In this guide, we’ll give you multiple tips on how to choose badminton clothing.
The guidance given in this article is meant to help you select the apparel that will keep you cool and comfortable, enhance your movement, and improve your game on the court.
Without wasting any more time, let’s jump into it.
Key Takeaways
- Properly fitted, light-colored, and sweat-absorbent pieces of clothing are crucial for playing badminton comfortably.
- Most badminton players wear thick socks to the court to provide their feet the cushioning they need to steer clear of ankle injuries.
- High-impact sports bras are best for badminton because they provide maximum support.
Tips for Choosing Badminton Clothing
Whether you’re trying to stay cool and dry on the court or looking for clothes that won’t restrict your movement out there, the tips given below will help you meet the objective that led you to this article.
1. Opt for Polyester Fabric
| Polyester | Cotton |
|---|---|
| ✓ Sweat-resistant | |
| ✓ Can withstand lots of wearing and washing | |
| ✓ Wrinkle-resistant | |
| ✓ Fades less in the wash |
What is the biggest mistake you can make when choosing clothes for badminton? Selecting cotton.
The reason I’m saying that is pretty simple: cotton takes ages to dry and weighs down your body with all the sweat it’s accumulating.
Fortunately, that is not the case with nylon and polyester. Both these fabrics dry pretty quickly, ensuring you avoid staying drenched throughout the match or tournament.
Furthermore, polyester apparel is much more wrinkle-resistant and durable than cotton, making it an excellent option for badminton players who play regularly and thus will be subjecting their clothing items to a lot of wearing and washing.
2. Choose Properly Fitted Clothes
When selecting clothes, badminton players need to keep two things in mind:
- Ill-fitted or tight clothes will cause avoidable friction and chafe your body parts, creating discomfort.
- Loose pieces of clothing won’t allow you to move as quickly as you want due to greater resistance, costing you some valuable points.
So, when shopping for the apparel that you’ll wear on court, make sure to opt for good-fitting clothes. Ones that you’ll feel comfortable wearing for long stretches of time and which won’t interfere with your gameplay.
3. Go for Light Colors
If you remember back to your school physics class on light absorption, you’ll remember that light colors reflect whilst dark colors absorb.
This is particularly important to pay attention to if you are playing outside and live in a hot area of the world like me. Light color fabrics would be the wisest choice.
By reflecting light (and, more importantly, heat), a light-colored fabric would keep your body temperature down during those humid afternoons.
4. Wear Compression Thick Socks
If you have started playing badminton only recently, or you only play it once in a while, you may not know how cruel this game could be on your feet.
To keep your feet in prime condition, providing them with the right kind of support is important. One way to do that is by choosing the right pair of badminton shoes. Another is by wearing thick compression socks to court[1].
A pair of thick compression socks would give your feet the cushioning they need to avoid ankle sprains, one of the most common injuries in badminton. They will also fend off any friction between the shoe and the foot, minimizing blisters.
5. Choose a High Impact Sports Bra
Sports bras come in three types: low impact, medium impact, and high-impact.
High-impact sports bras are best for badminton because they employ encapsulation and compression mechanisms to surround each breast separately and compress it against the chest to restrict movement.
Once you have chosen the bra, the next thing you need to do is to verify it fits you properly. Here are the signs of a properly fitting sports bra:
- It won’t cause any chafing around the armholes, seams, or shoulder straps.
- You can easily fit two fingers between the straps and the shoulders and between your body and the band.
- The band doesn’t go up when you lift your hands above your head.
- You feel secure while jumping up and down while wearing the bra.
Optional Gear to Wear to the Court
Here are a few optional though nice to have pieces of gear that you can wear to the court:
- Warm-up pants and jackets. If you want to be at your best every day on the court, make sure to be nicely warmed up. One way to do that is by wearing a tracksuit on your way to wherever it is you play badminton.
- Headband. Anyone with loose hair flying in front of their eyes will find it difficult to concentrate on the game.
Best Badminton Clothes for Men and Women
Women
- Jacket: Head Women’s Breaker Jacket – buy on Tennisnuts
- Shirt: Yonex YTL1 Badminton T-Shirt – buy on Amazon
- Bra: Adidas Women’s Don’t Rest Alphaskin Bra – buy on Amazon
- Headbands: Non-slip Elastic Headband for Women and Men – buy on Amazon
- Socks: Compression Athletic Ankle Socks – buy on Amazon
- Shoes: ASICS Women’s Upcourt 4 badminton shoe – buy on Sports Direct
Men
- Jacket: Yonex 75th Anniversary 50106A Men’s Warm Up Jacket – buy on Direct Badminton
- Shirt: Nike Men’s Nk Dry Park Vii Jsy Ss T-shirt – buy on Amazon
- Headbands: Non-slip Elastic Headband for Women and Men – buy on Amazon
- Socks: Compression Athletic Ankle Socks – buy on Amazon
- Shoes: Yonex Power Cushion Aerus 3 badminton shoe – buy on Tradeinn
See more equipment guides:
- How to choose a badminton racket
- How to choose a badminton racket string
- How to choose a badminton net
- How to choose a shuttlecock
- Types of badminton equipment
Photo credit: Pierre-Yves Beaudouin
