Give a try or just stay in the confort area? - Blades, rubbers and money questions!

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Hello, currently i'm playing with a very old set up:

Blade: Samsonov Alpha
BH: Sriver FX
FH: Rapid soft (tibhar)

So my issue is, since my blade is in bad shape, not to mention the rubbers that mostly look like frying pans in concern of grip, i'm going to buy new material, but you know, money dont grow in trees so i'm in a dilema.

Should I stay in the confort zone and buy a new Samsonov alpha with 2 sheets of rakza 7 soft, or try new things such as 729 Bomb blade, LKT rapid speed FH and LKT Rapid sound /soft BH?
Well, or just make different combos with this material
The difference in prices are huge.

1º option will cost me 90 euro total Blade 30, each rubber 30 euro.

2º option will cost me 44 euro total, blade 16, each rubber 14 euro.

If were you, what you do?
 
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Hi Xahelva,
The development of equipment has been tremendous since the sriver days. Though srivers are still relevant these days, there are better and cheaper rubbers and blades for the modern game. You must understand this, Srivers were designed during the speed glue and 38mm ball era. Don't get me wrong, Sriver series are still my favourite above all the rubbers currently available, but without speed glue, it takes some doing to get the best out of them.

I am not so sure about your current blade because I am not familiar with it. From what you stated above, your 2nd proposal looks more attractive, and I think it should be good. I like LKT, they're the under rated most of the times. Very very good TT equipment. The same equivalent of any famous brands may cost twice as much.

One option is to have the rakza on your FH and LKT on your BH with the the Bomb blade. :)
 
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You could also buy a new sheet of tibhar rapid soft? There are rapid dtecs rubbers now which also come in soft which I really liked they are the 'no speed glue' alternative to Tibhar Rapid. I think if you are willing to try new things then go for it! :)
 
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I would also buy a Rakza 7 soft or equivalent more expensive rubber for the FH and then the cheaper lkt on the backhand. Just like Kevzar says , if you clean your rubber (with water and a soft tissue or sponge) regularly you can play a long time with these ESN rubbers , I have personally played for 2 full competition seasons with a red Andro Revo Fire (also a ESN Tensor Bios rubber , same generation as the Hexers), and just now recently i got a problem on the top sheet (pimples coming loose from the sponge, so an expansion on that spot of the rubber and end of life unfortunately).

I would also advise you not to choose a different blade if you are happy with this one (only change if you find one with a better hand grip and preferably try to buy a blade with which you have already played , like one from a friend or player of your club, the Stiga Tube Allround i play with is a great blade, allround+ or even the Donic Waldner Carbon Senso is great but faster than my Stiga, i have better feeling and control with my Stiga).

Also read my tip on prolonging the rubber life (with WD40 or even booster or paraffine tuning) on this forum (search for : this info will save you a lot of money).
 
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Because of circumstances such as yours, I have just completed a round of experimentation at a mild cost. My approach was to, to the extent I could, try out all blades and rubbers that I was interested in before making a purchase. This saved me a ton of money since mostly all of the equipment that was being recommended as possibilities turned out to be very inappropriate for my style of play and was not to my liking at all. I guess, if I had to, I could have played with some of the equipment I rejected, but I would have always been uncomfortable knowing that it was worse than it was before.

I also shopped around a bit, because there are some real bargains out there if you look for them, depending upon the manufacturer and where you are located. I am in the U.S. so I picked up some rubber from tabletennis11.com and timtts.be at much cheaper prices (no VAT) than here in the U.S. Finally, I learned that I should only buy one rubber at a time. It helps to lighten the loss if the rubber turns out to be different than I expected. I had to toss to Rakza 7 rubbers (I purchased for $32 each) because ESN Tensors and my play just don't mix.

As it turned out, I am using my old blade (Killerspin Diamond CQ), together with Killerspin Fortissimo 2.0 and Joola Phenix 2.0. A bit off the beaten track but I tried many popular rubbers (e.g., Tenergy, ESN Tensors, Chinese) and none proved suitable for me. In some cases, too bouncy and loss of control and feeling. In other cases too hard and loss of speed and spin. There are many variables. I am glad that I took it slow and easy.
 
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dude rakza 7 is one of the best sheet that u can buy in the market i know becuae i have been usin them but they r really soft as i play regularly they only gave me a month as they tend to chip alot from the sides but if u want a spinny nd fast rubber go for it
 
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Your 729 and LKT rubbers are pretty expensive. They're only the same amounts, but in USD here. $16 USD and $14 USD for the rubbers. I would suggest getting those rubbers. You could always tune them with lamp oil or bio booster and thus make them faster, but as for a good solid control game I would recommend not trying to break the bank.
 
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Hi people, thanks for the opinions, i thought....and for now i'll stay in the confort zone.

This will be expensive now, but maybe it will save me some money in long terms.

But defenetly one day i will try the LKT and the 729 bomb, the are so many good reviews of them.

thanks and good practicing.
 
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The Samsonov blade is way better than the 729 blade. The 729 blade is adequate and is sort of one step up from a recreational blade but not really a good blade. Whereas the Samsonov blade is a blade with very good feeling, control and more than enough speed. I would not bother with the 729 blade.
 
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