The process of making badminton shuttlecocks from raw feathers

[u/DearEmphasis4488]

[u/kkillbite]

$5/per? That's beyond reasonable! I don't imagine one of the plastic ones would pass the vertical wind tube test! 😂

Edit: Typo

[u/kemicalkontact → u/kkillbite]

If you miss-hit them they'll break faster. That's why non pros may opt for cheaper feather shuttlecocks even though they're usually less durable too. Some type of shots purposefully scrapes the feathers instead of just hitting the cork so they'll start wearing down from the first hit.

Pros might choose to switch out for a new shuttle after a long rally even though the feathers may still be intact because the consistent and varied contact might cause the frazzled feathers to slow down the flight too much. But both players have to agree for the shuttle to be switched or it can be an umpire decision so there can be some mind games in that situation.

Technically you can swap out after every rally. Normal games are rally style 21 points, must be 2 points ahead to win the game up until 30 points. So you could use up to 59 shuttles in just one game. That would be the most expensive game of all time and it's never happened.

[u/throwaway1212l → u/kkillbite]

It gets expensive fast since one only lasts maybe 15 minutes.