Badminton - BG66 Ultimax String

It’s been around 3-4yrs since I started playing badminton. Have heard friends discussing about different types of badminton strings - but personally never felt a need to take a deep look at any of them. I was always using the standard - BG65 string; its so durable - I never changed them for more than a year 😉

After C19 break joined a new team of players. I am an intermediate player - but felt my game was very sluggish. I initially thought due to the C19 break - my game was completely off. But later realized that; there is a difference in the skill of the new players - they were really good. In my previous team, the rallys were really shot ~6, but here it went to almost 16 - it was also tiring.

I definitely had to do something, to not just move up my game - but atleast match the skill of the players. BTW, I am not a trained player (never been to coaching). One of my friend recommened - to try changing the string and see if it make a difference.

Below are some basic about badminton string. On a 10000 feet level: Common badminton strings’ diameters range from 0.65mm to 0.70mm. There are two types of strings - “Thick” and “Thin” ones. I won’t go into detail of each one, there are ton’s of materials out there.

Below are the specs for B66 Ultimax:

This was the only string my friend recommened - since he was an advanced player; I decided to blindly take his recomendation. This is a very thin string (0.65mm) - and a bit on the expensive side.

There are two important things to notice - Durability and Control. It has the lowest durability among Yonex string - you might have to change then every few weeks 😟. But, It has the best control/power 😍

Honestly: Within a week, I was able to see a huge difference in my game. I was able to return smashes with much better control and clears did reach the 3rd court - previously, it usually landed in the mid court and we get a killer smash return. And finally, much better control of my short serve and drives. After using it for a month - I am just loving it. I have now changed all my 3 rackets with the same string.

Finally: If you are really looking to up your game. Try out different strings, in my case B66 Ultimax worked - you might find a different one. But, keep looking and trying.

side kick: Taufik Hidayat was using BG66 Ultimax.

Next string on my list to try is Aerosonic - worlds thinnest string.