I have already reviewed and compared Yonex's plastic shuttlecock range here, so now I will be looking at plastic nylon shuttlecocks from other brands. The brands include Wilson, Carlton, Bird, Forza, and even the AirShuttle to give you a much bigger picture when selecting the right one for you. Let's get into it!
Wilson Championship
We begin with the Wilson Championship. Straight away, on the packaging itself, we see it is a six-shuttle tube with options for slow, medium, and fast shuttle speeds. All of the included shuttles I review here have a medium speed.
On the inside, there is a Wilson sticker but it doesn’t specify the model, and it shows a natural cork base. For comparison, I have a Yonex Mavis 600 (UK here) which is quite similar, except the 600 has chevrons, whereas the Wilson does not, and the skirts of the Wilson shuttles are quite soft too.
In terms of playing performance, this shuttle feels really imbalanced, with the cork having significantly more weight compared to the rest of the shuttle. This imbalance affects the flight, as it takes quite a while for the shuttle to turn and stabilise after being hit. The shuttle should turn as quickly as possible to fly stably, but with the Wilson Championship, it doesn’t feel natural at all. Therefore, I unfortunately cannot recommend it as it just doesn’t feel very good to play with.
Wilson Smashstar
Next, we move on to Wilson Championship's cousin, the Wilson Smashstar (UK here). This shuttle also has a cork base but this time is a yellow shuttle, which should make it easier to spot. The flight performance is meant to mimic that of a top-grade feather shuttle, with a natural cork base for high visibility during indoor play.
Upon taking one out, I noticed it also has a sticker on the bottom, but it doesn’t indicate the model. The skirt design is somewhat similar to the Championship shuttle but with three sets of holes instead of two.
In terms of play, it felt significantly better than the Championship. It reminded me of the Yonex Mavis 600, which is a fairly slow nylon plastic shuttle but at least it was consistent (review here). Also, the change in speed isn’t as drastic as some of the other plastic shuttles here.
Bird 3
Next, we’ll look at the Bird 3. I’m not sure if the make is called Bird or if the model is Bird 3, but I assume there are Bird 1 and Bird 2 models as well. I’ve never actually played with Bird shuttles, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.
The packaging claims it is the ultimate feather substitute, with a cork base, nylon skirt, and a six-shuttle package. The packaging mentions a vortex intake design and a polymer-resilient compound for improved feather-like performance and durability.
Immediately, the design is noticeably different from the others. The gaps in the lower end of the skirt are extremely tiny. The Bird shuttle didn’t have any sticker on the inside, but it’s unique enough that it doesn’t need one unless Bird 1 and Bird 2 look identical.
In terms of production quality, it looks good, with the bottom of the skirt being very soft, while the blue part of the shuttle feels reinforced. The stiffness on the blue side is evident, the circle section is then stiffer and then it's super soft at the bottom.
Compared to a normal feather shuttlecock, the height of the cork is about the same, which is great. In terms of playability, these shuttles became my immediate favourite.
The Bird 3 is the closest I’ve ever come across to a feather shuttle in terms of stability, flight path, and response. They might look different, but they actually perform very well. However, nylon shuttles might not be ideal for training, so further testing is needed. For now, they are amazing, and the best I’ve tested so far.
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Forza NS-9
Next, I reviewed the Forza NS-9. This Forza shuttle has the simplest packaging, with nothing on it except "Innovated in Denmark" and a barcode. The lack of information doesn’t inspire much confidence if I'm honest!
When you take the shuttle out, the skirt design is different, and it has a natural cork base. The sticker inside does indicate the model is NS-9 though, which is a plus.
When it comes to playing performance, this Forza shuttle is crazy slow, even though it’s labelled as medium speed. It feels like a mix between the Mavis 600 (UK here) and Mavis 2000 (UK here) - not the best, but certainly not the worst. I do think the packaging could definitely be improved though!
Carlton F1 Ti
We then move on to the Carlton series, starting with the Carlton F1 Ti (UK here). The packaging contains a lot of information, which I appreciate. It says that the Carlton F1 Ti is a premium cork-based synthetic shuttle enhanced with oxygenated titanium. It also lists the shuttle speeds and comes in multiple languages.
A fresh Carlton F1 Ti shuttle doesn’t have any internal stickers, which would have helped in identifying the shuttle. This shuttle feels very good and is similar to the Yonex Mavis 300, which was my favourite from the Yonex series. The F1 Ti doesn’t appear to have a natural cork base, but it feels like the Mavis 300, which I liked for its softer plastic shell. After playing, there was no damage to the skirt, just some muck, which is common during play.
Carlton T-800
Next, we have the Carlton T-800, which sounds like a Terminator film already! The T-800 packaging is fairly basic, listing the shuttle speeds, and like the other shuttles, we tested the medium speed. There wasn't much else on the packaging.
The fresh T-800 reminded me of the Yonex Mavis 10 (UK here), and perhaps they might compete directly against each other. The synthetic cork is clean and pristine, though some of the skirt cutouts aren’t completely clean. It’s unclear if this is a design or quality control issue. However, I do think this is more of a beginner shuttle.
In terms of play, the T-800 is extremely fast, making it suitable for beginner games where players are lifting to each other and just trying to get the shuttle over the net. There is slight damage but mainly being more stencil ink on the strings that comes off onto the cork. However, it doesn’t dent as seriously as the Mavis 10 did.
AirShuttle Gen 2
Finally, we revisit the Air Shuttle Gen 2, which I reviewed previously here.
The Air Shuttle packaging is simple but effective, it doesn't say much except that it is an outdoor shuttlecock with increased resistance to wind. It doesn't have a sticker on the inside but the colour definitely stands out so you will 100% see it very well, even when you're outdoors.
In my review, I mentioned that these are suited to the outdoor badminton game and not
necessarily for the indoors. We tried to play with it indoors during the test alongside all the other plastic shuttles and it was almost impossible!
I completely forgot how head-heavy the cork was and how solid it was! Definitely the stiffest and most solid of all the shuttles that we've tested including the Yonex batch so I really wouldn't recommend you playing with them indoors.
While they can never fully replicate feather shuttles, especially high-quality ones like the Yonex AS50 (UK here), there are always options to play badminton wherever you are. So hopefully comparisons like these will help you make better choices! If you have any questions, leave them in the comments section below, and I’ll do my best to answer them. I'll see you in the next one!
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