I have often been asked if the Yonex Exbolt 68 badminton string is a replacement for the legendary Yonex BG-80 badminton string? I have already done an in-depth review about the Exbolt 68 string comparing it alongside the rest of the Yonex Exbolt badminton string family, the 63 and 65 - check it out here!
So, “Is the new Yonex Exbolt 68 a replacement for the legendary Yonex BG80? Or even a replacement for the Yonex Aerobite?”
In short, no, the Exbolt 68 is NOT a replacement for the Yonex BG80 or the Yonex Aerobite badminton strings and one of the reasons is this:
This special material is Yonex’s Forged Fiber and here is a sample of it. I’ve also added my index finger for size too! It is a unique material which Yonex has developed for the Exbolt series of badminton strings. Forged Fibre is used in all 3 Exbolt strings, the 63, 65 and also the 68. It's pretty cool!
Now for some reason, everyone online seems to think that because the Exbolt 68 is a 0.68mm string, it must be a replacement for the BG80. Or even the Yonex Aerobite because the Exbolt 68 had good texture and control as a 0.68mm string.
This is not true and in fact, the BG80 and Aerobite are not going to be discontinued but the Exbolt 68 will be introduced ALONGSIDE and IN ADDITION to these two amazing strings.
Like I’ve said in my in-depth review, the Exbolt 68 will be a star in its own right as a string classified for durability. As players and consumers, it's always great to have more options.
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So, how does the Yonex Exbolt 68 compare to the Yonex BG80 and Yonex Aerobite badminton string?
Comparing Hardness Feeling: Yonex Exbolt 68 vs Yonex BG80 vs Yonex Aerobite
In terms of hardness feeling, the BG80 will have its signature feel and is certainly harder and sharper compared to the Exbolt 68 and Aerobite. I found that the Aerobite and Exbolt 68 had a fairly similar feel in terms of hardness.
Comparing Control: Yonex Exbolt 68 vs Yonex BG80 vs Yonex Aerobite
For control and how grippy the string is on the shuttle, all 3 strings are great at it but for me, Aerobite will be the winner in this case as it's got the stickiest feel and the shuttle’s cork will be biting onto it big time!
But the BG80 is also no slouch in terms of control, which is why it's so popular with many players. I will also say the same for the 68 as it’s got very good control, but because of the different hardness feeling coming from the 80 and 68, you will find the 68 to be softer and that feels like it’s got more hold time for the shuttle on the string bed. So I’d say the amount of control you have is quite similar but just a different feel - one is softer whilst the other is very crisp and sharp.
Comparing Repulsion: Yonex Exbolt 68 vs Yonex BG80 vs Yonex Aerobite
For repulsion, I would pick Aerobite as my winner as it’s got the super thin Aerosonic string as part of the hybrid string. You all know I love Aerobite and I love the feeling of thinner strings so this one was always going to be a winner. After that, I would pick the BG80 as second before the Exbolt 68 coming in very closely behind.
The reason I picked BG80 as second for repulsion is again from that very hard, sharp, crisp feel. It feels like the shuttle just comes into contact and then pop, it's gone. Whereas the 68 has that little bit more of a hold time as it's also softer. Certainly not bad at all for repulsion for the Exbolt 68 for a 0.68mm string though.
Comparing Durability: Yonex Exbolt 68 vs Yonex BG80 vs Yonex Aerobite
For durability, the winner is Exbolt 68, hands down big time! For those of you who follow my Instagram, you would have seen that I was at the Yonex UK’s Exbolt string tour where players got to try all of the Exbolt strings, including the new Exbolt 68 and the Yonex stringing team also strung the Exbolt string of their choice for them afterwards. All for free too!
And since my first video on the string, I’ve also added quite a few more hours of court time at the Yonex Exbolt String Tour event as well as a few more private sessions on my own too. By this time, I’m about 18 hours in on-court time with the Exbolt 68 and it’s started to notch but not frayed yet so it's pretty durable in my opinion.
In terms of durability for the Aerobite and BG80, I find them to be quite similar durability-wise. It’s all down to how many sessions you play per week, what tension you have your strings strung at, how hard you hit and even what type of shuttles you play with too.
Also, I do think Yonex might need to update their rating scales as they continue to develop better strings. I think many of the ratings were established when the string was initially developed or launched. For example, the BG65’s rating would’ve been decades old and probably the same for the BG80 too.
From my personal experience, I don’t think the BG66 Ultimax is as durable as the BG80 and certainly cannot see Nanogy 98 outlasting the BG80 too! Getting it updated, even with 0.5s in the rating system in consideration of the latest strings such as the Exbolt family would perhaps provide a more accurate overview of the performance. This ultimately helps us players and consumers with our purchasing decisions.
I hope you found this helpful and that this has now cleared up the misconceptions... I’ll see you in the next one!