Nittaku Premium 3 star 40+

Product information

Brand
Nittaku
Category
Balls
Reviews
20
Rating
4.45 star(s) 20 ratings
Price
$9

User stats

Roundness
8.7
Hardness
8.1
Speed
8.2
Durability
7.8

Reviews summary

12
 
60%
7
 
35%
0
 
0%
0
 
0%
1
 
5%
Overall rating
4.45 star(s) 20 ratings

Item details

Nittaku 3-Star Premium 40+ balls are a new non-celluloid plastic ball. It is made in Japan. It is ITTF approved and legal for all ITTF sanctioned tournaments. This ball is the highest quality poly ball, with outstanding durability, roundness, and consistency. It is made with special poly material available only to Nittaku. The label on the ball says "Nittaku Premium 40+" and "Made in Japan". Packaged in boxes of 3 balls. Available in white only.

Latest reviews

Pros
  • round
Cons
  • expensive
This ball is the most similar to the old celluloid balls. It is very slightly heavier/slower, but not significantly different. Out of all the plastic balls, it has the best quality control and is the most durable, although it does break more often than the old balls. Overall, there are no other 40+ balls that compare to this one in terms of quality.
Roundness
9.6
Hardness
7.5
Speed
7.4
Durability
4.7
Pros
  • ALL round
  • Durability
  • Fast
I've used lots of 40+ balls for trainings and competition, but for me this is the only ball that is really good in QUALITY like good old celluloid balls. If you take other balls box of 6, you can throw off half of them because they're unplayable (not round and soft) at a higher level, like topspin to topspin. These are all perfect round and hard. They are more expensive, but it's worth to pay extra money, because it breaks 2-3x less. For example if you take Xushaofa - it's enough to hit harder one time with corner of the blade to break it. This premium ball will break only after 3-4 corners. Also lots of world top players (Ovtcharov, Boll, Samsonov) said they would like to play all competitions with these balls. I can say the same.
Roundness
10
Hardness
9
Speed
9.5
Durability
9
Pros
  • Sets the standrd
Cons
  • Isnt the standrd
This ball plays the closest to the 40mm celluloid ball which is what we thought would be the logical goal when then balls changed. Sadly, every other ball takes adaptation to play as the characteristics are so different. The NP40+ however feels just like the old balls and is pleasurable to play with. Unfortunately I think Nittaku priced themselves out of the club markets as it seems the cheaper ones are selected for club play. If the plastic balls were to follow a standard, I would vote the NP40+.
Roundness
10
Hardness
7.6
Speed
7.9
Durability
8.6
Pros
  • okay durability
  • feels consistent
  • best poly ball
Cons
  • too expensive
So far this poly ball hasn't let me down yet.
It is slower than the celluloid balls but not to a degree that will affect my gameplay a lot like Kinson balls(these balls are super hard n slow -.-)
It is pretty decent for poly ball but the price is a real shocker.
Obviously these balls will be great in competition play but not great to buy for multiballs and training.
Roundness
9
Hardness
7.7
Speed
7.7
Durability
8.2
Pros
  • Best 40+ Ball
Cons
  • Durability
  • Price
We tested alot of the new three star poly balls in my club to find the best one for league play and we decided on the Nittaku 3* Poly Ball.

If i had to chose my favourite 40+ ball it would be this one.

It plays smiliar to a celluloid ball. The bounce height seems to be constant and not too high or too low, much better than balls from XuShaoFa.
The ball are very round and have all around the same hardness.

Still the ball suffers from one of the big poly ball problems: Durability

Bad durability together with the high price is a costly combination.

Still i think the Nittaku 3* Ball is the best choice if you want a poly ball.

I hope my review could help you in any way :)
Roundness
9
Hardness
8
Speed
8
Durability
4.5
Having tried so many Poly balls - the 3 Star Nittaku Premium 40+, along with the Seamless XuShaoFa Premium 3 Star 40+, is quite simply the best ball out there. I'd probably rate the Nittaku only very slightly ahead of the XuShaoFa premium ball. Recently played a tournament in Australia and the nominated ball was the Double Fish 3 Star. However many players brought their own Nittaku Premium balls, including myself, and when possible we played with those.
Roundness
9.2
Hardness
8.8
Speed
9
Durability
9
Pros
  • Great control
  • Great spin
  • Above average sp
Cons
  • Wobbly balls
From my understanding the 40+ ball was introduced to make the game more competitive by slowing down the speed a tad. I think they achieved their goal. Longer rallies do make the game more enjoyable to both play (recreational) and watch. With that being said my 40+ review will try only to consist of comparisons with other 40+ balls.

The 3 star Nittaku 40+ Premium is the cream of the crop. Unlike other balls the weight and hardness make this ball the absolute best. Other 40+ balls that you will indeed come across will be lighter, they'll be more floaty, and they'll take way more effort to produce quality spin with control in placement. In fact the other 40+ balls, with the exception of one, will nearly be impossible to control consistently. The Nittaku is truly a 3 star ball. Other balls, with the exception of one (butterfly G40), seem to be 2 star if not 1 star balls which were accidentally tagged as 3 star balls.

Serves = fantastic (DHS came close but Nittaku is still better)
Rallies = superb
Touch play = consistent (you will need to remember this ball is bigger than a 38 and thus slight more bouncy)
Spin = excellent (just watch the pro players popping balls up, they're not trying to. Lol)
Close to table play = excellent quality and consistent trajectory
Off table play = cuts through the wind (yes it's slower than the smaller balls previously used, but again the weight and hardness of the ball makes off the table play direct and you'll have confidence in your shot making ability)

Now for the bad - You can buy a 3 pack and not get one round ball (Nittaku better step it up, especially if they are going to charge roughly $3 per ball). You can buy a 12 pack and get roughly 3 to 4 round balls (maybe). And that's with being lenient and not over scrutinizing the balls chosen. Some very picky players I've seen reject some balls that I accept. But it just goes to show that there is somewhat of a tradeoff. Excellent playing properties sometimes have to come at the sacrifice of a perfectly spherical ball. But that's my only down side...oh, I almost forgot the price. $3 per ball makes you cringe when the ball is accidently stepped on. Ouch!
Roundness
4.4
Hardness
9.5
Speed
7.9
Durability
8.9
Pros
  • Fast
Cons
  • Not durable
  • Soft
  • Inconsistent
Not the best experience i had with this ball..Breaks very easily, inconsistent roundness and have very soft feeling.
Roundness
2.2
Hardness
2.4
Speed
8.3
Durability
2.9
Pros
  • Hard
  • Durable
Cons
  • Expensive
I have been using this ball for about 4 months i think i have only broken one. I think its the best plastic ball so far
Roundness
7.6
Hardness
7.8
Speed
6.8
Durability
7
Pros
  • Fast
  • Spinny
  • Good sound
Cons
  • Expensive
  • Hitting Edges
The Nittaku Premium 40+ is a huge improvement over the previous XSF and DHS balls. This ball feels heavier and more solid compared to to the previously mentioned ones. The speed and spin is also superior. Haven't had any roundness issues until now. It also doesn't have the bothering sound of the XSF balls. The only minus is that NP40+ is more expensive than the XSF and the DHS ones.

Edit 7/2016 : These balls are very consistent and have a predictable bounce. They can last even longer than cell balls if you don't hit many edges. If you hit the ball with the edge quite often, it can break very-very fast, this being the biggest vulnerability of all plastic balls. Even if the XSF balls seem more durable, the NP are definitely more pleasing to play with.
Roundness
9.5
Hardness
7.4
Speed
8
Durability
7.4
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