Choosing a Table Tennis Bat

good video for beginners an other for the others players

I think this is for everyone.  The point is that the differences between most of the top rubbers is not significant.

My practice partner upgraded to a better factory bat. The wood was fine, but the factory gluing is almost permanent. So, it's almost impossible to get the old rubbers off to upgrade them. TT dealers would have to spent over an hour, and charge a lot of money, to remove the original rubbers. I had to get a toxic chemical solvent to remove them. And it still took a lot of time and frustration. I finally glued on new rubbers with standard glue. I said to my friend that he should have bought a cheap bat separately, with good control (like Stiga Allround), and then I could have avoided removing the factory glue. The bat has now been made up with decent rubbers. I'd recommend bypassing the factory bat, which only wastes money overall. I don't like messing with toxic solvents either, and have to be careful where they are stored, as well as not injuring myself with them. 

Hey I guess I should have watched this video before submitting my "ask the coach" question! 

Great video, guys.

A beginner player can quickly become overwhelmed with all the choices available, plus the manufacturer's advertising pushing you this way and that- "WILL GIVE GREAT SPIN AND CONTROL WITH FANTASTIC SPEED", which is completely contradictory.

Just because someone at the club uses a carbon blade, or a balsa blade, and says it's fantastic, doesn't mean that it will suit your game.

Don't become an equipment junkie- buy a good quality all round blade with medium speed rubbers, and practice!

hello

you really did not state what difference the blade makes.  we see that the rubber can give better speed or spin but with a sponge what is the benifit of different blades other than maybe weight savings.

thank for all your great help

steve f

I have a dawei CR2 superior wooden with dawei 2008 Super Power rubbers.

im wondering if its a good beginner to intermediate bat to use?

i started playing a couple of weeks ago

Can you explain the difference between the pimpled rubber vs the flat rubber? I'm assuming this affects the spin of the ball but I don't understand why someone would want an asymmetrical bat (as I usually see the pimpled rubber on the backhand side)?

The video explained How to choose a TT bat in a balanced way. It is very really helping. In my experience with TT, we tend to focus more on TT bat compared to the game which is not the reality. I think we need to focus more on the game.

Hi,

What bat do you use?

Hey Alois,

This is a great video for those of us who have started playing TT. I know we can just go out and buy what we think is the best bat at our local sporting goods store. Then you get it home and find out it's not that great after all. I have ran into that situation myself and was very disappointed. I have a question though, do you guys have a video on how to clean the rubber's on your bat.

Also I have noticed that my rubber's are getting less tacky with less grip on the ball. I have seen some video's on now to the grip on old rubber's by doing some pretty unconventional things. Like using liquid dish soap when cleaning the rubber's. Then wiping it off with just a little bit of it and putting the bat in a zip lock baggie to dry. I have tried this method and noticed that the rubber's are more tacky, but the bat now collects debris from the ground. So I don't recommend this method to anyone. The reason I ask about finding a way to get the rubber's tacky again is I would think there is a better way then what I mentioned above.

 Anyone know of a better way???

Hi Steve,

Unfortunately when the rubber loses it's grip it is time to buy some new rubbers. That's one reason why people who get serious about table tennis move on to custom made bats, so you can replace the rubber but keep the blade. As a guide rubbers will last around 80 playing hours but the cheaper store made bats might not last that long.

Do you know when the pingskill rook will be available again? It seems a great beginner's bat, but it's been out of stock for a while!

Georges

Thanks for the crear video!!

A speed question:

some table tennis bats have two different faces.

Face A is smooth, Face B is rough. 

I was wondering if

1) this bats are good or not

2) there is a better face to use for forehand counterskills or is just a personal taste, considering the personal way to generate spins. 

Thx in advise!!

Alois, I love how you keep repeating that once you've chosen a good bat, you should stick with it. I've come across a few players who are obsessed with rubbers to the detriment of their game. It's amazing which theories you can sometimes hear from these gear aficionados! I've come to realize that, while sometimes it's just an innocent passion for the material side of our sport, it often serves as an excuse for not making progress and it eventually becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

Hi Alois, im using fast rubber for forehand and it fits me well, but i had a lot of troubles with placing the ball over the net propperly with my backhand, so i decided to replace backhand rubbber and i bought long pimples without sponge for chopping.I really feel very comfortable playing with that rubber, chopped ball has a floating effect and i have  very good control over incoming spinny balls, the only problem is, that i can't make spin with my backhand at all.Do you think that i should replace it if i make more progress in the future, and are there any world class players playing with that type of rubber?

hi Alois, i have a diff question.... im playing 3months now with  a stiga OC,first with dawei 2008 superxp(hard sponge), but it was too bouncy for me and fair slow....i changed with rakza 7 soft 2mm  the things were better but the overall feeling with this blade is dissapointing.. so i need and advice  with what blade can i pair my rakza rubbers....i want control and spin and secondly speed.... should i choose a hard blade,medium or soft? im trying to  be offensive with good control and i like to loop from evwhere if its possible...

Sir, I am planing to buy a stag ninja attack bat, witch is a pre-made bat. is it a good bat?

Hi Alois

My partner and I have both come back to TT after a gap of many years. We both played at minor league level.

The technological advances in equipment is staggering and bewildering.

At the moment we are both using Stiga all round classic blades. She has blutenkirsche 868 rubbers and I have friendship super 729 fx.

When the time comes to replace the rubbers I'm thinking of following your advice and choosing Mark v 

I would describe our playing standard as all round intermediate.

What do you think...good move or bad move

Many thanks in advance

i can hit most of the strokes and i have a tiga supreme and i am wanting upgrade what would u suggest alois rosario

Great video. Really helpful. Must have been good I watched all 14mins of it! You missed one point though, can I stick a good quality rubber to that yellow bat ;-)

Hi Alois,

Thanks for your video! I'm just getting into table tennis, and I bought a Stiga Apex premade from Amazon. It sure is a lot better than the really bad rackets I've used before, but it's still an entry level premade.

I live on campus, and there is a table available but no good rackets, so I decided to buy a new racket, and keep the Apex for when I play against guests without their own.

I ordered a Dawei DW2, with Dawei 2008XP on both sides. Does that seem like a good racket to start out with?

Thanks for the help! Your videos are great, and I look forward to improving my game.

This is the information that I've been looking for. You guys are awesome! 

Hi Alois,  have been playing pingpong for 5 yrs on and off. Started with a 2.0 rubber I think, then moved on to a faster rubber 3.0. Although was hitting off the table somewhat. Went back to the 2.0 and I feel I have more control now with the thinner rubber which is a lighter bat..However, an advanced player told me to play with 1 long pip side which would slow down the offensive players what do you think? Should I play with long pips on both sides of bat?  thank's for your advice. Kathy.

How do these recommended paddles compare to the ones at paddle palace?  They seem to use a different rating system so it is confusing. 

 Good knowledge. Just got back to game at 67 and retired. Hadn't played since teens. Purchased Top Spin 600. Having hard time implementing lessons as fellow players only want to  play doubles. That's got to change. Top spin good bat?

Thanks  Mark V.

Do you recommend replacing the rubber on a pre-made bat?

Thanks for making this video it helped a lot. I want to ask a question, is the Butterfly Timo Boll 42580 a good bat ?

Alois and Jeff, 

Great video.  You guys are right on the money helping new players get started correctly.  Without the proper equipment, it is very difficult and frustrating to learn the strokes.  Your information is absolutely accurate and you are providing a great service with your instructional videos!  Keep up the good work!!!

David

Absolutely brilliant and very humorous! 

Your comments are spot on! 

Sadly, I don't really play much these days, but in a former lifetime, maybe I wasn't too bad. 

My current blade is an ancient Butterfly Schlager Light (Tamica 5000).

I like the fact that you mentioned Sriver and Mark V.

You really can't go wrong with Sriver! I have Sriver G3 on both sides.

It provides excellent control and spin.

If you suspect that your rubber is not up to snuff, then simply to the test.

That is to say, take a decent ball and move it across your rubber.

If it has tactility, (the ball doesn't slide) then you're good.

If the ball slides across your racket, then it's time to replace the sheets.  

Alois and Jeff are the experts, though. Their advice is brilliant. 

Thanks for the thorough explanation.  Is there any type of maintenance one should perform on the rubber to prolong the life span?  I'm just starting out, and after only about 3 hours of play with a new premade bat (costs $40 USD) the center of the rubber already feels smooth.  I feel like the ability to spin will quickly deteriorate at this rate.

Hi Alois & Jeff,

Thank you so much.

Do you recommend the stiga 3 star table tennis bat?

... just out of interest: clickball uses their own special bats. Are these able to generate spin?

nice video, I use GKI Kung-FU Table Tennis Racquet, please give your review of this bat.

amazing explaination