Another Beginner Level Equipment Advice Question

I don't know about the Palio Master 2 premade. Most premades I've seen weren't too usable, and the rubbers are rarely detachable/replacable. So even if the blade is good, it's a throwaway when rubbers wear out.

The combos you mention are excellent for starters until well into the higher levels. The Butterfly Petr Korbel is also in high regard, as is the Stiga Allround Evolution, Stiga Allround NCT, the Yasaka Sweden Classic, the Yasaka Sweden Extra. And the (very cheap) Danwei rubbers will go with any of them, as will Mark V, Sriver S or L (I slightly rate the latter higher) or Sriver FX. Or Xiom Vega Pro, which I'm rather fond of myself.

I have a Yasaka Sweden Extra with Xiom Vega Pro (1.8mm) on both sides, just to give relatively new players a feel for what quality to expect when going for quality without immediately assuming infinitely deep pockets of cash to spend; this will cost about €80. Take a decent, but cheap, Chinese rubber - Dawai, Yinhe/Galaxy, Friendship 729 - and you'll shave off €20-30 extra and still have a quality tool, ready to go the distance in table tennis.

There exist US-based shops that have excellent beginner combos to offer, but as I don't recall sufficient details I find it hard to find. Waitamini', I think it was http://colestt.com.

Deliberate and helpful. I agree. And you might want to try megaspin.net for your purchase. They even have a Butterfly sale at the moment, so you could get yourself some Sriver EL or even Flextra, which is their beginner rubber but it´s quite ok for a start really.

I think don't waste money on Sriver EL or Flextra, a cheap chinese will do it. If you really want something like these, try Mark V, it's better. Or Vega Europe.

At this stage, I wouldn't stress too much about it. I have coached beginner/improver players who use the Palio Master bat. It's a decent bat for their standard of play. But here's the thing. If you keep playing table tennis, you will end up changing rubbers and blades several times in the first few years until you find a combination you really like. There is a lot of trial and error involved. So my advice for you would be to stick with the bat you have until you start at the club in September. Then when you start playing more experienced players, ask them if you can have a hit with their bat. You'll then get a better feel of what you like / don't like without spending a load of money right now.

I fully agree with TTTom. No need for more info than what he posted.


Sent from The Subterranean Workshop by Telepathy

+1 on TTTom's post

Wonderful advice from tom , also it will help you show your wife that your appreciate that gift and change it only after really you have grown out of it ..

TableTennisTom said:

At this stage, I wouldn't stress too much about it. I have coached beginner/improver players who use the Palio Master bat. It's a decent bat for their standard of play. But here's the thing. If you keep playing table tennis, you will end up changing rubbers and blades several times in the first few years until you find a combination you really like. There is a lot of trial and error involved. So my advice for you would be to stick with the bat you have until you start at the club in September. Then when you start playing more experienced players, ask them if you can have a hit with their bat. You'll then get a better feel of what you like / don't like without spending a load of money right now.

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Yup ! ... glad you could see the humor unlike a lot of people out there ...

HalPingPal said:

Helping me with table tennis and my marriage. I think this board is a keeper.

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