First paddle recommendations for penhold

Tanstin · Oct 25, 2018

Im a beginner penholder looking into getting my first paddle and so far im interested in the yasaka sweden extra or the sweden classic, but im accepting any other budget recommendations

what rubbers do you recommend for looping forehand and spinny rpb? should i get same rubber for both sides?

what combination is best for developing strokes while still being able to make consistent shots?

my budget is around 50-60$.

trumpet_guy · Oct 25, 2018

For this budget you are probably looking at a Chinese blade and rubbers.
One possible choice:

trumpet_guy · Oct 25, 2018

Or perhaps a better choice:

Tanstin · Oct 25, 2018

i hear a lot about 729 battle i and ii for new players, how does the neottec compare? id be happy to stretch my price range if this is a combination i can use for a long time

trumpet_guy · Oct 25, 2018

I don't have experience with these. I just looked at some reviews.

Others may have more info. Price is attractive, at least.

TheCoolPug7 · Oct 25, 2018

Hi I am a shake hander. I want a racket that is about 80 dollars. I am an amateur cannot do topspin I am kind of good at block. Thanks.

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Tanstin · Oct 25, 2018

So far, i think this is what im thinking:
Yasaka Sweden Extra
729 Battle ii (FH) 45, 2.1mm

I see that many players use a more softer rubber for their backhand like the palio ak47 yellow. How would that affect my rpb? should i just go same rubbers both sides?

trumpet_guy · Oct 25, 2018

Softer on the backhand is fine. I have tried both kinds of setups: same on fh and bh; harder fh and softer bh. The backhand is a different enough stroke for me that I can adapt to either setup. Especially for you as a penholder, short pushes will be done on the fh rubber, so no need to match bh rubber to fh rubber.

lVegita · Oct 25, 2018

Tanstin said:
So far, i think this is what im thinking:
Yasaka Sweden Extra
729 Battle ii (FH) 45, 2.1mm

I see that many players use a more softer rubber for their backhand like the palio ak47 yellow. How would that affect my rpb? should i just go same rubbers both sides?

I chose these exact same rubbers for my first real racket.
I cannot compare them to other rubbers, but really liked both. A whole new world coming from a premade.
Both rubbers have nice dedicated threads (created by Lightzy) on this forum with plenty of info.
I really like Battle II and its crazy amount of spin, but I think it would be easier to learn with AK47 on both sides. Also, The Yasaka blades + two AK47s would fit perfectly on your budget.

As for other budget blades, there is a lot of cheap Yinhe blades that are well recommended in lots of threads. You may have a look at:

Yinhe N11s
Yinhe 896
Yinhe W6
Yinhe E3 (not really popular, but I’m very happy with it)

yuri.saldon · Oct 25, 2018

I would suggest 999 999 on both sides, that's such a good rubber for a incredible price. It's perfect for beginer because have tons of control with a good speed and spin.

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passifid · Oct 25, 2018

Hiromi M is exellent for a newer player, ok spin and low spin sensitivity. Very Euro style and quite soft. It allows for easy smashin and also decent looping, far more forgiving than battle II.
I used it on a clipper both sides for a while with a shakehand blade and it was decent. 999 on penhold back hand would be a eh idea IMHO as pen backhand is a lot more reliant on a short punch stroke because of the lower wrist movement avalible making a brushing stroke harder and more tiring.
Personally I like the MEO with 2x euro rubbers (i used to use Sriver G3 however never found a rubber i didnt like on it)

BryanY · Oct 26, 2018

My recommended beginner rubber is KTL Pro XP. ( $9 USD on Eacheng and AliExpress).

They even sell a bunch of different assembled combo rackets with that rubber on it.

(Tabletennis11 also offers it for $15 USD)

PierreAd · Oct 27, 2018

As for the blade, Yasaka Sweden Extra seems like a good choice indeed. You can also try an allround blade from Stiga, such as Allround Classic or Allround NCT. Stick to this kind of blades with good control so you can learn the strokes quietly. Stiga and Yasaka provide a lot of their blade with a CPEN shape which is not the case of all brands (by all means) so later on it'll be easy to find a step up when you'll need a faster blade.

As for the rubbers, I also like the LKT Pro XP / LKT rapid Sound (they're very similar) suggestion, small price, not too soft not too hard, fast enough but not too fast, lightweight and cheap.

Tanstin12 · Oct 28, 2018

PierreAd said:
As for the blade, Yasaka Sweden Extra seems like a good choice indeed. You can also try an allround blade from Stiga, such as Allround Classic or Allround NCT. Stick to this kind of blades with good control so you can learn the strokes quietly. Stiga and Yasaka provide a lot of their blade with a CPEN shape which is not the case of all brands (by all means) so later on it'll be easy to find a step up when you'll need a faster blade.

As for the rubbers, I also like the LKT Pro XP / LKT rapid Sound (they're very similar) suggestion, small price, not too soft not too hard, fast enough but not too fast, lightweight and cheap.

I really like the suggestions I'm getting and I'm thinking I will go with those rubbers. Do you think I should use the same rubbers for both sides of the paddle?

Although my playstyle is still developing (beginner to intermediate, but leaning towards beginner), it's generally an offensive-loop oriented style on both wings. People generally tell me that my RPB has a lot of spin so I was wondering if a harder or softer rubber on my backhand would be ideal.

How viable would a ma lin extra offensive blade work at my level?

trumpet_guy · Oct 28, 2018

I have the Ma Lin Extra Offensive, but would not recommend it for a beginner/intermediate looper. it's nicer for drive/flat hitting. Better to have one of the previously mentioned blades with the softer top layer.

PierreAd · Oct 28, 2018

Tanstin12 said:
How viable would a ma lin extra offensive blade work at my level?

I agree with Trumpet_guy. I have a YEO, and would not recommend it for a beginner / intermediate player, especially not for a looper. It's a very good blade, but it's definitely not for looping. It's a blade for power loops and killing the point early, like Ma Lin did (for once, the blade actually matches the playing style of the player it's named after). Also, it's quite fast and direct, and requires a pretty good level to be used efficiently IMHO.

If you're a looper like I am, you'll be better off with softer blades, and if you're a developing player, with slower blades. I've been playing for 20 years at a decent level, and I went for a Stiga Offensive Wood NCT which is fairly softer and slower than the YEO... and I play a lot better.

Tanstin12 said:
I really like the suggestions I'm getting and I'm thinking I will go with those rubbers. Do you think I should use the same rubbers for both sides of the paddle?

Although my playstyle is still developing (beginner to intermediate, but leaning towards beginner), it's generally an offensive-loop oriented style on both wings. People generally tell me that my RPB has a lot of spin so I was wondering if a harder or softer rubber on my backhand would be ideal.

It's hard to know without seeing you play and seeing your actual level, but from what I understand, I'd say that you'll be good with same rubber on both sides for now. You'll have plenty of time later to refine this choice. The most important thing is to avoid "bad combos" that would hinder your progression, and focus on your technique instead.

BryanY · Oct 28, 2018

Tanstin12 said:
How viable would a ma lin extra offensive blade work at my level?

I don't recommend using anything faster than an OFF- blade if you a begginner/intermediate player who is developing your technique.

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James Livesey · Oct 29, 2018

All plus to off minus 5 ply for sure. I'm always amazed by how lighter weight blades play better and help you learn. I'd suggest Avalox btt550, stiga oc, stiga offensive wood, donic waldner series. Then Chinese rubbers for sure. Massive fan of DHS skyline 360 med hard. It's slow, a tad firm and ultra spinny, perfect for developing serve, loop and drive (it's also great by!). As for backhand, the euro style rubbers made in china are imo worse than their euro/Japanese made counterparts, but waaaay cheaper. I developed my rpb on focus 3 snipe by friendship, but I think anything is game. I'd definitely say soft is the most important thing learning this difficult stroke.

Tanstin12 · Oct 29, 2018

James Livesey said:
All plus to off minus 5 ply for sure. I'm always amazed by how lighter weight blades play better and help you learn. I'd suggest Avalox btt550, stiga oc, stiga offensive wood, donic waldner series. Then Chinese rubbers for sure. Massive fan of DHS skyline 360 med hard. It's slow, a tad firm and ultra spinny, perfect for developing serve, loop and drive (it's also great by!). As for backhand, the euro style rubbers made in china are imo worse than their euro/Japanese made counterparts, but waaaay cheaper. I developed my rpb on focus 3 snipe by friendship, but I think anything is game. I'd definitely say soft is the most important thing learning this difficult stroke.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! They were pretty helpful and my setup has changed quite a bit. There was a sale on palio AK47 (2.2mm thick) so I grabbed a harder and softer sponge for my FH and backhand respectively so I can experiment with which combination I prefer the most. The blade I intend to use is the Yasaka sweden extra

First paddle recommendations for penhold

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