In our forum, we get a lot of people asking for a recommendation on what rubbers or blade to pick. However the answer I always give is a series of questions. In order to give a helpful recommendation, we need to know more about you, your skill level, your playing style, and other specific needs. Read more
It’s important to know how often to replace your rubber with a new sheet. Use an old one too long and you’ll be playing with reduced performance. Switch too often and you’re wasting money with very little benefit. Read more
In this blog series, I will be answering the questions most frequently asked. Should I use a carbon or all-wood blade?
Generally, carbon blades are faster and more suitable for the advanced player. For a beginner, it is best to choose a very slow, controlled wood blade. This will allow the player to develop solid strokes because the ball has more dwell time on the racket. A faster blade is better for an attacking player who makes contact with the ball at the top of the bounce. A controlled blade is better for a defensive or allround player who plays at many different distances from the table. Read more
It’s easy to get enamoured by the latest Tensor technology and the bright packaging of the Butterfly Tenergy series, but this equipment is usually not suitable for most people, especially players at the amateur/intermediate level.
My own personal rule is that nobody with a USATT rating under 1900 (or isn’t being coached) should be using very high-speed equipment like the Butterfly Tenergy 05 or an OFF+ rated blade. If you’re a developing player, or are in the market for your first competition-grade racket, pay attention.
As I was conceiving the Table Tennis Database and going through all the ratings characteristics to include, “control” always seemed like an odd one. Speed and spin seem pretty clear. If you run an experiment using two rackets with the same blade and just compare two different rubbers, and use the same stroke to hit the ball, the faster one is the one that produces a higher velocity after impact. And with spin you can measure the rotations per minute (well probably not measure, but you can get a feel for how much spin was on the ball). These characteristics could be measured in a controlled lab. But control is hard to measure or even understand.
Did you know you can sort equipment by its characteristics? Apparently I hadn’t made this feature visible enough because people were requesting ways to do this.
There seems to be a fear of low-cost equipment in some circles. As a retailer myself, I’ve had customers walk away because the price tag was too low. “A whole racket for only $75? No thanks. I’m looking for something around $200.” They seem to think that price has a direct relationship with quality and performance, so Chinese brands like DHS, 729/Friendship, LKT and Gambler can’t compare to Butterfly, Donic and Stiga.
Twenty years ago, they would have been right.
On forums I keep hearing people ask, “What’s the best rubber or blade?”
The reality is that there’s no such thing.
Timo Boll uses the Butterfly Timo Boll Spirit, so that must be the best right? Timo is amazing! While he is amazing, and one of the players that is most fun to watch, you have to ask yourself, “Am I similar enough to Timo Boll that I should use what he uses?”
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