First time getting a custom table tennis bat,what should I get?

It's a bit hard to suggest since I don't know how you play, but to keep it allround and looking at your previous racket something like:

forehand: Hurricane 3 Neo http://www.tabletennis11.com/other_eng/dhs-hurricane-3-neo
backhand: Tibhar Genius Optimum http://www.tabletennis11.com/other_eng/tibhar-genius-optimum
blade: Nittaku Lialox http://www.tabletennis11.com/other_eng/nittaku-lialox

On the forehand a Hurricane since you got it on your previous bat, but a Hurricane Neo, since it should be livelier. On the backhand an euro-style rubber, cause it's softer and should be better for the shorter backhand strokes. And the blade is just a 5-ply blade with good reviews from a reputated brand. All together 118 Euro.

Go with yasaka sweden extra and xiom vega europe max thickness both sides.

Ethan Lee said:

I play with an offensive style with backhand topspin strokes as my main point gainer. Thanks for the recommendations!

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laistrogian said:

Go with yasaka sweden extra and xiom vega europe max thickness both sides.

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Based on what you said, laistrogian's suggestion sounds pretty good.

I do like the reasoning behind Tom's suggestions. But, if your BH is your main weapon, a Euro rubber like Vega Europe may be more forgiving and help you improve the quality of your FH technique more easily.


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I wouldn't go for MAX as might be abit too quick going from Chinese tacky rubber, I would go for 2.0mm to keep some control


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Well, I think of thickness as a personal preference. Thinner is better for hitting and driving. Thicker is better for looping. So, if your goal is to learn to loop better, thicker is where you want end up in your progression. If you are more of a drive/drive loop player, then not Max. [emoji2]

For driving thinner is faster with more control. For spinning, thicker actually gives more control because it gives you more sponge for the ball to sink into and more potential and surface area for the topsheet to grab and wrap around the surface of the ball. So, the thicker sponge which makes the more direct impact of a drive harder to control, makes the tangential impact of a loop easier to control.

So, if your focus is developing more spin, massive spin, ultimately thicker is what you want. Even though, thicker still may not be what you want now even if you want to grow into Max sponge technique in the future.




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I would go Sweden Extra + Vega Pro + Vega Euro

Vega Pro and Vega Europe is also a good. Combo. Pro being slightly harder and good for FH.

Same on both sides is good. So is slightly harder rubber on FH. Either way is a good choice.


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I will agree more with Tony in this case : keep in mind that the OP has played for a year with Hurricane, and my first thought was to stick with chinese rubbers, but since the general idea is to switch to a rubber from the Vega series, I would go for the Pro because it's closer to Hurricane in terms of hardness. Still, the transition from chinese to euro may not go smooth if the OP has used chinese rubber on his fh since the early days.

Cornel said:

I will agree more with Tony in this case : keep in mind that the OP has played for a year with Hurricane, and my first thought was to stick with chinese rubbers, but since the general idea is to switch to a rubber from the Vega series, I would go for the Pro because it's closer to Hurricane in terms of hardness. Still, the transition from chinese to euro may not go smooth if the OP has used chinese rubber on his fh since the early days.

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Yep. Tony's idea is good. But so is The Vampire Lestat's. It is hard to say without seeing him which would be the better solution. It may take 15 more min to get used to Europe. But after that it is hard to say which would be better for this individual. And I doubt there would be much difference.

Sponge hardness is very close but Europe, if I remember correctly, is slightly softer. Topsheet on Pro is harder which is where the biggest difference is. And a harder topsheet is good for a more skilled player and a tiny bit harder to control for a less precise technique, so, Europe is more forgiving.

But they are really quite close.

And sometimes people get two different rubbers for FH and BH when they didn't need to. So, sometimes simple is good when it comes to equipment.


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UpSideDownCarl said:

Yep. Tony's idea is good. But so is The Vampire Lestat's. It is hard to say without seeing him which would be the better solution. It may take 15 more min to get used to Europe. But after that it is hard to say which would be better for this individual. And I doubt there would be much difference.

Sponge hardness is very close but Europe, if I remember correctly, is slightly softer. Topsheet on Pro is harder which is where the biggest difference is. And a harder topsheet is good for a more skilled player and a tiny bit harder to control for a less precise technique, so, more forgiving.

But they are really quite close.

And sometimes people get two different rubbers for FH and BH when they didn't need to. So, sometimes simple is good when it comes to equipment.


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I dont know how I became known as vampire lestat...

laistrogian said:

I dont know how I became known as vampire lestat...

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That was me simply not being able to remember how to spell laistrogian while typing from a quote in tapa talk. Hahaha. A few months ago I made that up in your thread with the video of you self hitting. And you seemed to be okay with it. So I figured it might still be okay.

Easy to remember and it gives you cred with the undead crowd.

Hope you don't mind. But if you do, it seems my spell check remembers your username even if my pea brain does not. [emoji2]


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Just a thought (though i haven't tried this rubber personally):

Wouldn't Vega China for fh be making more sense (keeping in mind that OP coming from an A 6002 premade?

I guess the real actual question is:

What were the factors that made the OP make this statement:

Ethan Lee said:

I play with an offensive style with backhand topspin strokes as my main point gainer. Thanks for the recommendations!

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Does that mean the FH is good but not as good as the BH? Does that mean the FH is not good and OP is not so comfortable with the FH wing?

Is the rubber he is already using okay for him developing his FH technique? Or is it too hard?

If the current FH rubber is too hard for him, getting him something softer to help him develop the FH technique would be worth it. If that is the actual scenario, I personally would go straight to something medium soft like Vega Europe rather than slowly progressing to something soft enough. It will only take a few extra minutes (15-30) for him to adjust from what he is using to Vega Europe as opposed to a harder Vega variant. And if what will ultimately be best for his FH is Europe, I would not waste time with an interim rubber.

If his statement indicates that his BH is just naturally good and he is naturally a BH dominant player, but his FH is good too, then, the rubber could even be:

FH: H3 Neo
BH: H3-50 soft or TG3-60 Soft

Or countless other combinations.

I guess, in the end, 2 questions for the OP are:

Do you want Euro/Jananese catapult sponge or Chinese non-catapult sponge? Do you you think you are better off with harder rubber (demands more precise technique) or softer rubber (more forgiving)?



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Vega China is not recommended since the OP won't be able to buy it there. I went there last April looking for one and couldn't find it. The store said they don't carry it.

For OP, I will go to SG next year sometime in March/April, let me know if you want to meet and play TT together.

FAST AGGRESSIVE PLAYERS WIN MORE THAN DEFENSEIVE PLAYERS!

BLADE: Zhang Jike Super ZLC!
RUBBER: TENERGY 05
OTHER RUBBER!: TENERGY 05

More serious note, just test other people's equipment (with permission of course) and see what you like. Whatever you're comfortable with is what you should get.

Shuki said:

More serious note, just test other people's equipment (with permission of course) and see what you like. Whatever you're comfortable with is what you should get.

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Or you could get ma long's custom w968, ma long's custom hurricane and pro tenergy 05!