Cheap (but decent) rackets for a club

Jirrex · Dec 19, 2016

I was thinking about building some rackets for my club. A few weeks ago I saw a racket lying around at the club, which apparently is used by people that come to the club for the first time and don't have an own racket yet. But when I took a closer look, it seemed to be not a very good one, and that’s really an understatement. There's something in between the blade and the rubber, but I wouldn’t call it a sponge. It probably is a < € 5 premade one. I can imagine that playing with such a racket doesn't contribute to a good first impression of table tennis.

So to ensure that first timers get a good (or at least a better) first impression, I thought I could build some cheap but decent beginner’s rackets. I already did a bit of research and Dawei 2008 XP rubbers seem to be an interesting candidate. For the blade I found a really cheap 5-ply ALL one, an 'XVT Dragon Wood' (http://www.xvt.cc/xvt-dragon-wood-p-1218.html). I guess most of the people haven't heard about XVT (it looks like they’re copying popular compositions from other brands), but for the price there’s no risk involved.

Because I always like to have at least a few options, I was wondering if you guys have any other suggestions for a cheap, yet decent racket.

rokphish · Dec 20, 2016

Blades: Yinhe N8/N9/N10/N11 (any you can find cheaper), Sanwei M8.
Rubbers: Yinhe 9000, Dawei 2008 XP, KTL/LKT Pro XP/XT.

I wouldn't support XVT and the likes.

BeGo · Dec 20, 2016

< usd 20.00 allrounder blade,
Huaruite Clipper
Galaxy N-9
Galaxy Y-2

< usd 10.00 allrounder rubber,
Friendship/729 729 OEM
Kokutaku 868
Dawei 2008 XP (Super Power)
KTL (LKT) Pro XP Gold Dragon

[emoji6]

Sent from my T1X Plus using Tapatalk

Jirrex · Dec 20, 2016

rokphish said:
Blades: Yinhe N8/N9/N10/N11 (any you can find cheaper), Sanwei M8.
Rubbers: Yinhe 9000, Dawei 2008 XP, KTL/LKT Pro XP/XT.

I wouldn't support XVT and the likes.

Thanks for your input rokphish.

What's the reason you wouldn't support XVT if I may ask? It's because they're copycats?

UpSideDownCarl · Dec 20, 2016

Yinhe Galaxy 896 blade

With

Dawei 2008XP

Is an awesome setup and super cheap. Rok and BeGo gave great suggestions and both already mentioned some inexpensive blades and runners including 2008XP. So this may be superfluous.

And a blade like any of the Yinhe blades with one of the rubbers mentioned is still good enough for me to play without really dropping a level.

Sent from the Subterranean Workshop by Telepathy

chuckjordan2 · Dec 20, 2016

Go with the XVT (black handle, correct?) and 729 General rubber (in 1.5). Rub in a dab of olive oil to remove the tack.

thekleifheit13 · Dec 20, 2016

If Eacheng is an option you can get a Yinhe N-series blade for 8-9 USD and a 2-pack of Reactor Corbor rubbers for 6 USD. The rubber is slow enough that max sponge won't hurt a beginner.

Xylit · Dec 20, 2016

We have like 30 beginner rackets at our club as well, both for new children or grown-ups that would like to get an idea about table tennis and refugees that dropped in from time to time. We have not bought them, all of them are used blades by some club members that were nice enough to give it to the club. Rubbers are no problem neither, we have 100+ used rubbers lying around and waiting for some beginners to resurrect them. If players glue new rubbers onto their blade they leave their used rubbes in our sports hall. In return we have everything they need to glue their blades available for free (glue, edge tape, scissors, sandpaper...).

BeGo · Dec 20, 2016

Xylit said:
We have like 30 beginner rackets at our club as well, both for new children or grown-ups that would like to get an idea about table tennis and refugees that dropped in from time to time. We have not bought them, all of them are used blades by some club members that were nice enough to give it to the club. Rubbers are no problem neither, we have 100+ used rubbers lying around and waiting for some beginners to resurrect them. If players glue new rubbers onto their blade they leave their used rubbes in our sports hall. In return we have everything they need to glue their blades available for free (glue, edge tape, scissors, sandpaper...).

Wow! Your club deserve a thumb up! [emoji6]

(But then, I am sure someone may already ask thou,

"How about if someone leave a Corbor for a Sriver?" [emoji6] )

Sent from my S5E using Tapatalk

Xylit · Dec 20, 2016

We don't care what rubbers there are in particular. If someone finds a used Sriver and wants to keep it he can do so, no problem. I have never understood why some people have tons of used blades and rubbers at home. If you have played table tennis for a long time you eventually WILL have those things but I would not keep them at home. What for? Glad that other people have fun with my used stuff. In the end I have two rackets for competition, don't need any more.

I think this would work in most clubs. Ask your members whether they have used rackets they don't need anymore for young players (they are still much better than the rackets you can buy in toy shops, even when the rubbers are worn out). You might be surprised what you will get. If a kid wants to stay in your club for longer it has to buy its own racket eventually of course.

rokphish · Dec 20, 2016

There are people like you, which are good for group settings/society. Kudos.

Jirrex · Dec 20, 2016

Thanks a lot for all the suggestions, there's plenty to choose from. Apparently Dawei 2008 XP comes in several different sponges regarding hardness, so if it's going to be this rubber, I'll go for a softer one. About sponge thickness, would 2.2mm also be reasonable for beginners? I found an interesting deal, but the seller only has them in that thickness.

Btw, I should be aware of counterfeit rubbers as well? I can imagine that it's not interesting to produce fake versions of a rubber that's already very cheap, but you never know.

chuckjordan2 said:
Go with the XVT (black handle, correct?) and 729 General rubber (in 1.5). Rub in a dab of olive oil to remove the tack.

I did mean that blade indeed, but I'm still not sure which blade I'll take, maybe I'll buy a few different ones. About that XVT one, do you have any experience with it? There's not much to find about it, and the Yinhe ones seem to have a lot of positive feedback, especially when considering the low price.

thekleifheit13 said:
If Eacheng is an option you can get a Yinhe N-series blade for 8-9 USD and a 2-pack of Reactor Corbor rubbers for 6 USD. The rubber is slow enough that max sponge won't hurt a beginner.

I think I've checked Eacheng before, but couldn't find anything about the shipping costs.

Xylit said:
We have like 30 beginner rackets at our club as well, both for new children or grown-ups that would like to get an idea about table tennis and refugees that dropped in from time to time. We have not bought them, all of them are used blades by some club members that were nice enough to give it to the club. Rubbers are no problem neither, we have 100+ used rubbers lying around and waiting for some beginners to resurrect them. If players glue new rubbers onto their blade they leave their used rubbes in our sports hall. In return we have everything they need to glue their blades available for free (glue, edge tape, scissors, sandpaper...).

That really is a nice initiative!

chuckjordan2 · Dec 21, 2016

I've bought the XVT in penhold for a local person (on a budget). He'd rate it an All+. The build and finish was excellent for the price. If XVT would have better color combinations and bezel on the blades, they would sell more.

What have you got to lose for $5? You can't eat at McDonalds for that price (not that I eat there...).

Yinhe clones (nicer word than copies) other blades. I have the W6 (YEO clone and recommended by Cole) and it fits me great. Not saying you should use it for beginners. They have some for $9USD if you search for them.

mr. tom · Dec 21, 2016

Jirrex said:
...Apparently Dawei 2008 XP comes in several different sponges regarding hardness, so if it's going to be this rubber, I'll go for a softer one. About sponge thickness, would 2.2mm also be reasonable for beginners? I found an interesting deal, but the seller only has them in that thickness...

I looked around and couldn't find a reputable shop that has them in a suitable thickness and softness. If you find a good store, can you post it, so I can have a look?

Also, once you bought and tested some bats, could you list them here including some comments and the places where you bought the materials?

Jirrex · Dec 21, 2016

mr. tom said:
I looked around and couldn't find a reputable shop that has them in a suitable thickness and softness. If you find a good store, can you post it, so I can have a look?

Also, once you bought and tested some bats, could you list them here including some comments and the places where you bought the materials?

I haven't found a reputable shop either, but there are sellers on Aliexpress for example. Well, I actually found one shop, eacheng.net, but I don't think that's an interesting option because of the shipping costs.

Once I've build and tested some bats I can list it here, but I think it's going to take a while since most products apparently have to come from Asia.

mr. tom · Dec 21, 2016

I never ordered anything here, but apparantly it's in Eindhoven. I browsed their items and they seem to have some cheap frames and rubbers. They also have that Dawei 2008 XP: http://www.sporteurope.nl/nl/4/daw0200041/dawei-2008-xp.aspx

rokphish · Dec 21, 2016

Where are you located?

suds79 · Dec 21, 2016

So here's the thing. Our club has about 4-5 paddles one can hit with if they're new & show up without a blade to use. Problem is that by now they're old and almost glass slick where they were once grippy.

That's why I love these recreation, I don't know what to call them, plastic kinda rubbery paddles that I got with an old Newgy robopong.

It's not this exact thing but it's basically some Cornilleau weatherproof paddle.

They're strange. But they have these seemingly indented pip surface. They're grippy but not super grippy and the best part is that they stay that way. You basically never have to clean them. They will always play the same.

IMO they are perfect for those paddles you need to give to a new person at club. When they're not in use, just throw them in a box with your club's nets & clips, etc. They're good to go.

No cleaning, no protective cover, no paddle case needed as with your standard paddle. Also a nice little perk is that they stand out. You certainly won't forgot that someone has borrowed a paddle to use for club. So it's not like they can accidentally walk home with it when done playing.

Boogar · Dec 22, 2016

That's a great idea Jirrex!
I actually want to Implement this in my club as well. Just like at your club, our rackets to use for visitors are very bad...

I thought of Friend ship rubbers, maybe the cream or the FX super soft one because its not too hard.
And a 20 buck all round wood.

Jirrex · Dec 22, 2016

Boogar said:
That's a great idea Jirrex!
I actually want to Implement this in my club as well. Just like at your club, our rackets to use for visitors are very bad...

I thought of Friend ship rubbers, maybe the cream or the FX super soft one because its not too hard.
And a 20 buck all round wood.

Cool that you want to do something similar for your club too

I just ordered 2 red and 2 black Dawei 2008 XP rubbers in hardness 40 (the softest the seller had to offer) and 2.2mm thickness. 2.0mm probably would have been a bit better for beginners, but I've read that this shouldn't be too much of an issue with this rubber. Also, it seems that 2.2mm is easier to find. I'll possibilly also try some other rubbers, so I can compare them.

About the blade, I haven't decided on that yet, but I think that if you want to keep the costs low, you don't have to spend 20 bucks on one. the (Yinhe) blades mentioned in this thread are cheaper than that for example. And if first timers are going to use them, I can imagine that they get exposed to some abuse from time to time

Cheap (but decent) rackets for a club

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