We play badminton at our house sort of the way we play horseshoes. During weekends in the summer we have people over to our house for burgers and BBQ, and our yard is big enough to play lawn games. The games are not at all serious, no one measures how high the net is, and we sort of make up the rules as we go along.Serious players hide your eyes, but I basically chose the net by purchase price. I wanted to spend about $25. We have had a couple of $10 nets, and they last a couple weeks. There is no way I am going to spend $100 on a net, because while I am sure it would be of much higher quality, frankly I just don't care.Subject to those constraints, this net is perfect. It has held up most of the summer with little or no fraying, and still looks good. I'd estimate we will probably get at least one, and probably two or three more years out of it before the sun, wind, and wear and tear finally take its toll. We don't get much rain in the summer, which probably will help its longevity.As for its suitability as a badminton net, I am not really sure what "professional" quality players demand, and I am sure it would fall short. It is tough to keep it from sagging, as it does seem to want to stretch a little bit. As a result I really don't pull it all that tight, but rather let it droop a couple inches in the middle. No one really cares, and it makes it easier for the kids to hit it over.To mount the net, I dug a pair of 3' deep post holes, and set a length of 2" PVC pipe that comes to just below ground level. My posts are two pressure treated 2x2's with a couple of eye bolts screwed into them. When I want to set up the net, I insert the two 2x2's into the PVC pipe. There are two wooden shims glued into the PVC which keeps the 2x2 from turning, and the whole thing is quite sturdy. When I am done with the net, I put the posts in the garage and cover the PVC with plugs so they don't fill up with water. The pipe is set low enough that the lawnmower glides right over the caps. The end of them that is down in the hole is sealed, otherwise moles would probably fill them up with dirt. Makes a great set of removable poles-total cost about $7.So in summary, I think it is a great net for what I want to do with it...namely play badminton with the neighbors and the kids. More serious players would probably take issue with the quality of the net. And as others have noted, the net you receive doesn't look much like the one in the picture. Mine only had the white tape around the top, the rest of it is black. No doubt it could be higher quality, but in the days of "made in China", sometimes you just have to take what you can get.
Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]