Looping bat

From your context, you should have a coach I suppose. Ask him / her.
We don't know you and therefore topics like that make absolutely no sense.

Well, there are a lot of forum members who will give you advice here nonetheless. But you have to know that this advice is nothing more than a random guess about what could fit you best. You could just as well ask us whether a red or blue pullover sits better on you without sending us a picture.

I have read in another topic that you have coaches. Sticking to their advice is the best you can do. You are playing at a high level already and it was your coaches who pushed you to that level, not random forum members.

I agree in spirit with what Xylit says, but I also know even high level players are sometimes EJ's and most all of us like to talk about the sport and equipment as a form of entertainment. A lot like those who hang around fly fishing shops - not to tie flies but to bullsh*t the time away. So don't let the ultra serious posters here, even though they may be right, be a buzz kill if that is all you wanted to do.

If it is the case that you wanted to chat about something you have an interest in then a thread like this can be a good deal of fun for all. And in the discussion even a high level player like yourself may learn something about a bat or rubber or even just get an idea from all the discussion.

Just don't take anything anyone says too seriously. In fact don't take life too seriously - there ain't none of us get out of it alive.

Now if you want my opinion, I would get a good 7 ply (5 wood - 2 carbon) Off or Off + bat. But I prefer the Yasaka Ma Lin Extra Offensive myself.

But this is all just for fun. I am sure your coach knows best.

I see you're selling an Infinity, what did you miss with it?

Also, I'm an all-wood type of player but similar to the Rossi Emotion, I tried a TPE Perform once and found it wonderful. I think it did have 05s on it, still a very soft touch and very stable. Outstanding feeling and great handle, too, I'm not sure why these TPE series didn't catch on.


By the way I'm not sure my signature is up to date (using a mobile phone and it doesn't show up, haven't checked for a long time), but I'm using Rakza 7 both sides. Not latest gen but it's a modern classic by now, and an alternative you may run by your coach. Ever so slightly less loop oriented than 05 but perhaps easier for all the rest. Still highly competitive, mind you.

Enjoy and keep us updated.

Your sig says you are using Fastarc.

I use Rakza x and RakzaX soft. Not as sensitive to spin as 7 in my mind and I feel a little bit better to control when looping. But it is pretty subjective.

One of the cadets in our league who is UK rated just under 2500 I know uses a Timo boll which I think might be a spirit?
I also recently got a Yinhe m202 which is inner carbon and reviewer that I saw said it played much like a slightly slower mizutani Jun bty blade.

This is the review that persuaded me to buy this blade...

http://mytabletennis.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=82401&KW=M202&title=yinhe-m202-plc-review

The blade composition is "Dyed Limba - Ayous - PLC - Ayous - PLC - Ayous - Dyed Limba"

Might be worth a look and I paid much less than a big brand version

P.s. I just noticed that another poster said you had a stiga infinity... I too found this a little too crisp and the ball kicked off quicker than I would have liked, so I tried an SPW, but neither had the touch of this m202 I am trying out

Yep if you’re playing on high level i would just ask your coach.

That said, innerforce is a great blade if you like the feeling

Any blade of Viscaria/TBS/Timo Boll ALC with T05 both sides

Joe141 said:

Can anyone recommend a blade to suit a short to mid distance looping style on both forehand and backhand that also has soft touch close to the net and is decent for blocking. I will be using tenergy 05 on the backhand and either hurricane 3 or hurricane 8 on the forehand depending on what you recommend. I was thinking about innerforce carbon blades with outer layers of either limba or hinoki but would rather wait to see what you guys recommend.I play national junior and cadet leagues and train 4 times a week at a high level to put this in context.

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There's a good thread somewhere here that talks about whether young players should use the same type & model rubbers on both of the bat.
The general consensus was yes.
Consider using T05 on both sides. Viscaria or Timo Boll Spirit (TBS) with T05 are proven classic winning combinations from cadet to world championship level.
Ask any of Pitchford, Drinkhall, McBeath etc they all used this combo from when they were under 13. And they are still using this or very similar combination depending on sponsorship.
If you can afford it, that's your route.

All in my opinion of course

5 ply allwood that are flexy are good for looping --> stiga azalea offensive, arctic wood, Xiom Offensive S, Fuga

Duh, any off- to off carbon/all-wood blade on the market suitable for looping and blocking for anyone, even Timo Boll. And soft touch is not a blade property - your hands either have it or they don't. Try playing with the bats your mates use and pick one whose handle feels most comfortable. That is by far more important than the exact wood used for the outer veneer.

yogi_bear said:

5 ply allwood that are flexy are good for looping --> stiga azalea offensive, arctic wood, Xiom Offensive S, Fuga

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Yes, and I would like to add Xiom Solo to the list.
I know its a matter of a personal feel too.

vvk1 said:

Duh, any off- to off carbon/all-wood blade on the market suitable for looping and blocking for anyone, even Timo Boll. And soft touch is not a blade property - your hands either have it or they don't. Try playing with the bats your mates use and pick one whose handle feels most comfortable. That is by far more important than the exact wood used for the outer veneer.

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Well, to some extend thats right.
But when you say "even Timo Boll" it somewhat changes the area of exploration.
There are a lot of blades of different brands in the category that just can not loop.
Speaking of "Timo Boll" blades particularly, one may say that even the "Timo Boll OFF-" is a good looper, but that is different.

Depends if you do/ want to play a "modern style" of table tennis.
"Modern/chinese style" is you loop the ball just so it can get on to the table because you want the ball to bounce forwards putting more pressure on your opponent. Examples are most Chinese players/Harimoto
"Old Style" You loop the ball as much as you can and create as much spin as you can however this means the ball bounces higher and gives more time for your opponent. Examples Timo Boll/Mizutani.
The best part of playing with Tenergy it's fairly flexible in the way you can play unlike Hurricane which is designed with "Modern/chinese style" in mind however if you get it right the quality of your shots will be much much better.
ALSO... Depends on what level of Hurricane you go for. If you are planning to go for the normal version I would recommend Big Dipper instead as in the UK its about the same price and it's much better from experience.

vvk1 said:

Duh, any off- to off carbon/all-wood blade on the market suitable for looping and blocking for anyone, even Timo Boll. And soft touch is not a blade property - your hands either have it or they don't. Try playing with the bats your mates use and pick one whose handle feels most comfortable. That is by far more important than the exact wood used for the outer veneer.

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I disagree. "Feeling" is very much a thing as far as I am concerned, and I'd much rather compromise on handle size than blade composition.

Also yes, Xiom Offensive S is great - the one thing that I wouldn't change anytime soon. A solid A in every department, albeit perhaps no A+ anywhere. I don't find it all that flexible though, for a five-ply. Just enough to allow strong loops but not that I'd make it a defining feature.

It's just that OP seemed more oriented towards carbon and then again, I'm neither national level nor yogi_bear.

Still curious to receive feedback from Joe.

If he insists on composite blades, he can get the xiom zx3, feel ax or hx,l. Carbonado 90/45 are also good. i am testing a new brand now called tmount and they really have very good alc and zlc like blades.

Dude, these kind of threads are killing me. There must be 823 threads like this and one pops up every week. Usually goes something like this. It is pretty much a modern virus common to every TT forum to more or less degree. Greg Letts is sure to include this in hiz next TT parody video cartoon.

Endless Equipment Advice That I Should Already Know said:

I am such and such level player playing in such and such place and league training such and such hours a week with a coach. I would like to know the properties of such and such common blade/rubber so I can loop, but it is very obvious what this combo could do, but I still want to ask anyway. I am not gunna post a vid to give anyone an idea of my level or style, but post a generic question to get all the equipment experts to sound off.

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The first question someone would ask is "Are you for real? You don't know what a common blade/rubber does?" OK, maybe coach just handed the player a bat and said use it... such a thing happens so maybe the poster really doesn't know. So... no issue asking, a forum is a great place to ask stuff.

The next question to be asked is "Since you are around a coach, what has coach said? Why did you not believe or listen to coach? What have the better players near you said? What have the better vets said to you? Why haven't you listened? Did you burn bridges with that crowd?

What I personally never understand is if there are coaches and vets nearby, there is a good source of guidance.

Maybe I could understand if the question is phrased "I am not really sure about what my trouble maker coach or vets are recommending and would like to check the checker to be sure they are not pulling my leg."

That last situation is understandable.

This thread is a little different and even funnier. If the OP is playing in what it looks like he is saying, then he should know a lot more about equipment than a lot of the forum, and he is likely a lot better player than most of the forum. There shouldn't be too many people who could advise better.

The specs of what OP is asking for are pretty contradictory and very general. What kind of blocking? What distance? Passive, Off bounce, off table, fast? Soft touch for a short serve return, but good performance at mid distance?

I would say get ablade that does well in the three things you do the most. You are not gunna get a blade that makes it easy to do everything well. If your bread and butter is banging it on FH and topspinning it on BH, get what suits that and and adjust your touch as time goes by. If your bread and butter is spinning it up a lot, go for equipment that gives you the best feel and consistency for a loop and trade that off for the other aspects.