How to become an equipment expert
Equipment
D K Asked 8 years ago
Hello PingSkills Team,
As I am very interested in equipment and also because I am more and more frequently asked by younger players about equipment,I would like to ask,what abilities and knowledge do I need to become and equipment expert and how to gain them?
Thanks
DK
Alois Rosario Answered 8 years ago
Hi DK,
I think playing with a lot of different rubbers and seeing what their properties are...
However, this can become an expensive exercise.
Maybe an equipment expert is one that realises this... To really become better you need to get more interested in training and spend less time worrying if you have the 'right' equipment.
Thoughts on this question
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D K Posted 8 years ago
So it is quite similar to what I thought.
Then the cheapest way is getting older equipment and trying to play with it?
Johan B Posted 8 years ago
Read a lot and find varied training partners?
D K Posted 8 years ago
I have already read quite a lot of informations regarding equipment....but it is not the same as personal experience.
How can varying partners help?
Yes,I can personally feel the effect,but I could succesfully differ the Tenergy and Acuda rubbers.
Only once,I managed to tell that one player is using Friendship without playing him or seeing his bat at closer range (accident like hell heh?)
Johan B Posted 8 years ago
Cool!
Borrow their equipment, ask them questions
Get an internship in a table tennis store
Tushar Verma Posted 8 years ago
I also review equipment but I most of time I review the rubbers used by my friend, I can play with them and know their properties.
D K Posted 8 years ago
Johan B:
questions?
What questions? :D
I am not sure what is "internship"
Johan B Posted 8 years ago
Go work in a table tennis store :p
Ask them how they use their equipment and why, why Not not another brand or type?
D K Posted 8 years ago
My experience is that even workers in those shops sometimes do not know more than me.
At my level,many players are even not aware of which rubber they are using.
They are just interested in if the can play well with it.
Arjan van Luttikhuizen Posted 8 years ago
From my personal experience, I have a huge interest in the inner workings of anything I play. Back when I played online games competitively I was the kind of person that used to spend up to hours every day on wiki's, forums and other website with data about the game I played.
With TT I noticed I'm not much different. Out of sheer interest in the game I spend a good amount of time going through various TT forums, scouring the equipment database to compare other people's experiences, ratings and reviews etc...
I haven't invested a great amount of money myself, since I am learning and very happy with my current setup. But second hand knowledge is better than no knowledge! Also, I do ask just about every club member and opponent what they use! It really puts the stuff I read online into perspective to see players utilising that equipment.
It wasn't before long that I started to notice, when talking to other players, that my view on equipment was much broader and more informed than theirs. Once you read the same thing in 5 different places, and observe how it works in practice you too can start to apply that knowledge when advising people!
D K Posted 8 years ago
I have often different experiance than what I read on the forums.,
Of course I read them a lot.
But I often read for example two opposite opinions on one rubber.
Then I need to try it personally
Arjan van Luttikhuizen Posted 8 years ago
Of course you wouldn't take a person's word for granted, every review should be taken with more than one grain of salt, some reviews being more trustworthy than others. It's equally wrong to think that your personal experience is a flawless indication of the equipment's strengths and weaknesses. Everyone is biased somehow, manufacturers, distributors, ourselves, we all love to exaggerate the difference that equipment makes. On top of that it's all largely subjective anyway.
Different gear mostly comes with relative advantages/strengths and relative disadvantages/weaknesses. Those trade-offs have to suit the player, and that's what makes it so hard to get an objective view on the quality.
There is not a single person in the world who is qualified to give an unbiased opinion on all the blades and rubbers out there. That includes ourselves!
All that I recommend is to look for trends and recurring opinions, and then see if they check out in reality if possible. Two opinions, conflicting or not, isn't nearly enough to make a conclusion!
D K Posted 8 years ago
OK
Speaking of this:any ide what is the difference between normal rubbers and those that are said to be "suitable for plastic balls"?
martinand bernard Posted 8 years ago
to spend money
D K Posted 8 years ago
So you say they are said so in order to force players buy new rubbers?
martinand bernard Posted 8 years ago
I think of course, I don't buy new rubbers, training is better
D K Posted 8 years ago
I know.
I just asked because i am going to buy a spare bat,because I need a double-inverted bat to play with kids and also to test out my abilities as an double-invert player (normally I am longpips chopper).
And I decided for the Kokutaku Blutenkirsche rubber.
It is said to be suitable for plastic balls.
Jeff Plumb from PingSkills Posted 8 years ago
You certainly need to update your rubbers when they start to wear out but as long as you have decent rubbers it's the training that will make the difference.
D K Posted 8 years ago
Ehm....I am not sure what wearing rubbers out has to do with this? :O
Nicolas Matthew Posted 8 years ago
Being an equipment master is one quite tough job if you do not have the budget. You must read people's opinion on the product you are looking for and actually trying it out yourself. You need to have a lot of experience to really understand yourself the build-in characteristic for each brand and really understand the rating number given by people in terms of speed, spin, control, throw angle, sponge hardness, etc. This applies to rubber, blade, table, robot, and other notable table tennis equipment. Hope this helps :)