This is my entry part two to the Sports Challenge Write Off (hosted by me).

Hockey vs. Badminton
Interestingly these are the two sports that Malaysia is spending the most money in to develop Olympic athletes. Of course in Malaysia, that would be field hockey, which is about as similar to ice hockey as badminton would be. Yet, here I sit writing a review.

The main question in my mind is, how could it have come to this? I actually enjoy playing a spot of badminton. Granted I much prefer the volleyball aspect of this review, but I will get to that later. For now I need to defend my manliness (if only to myself).

You see, the answer lies in the fact that my wife refuses to play hockey. I’ve pointed out to her on several occasions that she isn’t the smallest person that would be on the ice. She didn’t care. I’ve noted that there are other people who cannot skate to save their lives (I’ve also complained about that same fact). She still wasn’t interested. Perhaps the problem is that I’ve never mentioned that there isn’t anyone her size who cannot skate or play hockey at all on the ice. She’s much smarter than I sometimes give her credit for.

Anyway, with hockey out of the picture (as well as tennis, racquetball, football, discus throwing, and arm wrestling), we finally found something that we could look equally stupid doing – badminton. Frankly this is a pretty tough game for someone who isn’t used to the entire finesse thing. I was more likely to smash that darn birdie over the neighbor’s fence than score at first. It isn’t like hockey which typically involves far less subtle moves.

How we got the set
This, I will blame entirely on my wife. She saw the badminton and volleyball set on sale for $20 at Target and picked one up. She thought we weren’t playing in the yard enough. I thought that climbing the neighbor’s fences to retrieve balls and shuttlecocks was a silly idea. We met in the middle though – I play in the yard and she gets the things I knock over the fences . . . Oh, come on, I’m kidding.

What comes with it
The set includes a net with telescoping poles, four badminton racquets, a volleyball with air-pump and a pair of shuttlecocks. All of this stows away into a plastic case (although apparently the newer models have a fabric case, which is likely a big improvement). In the case, the entire set shrinks to 33 x 10 x 4 inches. (In centimeters, substitute larger numbers for the ones that I’ve provided).

Set Up
The first time you use the set, putting it up can be a tad cumbersome. There are some tiny clips that attach the net to the poles. I also had to adjust some of the buttons that lock the poles once they are extended. You will also have to attach the shrouds to the poles in order to stake them. This took me perhaps fifteen minutes.

However, once the set is assembled the whole net can be up in about five minutes, less if two people are setting up. The ball will need to be inflated if you are keeping it in the case. This will take maybe another five minutes with the hand pump. I personally just keep ours inflated since it isn’t as if we keep the set in the car just in case we feel lke playing. Still, the ability to flatten out the ball and toss it in a small case would be a nice feature for people camping or just short on space.

Use and Such
The net is a little short for volleyball at 7 feet. While it is fun to rain down the fury of heaven while spiking the ball over such a short net, I find that it is somewhat less fulfilling that pounding one over a full size net. Of course if you are too short to spike the ball on a full 8 foot net, this might be better for you.

While it is apparently too short for volleyball, the net is decidedly too high for badminton. Badminton nets are meant to be 5 foot 1 inch in height (I had to look that up). I once saw a pro badminton tournament on television (odd I know) and now I know how these guys were smashing the birdie so had across the net. They didn’t have one that was 7 feet high. This turns what could be a power game into almost pure finesse.

I think that by removing the lowest portion of the telescoping poles, the net could be close to the actual height for competitive badminton. The actual net ends up at 58 inches, a mere three inches short. Perhaps this is how the net was intended to be used. However, with no background in badminton and no knowledge of proper net height until a few minutes ago, I was not aware of this possibility.

Net height aside, the set is a bargain for $20. The ball is a nice one of backyard volleyball. I personally don’t have problems with most volleyballs (except for the ultra cheap plastic ones that sting). But kids and the more squeamish among us who close their eyes and duck when a typical volleyball is headed their way will find this one a pleasant relief.

Sportcraft uses a fabric covered ball in this set. While it is official weight and size, it plays very nicely. It is nearly nerf-ball soft on the exterior. Still, we’ve had our set for at least three years and it is in good shape whith no leaks or tears on it.

The Net is sturdy and rather easy to adjust. The only thing that I really miss is being able to play low shots out of the net in volleyball. However, I haven’t seen an outdoor, portable set yet that will tighten up enough to spit back an errant ball to the net.

A very hard shot to the net with the volleyball will sometimes be enough to knock the net over, but this isn’t a real problem as setup is very easy and these moments are often good for a laugh. Further, despite falling down once in a while, we haven’t had any breakage in three years.

The racquets, as badminton racquets tend to be, are rather low quality. The plastic ends have had to be stuck back on two of them and all of them have some level of issue with the grip. One has an issue where the plastic piece on top of the grip slides back and forth, very annoying during play.

The plastic case is pure crap. It doesn’t bother me since we don’t take the set anywhere besides the backyard. However, if you are looking for one to travel with, this might not be the best choice. All of the buckles to close the case broke off within the first couple of uses. The case is actually a bit too small for the amount of stuff it is meant to hold. Fortunately, it appears that Sportcraft has switched to a cloth case so this problem might be solved.

Parting Thoughts
I am actually surprised at how many hours of fun we’ve had with this set. When my wife bought it, I suspected that it would sit unused for many years and get sold at a garage sales when we were both in our eighties. We would look at each other and wonder where on earth this thing came from and how it got in our garage, then sell it for a buck to some kid who knew that vintage badminton sets with real plastic cases were worth a fortune.

Nonetheless, it has been out in the backyard for a few weeks every year. This year we’ve hardly put it away. There has been many a pick-up badminton or volleyball game with the neighbors and even more singles badminton action in the yard. Of course now that I know the net needs to be lower, her winning streak is over. The gloves are coming off!


Recommended: Yes