Is the ball plastic or celluloid
Table Tennis Equipment
Last updated 10 years ago
Drew Mainprize Asked 10 years ago
Before I start I just want to apologize for how long this will be. So I play on the table I have at my house where the balls i use are very light and bounce pretty high and when I apply pressure with my finger I can make the ball collapse and even break a brand new ball. I am wondering if this is because it is a plastic ball or if it is just because it is a one star ball. So one of my teachers got a ping pong table in his classroom (lucky) so he made a club and I've been playing there a bit but with all the people who want to i haven't been there much. Except the first time I went I noticed the ball was ALOT heavier and did not bounce as high on the table. I also had trouble putting a decent amout of spin on the ball. This could be because it's an older table that I think he had donated and maybe the balls and bats came with it because they look old too or if if is a celluloid ball. So the main question i am trying to ask would be is the ball I am using celluloid or plastic, why are the two balls different weights and should I be training with a different type of ball if mine collapse like I mentioned earlier. Once again sorry for the length and thanks!
Alois Rosario Answered 10 years ago
Hi Drew,
The ball is almost certainly a celluloid ball. There are not many plastic balls available. It is probably a low quality ball however.
They are OK in a training situation especially in a classroom where there are likely to be a lot of breakages.
At this stage don't worry too much about the different bounces. Just try to adapt to whatever you are playing with.
Take a look at the lesson we have on Choosing a Ball.
Thoughts on this question
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Drew Mainprize Posted 10 years ago
Thanks again Alois,
But would the difference in weight be because of the quality of the two balls because that's whats really effecting how i play with the two balls?
Curtis Lewis Posted 10 years ago
Hey Drew,
Did you mean the weight in hand or the feel on your racket? It's definitely the quality of the balls. You can usually guess by the stars and the brand name.
Drew Mainprize Posted 10 years ago
Thx Curtis,
I can feel the weight in my hand a lot and a bit off of the racket. The balls I am using are east point 1 star balls and the ones at my school are unmarked.
Curtis Lewis Posted 10 years ago
Hey Drew,
Yeah, there's no telling who made the unmarked balls--probably no standard for their quality either. I think the best ball I've played with was a 3 star Double Happiness. All that really matters though is that it feels good.
Drew Mainprize Posted 10 years ago
Ok thanks Curtis, now i'll have more confidence hitting lots of spin on the heavier ball not thinking it'll fly off the end of the table!