About me and puchasing a new bat/rubber

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Hi,
My name is Greg and I used to play TT 3-4 nights a week at home for about 3 hours. Was terribly into all sports, but loved the death out of TT. I had 10 vision in my left eye and 15 in my right with seriously quick hands. Now, I am 46 and even though I struggle and struggle to read small print, I wold rather wait for an hour for my eyes to adjust, which they have stopped doing. :) It's ok..I will do with out, or will be happy with my guesses at what the words are..its kind of athletic in a way.
5 years ago I decided to get back in to TT and went to Big 5 and spared no expense at getting the biggest baddest ping pong paddle I cold buy.. A Stiga with some sort of rating of a speed of 18 and control of 14 I think. I was ready and was living at the Grand Canyon at the time. Got back into it. I was training for a marathon, long story, then bought equipment for a 4,300 mile bike trip across country ( US) but my IT band stopped my leg from rotating during the trip. Moved to Chico, Cal and met an owner of a local sports store and he told me of there once a week TT club. So I started going. It was more like a party n the back of a tee shirt making place but with an Olympic table as one of two tables. Took me a month or so, but..began to be able to beat everyone and I could start to see where my game used to be when for 1 1/2 years as a teenager I used to be. A gf's dad came over, he was number 2 in either erie county or in NY state..I forget which, but I beat him best out of 5 without losing a set 4 times in a row. I cold finesse any chop with a spiny flick or else slam the hell out of it or loop crazily. WELL...back to 2 years ago...these guys all had paddple that were 100-300 dollars...I couldn't believe it. I played with my $30 Stiga for about a year and then a freind of mine said he had just bought a bat he didn't like...the Silver/Black and said I cold have it for $45 so i bought it with innova and spinspiel rubbers. It was ok..a step up, but nothing special. Well...it broke...on some innocuous hit and the maker said they would give me %30 off anything, basically wholesale.

LOL... I have been studying bats and rubbers for about 3 weeks now! and still not sure exactly what is best for me. I have blazing quick hands and can slam slams pretty close to table as welll as block back slams..but I also love to finesse and drop shots over the net and go down the line or side spin a slam, or just make the ball buzz as hard as i can with a released tennis backhand once in a while but my mainstay is a 4-5 inch back handtopspin hard flick that sends the best 8 feet off the table where they are no match for my %100 percent full swing power leaving lttle red marks on their chest..lol maki ng them scream out loud covering themselves. Hope this is coming out kind of funny...They do love the contributions to the energy levels when I am there.

So..! A really good player started playing there and decided it was time in his life to buy a new bat too, so he studied for only a week and came back last week with a Timo Ball ZLC? with tenergies on both sides. He was happy to let me use it as we discussed it as I played. Very powerful. I had to let up to about %50 percent to feel I was in control. I didn't use it enough to check out all the things I have read these last 2 weeks, but...I do know that I loved the lower gears. But I couldnt just block back normally, it would sail off the table and realzed a dirextonal push was possible but with angle adjustments. I know Tenergies take a week or so to break in so to speak, but am still wondering if I would ever be able to use full power with these things. I am drawn to the rubbers that the pros use, as most of us seem to be, but...I would like something that maybe isnt quite so much a stress to my game to get to the upper levels.

Unlimited $ isn't there..but, I do have a few thousand options...hope u tell me what u think.

I am looking at Rakza 7 for my bh, with either a Genius or Grip S FH., but may go to grip S bh and keep the genus fh. I liked these rubbers cause they say you can kill the spns of undercuts and top em back over which oi love to do, as well as, when you don't use the sponge, you have so many lower gears to place and drop. I do love counterlooping jst for the thrill of it, but if I were to get serious and really want to take 2 weeks to gear up I wold be smashing with full bore with as much spin as i could or just flatten out a kill.. But I just dont know if these rubbers will ever let me do that?

The bats I have narrowed down are... Stiga carbo 7.6 wrb ( I wanted to stay away from stiga...just crept back in last night )
Alulass ( the one I am leaning towards )
Ma Lin Extra ( people seem to love this)
Piecea ( If I remeber right, is an all Hinoki wood but n plies, hinoki intrigues me)
Persson Powerplay V1 (I think I wold love this stuff in the handle that gives you feel)

Which reminds me..f anybody is reading.. I loved the game of a guy I saw... Karakasevic (does anyone know his setup? lol..think he uses killerspin)

I know there are alot of rubbers out there...but these are the ones my ego says I should have as I always thought I could be good. I am lookng for a learning curve I guess, but I dont want it to be tooo drastic.

Wold actually love to have all 5 of these blades ( along with 30-40 others..maybe realistically 25..well..nope..maybe 40 ) but, can only have one for now...

I am leaning towards the Alulass with Genius on the FH with Grip S on the BH.

Thanks if you beared with me through all of this..Dan..if you get thru this, I think you are some sort of moderator, will leave it up to you if this should be in the introduce yourself page. I just felt that I had so many questions, of which I havent asked to many yet,..lol..perhaps they will come up here if anyone cares to respond.

BTW..I won Globe 999 rubbers from ebay for $14..have no idea if this is good or not.

Thanks for nput..I wont see you on the lve feeds as the US is painfully blocked although I go to see the first 2-3 3 nights and the proxy didn;'t work for me instead it almost klled my computer..

All right..My name is Greg.... Ciao
 
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Hey Greg nice to meet you. Well that's awesome that you've gotten back into TT. It's always great to see players come into our community and give us some backstory. Awesome stuff. I wouldn't recommend Tenergy or any high speed rubber just yet. Mostly because whatever rubbers you're using currently most likely produce "no spin/ dead spin" balls. This confuses people like crazy when you hit different strokes but produce lesser amounts of spin. However it's great for smashing as most smashes don't have much spin to begin with. I would highly recommend any softer to medium rubbers. Anything from Sriver, 729 Focus Snipe 3, 729 Cream Transcend or MRS, Mambo, Samba, anything that'll really help you get some dwell time to learn all about the intricate spins that can be put on the ball. The added bonus is awesome control. I would then put these rubbers on any medium hard blade with decent speed ratings to keep the pace of the ball in tact. This will probably help your game out tremendously because not only will you be able to hit great spinny shots, but the power behind them won't be lacking. There are a lot of blades out there and searching for the right one takes a lot of time. I recommend a wood blade for now because carbon can be a little bit tricky and really cause some bad habits.
 
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Wow..pretty darned cool..y first reply..ty xD I feel like I can produce damb good spin with any rubber. I wold say people would say, that my shots have the most spin. I believe in what you are saying, like I said, my ego feels I could take a month or so to learn a good rubber... I feel I am a survivor out in the forest or in the mountains with no coat when it comes to adjusting athletically and learning quickly. I am bridging my nose in thought as I type, trying to get away from the spinny rubbers...my gosh..it is tough.. Perhaps a rakza 7 BH (even tho is should go on FH) with a sriver ( mark V considered?) FH? I promise not to cheat, and move the rakza to my FH... is this called major twiddling? lol I guess twiddling is the transition from hand adjustment to fh to bh?

Did u like any of the blades i mentioned? I think u would like the piecea or the alulass for me?

I will study the rubbers you mentioned...but..the innova rubber and spinspiel on the black silver racquet, was no where near putting me on a learning curve.

Tx again for your reply... :)
 
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Mr RicharD is giving good info. Blades that are all wood (no carbon) are good. I know many pros who don't use carbon, because you get better touch and feel from all wood blades.

If you are looking into Hinoki, you might as well get an all Hinoki blade. With a wood as good as Hinoki I see no reason to combine it with any other kind of wood or any composite material like carbon. And if you are looking at Hinoki blades then you really should look at these:

Darker 7p-2a: http://tabletennisshop.com.au/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=54&products_id=863l

That is a 7 ply Hinoki blade. All Kiso Hinoki. It is 6.5 mm and about 82 grams.

Or

Darker 7p-2a.7t: http://tabletennisshop.com.au/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=54&products_id=964

This is also a 7 ply Hinoki blade. It is 7 mm so it is half a millimeter thicker and about 2 grams heavier. That also means it is a decent amount faster. This is the one I would get. This is an amazing blade. There is not really any blade out there that is any better than this. Amazing feel and control and more than enough speed. Darker makes a highly crafted top notch product. It is a little like a work of art in comparison to most blades.

However, all the blades you mentioned are okay. I would stick with the all wood ones, so not the Alulass. It might be a good blade but do you want a blade with texalium?

I recently used a blade that just had Sriver on it. I was amazed at how, this low tech rubber was really more than enough. Then I tried this other blade that had Joola Mambo on it. Same. I realized, all these high tech rubbers are good but you don't really need them. There is no doubt that Tenergy is faster and spinnier than Sriver and Mambo. There is no doubt that Hurricane III Neo picks up the ball better when looping underspin than the old school rubbers. But, those rubbers would be fine for me to use, and for most people.

Rubbers that are good: Sriver, Mark V, Nittaku Hammond, Joola Mambo. These are all basic rubbers that you can learn all strokes with. The ones Mr. RicharD is mentioning are good choices as well.

Of the rubbers you are choosing, the one I personally would not want is the Rakza 7. I have used those, they feel weird and not good. They get a lot of spin but they bottom out and when you swing harder they feel inconsistent, at least to me. I am used to Tenergy for my backhand and Hurricane III Neo for my forehand. But I try everything, and most rubbers I try, I can feel what they are good for: those rubbers feel like there is something not quite right with them. They are fancy but something feels wrong with them. At first I liked them and then I realized they are not good for many things, especially serving and pushing, but also from hitting harder back from the table. I think that is a bad combination (too bouncy for close, inconsistent and loses power from far). I would go with something like Xiom Vega Europe or Vega Pro if you want a high tech rubber for one side. Or if you want the next tier up and don't want Tenergy yet, I would go with Xiom Omega IV Europe or Pro.

However, there are lots of good rubbers out there. The last few times I hit with Rakza 7 it felt like something I never wanted to hit with again.

But it also sounds like you would be fine with most of the High Tech rubbers as well and would adjust without a problem. If you think that, you might as well get the best. Tenergy 64 and Hurricane III Neo. :) Or Omega IV Pro and Haifu Blue Whale III. :) Or Stiga Calibra LT and Skyline III Neo. How many choices are there! :)
 
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Hi...wow..thank you fro your input and time. The Darker blades look amazing. I have to go with paddlepalace right now as I have a wholesale price on 1 blade and rubber. They also lead me to Hinoki wood. The one I am looking at is :

http://www.paddlepalace.com/Piecea/productinfo/SNPIE/

and

http://www.paddlepalace.com/Septear/productinfo/SNSEP/

there is this one but is twice the money. ( why? same wood right..? )

I think I am sold on the Piecea, Septear, or hinoki 7 now with your guy's input. Will keep you updated if that is ok.

As afr as the rubber is concerned, I havent started studying the recommended rubbers you gentlemen gave yet, but will probably tonight although I am leaning towards Sriver just because I read some things on it already.

I won a bid for globe999 rubber on Ebay for $28 if you know anything about them and I think they are probably the chinese spinny ones you say to hold off on.

Think I might make a postr about anyone getting some good wood and carvng out there own paddle or makng their own paddle. Has this been posted b4..?

Thanks again for your help..hoping to get your approval for the Piecea or the Septear.....but..no pressure..lol
 
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That globe 999 you got from ebay is twice as expensive as they normally are.
 
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says Spin and more spin.
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Hi...wow..thank you fro your input and time. The Darker blades look amazing. I have to go with paddlepalace right now as I have a wholesale price on 1 blade and rubber. They also lead me to Hinoki wood. The one I am looking at is :

http://www.paddlepalace.com/Piecea/productinfo/SNPIE/

and

http://www.paddlepalace.com/Septear/productinfo/SNSEP/

there is this one but is twice the money. ( why? same wood right..? )

I think I am sold on the Piecea, Septear, or hinoki 7 now with your guy's input. Will keep you updated if that is ok.

Not always. There are different kinds of Hinoki and different qualities of wood. But, The Leo 7 looks like it is close enough. Here is the difference between the three:

Piecea is 5 plies and not as fast, but more control. It is rated Off-. It is sort of thick for a 5 ply though. It is listed at 7.1mm so it is not too much slower than the Septear.

The Septear is 7 plies at 6.7mm, it is faster than the Piecea. It is rated Off. They are listed as being the same basic weight.

The Leo 7 is 7 plies and 6.8mm so a little bit thicker and an little bit faster. It is also rated as Off but it is probably a little faster than the Septear. It lists them at the same weight but that is probably not exactly accurate. Listed weights for blades are usually +/- 5 grams because different cuts of wood do not all weigh the same amount. But this seems to be Nittaku playing with the fact that blades look more attractive when their weight is listed as 85 grams. :) So it is probably a little heavier than the other two.

I think any of those three blades would be a good blade to play with. Butterfly Jonyer Special is also a good choice but I looked and Paddle Palace is not listing it as in stock. :) Those blades should be good. The Darker blade I mentioned is a step up in quality from those, but it is also a step up in price and something you would have to order from Korea, Japan or Australia--the link I gave is from a site and store based in Australia. At the higher end of blades what you are paying for at a certain point is quality control and craftsmanship.

In the end, what is important is how your weapon works in your hand. :)
 
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I went for the $20 ma lin III for kicks. I am leaning towards the Piecea now simply because I have a future goal in buying a Darker racquet...lol and the Piecea with 2 rubbers will cost me $70. I think with this, and with the choice of rubbers you guys have leaned me towards (hammond, mark V ( maybe sriver in place of MArk V) ? ) That this will be a transition racquet to make sure I have the stuff to warrant buying the H3's the skylines III's and stuff like this to go with the Darker. I normally prefer a harder rubber because i feel I have more control when I am all out and aggressive and that the quickness of the contact is better suited to me in not being bored of "listening" to softer rubbers.. I think the listening to harder rubbers fine tunes my athletic quickness of mind, but..I will look at the medium to medium soft rubber just to get the spins really down...I do like thinner blades, even something over 6.2 scares me and you are right, I do like the 85's or less. I now dont mind getting a slightly heavier one just to get stronger? lol

Has anyone ever ordered just a piece of wood and carved out a paddle themselves? Would a cypress you could find in the US be of decent quality..?
I am thinkng that what you are saying is that buyers go to the hinoki trees and hand pick the wood so as to get the highest quality of wood. Otherwise it wold be a crapshoot and maybe wouldnt warrant that some ( Darker) would be more expensive (with the same attention to deatail if possible) than a nitakku (sp?). Would be curious to know how the companies obtain their hinoki wood.

Thanks again Carl..you are helpng to make this equipment battle fray a little bit funner and easier
 
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I think you are making a pretty good choice. Nittaku blades are good. That is probably a pretty good Hinoki blade.

I do like thinner blades, even something over 6.2 scares me and you are right, I do like the 85's or less.

Just making sure you saw this correctly:

Piecea is 5 plies and not as fast, but more control. It is rated Off-. It is sort of thick for a 5 ply though. It is listed at 7.1mm so it is not too much slower than the Septear.

Even though it is only 5 plies, the Piecea is the thickest of those three blades. But 7.1 is actually a pretty nice thickness for a blade. My Clipper is 7mm. Septear has more plies but is thinner.

As far as how they choose their wood, I don't really know but I believe they chose it from a dealer the way you might look at fish at a fish market and decide what looks best. The Fish dealer might tell you what he thinks is best, but you might have your own opinion. But there will also be different grades of wood, top tier, middle, lower.

But I also do know some people who actually make hand made blades. I know a few who just make them. But I know a few who make them and sell them. They guys who sell them are goooood. :) But I am okay with the equipment I get from the companies.
 
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Sometimes I think people should read my mind..idk y. But as long as I am taking the opportunity to see if I do have any stuff in this sport, I am willng to try things a lttle differenly..such as..getting a thicker blade and use softer rubbers. I am starting to feel I am on the right track..guess now i have to stop playing in dress shoes... xD
Thanks Carl...
 
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I am starting to feel I am on the right track..guess now i have to stop playing in dress shoes... xD...

LOL. :) That is funny. Almost as funny as the fact that there are Table Tennis shoes. :) And almost as funny as the fact that good ones, and a good floor, give your stroke more power. :)
 
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