Let’s talk about Victor's badminton strings, how they feel from my experience of stringing them as well as their playing performance and why there will be a second part to this Victor badminton strings comparison!
I’m based in the UK and Victor badminton strings come through Victor Europe and unfortunately, there are very limited options for players to choose from if they want to go with Victor strings. A quick look on the website shows you can only get 5 models of strings. For the VBS variant, you have the Victor VBS-63, Victor VBS-66 Nano and Victor VBS-70 whilst for the newer VS model strings, you’ll only have access to the Victor VS-65 and multi-coloured Victor VS-69 (for outside of UK, click here).
Badminton strings, like shuttles, are consumables within our badminton game and it’s something that we replace rather often. Or at least you should, to have the best feel and performance.
Because of this, manufacturers design and produce a wide range of badminton strings to cater to everyone’s needs. But we do have a little challenge, at least with Victor and why there will be a part 2... and it’s down to the availability of said strings.
But from Victor badminton's global website, there are other strings available, such as the VBS-68, VBS-68 Power, VBS-69 Nano and also the VBS-70 Power as well as the limited edition multi-coloured Hello Kitty VS-63. I understand that some of these strings were previously available in Europe but they are not in the current catalogue.
I am also aware there’s a new Victor VBS-61 ultra-thin string which could be super interesting as a direct competitor to Yonex’s Aerosonic. I can’t wait to test that one out!
Let me know in the comments about the availability of Victor badminton strings where you live. Do you have access to most of the models I’ve just listed or are you in the same boat as me?
In any case, let’s focus on the strings we do have here today:
Victor VBS-63 - Anders Antonsen’s badminton string of choice
Victor VBS-66 Nano - Lee Zii Jia’s choice
Victor VBS-70 - I remember this to be Wang Tzu Wei and Goh Soon Huat’s preferred option
Victor Multi-coloured VS-69 - I don't think any pros are using this currently!
In terms of experience with Victor strings, I have used them for a very long time and I’m not sure how many of you guys remember this pack of the VS-850 Nano from Victor which I had saved, I guess for sentimental reasons.
I cannot remember accurately when I started using them but it was around 2010 to 2012 and I went through SO many reels of them! These felt absolutely amazing with a very nice damped feel and it sounds great too!
However, this VS-850 had one big issue and that was its tension loss. Many players would string this at a considerably higher tension in the hope that it would stabilise at their usual tension. One week after stringing, you’re essentially playing with a sponge. Additionally, durability wasn’t great either. Any miss hits and it would probably go immediately. My record was 3 string breaks in a single session of badminton with these bad boys. But, because of its amazing feel, I continued playing with it for quite a while.
From my own records, I had 37 restrings of the VS-850 on my rackets in 2012, 33 in 2013 and 25 in 2014. I then transitioned from the 850 to other strings in 2015. Should I break out those last 2 and put them on my rackets again, what do you think?
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In terms of packaging, Victor moved on from the VS-850’s design to the design shown in the middle of the image below, which I believe was one generation later than the 850’s before settling on the current version of VBS strings packaging (far right).
This purple string packaging is Victor’s latest packing design for VS strings.
Although I normally use the reels of string, I do enjoy that there are little tear tabs on the packs as it helps stringers save that few seconds every time they open a new pack. Also, some packs of the string will have a little card as part of the string packaging to help both the player and the stringer know more about the string. Not all packs have it so your mileage might vary. Either way, your stringer should already have a system in place to record what string tension you’d prefer during your restrings.
In terms of string category, Victor badminton strings are currently split into 3 categories:
High resilience or high repulsion
Durability
Control
Victor VBS-63 Badminton String Review
Straight out of the pack, the VBS-63 has a very fine and fairly smooth texture so it certainly doesn’t burn when you pull strings through during stringing. The stringing process is also very straightforward as the string isn’t overly soft, especially for a super thin string. In terms of playing performance, the 63 does feel very nice and super responsive. It’s a pretty standard trait of super thin strings.
Shots have that immediate pop off the string bed with a fairly crisp but slightly metallic feel, I call it “a bit pingy” and certainly a high repulsion string. Whilst the 63, 66 Nano and 70 all state they have a medium feel, I find the 63 to be on the slightly softer side of a medium feel. If you have medium-medium, medium-stiff and medium-soft, the 63 is in the medium-soft in my books. It does feel pretty pleasant and nothing wrong with that at all.
The 63, being a super thin string does sound very nice with each hit and obviously, the more power you can generate, the louder the shuttle will come off your strings. But as with all super thin strings, durability is something that you will have to compromise on. I had my rackets strung with the VBS-63 with my usual 27 by 29 pounds in tension and even with racket rotation and no more than 1 to 2 sessions a week, the 63 only lasted me 3 to 4 weeks, which was about 10 to 12 hours of on-court time. To be fair, it's alright for a super thin string but it's still something you need to be aware of.
VBS-66 Nano Badminton String Review
We now look at the VBS-66 Nano and I guess the VBS 66 Nano is Victor’s solution to getting a good compromise between a fairly high repulsion string with added durability compared to the 63.
However, there is 1 little problem. It looks like the English description of the 66 Nano string isn’t very well translated and there was also a typo in there. Not a great start if you’re someone who doesn’t read any Mandarin and is just looking in your badminton store for some new options. If you’re someone who’s new to Victor, this doesn’t inspire confidence and I would personally expect better from a brand who’s part of the big 3 major badminton brands.
Anyway, bad translations and typos aside, this 66 Nano feels like it has the same fine texture on the strings’ coating as the 63 does. But you can also see the difference in colour, especially when both strings are labelled as a white coloured string. The 63 has a brighter, bleached white whilst the 66 Nano’s white is slightly warmer. Obviously, you won’t notice this once it’s strung so it’s no problem there.
In terms of stringing, it was super easy to string and I didn’t find anything unusual with it so it’s all good there.
So, how does it feel? Personally, I found the VBS-66 Nano to have quite a metallic feeling. It does have a nice medium feel again but perhaps on the slightly medium-stiff side in my experience. Additionally, it’s not as bouncy as the 63 and also quite slippery at times. Not helpful when you’re looking for a lot of bite on the shuttle.
My normal string is the Yonex Aerobite and I absolutely love the amount of bite that string has. A stringer’s nightmare but a player’s dream. And this 66 Nano is the slight opposite, super easy to string but doesn’t have too much bite. I also found that the 66 Nano felt amazing when fresh but it does go a little dead after a while so it’s not as responsive compared to when it’s fresh. Durability is pretty good for a 0.66mm string so that’s a big positive for any player looking for that.
Overall, I think it’s a good standard bearer for Victor’s strings as 0.66mm to 0.68mm is kind of the standard for badminton string diameter nowadays and this 0.66mm string is a good option. But if you want something livelier, I'd suggest going for the 63, especially if you don’t mind the more frequent breakages.
VBS-70 Badminton String Review
We now move categories and go into Victor’s durability category of strings, the VBS 70. This is a 0.70mm string which a few years ago would be the standard string diameter for badminton strings but it feels like it’s slightly on the thicker side nowadays. But, it is still ideal for players who are looking for a longer-lasting string.
In terms of stringing, I found the string to have quite a lot of texture and I ended up with a little bit of string burn when I pulled it through my fingers pretty fast. It also had a bit of stickiness to it too which will help with shuttle control and bite.
Additionally, the VBS 70 is also very easy to string due to its string stiffness so it was super straightforward. On the playing side, I was quite impressed with it as thicker, durable strings generally feel very spongy without much feel but the VBS-70 responded really well and is on the softer side of the medium feel. I would even rate it as a soft-feeling string.
However, as expected during stringing, the string itself was fairly grippy which made shuttle control pretty enjoyable for me. Additionally, thicker strings also traditionally have that slightly spongier feel as they do stretch that little bit more over time as they have slightly more material to begin with. This VBS-70 also adds to that, giving you that added playability and confidence to really go for your shots and not have to worry about string breakages. In terms of sound, the 70 will sound lower pitched than its thinner gauged cousins so nothing special there. Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised with the VBS-70!
VS-69 Badminton String Review
Lastly, let's take a look at the newer kid on the block, the VS-69 (for outside of UK, click here). The VS-69 is unique for its multicoloured string from a single length of string with the sample that I have going from blue to purple to pink.
The VS-69 is released as a durability string so its 0.69mm diameter was not a surprise. In terms of stringing, I had to resort to a one-piece stringing method with the VS-69 as I wasn’t sure how the strings would turn out if I cut it into 2 lengths and used the normal 2 piece stringing technique for my rackets. I personally find one-piece stringing a little bit more of a hassle compared 2 piece stringing but the string itself felt perfectly fine throughout the whole stringing process although the 69 isn’t as sticky or textured as the 70 so that made things slightly easier.
In terms of play, I found the 69 feels slightly stiffer compared to the 70. The package of the VS-69 said it was a soft string but I beg to differ. It felt stiffer than the 70 and I would actually swap their feel ratings around. The 70 can be soft, and this one is a medium. Medium to medium-stiff in my opinion.
The 69 also isn’t as grippy compared to the 70 as well and this wasn’t a surprise having felt it having less texture as well as less stickiness during the stringing process. I also felt the 69 was a bit less forgiving than the 70. Perhaps due to its slightly stiffer feel? But I noticed I always preferred the 70 when both rackets were side by side for comparison.
The 69 also feels slightly less refined compared to the 70. But looking at retail prices, I then noticed the 69 being almost a third cheaper than the 70 so I guess that explains why the 70 feels nicer than the 69. Plus, the 69’s tension retention over time is pretty good for a slightly thicker string so that’s an advantage for the 69.
Final Thoughts
I also want to say a few things about the rating system from the packaging of these 4 strings. Let’s start with the 69 and 70 since we’ve just looked at them and the stat that immediately jumps out at me is the hitting sound where the 70 is an 8 out of 10 and the 69 is a 6 out of 10.
What is more surprising is the 63 and 66 Nano are both rated lower than the 70 at only 7 out of 10. This makes me wonder what was measured to form these stats. Is it how loud the hits are or how high-pitched it is? Either way, I would normally expect a thinner string to sound better than a thicker string due to its slightly higher-pitched sound. Additionally, the packaging also states the 70 has less control than the 69 which does not reflect how I felt the strings performed.
I would swap them around with the 70 having more control than the 69. But both the 66 Nano and 63 also have a 7 out of 10 rating for control as well so I again do wonder how are they measured as I find I have the most grip and control with the 63, then the 70 before coming with the 66 Nano and then the 69. The performance gaps are slightly closer between certain models but wider in others.
I think Victor might have gone a bit too conservative in this instance with their rating system and I look forward to seeing a more accurate and representative rating system across their ranges of string.
In the meantime, I hope you found this useful and let me know in the comments section if you have any questions whilst I try and get my hands on the remaining models of string across Victor’s full range, especially that new VBS-61! I will certainly come back with a part 2 for this string comparison so stay tuned for that and I’ll see you in the next one!