either.
You can get these sportswear on Temu here!
Shuttlecock Collector
The last thing from this purchase was the slightly more expensive shuttle collector which looked very industrial. I certainly have no issues with the look but I needed it to work and work well.
There were no instructions inside the box so it took me a few minutes to understand what I needed to do to get everything in place. I did find some of the grub screws hanging around in the box after having come loose during shipping. But once it was fully assembled, it was very easy to use.
It also worked extremely well, especially not squashing the shuttles or rolling over them. I think the juniors will be super happy with this!
One thing though, once you’ve fitted the handle, it’s quite awkward to carry around as the handle doesn't fold or collapse down. So the best thing would probably be to install the handle at the location you will be keeping it. In terms of pricing, this might be a little expensive at just under £60 but it’s quite well made so it could be worth an investment to any club or training group.
If you're interested, you can get the shuttle collector here!
Final Thoughts
All in all, Temu was great for their pricing, service and delivery. The quality of the product will vary based on its pricing and build but they do have a good selection for those smaller items such as grips, accessories and keychains. The shuttles were a no-go, both plastic and feathers.
If you're interested, you can check out Temu here, or download the app here. If you use these links and also search 'act518382' on the Temu App, you can get some extra discounts!
Plus, here's a reminder of the products that I will be happy to recommend:
Til then, happy shopping and I'll see you in the next one!
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