Badminton Kit Bag – The Ultimate Buying Guide

For a long time, I have used a badminton bag to bring everything that I need for my training sessions and tournaments. If you have been playing for a while and you still use a normal backpack to go to your training sessions, I would definitely recommend you to buy a badminton kit bag. This becomes mandatory once you start going to tournaments because it is much easier to bring everything you need in a bag that has been specially designed for that.

If you are very new to badminton, though, I would wait for a few months to see whether you are really into the sport. Kit bags are not very expensive but still, it is good to buy one only when you are sure you will carry on using it for a bit.

In the list below you will only find Yonex products. That doesn’t mean that there are not other good brands out there, but I have used Yonex kit bags all my life and I have found them to be extremely durable and reliable. Therefore, I recommend only them because I know them to be good. This doesn’t mean other brands are not good, it just means I haven’t tried them and, therefore, I cannot vouch for them or recommend them here.

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What should you look for in a kit bag?

As I said before, if you are new to the sport, I would recommend you keep at it at least for a few months before you decide to buy a kit bag. They are not the cheapest of products and you don’t want another object in your house that you have hardly used. If you have already been playing for a few months and you see that you like the sport, here is what you need to look for when buying a kit bag.

Durability is very important

You will sometimes overload your badminton bag, other times you will forget your dirty clothes inside there for a few days and other times it will be tossed around without much care. Your badminton bag will have to go through all this and keep working and looking well.

This is the main reason I recommend Yonex kit bags. In more than 15 years since I started playing this sport, I have only used two kit bags. And, at the peak of my performance, I was training 4 days a week and traveling by plane and car all over the country. I bought my second kit bag not because my first one broke, but because I used to carry a lot of weight in my kit bag for long periods of time and I had one kit bag with one strap only. That made it very uncomfortable to carry. Now I don’t play as much as I used to, but the second bag looks and behaves as good as when I first bought it years ago.

One strap or two straps? Well, it actually depends…

With what I just said above, you may think that you need a bag with two straps so you can carry your stuff comfortably. Well, that depends. It made sense for me because I was travelling a lot and carrying a lot of weight on my badminton bag. Moreover, due to travelling, I was also carrying the bag around for a longer time than normal.

If you only go to training sessions and a sporadic local tournament, it might make more sense for you to buy a kit bag with only one strap, because they are usually smaller, cheaper and easier to move around.

Pick a size that will fulfill your needs

If you are going to buy a bag, just think a bit what things you are going to put inside and how many times you are going to use it, or for how long will you have to be holding it. You definitely don’t want to buy a badminton bag that is too small and where you have to squeeze things in every time, but you don’t want to be buying a big one to bring it around always empty. That being said, try to always be on the safe side towards it being big. It is better to have a slightly over-sized bag than a slightly under-sized one.

If you are getting serious, your badminton kit bag should have at least two big compartments

Again, the exact number of compartments will depend on the type of use you are going to give it. However, if you are getting serious with playing badminton, make sure it has at least two big compartments. Why? First, you will want to keep your dirty clothes separated from the other things. And, even though you can do that (and should do that) by bringing a small bag to keep them inside there, it doesn’t hurt to have double protection from most of your other belongings. Moreover, it is also a good idea to have one compartment where you can keep your racket/s without too much other stuff crowding around it. Even though rackets are very strong, they can still break, especially if you start pushing things around and stuffing your bag until it is about to explode.

A shoe compartment is not a must-have

Badminton shoes are a must if want to play badminton indoors. I would venture as far as saying that they should be your priority number one, yes, even before the racket. Why is that? As we explained in our extensive badminton footwork guide, traction is very important in order to move around the court. Badminton shoes are designed with that need in mind and, as a result, they will prevent slipping that can lead to injuries or simply not being able to enjoy the game. Moreover, badminton movements can be sometimes very sudden and having shoes that are designed for these movements will minimize your feet injuries.

That being said, the fact that you need badminton shoes does not mean that you need to have a shoe compartment in your bag. You can also buy a shoe bag and place the shoes wherever fit best in your bag. I actually prefer that because it gives me a bit more freedom on where I put the shoes, but that will depend on your preference. If you want to go down the shoe bag route, you can find on Amazon the YAMIU Travel Shoe Bags, which are very well rated.

A side compartment is always handy

Apart from the big compartment and the possible shoe compartment, another important item to keep in mind is the side compartment. This is where you can place all your small belongings so that you can find them easily when you need them. It is very comfortable to have a place where you can put your grips, your phone, your wallet, your keys and whatever else you carry around and that is small enough for it not to get lost in a black hole.

When choosing a color, keep in mind that you want this product to last

Badminton kit bags, like any other textile related product, are subjects to the fashion of the day. It is a way for the brands to try to sell more products. If you like having your belongings brand new all the time, then this part is not for you. If you like to keep things for as long as possible though, please keep that in mind when picking the color. There might be colors that are currently very fashionable but that might look plain silly in just a few years’ time. Therefore, my recommendation would be to go for something rather plain and that you are sure will look well in a few years’ time.

Which badminton kit bag do I need?

Kit bags vary in price, size, and function. Therefore, you have to be careful to choose the one that fits best your current and potential future needs. But don’t you worry about it because we have you covered there. We are going to explain different scenarios and then recommend a specific kit bag for each scenario. We hope you will find one scenario that you will relate to. If that is the case, then you know which badminton kit bag you need. This way, you can forget about browsing around and trying to decide which kit bag is better and just focus on enjoying the game.

Which badminton kit bag do I need if I started a few months ago and I only go to play recreational badminton once or twice every two weeks?

If you have only played for a few months and you only go to play recreational badminton once or twice every two weeks or so, I would choose a simple kit bag. This is the only circumstance where I would recommend only one big compartment as a good option for you. This is because they are the smallest and more inexpensive option around. These kit bags also have one strap only. However, as you play badminton only occasionally, you will not need to bring it around a lot and you will probably not have too many items to bring.

As I said before, I personally can only vouch for Yonex as a reliable brand for kit bags. From the options they have, I would stay in the Team Series, which is their basic line. Within there, the one that I think fits best the needs of the occasional recreational player and that you can find on Amazon (among other places) is the Yonex bag 4923. You can follow this link to check it out on Amazon. It is a compact and reliable bag at a very good price. This bag can fit up to three rackets, although you will probably only bring one or two with additional items such as badminton shoes or change clothes. It will fulfill your needs for a badminton bag for years to come for the price of a dinner out.

Which badminton kit bag do I need if I play badminton once or twice a week and go to the occasional local tournament?

If you play regularly (at least once a week) and you also go to local tournaments, you should consider a bigger kit bag than the Yonex bag 4923. In this case, I think you need a bag with at least two big compartments. Moreover, I would recommend that you pick one with two straps, as they are much more comfortable whenever you have to carry some weight or you have to carry the bag for a long time.

For regular players, I think you need to look into the Active Series, as the Team Series does not offer kit bags with two straps. From the options they have, the one that I think fits best the needs of the regular player and that you can find on Amazon (among other places) is the Yonex bag 8926. You can follow this link to check it out on Amazon. It is a good-sized and durable bag at a competitive price. It can fit up to six rackets in its two main compartments. If you are like most people, you will bring around your two to three rackets in one of the main compartments and use the other one for towels and change clothes.

Which badminton kit bag do I need if I train at least twice a week and go to local and regional tournaments?

If you do not only play but also train regularly (at least twice a week) and you also go to local and regional tournaments, you should consider getting a step higher on your kit bag. This is because you will probably take badminton much more seriously with all that this implies, such as more rackets and additional equipment. Moreover, the regional tournaments may mean nights out every once in a while and then you would benefit from being able to bring everything in one bag. In this case, I think you need a bag with at least three big compartments. These ones will always be with two straps due to the weight that such a big bag involves.

For you, I would still look into the Team Series, as the Pro Series can get quite expensive and it is a step not really needed for people at this stage. From the options there are in this series, the one that I think fits best the needs of the regular serious player and that you can find on Amazon (among other places) is the Yonex bag 8929. You can follow this link to check it out on Amazon. It is a big yet manageable bag at a competitive price. It can fit up to nine rackets in its three main compartments. Most people at this stage have still two to three rackets all in one of the main compartments. The other compartments are used for your clothes, towels, etc.

Which badminton kit bag do I need if I train at least three or four times a week and go regional and national tournaments?

If you are closer to the pros than to the recreational player, training at least three or four times a week and going to regional and national tournaments, then you should go a step higher on your kit bag. In here we are already getting into quite pricey products, but bearing in mind the energy and time you invest in badminton, it makes sense to make sure you have a kit bag that fulfills your needs. National tournaments can mean weekends away and training so many times a week will come with the need for more clothes and storage space for other items such as towel grips or more rackets. In this case, I think you need a bag with at least three big compartments, but also a bit bigger than the Yonex bag 8929.

For such a hardcore badminton player, I would look into the Pro Series, as they are the line that meets the requirements of the professional badminton players. From the options there are in this series, the one that I think fits best the needs of the hardcore player and that you can find on Amazon (among other places) is the Yonex bag 98212. You can follow this link to check it out on Amazon. It is a big bag that will fit everything that you can possibly need, but designed in a way that it will be comfortable to bring around. It can fit up to twelve rackets in its three main compartments. Most people at this stage have three to six rackets in one or two of the main compartments. The other compartment/s are used for your clothes, towels, etc.

Final words

And with this last recommendation, we have arrived at the end of this post. Did you find what you were looking for with the advice above? Would you like any more information on any of the products? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!