13 Best Badminton Brands: The Giants Of Badminton

Brands have been at the center of any customer purchase and preference. There is no exception in badminton either, and some brands are valued over others, usually for a justified reason.

In this article, I have listed the most popular and not-so-popular brands where they are under the microscope in quality, popularity, and other information that will be of interest to you. Without further due, let’s begin!

The best table tennis brands include;

• Yonex
• Li Ning
• Victor
• Carlton
• Wilson
• Babolat
• Karakal
• Yehlex
• Ashaway
• FZ Forza
• Apacs
• Talbot Torro
• Oliver Badminton

After eyeballing the brands, you will probably recognize some of the brands but not others. Let’s review each brand in-depth and learn their information, history, best items, and where they land on the popularity scale. I’ll start with the king of badminton, Yonex!

1. Yonex

• Founded: 1946
• Founder: Minoru Yoneyama
• Nationality: Japan
• Famous for: Rackets & Shuttlecocks
• Official Website: Yonex.com

Yonex is arguably the biggest name in badminton and has been a while now. The massive brand came from Japan and was founded in 1946 by Minoru Yoneyama.

Yonex has a wide range of Tennis, Badminton, Golf, Running, and even Snowboarding products. Out of these sports, Yonex is most known for badminton equipment, with a widespread presence in tennis.

When it comes to top products, their rackets in badminton and tennis are very popular. In addition, both feather and nylon shuttlecocks are top quality if they carry the name of Yonex.

The most famous players Yonex is sponsoring include Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrigos from tennis and Lee Chong Wei and Lee Yang from badminton. Out of all brands, I prefer Yonex for badminton equipment!

2. Li-Ning

• Founded: 1989
• Founder: Li Ning
• Nationality: China
• Famous for: Sportswear
• Official Website: Lining.com

Li-Ning is a Chinese brand founded in 1989 by a retired athlete and entrepreneur. This brand is definitely one of the biggest names in the badminton world.

Li-Ning provides a wide selection of athletic equipment in many sports, but the most known products are footwear and apparel. Li-Ning badminton shoes and rackets are the most popular items in the sport, and they are well known for their incredible designs.

The brand has acquired many notable names under their sponsorship, such as P.V. Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth!

3. Victor

• Founded: 1968
• Founder: Chen Den
• Nationality: Taiwan
• Famous for: Rackets & Shuttlecocks
• Official Website: Victorsport.com

Victor or victor badminton is a brand specialized solely in badminton equipment. The brand comes from Taiwan, as do many skilled badminton players such as Lee Yang.

Victor was founded in 1968 by Chen Den and is the most known for its rackets and shuttlecocks, as you might suspect. Although, equipment isn’t the only thing they are famous for as their sponsored tournaments are also well known.

Some famous badminton players playing with Victor’s sponsorship include Tai Tzu-Ying, Mohammad Ahsan, and Hendra Setiawan.

4. Carlton

• Founded: 1946
• Nationality: United Kingdom
• Famous for: Rackets & Nylon Shuttlecocks
• Official Website: Carltonsports.com

Carlton is a great badminton brand with amazing quality and a wide range of products for all badminton skillsets. However, Carlton isn’t as present as it once was, but you can still find products under the brand.

Carlton is best known for its rackets, especially ones implemented with the Carlton Badminton System, a systematic approach of quality key components, making their rackets great. In addition, nylon shuttlecocks are the expertise of Carlton.

In addition to badminton equipment, Carlton now offers table tennis equipment as part of their selection. I haven’t tried them, but I would be interested in doing so, as I love table tennis.

When it comes to sponsored players by Carlton, I’m not sure that they sponsor anyone anymore, as the brand isn’t as present as it once was. Still, the equipment quality is very good!

5. Wilson

• Founded: 1913
• Founder: Thomas E. Wilson
• Nationality: United States
• Famous for: Tennis Equipment & Sporting Goods
• Official Website: Wilson.com

Wilson is probably the most known brand on this list. Wilson provides badminton equipment, but the more popular ones are basketballs and tennis equipment.

The brand was founded in 1913 by Thomas E. Wilson, so it’s the third oldest brand on this list. Amer Sports, which is a Finnish group, acquired Wilson in 1989.

Wilson provides some beginner-friendly badminton sets, but most rackets are meant for intermediate or advanced players.

6. Babolat

• Founded: 1875
• Founder: Pierre Babolat
• Nationality: France
• Famous for: Racket Sport Equipment
• Official Website: Babolat.com

Babolat is one of the oldest racket sports brands in the world. The brand was founded in France by Pierre Babolat, where it gets its name.

Even though Babolat is well known for its badminton selection, it’s even more popular amongst the tennis community. In addition to rackets and shuttlecocks, Babolat provides strings, overgrips, bags, shoes, and other apparel.

Babolat isn’t the cheapest nor the beginner-friendly brand of badminton brands, but it’s one of the most quality ones. Rafael Nadal, the famous tennis player from the top 3 players of all time, is sponsored by Babolat.

7. Ashaway

• Founded: 1824
• Founder: Lester Crandall
• Nationality: United States
• Famous for: Racket Strings
• Official Website: Ashawayusa.com

The oldest badminton brand of all is Ashaway, which is nearly 200 years old at the time of writing! The brand was founded by Captain Lester Crandall from the United States, who originally manufactured the finishing line. However, in 1949, they began making strings for racket sports!

Ashaway has many revolutionary string types, such as the ZyMax 62 Fire, which offers incredible repulsion power, control, and tension stability. The durability is top-notch as well.

Ashaway is a great badminton brand, but no brand can compete with the three big ones: Yonex, Li-Ning, and Victor.

8. Karakal

• Founded: 1978
• Founder: Roger Vercambre
• Nationality: Belgium
• Famous for: Squash Equipment
• Official Website: Karakal.com

Karakal is a Belgian racket sports brand providing badminton, squash, tennis, racquetball, and table tennis gear. In addition, they offer clothing, among other things.

Their main focus is squash, yet their other products are great and have a worldwide distribution. The great thing about Karakal is that they offer a very wide price range from £12 to £120+, so beginners and advanced players all have a choice.

Karakal is also the sponsor of the world-famous squash player Joel Makin which has brought the brand a lot of exposure.

9. Yehlex

• Founded: 1985
• Founder: Ian Little
• Nationality: United Kingdom
• Famous for: Shuttlecocks
• Official Website: Yehlex.co.uk

Yehlex is a badminton brand from the United Kingdom, founded by Ian Little. However, the name Yehlex comes from Taiwan and is a famous trade name of the Yeh family from Kaohsuing.

Yehlex provides everything from the badminton sector you would need, but the most notable product category is shuttlecocks. Their shuttlecocks come in the following grades; Premiership, Championship, Tournament, and Club grades.

The Yehlex rackets are also famous as they offer a wide range of them for different playstyles and skill levels. Therefore, you can find a racket for control, power, accuracy, speed, and you name it.

10. FZ Forza

• Founded: 1990
• Founder: Mark Christiansen
• Nationality: Denmark
• Famous for: Badminton Equipment
• Official Website: Fzforza.dk

Fz Forza is a Danish brand founded by Mark Christiansen in 1990. They provide everything you would need for badminton with a tasteful design on most products. Their product quality is also good, and the prices aren’t from the highest end, which makes FZ Forza a great value brand.

FZ Forza offers badminton racquets for all player types, including defensive, versatile, and offensive players. You can also find rackets for beginner to advanced skill sets, so the selection is good.

Most badminton brands are Asian, so if you want something different for a change, I recommend FZ Forza gear, which is made by badminton players for badminton players.

11. Apacs

• Founded: 2002
• Nationality: United Kingdom
• Famous for: Badminton Rackets
• Official Website: Apacssports.com

Apacs is a racket sports brand with badminton, squash, tennis, table tennis, and running equipment. The brand is quite new, founded in 2002 in the United Kingdom. The name APACS comes from Aggressive, Power, Accurate, Control, and Speed, which are essential skills for badminton.

Back in the day, when Apacs first became a thing, they only shipped for Asia. However, now the brand can ship for more than 50 countries, which raises the chances of getting Apacs gear where you live.

Out of all badminton equipment, rackets are what Apacs know the best. They have rackets for all player types, from entry-level to advanced. Their advanced + models are the best if you’re looking for the elite of Apacs.

12. Talbot Torro

• Founded: 1980s
• Founder: Derek Talbot
• Nationality: Germany/British
• Famous for: Badminton Rackets
• Official Website: Talbottorro.de

Talbot Torro is a hybrid of two brands, Talbot and Torro Company. Derek Talbot, a former British badminton player, founded his company after retiring as a badminton player. The Torro company is a German brand from the 1980s. In 1992, Talbot and Torro companies became one, the Talbot-Torro.

Talbot-Torro certainly isn’t the most known brand of all. However, they are best known for their rackets. They provide three racket categories; Isoforce, Arrowhead, and Sportline.

Generally, the Isoforce rackets are the best, then Arrowhead and Sportline rackets are for beginners or total hobbyists. They have a fourth category, the Eli, which stands for Easy learning Initiative. These rackets are meant for total beginners that are just beginning to learn the basics of badminton.

13. Oliver Badminton

• Founded: 1938
• Founder: Jack Oliver
• Nationality: Adelaide, Australia
• Famous for: Badminton Rackets
• Official Website: Oliverbadminton.co.uk

Oliver Badminton is the last brand on this list; however, not the least. Jack Oliver founded the brand in 1938 in Australia. Even when Oliver provides badminton equipment nowadays, it started as a tennis and squash equipment manufacturer.

You can find everything you need from Oliver for badminton use, but the most notable product range is rackets. They provide rackets for two categories: Professional and Club.

Professional rackets are their most high-quality selection and generally start from £100 upward. Club rackets are their more hobbyist models, where the price ranges from £40 to £95.

These are the best 13 badminton brands you can get gear from. Each person has their favorite brand, but in my opinion, there is a reason why Yonex, Victor, and Li-Ning are the three most popular. Because they are the best!