Not sure how to choose a table tennis blade? Well, you’re not alone. There are many table tennis blades to choose from and lots of confusing jargon to understand. That’s why we’ve decided to put together a comprehensive table tennis blade guide — I wish something like this was around when I first stepped into the market.
To start with, we’ll cover the key info you need to understand, that way you can choose the right blade for you. After which, we’ll hand-pick the best blades in table tennis for the offensive, allround, and defensive styles.
Table of Contents
Featured Products
- Best Offensive All-Wood Blade — Yasaka Goiabao 5
- Best Offensive Carbon Blade — Butterfly Timo Boll ALC
- Best Allround Blade — Butterfly Petr Korbel
- Best Defensive Blade — Donic Defplay Senso V3
| Image | Blade | Class | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Butterfly Timo Boll ALC | Offensive | CHECK CURRENT PRICE |
 | Yasaka Goiabao 5 | Offensive | CHECK CURRENT PRICE |
 | Butterfly Primorac Carbon | Offensive | CHECK CURRENT PRICE |
 | Butterfly Zhang Jike Super ZLC | Offensive | CHECK CURRENT PRICE |
 | Yasaka Sweden Extra | Allround | CHECK CURRENT PRICE |
 | Butterfly Petr Korbel | Allround | CHECK CURRENT PRICE |
 | Yasaka Sweden Classic | Defensive | CHECK CURRENT PRICE |
 | Donic Defplay Senso V3 | Defensive | CHECK CURRENT PRICE |
What Are Table Tennis Blades?
A table tennis blade is the wooden part of your ping pong racket. They come in various styles and compositions, affecting how they play.
According to ITTF rules, the blade should be flat and rigid; at least 85% of the blade must be natural wood. An adhesive layer within the blade may be reinforced with fibrous material such as carbon fiber, glass fiber, or compressed paper which must not be thicker than 7.5% of the total thickness of 0.35 mm.
Best Blades in Table Tennis — How Can You Tell?
While various characteristics such as high speed are often valued in a blade, these are not always a good indicator of the top table tennis blades. This is because each player is different and values different properties. A defensive player, for instance, might not want a fast stiff blade. The best table tennis blade for them is more likely to be slow and flexible.
This is why instead, you should look at characteristics that all players value. The first of which are high-quality materials. Unlike generic mass-produced table tennis paddles, blades from reputable table tennis manufacturers are made to much stricter standards and use high-quality wood and other materials.
Another quality that the best ping pong blades possess is that the handle should feel comfortable in your hands. Cheap paddles are often very rough and poorly designed, so an uncomfortable handle is usually a good indicator of poor quality. I would also argue that when rubbers are affixed to the blade, it should have a good weight distribution to it. While some high-level paddles are top-heavy, anything too extreme indicates a poor paddle.
Table Tennis Blade Types
The type of blade you choose will depend on your play style. For instance, an offensive blade is probably the best fit for your style if you are an offensive player. Similarly, a defensive blade is optimal if you like to defend — an offensive blade would likely hurt your game.
There are three loose classifications for blades: defensive, all-round, and offensive.
Defensive Blades
As the name suggests, defensive blades are the best ping pong blades for players who like to defend. Think chopping or blocking. I’ve found defensive blades are usually the heaviest type of blade, but this depends on your preference. Many are also flexible blades to maximize control.
All-Round Blades
All-round blades are the best table tennis blades for players who like to play a mixed game with a combination of attacking and defending. This means all-round blades offer a good balance of control and speed — perfect for beginners and intermediate players.
Offensive Blades
Offensive blades are the fastest style that you can choose. The high levels of speed they possess come at the cost of control. As such, offensive blades are best suited to skilled players. They often feature lightweight materials but the increased plies can make them heavy.
Allwood Blades vs Carbon Blades
Every blade on the market features a series of layers or plies. It is these plies that determine how the blade performs. While the type of wood affects performance, it is the number of plies and general material choices you should pay the most attention to.
Fewer plies equal a slower blade. Most basic models are made up of five plies, all of which are wood. With few layers, these blades are not that quick, and as they are only made from wood, they are fairly flexible, which gives you good feeling.
However, the most popular advanced blades are instead 7 plies thick. Most of the time, they include 5 layers of wood and 2 layers of carbon. These additional carbon fibers give the blade increased speed and stiffness. Stiffness impedes feeling, but advanced players already have great technique so they don’t need blades with high feeling. Therefore the trade-off for speed among carbon table tennis blades is beneficial.
Styles of Table Tennis Blade
There are three styles of table tennis blades. The main style is shakehand, the others are two forms of penhold: Chinese penhold and Japanese penhold.
Shakehand Blade
Although I don’t have figures on hand, I would say that the shakehand grip is the most popular grip in the world by some margin. It’s largely thought of as a western-style grip, but we are seeing more and more Asian players convert to shakehand as it seems to offer the best performance at the top level.
To adopt the shakehand grip, you hold the racket as if you are shaking hands with someone. Your index finger rests on the edge of your backhand side with your other fingers and thumb holding the handle itself.
Unlike with the other styles of blade, you have handle options for the shakehand grip:
1. Flared: The most common handle type. Also known as concave, it is thinner in the middle and wider at the base. It gives you good grip and helps prevent your racket from flying out of your hands.
2. Anatomic: Similar to flared except with a bump in the center. Naturally fits the contours of the hand better and may be a good choice for players with particularly large hands.
3. Straight: The most prone to losing grip. It does, however, make transitioning between the forehand and backhand a little easier — an issue many players have.
Chinese Penhold Blade
Chinese penhold blades are for players who use the Chinese penhold grip. They have shorter handles than other blades and flare out a little bit toward the base.
Chinese penhold offers more wrist flexibility than shakehand making it great for producing spin, particularly on serves. The backhand, however, is comparatively weak compared to the forehand.
To adopt this type of grip, you hold the paddle like a pen. The handle rests between your thumb and index finger with your other fingers curled inward on the backhand side.
Japanese Penhold Blade
Japanese penhold blades are for players who use the Japanese penhold grip. Unlike other blades, much of the base is made entirely from cork and the handle is rectangular.
Japanese penhold has similar advantages and disadvantages to Chinese penhold. However, you can’t use the reverse penhold backhand grip with it like you can for Chinese penhold. This is because many Japanese penhold blades use cork on the backhand side so you can’t glue a rubber on it.
The only difference between the Chinese penhold grip and the Japanese penhold grip is how your fingers rest on the backhand side (at least, where your backhand side usually is!). Rather than curling inward for Chinese penhold, they rest straight.
Ping Pong Blade Reviews
1. Butterfly Timo Boll ALC — Best Offensive Carbon Blade
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Features
Plies: 5W + 2ALC
Class: Offensive
Thickness: 5.8 mm
Weight: 86 g
Handle types: Flared, straight, anatomic
Pros:
- Highly popular with pros and amateurs
- Very appealing handle
- Fast
- Great for looping
Cons:
- Expensive
- Hard to control
Rating: 9.4
Designed in combination with fan-favorite player Timo Boll, the Timo Boll ALC blade performs incredibly well at the top level. It has proven very popular with pro players besides Boll, and also, with advanced amateur players too. The Timo Boll ALC is a carbon blade with 5 layers of wood and 2 layers of arylate carbon. While a little stiff, it feels great in the hands and it really helped to evolve my looping ability. It’s been my current blade for many years! Therefore I feel that it is the best blade in table tennis right now if you’re at an advanced level.
For a more detailed review, click here.
2. Yasaka Goiabao 5 — Best Offensive All-Wood Blade
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Features
Plies: 5W
Class: Offensive
Thickness: 6.2 mm
Weight: 90 g
Handle types: Flared, straight, Chinese penhold
Pros:
- Very well-priced
- Fast
- Comes lacquered
Cons:
- Rather plain appearance
Rating: 9.6
As our first Yasaka installment, we have the Goiabao 5 ping pong blade. It’s not a particularly common blade, but its performance is up there with the best. Interestingly, the Goiabao 5 is super quick despite its 5-ply all-wood composition. As there are no carbon layers, I would have expected at least 7 layers of wood to increase its pace. However, Yasaka has found a way to do it without these 2 layers.
As for what wood the blade uses, I could only find two of the three. The outermost ply is made from a relatively unknown wood from South and Central America call Goiabao (hence the name), and the second ply is Scandinavian pine. When put together, the blade has a fairly stiff feel which is rather unexpected.
The clear positives to this unique blade are its offensive pace and price. The Yasaka Goiabao 5 is less than a third of the price of the Timo Boll ALC, and while I love the ALC, I just can’t ignore how much of a steal the Goiabao 5 is. It’s the best table tennis blade under $50.
3. Butterfly Primorac Carbon
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Features
Plies: 3W + 2T5000
Class: Offensive
Thickness: 7 mm
Weight: 88 g
Handle types: Flared, straight
Pros:
- One of the fastest blades available
- A Butterfly best-seller
- Highly popular with amateurs
- Great for smashing
Cons:
- Expensive
- Hard to control
- Very hard feeling
Rating: 9
If speed is your thing, the Primorac Carbon blade is absolutely a model should consider. It is one of the fastest available and is very popular with amateur players — it’s a best-seller from Butterfly that says something, as their blades are more popular than any other brand.
Unlike most offensive carbon blades, the Primorac Carbon is not 7-ply, it is instead 5-ply. Featuring 3 layers of wood and 2 layers of Tamca 5000 carbon. It is these carbon layers that make it so pacey. You might think this is a thinner blade than most carbon blades as it has fewer plies. However, the opposite is true, the blade thickness is actually 7 mm making it incredibly beefy.
I recommend the Primorac Carbon for players that love to smash and play in an otherwise direct way. This isn’t a blade made for looping (although you certainly can). Its high stiffness and hardness tailor far more toward a smashing and punching style. If you’re not accustomed to stiff and hard blades, it will take some getting used to. So while it is a very good blade, it’s certainly more of a niche option.
To learn more about the Primorac Carbon consider giving our review a read.
4. Butterfly Zhang Jike Super ZLC
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Features
Plies: 5W + 2SZLC
Class: Offensive
Thickness: 5.6 mm
Weight: 90 g
Handle types: Flared, straight, anatomic, Chinese penhold
Pros:
- Utilizes new Super ZLC technology
- Highly popular with amateurs
- Very appealing handle
- Fast
- Great for looping
Cons:
- Expensive
- Hard to control
Rating: 9.4
Butterfly are well known for commanding high prices for their blades due to their superior craftsmanship. That being said, the Zhang Jike Super ZLC ping pong blade takes this to an entirely new level — it is the most expensive blade on this list by a long shot. However, if you can fork up the cash, you will get one of the best blades ever made.
Rather than using arylate carbon like the ALC range, ZLC blades use a ZL fiber layer combined with carbon. The result is a fast, strong, and lightweight blade. So, where does Super ZLC come in? Well, I’m glad you asked. Super ZLC is one of Butterfly’s newest tech innovations. Twice as dense as the old ZLC layer gives blades a larger sweet spot and bounce. Currently, just five Super ZLC blades exist!
The obvious drawback to this increased bounciness is that the Zhang Jike Super ZLC is tough to control — it’s one of the fastest blades Butterfly makes. Only the Sardius, Mizutani Jun Super ZLC, and Zhang Jike T5000 are quicker.
To learn more about this blade, you can read our review.
5. Yasaka Sweden Extra
Features
Plies: 5W
Class: Allround
Thickness: 5.8 mm
Weight: 88 g
Handle types: Flared, straight, anatomic, Chinese penhold
Pros:
- Inexpensive
- Very popular with amateurs
- Very controllable
- Great feeling
- Great choice from advanced to intermediate level
Cons:
- Lacks top-end speed
- Not the best for smashing
Rating: 9
There is no doubt that the Yasaka Sweden Extra is one of the top all-round blades that you can buy. Made in Sweden, it has an all-wood composition and has copious amounts of control. While you can generate plenty of pace if you need to, it falls well short of the fastest blades, but then again, it should given that it’s an all-round model.
Even as far as all-wood blades go, it’s pretty darn flexible, this gives you longer dwell time which is perfect if you like to loop. On the other hand, this means it’s not the best for smashing, but it is by no means weak in this area. What makes this blade promising for so many players is its potential versatility. I can see many intermediate and advanced players using this blade, but I can’t say the same for the other blades I discussed in the offensive category.
6. Butterfly Petr Korbel — Best Allround Blade
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Features
Plies: 5W
Class: Allround
Thickness: 5.9 mm
Weight: 91 g
Handle types: Flared
Pros:
- Inexpensive
- Top 10 all-wood best-seller
- Very popular with amateurs
- Very controllable
- Great feeling
- Super choice from advanced to intermediate level
Cons:
- Lacks top-end speed
- Only available in flared handle type
- Plain handle
Rating: 9
Moving onto Butterfly’s best allround blade we have the Petr Korbel. I’m pleased to report that as it’s not an advanced blade, Butterfly saw fit to give it a respectable price tag. That being said, it’s still quite a bit more expensive than the Yasaka Sweden Extra.
While Butterfly classifies this blade as an offensive model, I personally think it conforms more to the allround type. It has a similar pace to the Sweden Extra, so if you purchased it expecting rapid loops I expect you would be pretty disappointed. As allround blades should, the Petr Korbel offers a great balance between defense and attack. It has great feeling and control and has proven very popular with amateur players. So much so that it rates as a best-seller in the top all-wood blades.
There’s not much to critique given it’s not overpriced as many Butterfly blades are. My main cons are that you can only pick it up with a flared handle (straight was formerly available), and that the handle design is very plain. You see, I very much care about having an attractive handle, and this handle does nothing for me. Clearly, though, this is purely aesthetic and does not affect actual performance in any way. I feel that the Butterfly Petr Korbel is one of the best table tennis blades for intermediate players.
For those who are interested, the following write-up of this blade should be helpful.
7. Yasaka Sweden Classic
Features
Plies: 5W
Class: Defensive
Thickness: 5.4 mm
Weight: 82 g
Handle types: Flared
Pros:
- Inexpensive
- Very popular with amateurs
- Very controllable
- Great feeling
Cons:
- Not very fast
- Only available in flared handle type
Rating: 8.7
The Yasaka Sweden Classic is the first defensive blade on this list. It’s also the second blade from the Yasaka Sweden series, demonstrating just how effective those blades are. I stuck this blade in the defensive category because it is much slower than the Sweden Extra. It is also much more flexible and softer — characteristics that make it better for defending. Control is the main quality of the Sweden Classic, but it’s also pretty good at producing spin. This is due to its flexible wooden layers.
While I rarely recommend custom equipment to beginners, this is one of the few blades you can get started with as part of a custom setup. There are certainly no issues on the speed front, and if you wanted to use it as part of a faster setup, you can always pair it with fast rubbers. I’d recommend hard rubbers because it’s quite a flexible soft blade.
8. Donic Defplay Senso V3 — Best Defensive Blade
Features
Plies: 5W
Class: Defensive
Thickness: 5.5 mm
Weight: 74 g
Handle types: Flared
Pros:
- Inexpensive
- Very controllable
- Great feeling
Cons:
- Not very fast
- Only available in flared handle type
Rating: 8.9
Finally, we have the Defplay Senso V3 from Donic. It plays very similarly to the Sweden Classic and is almost identically priced. It features two elastic outer plies of Gabon and Anegre, and its thickness has been minimized by 3 mm to just 5.5 mm to reduce speed and increase control. This also helps to reduce the blade’s overall weight. It weighs just 74 g which is incredibly light, especially for a defensive blade.
In my opinion, this is one of the top blades for chopping. The high flexibility means that the blade holds the ball for a long time allowing you to generate a lot of backspin. I would recommend using it with one inverted rubber and one long pimps rubber to make your game extra tricky to deal with!
Conclusion
While finding the best blades in table tennis can be difficult, it is simply a matter of looking at the properties of each blade and matching them up with your style. While control, speed, and handle types are the most obvious, you should also pay attention to the likes of composition, stiffness, and hardness. We hope you find our guide insightful and enjoyed reading each table tennis blade review.
To reiterate, our favorite carbon paddle is the Butterfly Timo Boll ALC. It’s been a popular blade with pros and amateurs for many years, and we don’t see this changing any time soon. If, on the other hand, you want to try an all-wood offensive paddle, we feel the Yasaka Goiabao 5 is the perfect choice. It doesn’t get the recognition it deserves as it is one of the few cheap top-performing offensive paddles.
As for an all-round option, we recommend the Butterfly Petr Korbel. In all honesty, there is not much in it between it and the Sweden Extra. We just feel the slightly stiffer Petr Korbel blade will feel more natural to most players.
Finally, if you’re in the market for a defensive blade, perhaps consider the Donic Defplay Senso V3. It may be old, but it’s reliable. It’s also incredibly cheap, which is great to see!
FAQs
What Is the Fastest Table Tennis Blade?
There are several blades that share the title of the fastest table tennis blade. Among them are the Stiga Carbonado 145, Butterfly TriCarbon, and DHS Hurricane Long 5X.
What Is the Most Popular Blade?
According to Revspin, the Butterfly Viscaria is the most popular table tennis blade. However, our favorite carbon blade, the Butterfly Timo Boll ALC, ranks second.
Do Table Tennis Blades Matter?
Table tennis blades significantly affect your game, so it matters a great deal which one you choose. A blade that suits your style will help you play to the best of your ability, while one which clashes with your style will hurt your performance and leave you frustrated.
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