Choosing New Table Tennis Blade and Rubbers

Table tennis certainly has evolved since it was first created by the British back in the 1800s. It originated as an after-dinner form of entertainment for the well to do. The wiff-waff, as it was first called, was played with rackets made of stretched parchment over a frame or using a book hitting a golf ball over a row of books.
What started as a simple form of fun entertainment has now transcended into an Olympic sport in 1988. It is the year where the best table tennis players from around the world show off their skills and compete for gold.

Ping-pong players are divided into beginners, intermediate and advanced players based on their skill levels. The game has become so refined that the paddles (rackets) are even customer built or custom designed by the players.

You can buy a racket ready to use off the shelf but for the more discerning, you play with your blades and rubbers for your skill level.

Skill levels are determined by:

• The types of shots that you can take.
• The delivery to your opponent and how you strategically return.

There are special blades and rubbers for various purposes that can be purchased separately and assembled, creating the perfect customized paddle just for you and your skillset. As your skills jump from beginner levels to intermediate and finally advanced, your equipment will become just as refined as your game.

For Beginners

Beginners should start with the basic equipment to learn what their style is, then they can expand their blades and rubbers to customized pieces that work well for them. To get started, choose a well-rounded paddle that offers a lot of control at a reasonable price. Good quality brands for beginners include 729, DHS, Yasaka, Stiga and Butterfly.

• The Primorac All-blade by Butterfly is recommended for beginners supplying them with the proper speed and control to get started.
• – Tube All-round, STIGA Energy WRB, and Classic All-round blades made by Stiga are also great blades for beginners.
• – Good rubbers for beginners include the YASAKA Mark V series or the Butterfly Sriver series because they provide more controllable speed.

Intermediate Players

Now that you have gone through some of the learning basics as a beginner, you know whether you are an offensive or defensive player.Purchase your blades and rubbers accordingly. The best type of blades for intermediate offensive players are moderately priced carbon blades.

However, you can pay as much as you wish for carbon blades because they can be quite expensive. Butterfly and Stiga make the finest carbon blades for intermediate players.

Intermediate Offensive Players

Out of the two brands, Butterfly will supply you with the better quality if you use the Primorac Carabonor the Gergely Carbon blades. One of these blades used in conjunction with Mark V, Butterfly Sriver or Flextra rubbers will provide excellent control with these high-speed blades.

Intermediate Defensive Players

For defensive or all-around players, wood blades are the best blades for your skill level. A good combination for intermediate players to use is Stiga All-round blades with Mark Vs or Sriver rubbers.

Advanced Players

Once you finally reach the advanced stage in table tennis, you can reach for the stars in the type of equipment you can select. Advanced players should be using extremely fast blades or at least moderately fast blades. Butterfly makes a nice fast blade called Schlager Carbon, and another one equally as fast is Primorac Carbon.

Advanced Offensive Players

If you are a very advanced player who can control the blade and the game at lightning speeds, you could go with the high-speed blades just mentioned and rubbers from any of the Bryce series for offensive players.

Now, if you want a fast blade for reasonable control, checks into the Butterfly Srivers, an excellent moderately fast blade is the new blade made of Arylate Carbon technology called Butterfly’s Kong Linghui Special.

Using good offensive speed blades that allow you to maintain control could be matched up with any Butterfly high tension rubbers such as Cermet, Catapult, Bryce or Sriver G2.

Advanced Defensive Players

Maze Arylate Carbon is a good blade for incredible speed and maintaining control by Butterfly for defensive or all-rounded players. Used in conjunction with high tension or tensor rubbers made by Stiga, Sriver or Mark Vs, you have an excellent racket for advanced players.

Where To Buy Your Equipment

An excellent source for blades and rubbers is Megaspin.net. Here is a small list of excellent table tennis rubbers and blades.

• They have the Butterfly Grubba Carbon blade, which is excellent for the intermediate or advanced player.
• If you want all-round control for offensive moves, this is a great blade. They also have the DHS HURRICANE-KING blade recommended for top players. It offers great control with a 5-star rating from consumers.
• Another addition is the Stiga Boost TP Table Tennis rubber providing sensitive touch for excellent speeds and spins.
• They also carry the Yasaka Mark V rubber sheet, which is famous for world championship plays.

More About The Rackets

When choosing the table tennis rackets, you should go for the one that offers you a balanced performance. If you look at the rackets of the world’s top players, no matter how extreme they go with their blades and rubbers, they still match based on relatively balanced performance.

Feel is the most reliable criterion. So even you think your racket is incredible, but it is not necessarily fit for everyone. So don’t be superstitious about your equipment. Your feelings are the most important.

Choosing a racket is a matter of personal preferences and playing style:

If you are good at playing a powerful shot, then it is good for you to go with Butterfly rackets. The workmanship of Butterfly rackets are excellent. Generally, the glue and the sponge released by Butterfly offer you quality.

The combination of Butterfly blade and rubber can offer you excellent elasticity with enough friction. The control of the ball is reasonable, and you can make your loop and drive well. The handle feels comfortable, and all the Butterfly blades are durable, which can last you for many years.

If you need to exert the blade to make a power shot, you can consider the pure wood blade such as Stiga CL. This 7-layer pure wood blade featured a solid handle. You can have a delicate and smooth feel when you grip the handle.

The sweat-absorbing material makes the blade to be even more comfortable. 

You can play with a fast stroke and doing great topspin and sidespin shot.

If you need a lot of power, then you can consider STIGA Sense 7.6 blade. This blade is originally from Sweden. It has the perfect application of carbon and glue.

The 7-layer wood is made of 6 layers of carbon glue, which give you an excellent pure wood feel. You can use it to play a strong trajectory. The speed and elasticity of the carbon blade can help you to make a lot of powerful shots.

Warren Davies