Looking for recommendations

[Godrules500]

Hello, I am looking for some advice on getting a custom racket. I am a fairly offensive player who likes to play with spin and power, but don't know if my foot work is consistent enough to say that I have excellent control. I have been playing for about 7 or 8 years. My skill level is difficult to determine since I've never played in a gym, but of other people in similar situations I am the best player of the people I've played with over the years (would most likely lose most matches at a table tennis gym lol). But I've never had a custom bat before so I was hoping for some suggestions. I saw a coach online recommend the Rakza 7 for a first custom bat, so if that's still a good choice for rubbers (up for recommendations) I am looking for some advice on a good blade. Hoping to stay under 100 dollars for the blade, but definitely no more than 150.

--- Edit ---
I am currently using the Stiga pro carbon performance.

Thanks!

 

[jk1980]

You can definitely stay below 100$ with a decent starter racket. A good base is the Yasaka Sweden extra blade that is about 30$.
Given the budget you have to be a little picky about the rubbers, but it is definitely doable.
What kind of shop would you prefer to order at and where are you located?

 

[Godrules500]

You can definitely stay below 100$ with a decent starter racket. A good base is the Yasaka Sweden extra blade that is about 30$.
Given the budget you have to be a little picky about the rubbers, but it is definitely doable.
What kind of shop would you prefer to order at and where are you located?

I am HOPING for Amazon just because I trust them. If it can be prime, even better. Currently, as of like 2 hours ago lol, I was looking at the Timo Spirit Blade. Do you know how that compares to the Yasaka Sweden Extra blade?

 

[jk1980]

I would not go with Amazon because they mostly offer premanufactured blades for the very beginner.

You should go with a trustworthy online table tennis shop who will assemble the blade explicitly for you. That is why I asked where you are coming from.

Tabletennis11 is a great shop that will ship pretty much everywhere.

 

[Godrules500]

Tabletennis11

Nice, how difficult/easy is it to put the rubber on yourself? Also, would you recommend the butterfly Spirit blade or the Yaska Sweden Extra?

 

[jk1980]

I would recommend the Yasaka Sweden extra definitely and for a beginner it is hard not to screw up glueing the rubber, so better have it done by a professional shop.

 

[Godrules500]

Being an offensive player, is there an upgraded blade you'd recommend, or would you say stick with that?

 

[jk1980]

The Yasaka Sweden Extra will be enough for you and you could play with it for decades. It is controlled enough while offering good offensive capabilities.
If you budget is as tight as it is there is not much that would be more suitable to your requirements.

 

[mocker88]

I think it's fairly easy to glue and cut your own rubbers, and if you get it on wrong the first time, just peel off the glue and start over.

I think the Timo Boll Spirit is discontinued, but like jk1980, I think you should look at a more controllable, allround blade and there are plenty of these for a price below $20. Check out Sanwei Accumulator S, Haitian Y-I, Sanwei Fextra Allround, Yinhe N10s or Yinhe N11s.

Rakza 7 is a good rubber and a little bouncy, but it would surely fit fine on an allround wooden blade.

But if you really don't know what will fit you, look at some of these more allround/offensive rubbers for a lower price than Rakza 7, and after a while playing with these, you'll know what you need more or less of without having spent that much money...

Palio AK47 Red/Yellow/Blue, 729 Focus III Snipe, 729 Presto Max Spin/Speed, Sanwei Gear Hyper, Giant Dragon TopEnergy etc...

It's just a suggestion, but you could have a really good bat for around $50 to start with. And if you want to change the rubbers to Rakza 7 or something else in the future, you can use your blade for many years, just changing rubbers...

 

[Mionixxd]

Nice, how difficult/easy is it to put the rubber on yourself? Also, would you recommend the butterfly Spirit blade or the Yaska Sweden Extra?

I would definitely not recommend timo boll spirit as it is a hella fast blade, it is way faster than sweden extra

 

[Godrules500]

The Yasaka Sweden Extra will be enough for you and you could play with it for decades. It is controlled enough while offering good offensive capabilities.
If you budget is as tight as it is there is not much that would be more suitable to your requirements.

Awesome! Only because I ask a lot of questions (according to my wife lol) If I'm willing to up the budget, would you recommend something different, or would you still stick with the Yasaka Sweden Extra? Thanks again for all of the input!
I'm updating in the header section if I can, but I am coming off of the stiga pro carbon performance. Do you know if this blade/rubber combo be faster?

 

[Godrules500]

I would definitely not recommend timo boll spirit as it is a hella fast blade, it is way faster than sweden extra

Thanks! Is that just because it's my first custom bat or just not a fan of it? I also forgot to mention that I'm coming off of the stiga pro carbon performance. Not sure if that matters.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

Sweden Extra + Rakza 7 is a good choice.
it can be a pretty offensive setup, no problem.

allround blades are cheaper than faster blades, but it is also a lot more user friendly and if this is your first "proper" bat, then I will say, go for it.
Once you master this setup, then you can look at going for faster blades.
It isn't ideal to start off too fast, as you would then struggle to fully utilized the potential of the rubbers.

You could check on some reputable table tennis online shop in the US (there is like 2 major ones) or look at some stores from Europe (like Tabletennis11)

and yes, first time, rather get the shop to glue for you.
You can attempt to reglue yourself, later on

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

Thanks! Is that just because it's my first custom bat or just not a fan of it? I also forgot to mention that I'm coming off of the stiga pro carbon performance. Not sure if that matters.

the timo boll spirit, if you can still get it, could be too fast for a start bat.
there is a lot of fake butterfly blades out there, if it isn't a reputable table tennis seller, i would advise caution too

 

[Godrules500]

the timo boll spirit, if you can still get it, could be too fast for a start bat.
there is a lot of fake butterfly blades out there, if it isn't a reputable table tennis seller, i would advise caution too

Good to know! Thanks!

 

[Godrules500]

Sweden Extra + Rakza 7 is a good choice.
it can be a pretty offensive setup, no problem.

allround blades are cheaper than faster blades, but it is also a lot more user friendly and if this is your first "proper" bat, then I will say, go for it.
Once you master this setup, then you can look at going for faster blades.
It isn't ideal to start off too fast, as you would then struggle to fully utilized the potential of the rubbers.

You could check on some reputable table tennis online shop in the US (there is like 2 major ones) or look at some stores from Europe (like Tabletennis11)

and yes, first time, rather get the shop to glue for you.
You can attempt to reglue yourself, later on

Ok, makes sense, and thanks! Do you know if the Rakza 7/Sweden Extra will be faster or slower?

 

[matti77]

Buy an expensive blade like Acoustic or Virtuoso. It'll prevent you from further aj:ing because they are the best and most expensive.

 

[Lazer]

Timo boll spirit is faster than Sweden extra. Don't worry both Sweden extra and Rakza7 are legendary. You cant go wrong with those. I am currently playing with a similar blade made in the same factory and I love it, its a gem and I now have 3 of them and I love them. Unfortunately they are discontinued.

Cheers
L-zr

 

[Mionixxd]

Thanks! Is that just because it's my first custom bat or just not a fan of it? I also forgot to mention that I'm coming off of the stiga pro carbon performance. Not sure if that matters.

No it's just a generally fast blade, I have played foor some time and it is too fast for me, I played with rakza 7 and sweden extra for the longest time ever. It's a great setup

 

[Tiz]

Since the OP is based in the USA, you can check the specials at Paddle Palace (blade + 2 rubbers + they assemble it + free shipping). The cheapest at the moment ($115.95) is based on the Nittaku Rising 2 and for the rubbers there's quite a choice, for the more expensive ones there's an extra to pay (but most of them are included in the deal).

Table Tennis Combo Specials, Blades with rubber at Paddle Palace

www.paddlepalace.com