How should I choose my bat?

Equipment

yasir huthaifa Asked 12 years ago

Hi coach ,

when it comes to choose my bat ,generally what are the properties I supposed to find in my bat,and what are the special properties I should consider to play with different kinds of styles

Yasir, Iraq

Alois Rosario Answered 12 years ago

Hi Yasir,

The most important thing is to get something in the range of what you need.

I would consider there are 3 main levels of bat.

A beginner bat which will be for players that are in the first year or training. This bat should be slow have good control but also have a rubber on it that will allow you to generate some spin. The rubber quality is important. It shouldn't be a fast rubber that will force you to compromise your shots. Without seeing them it is difficult to tell exactly what the bat is like.

The next level is the start of a Custom made bat. You would choose a blade (wood) and then choose rubbers to put onto that blade. Again it is important that you get a blade with good control. The rubber you put on would be a little faster than the rubber on your first bat. It will allow you to generate some more speed and spin while not being over the top with either.

The third level is to get a custom made bat that is faster or more specific to your style. This would involve different types of rubber such as pimples or inverted rubber.

We have selected a few rackets that fit these levels for you to make it easier. If you have someone that can show you bats and is experienced then you should also go to them. Often Table Tennis clubs have equipment for good prices and good quality.

THe rackets we have are the PingSkills Rook for the first racket, the PingSkills Touch with Mark V as the second level and then we also have other rubbers that you can put on the Touch once you get more advanced.

Let me know if you need any other help with this area.

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Thoughts on this question

Jeremy Goh Posted 11 years ago

Hi Alois/Jeff The blade need not be approved by ITTF right? I've only heard of the rubbers having such a rule. Are there rules against the bat used? Like material and size. Looking forward to your reply :)

Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 11 years ago
Hi Jeremy,

Yes, it is only the rubber that need to be approved. The bat rules are:

2.04.01 The racket may be of any size, shape or weight but the blade shall be flat and rigid.

2.04.02 At least 85% of the blade by thickness shall be of natural wood; an adhesive layer within the blade may be reinforced with fibrous material such as carbon fibre, glass fibre or compressed paper, but shall not be thicker than 7.5% of the total thickness or 0.35mm, whichever is the smaller.

ali nader Posted 11 years ago

Hi what is the racket of jeff please answer

Abdulla Ali Posted 11 years ago

I recently heard about blades made of rosewood.Is it a market hype or something great?Also please list some advantages and disadvantages of it.

Tony D Posted 11 years ago

Alois, can you comment on how the PingSkills beginner bat you recommended would compare to the Stiga Apex, which according to the package has ratings of 65 (speed), 52 (spin) and 80 (control)? I have only been playing about a month, but the Apex was a major improvement over the basic pips out paddle with no sponge. I am wondering if the Apex bat is likely to be a good "beginner" bat for me or if I should step up to something like your PingSkills beginner bat.

Thanks!

Ryan Sexton Posted 10 years ago

At My Table Tennis Club Mississauga Ontario Canada, the manager will let you use a club bat and make an assessment on your style and skill level and then recommend something. Ask people at your club if they could help you choose.

I play with a Joola Flame Fast which I ordered online without knowing much about how speed works. I was then told my style of play was not quite suited for a fast blade yet, and xiom vega rubbers were recommended because they do have a good amount of control and a fair price. I couldn't handle the ball with this racquet, but through the recommendation of the manager of mytt, I took some lessons and have since grown into the blade and rubber. At times I wanted to get rid of it and move to something all+ instead of off+, but eventually I adjusted as my skill level rose.

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