Correct Balls/Paddle

Hello Nikolas,

I to use the EastPoint EPS 3.0 and find it as a pretty good bat for the money. Just make sure you clean it after you are done playing and or practicing because the rubbers tend to get dirty pretty quick. The EastPoint balls are not bad either but watch out with the 1 star balls. Some of them have a small crease where they bond the 2 half's together.

Thanks Steve! I have been trying to get a better paddle, but can't afford the price.  Know where I can get any cheap, relatively decent paddles?  And as far as the balls, I have noticed the same thing with them. I have seen the crease on a few of the balls, so i try to stay away from those ones.  Thank you!

Nikolas,

I have been waiting for Pingskills to get some more of there "Rook" paddle's. Alois and Jeff recommend them for us that are begginers or intermediate beginner's. For around $70 US I think it is pretty reasonable, but like I said they are out of stock right now. So I may wait but have been looking into buying something else in the mean time. Not sure where you bought your EastPoint paddle but I bought mine at a place called Walmart here in the US. It only cost me $5 or $6 buck's and for me I think it is a pretty good paddle for the price. I have been looking at some other paddles, but if you read some of the thread's here. You will find that you really need to hold the new paddle before you buy it. Also rubber's are real important, so again you will need to check out that as well.

I'll let you know if and when I buy another paddle, because I don't know when Pingskills will get more Rook paddle's. And I don't know if I can wait until they get more of them. Until then happy gaming and keep practicing!!! :-)

Steve,

I live in the US too, so I know what Walmart is lol. :)  Being just a teen who has no job, the price is really what is hurting my chances of getting a new paddle.  But for right now I will keep this paddle until I cannot use it anymore.  And I got it at Walmart too, and I think it was between $9-12.  Not sure exactly. 

Hey Nikolas,

I have a question for you, when your paddle gets dirty. What do you do to clean it? I know Alois says to just use water and then wipe it off. But I find with these EastPoint EPS 3.0 paddle's. The rubber's are pretty darn sticky and tend to get dirty quickly. So I am wondering what you are using to clean your paddle.

Also, if you want to know how I clean mine, I'll let you know a little secret if you want to know. ;-)

Steve,

I'd love to hear your secret! To be honest, I do the same as Alois, but I'd like to know a better way, because I don't know about if the water damages the paddle.  I like to only use a little, and then use a towel.  And I agree, the rubber is REALLY sticky! :)

Nikolas, 

You are still here, cool.

Anyway, what I was talking about with cleaning our EastPoint paddle's. Most of the time I play TT in my garage and it gets pretty dirty as you imagine. So one day I was looking at some YouTube videos about cleaning paddle's. I came across one where they had used dish washing liquid and a sponge. So here is what I found that seems to work very well. I use Dawn Ultra dish washing liquid, with warm water and a sponge. Use a little bit of the dish washing liquid on a very wet warn sponge. Work it in the sponge and make sure you have a dry towel ready. I take the paddle and wipe both sides with the sponge then wipe off the little bit of amount of soapy water on that dry towel. Then I let it dry for a couple of minutes where both sides of the paddle can dry evenly.

Now my secret, after you have let the paddle dry for a few minutes. Put it in a sandwich size zip lock baggie and push the air out of it until you see that the baggie is sticking to the paddle. The next time you go to use your paddle you will notice that you will have to pull the baggie up and off the paddle. Ones you have removed the baggie, you will notice how clean and sticky your paddle is.

Now I don't recommend this for more expensive paddle's. But I have been doing this for a while on my EastPoint paddle's and I have 4 of them. But give it a try and make sure you don't get it to wet. Just wipe it and dry it as explained above. Then dry it and then put it in the baggie.

I hope that this help's.

Yes that does very much!  Hopefully this weekend I can give your idea a try!  What do you recommend for a good paddle that is relatively cheap?

Hello Nikolas,

Good to hear from you again, do you have a "Dicks Sporting Goods" in your area? Or maybe Academy Sports? I have been to Dicks sporting goods and they have a good variety of TT paddle's from different manufacturer's. Most of them are at a pretty good price, like under $50 bucks. Tell me, what is your spending limit? That would help a lot to know. Knowing what you are willing to spend will help me so I can find something in your price range.

Probably $50-75.  And yes I do have a Dick's close by.  Have a specific paddle you recommend?

Hey Nikolas,

I was just reading your first comment that you had asked the coach/ Alois. You say that you don't have the money or transportation to get a paddle. So I am thinking that you might want to go online and look for a paddle. The only drawback about buying online is you don't know what you are really getting, especially a paddle. Where you really need to hold it in your hand and get a feel of it. Touch the rubber's and make sure that are of quality. You can't do that when buying online, plus there are some pretty unscrupulous people out there. Who will sell you what you think you are getting, just to find out it is a fake or replica of the actual product you think you are buying.

Unless you are buying from a manufacturer that makes the paddle you are looking to buy. Knowing that you are only 15 you might want to ask your Mom or Dad and see if they will take you to a sporting goods store. Of course make sure wherever you go they have TT paddle's, some do some don't. You might even want to call them first to make sure that they have what you are looking for. There are a lot of good beginner paddle's out there, so it really depends on how much you can or want to spend.

I know the EastPoint is not the best, but it is not the worst either. I don't know what kind of player you are and how long you have been playing TT. So that is going to make a big difference in the type of paddle you buy. For myself I have been thinking about getting either the Stiga Master Series Indoor TT racket or the Stiga Master Series Cannon Indoor TT racket. If I were you I would go to the Dicks website and search under Table Tennis. Then look at the TT racket's. Look at your price range and read the reviews about the rackets you are interested in. 

Hopefully this will help you.

Hello Nikolas,

I hope you are doing well. I have not heard from you in a couple of days. Have you had time to go look for a paddle and if so have you made a decision on what you might want to buy?

In the mean while keep practicing with what you have. Because whatever paddle you use is better than nothing. :-) 

H