recommendations on new equipment

Chaoschris said:

Hi there folks,

i started playing TT about 9 months ago. I play 3 to 4 times per week with each session about 3 hrs long. My current equipment is:

Stiga Clipper (an old one from 1992)
Tibhar MX-S Max on FH & BH

I switched to my current setup about 3 months ago and was really able to improve my game with it, however im starting to see some major downside for my playing style.
Im playing full offense, meaning im looping everything thats going over the table.

What i dont like:
- anatomic handle (prefer flared)
- setup is very heavy and unbalanced (topheavy) / blade weights about 100g
- high throw angle causes me to miss Bh blocks more often than id like
- its too slow
- high throw angle is no longer needed to consistently place my topsins

Especially the last to points are whats making me wannt to change sth in my gear. Im at that point where i can pretty much place my topsin where i want it on the table, but no matter what i do the ball doesnt come out as fast and hard (in terms of trajectory) as i want it.

My current idea is to go for sth like:

Fang Bo B2
FH DHS Hurricane III (or similar)
BH undecided

Having a faster and lighter blade should improve some of the negative points i mentioned earlier.

On my FH i´d like to use a chinese rubber since i feel i can get a lot more spin and speed from them with my technique (im using my whole body to topspin and the eu rubbers negate pretty much all the power i put in my shot due to the tensor)

As far as my Bh is concerned im pretty much undecided what to get. I only use my Bh fro blocking, pushing and flicking. id probably like to get sth similar to MX-S with less thow angle though.

Any feedback on wether my train of thought is reasonable or equipment advices are appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

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I recently purchased a new bat Fang Bo B2 with FH: Hurricane 3 Neo Provincial and BH: Tin Arc. Before I used a Stiga Infinity VPS V with Hurricane 3 and Tin Arc.

I wanted something faster so I chose Fang Bo B2. At first I had some difficulty getting adjusted on the backhand side but it is improving. The blade is stiffer so it is less forgiving and less dwell compared to my previous blade so I had to work on my technique to improve my backhand flick and loop. It took some time for me to get used to the slightly lower throw. I think the stiffness of the blade makes the throw lower, so it may not be advisable to choose a rubber with even less throw angle. Maybe blocking with a more closed bat angle while pushing forwards would help you get the ball back on the table.

On the forehand, I find Hurricane 3 Neo is much better for looping than using Hurricane 3. It is faster and it has more spin though it requires a good technique. The Hurricane 3 Neo has a slightly higher throw compared to Hurricane 3. I found this quite useful when I was forced to my wide forehand and I didn't have the time or correct position to make a good topspin shot.

The setup is fairly light and has good balance. The flared handle feels great. DHS blades tend to have thinner handles which some may not like but I found it quite comfortable. Even though the blade is slightly stiff, there is a good feel to it. I really enjoyed looping on my forehand and backhand. On my previous blade, I struggled to generate enough power when I was away from the table but with this blade I find it easier to perform offensive shots some distance from the table.

I haven't played with a Stiga Clipper blade so I don't know how it would compare to the Fang Bo B2. Maybe other members can give some input on this and whether it is good for you to change your setup since you have just started 9 months ago.

I'm not sure what you are talking about: the MX-S does not have a high throw angle. I believe most people would describe it as low or medium at best.

id say you should start by changing only one component. the hurricane rubbers are cheap so you could try by buying a sheet of hurricane if you havent tried it already. also if you are set on changing your blade. start by changing only the blade and test the mx-s on the new blade. maybe that solves it. the mx-s rubber is heavy so a lot of blades can end up head heavy with 2 of them glued.
your setup is really heavy. maybe your swing suffers which makes you think that your setup is slow.

Edit: i havent read that you started playing 9 month ago. the general consensus of my answer is the same.
but you have
-an off rated blade
- 47 degree linear rubber
- 200g+ setupr
thats a setup that most people can never grow out of or use to its "maximum potential"
yet you say that
the blade is too slow
and you need a harder tacky rubber because the european 47 degree one does not convert all your power

That does not add up. maybe its an acceleration thing. In the end i do think you should change the blade if you dont like the handle and you can surely benefit from a lighter blade. But id keep the rubbers for now and wouldnt suggest a faster one. just a lighter one. maybe you can hit faster then and it ends up being faster afterall.

Fang bo 2 is a rather slow blade, slower than clipper....If you want upgrade from clipper consider Avalox Ma Wenge C555, same plys just one ply switched ot soft carbon. Feel is similar just has an extra kick to it, control is superb for a carbon blade of that speed.

Hey Chaoschris,
may I ask for your age and TTR? You only play table tennis for 9 months and you are already that good that THAT setup is too slow? You must be really talented, wow.

I would actually start with changing the blade only since you already dislike the handle and because it's easier to get information on what you really like or do not like about equipment. If you change everything you will never know what was good and what was not with your racket.

If you are already playing that well that you barely miss a ball when looping and want a lower throw then I think you will have to make the next step to a carbon blade like a Viscaria, TBS or ALC.

Better yet, switch out handle on your blade and keep it

Yeah. There is a lot going on here.

Video footage may help people see what might be useful for you.

One thing I would say though is, don't throw that Clipper out.

The ones from the 1990 are amazing blades. It probably feels better than you realize. Just save it for a few years and try it out then.

The blocking with BH issue actually sounds like the setup is too fast for your BH blocking skills rather than an issue of high throw equipment.

One other thing I will say is, with the FH it sounds to me like you may be trying to solve a technique issue with an equipment change.

That setup should be fast enough for you to rip the ball past people. But perhaps you are slow looping with decent spin and are not digging into the ball driving forward (drive looping).

It is hard to say without seeing you play.

Also, have you tried Chinese rubbers like H3 before? They work well for some and not for everyone. But to me, it doesn't sound like that is an actual answer to your issues unless your technique is really A LOT BETTER than most people could ever hope for in only 9 months.

Lots of ways to change the equipment and if your setup is as heavy as you state, it may be a decent idea. It may be hard to develop a good whip with a 100 gram Clipper.

But again, the only way we would really be able to have an idea what you are doing and what you actually need would be to see footage.

However, a coach who knows your play could tell you instantly. Even if you have not worked with the coach, if he watches you play for 5 min he may have an idea of what would be good for your development.


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Please make a video of you playing , games ,forehand and backhand loops and blocks.

Also, try to do some under spin serves that come back to the net. A thumb rule for checking your feel and control of the equipment.

When you say you can play well against 1400-1800 TTR players, what exactly do you mean , its a pretty wide range to start with , do you win games with them . Point is unless you play them in a serious match you will never know whether they are kidding around with you or playing seriously. 9 months is a short time but there have been players who are a natural to the sport and coupled with their athletic ability they can make good progress in a short time.
A video will help people here understand and recommend you the correct equipment ...

Even without the video, the situation you described is a normal one. Higher rated players have stable spin and its easier to be competitive against them , even though you will eventually lose. But in the real world, leagues, tournaments etc you will have to become consistent against the lower rated players, only then you will get a chance to play the higher rated players.

In the development stage the critical issue is consistency , control and understanding of spin. Most of us are still in that phase during game play , even though we can do top spin to top spin rallies in practice , we seldom reach there in actual game play .

I will advise you keep the existing Blade that you have , and get some good all round rubbers, the ones that have enough spin and gears so that you can increase your consistency and touch ... instead of speed focus on spin and how to increase the spin in all your shots , to the point where your opponent will have problems in blocking the shots because of spin , especially the opener . One of the easiest strategies to beat low level players is the open with a really spinny opening ball , either they miss the block or they give you a fairly "soft" ball on which you topsin drive winners .. .

videos will still be useful

Chaoschris said:

ill try to get someone to film me during some games/practice.

wether i win or loose depends massively on my opponent in my case. Players with deceptive serves and decent touch pretty much destroy me, as i lack the experience in reckonizing the spin from serves for example. the same goes for players that can control the tempo and force me to play very close to the table and just push the ball. Where they can do 20 pushes in a row without making a mistake im bound to make one rather sooner than later.
i play much better against the players with high rating as they play a faster and more topspin oriented game, where i can put my physical abilites to use (most of them lose their power after 3-4 consecutive topsins whereas i don´t).
the guys with lower ratings that are keeping the pace slow give me more of a headache as i still do quiet a lot of mistakes when opening up and they pretty much just play super passive...add the fact that some of them play with pips or anti-rubbers and my own mistakes from failing to reckonize what they put on the ball increase a lot...

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you seem to want to make up for your bad touch play with faster topspins... to be honest i think that's a bad idea. you might actually want to slow down a lot, your equipment is already really fast and probably too fast for you, at least it sounds that way.
maybe a slower off blade like a waldner senso carbon or an primorac off- with some 1.9 rubbers would be a lot better for you.
maybe you like fast topspin winners but that won't help you win a game if you push the ball 5 times into the net each set. also a racket that fast won't help you to learn proper hand/arm acceleration. with a slower racket however...

Yeah. It definitely sounds like you would do more harm than good if you went with a faster blade.

But if that blade is 100 grams and you feel it is too heavy for you, I agree that you would do well to get an all wood, 5 ply, Off- speed rated blade.

Monster's recommendation of focusing on learning to generate heavy heavy topspin is a good one.

If you are not comfortable opening on most any push, and when an opponent pushes against you, you end up in pushing rallies, then you have some work to do on the technical skills of opening. Even if those push rallies only go for 3-4 pushes, if you push back when you are pushed to, then it sounds like you may need to work on the option of opening confidently on these balls. But if you want faster equipment, then, as soon as an opponent pushes to you, that should feel to you like Christmas has come early, and you should be able to open.

Losing awkward, unwanted push rallies--instead of opening when you choose--is one of the signs that a player needs equipment in the moderate speed range of All+/Off-. Not something faster than a Clipper.

And if you are playing a lower level player and they push and you don't open and eventually make mistakes, then the higher level guys are probably being nice and making it more fun to play. Because, surely, a player rated 1800 TTR would see a lot of your weaknesses very quickly but are probably comfortable letting you play so that things are more interesting.

I don't know. I could be wrong. But if you lose to a low level player who pushes you down, and with a higher level player, they don't make you feel awkward with over the table play and they don't end up getting you to feed them easy balls to rip, then, either they are not higher level or they are not working to set themselves up. And that is how a higher level player gets to be higher level. Is by setting themself up. But when an opponent isn't that much of a challenge, many higher level players will have more fun and get more out of letting the lower level player play their game.

In any case, hopefully I am wrong and your video footage shows that you would do well with a Butterfly Garaydia Tamca 5000.


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UpSideDownCarl said:

One thing I would say though is, don't throw that Clipper out.

The ones from the 1990 are amazing blades. It probably feels better than you realize. Just save it for a few years and try it out then.

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(entering Jedi mind trick mode) You will not throw out that old Clipper. You will send it to ME.

Chaoschris said:

im afraid u gonna have to wait a while until i might consider getting something else

View attachment 13522

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That is a thing of beauty that is.

Nice blade. But please still make a video